The social analogy in modern Trinitarian thought

Abstract

The doctrine of the Trinity—is it substance or shadow? For most of Christian history this doctrine has been regarded as the essence of the Christian conception of God. But during the nineteenth and the early part of the twentieth centuries the dominant movements in theology have relegated it to a secondary and peripheral place in the scheme of doctrine, or even eliminated it altogether. At the present time there are indications of a renewed interest in this doctrine, together with a tendency to give it once more a central place in Christian theology, but there is no sign of anything that could be called a consensus with regard to the content of the doctrine. The aim of this thesis is to clarify the content of the doctrine of the Trinity, and in so doing to vindicate the importance of this doctrine in the scheme of Christian theology and to show its significance for Christian faith and life generally.