The New Testament writers present the Trinity in surprising ways, which impact our understanding of God and the mission of the church We're used to hearing the traditional order of the Trinity, usually used in baptisms: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But why does the apostle Paul end his letter to the Corinthians with a benediction naming the triune God in a different order: Son, Father, Spirit? In fact, there are six possible arrangements for naming the Trinity, each of which is used numerous times in the New Testament. Analyzing the seventy-five New Testament references to the persons of the Godhead, theologian Rodrick Durst demonstrates that the ways the early church thought and talked about the Trinity had a great deal of richness and diversity that has since been lost. From the context of these passages Durst concludes that each order of the three names corresponds to a particular purpose or movement of God that the New Testament author is invoking: mission, salvation, witness to Christ, sanctification, spiritual formation, and Church unity. These six Trinitarian orders reveal God's calling to join Him in six different works. Durst guides the reader through the significance of each formulation and how it can powerfully shape the twenty-first-century church and believers' formation, worship, witness, and work.

Through close and sustained analysis of Augustine's exegesis of Scripture, Robinson argues that Augustine's Trinitarian exegesis offers significant-though not inexhaustible-support for Rahner's Trinitarian project and, particularly, his Grundaxiom. Firstly, he posits that Augustine provides weighty, biblically rich, support for Rahner's Trinitarian agenda at exactly those points where Rahner is explicitly critical of Augustine and the “Augustinian-Western tradition”, overcoming various weaknesses detected in the later tradition, and pre-empting many of Rahner's later solutions. Secondly and consequently, Robinson suggests that Augustine offers a scriptural reading strategy that addresses the major exegetical difficulties perceived to emerge from Rahner's Rule. Thus, in Augustine's exegesis of Scripture, the Augustinian-Western tradition has always had the resources at its disposal to avoid or address the most poignant criticisms levelled both by and at Rahner.

Since the late 1970s complementarian theologians have been arguing that the divine three persons in the Trinity are ordered hierarchically, and that this is the ground for the hierarchical ordering of the sexes. Suddenly and unexpectedly in June 2016 a number of complementarian theologians of confessional Reformed convictions came out and said that to so construe the Trinity is "heresy"; it is a denial of what the creeds and confessions of the church rule is the teaching of Scripture. A civil war among complementarians followed and in a very short time those arguing for hierarchical ordering in the Trinity capitulated. This book tells the story.

A defense of equality among the persons of the Trinity In response to those complementarian theologians who assert that the Son is eternally subordinate to the Father, the contributors to Trinity Without Hierarchy contend that this view misconstrues the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity and reduces the Son to a lower level of glory and majesty than the Father. Surveying Scripture, church history, and theology, sixteen contributors present a defense of the full and equal authority of all three members of the Trinity while critiquing approaches that border on semi-Arianism. In particular, the creedal confessions of Nicaea are upheld as the historical standard by which any proposed Trinitarian doctrine should be judged. While some contributors hold complementarian and others egalitarian viewpoints, all agree that Trinitarian relations are not a proper basis for understanding gender roles. Trinity Without Hierarchy is indispensable reading for anyone interested in the current debate over the relationship between Trinitarian theology and the roles of men and women.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From one of the world’s most influential spiritual thinkers, a long-awaited book exploring what it means that Jesus was called “Christ,” and how this forgotten truth can restore hope and meaning to our lives. “Anyone who strives to put their faith into action will find encouragement and inspiration in the pages of this book.”—Melinda Gates In his decades as a globally recognized teacher, Richard Rohr has helped millions realize what is at stake in matters of faith and spirituality. Yet Rohr has never written on the most perennially talked about topic in Christianity: Jesus. Most know who Jesus was, but who was Christ? Is the word simply Jesus’s last name? Too often, Rohr writes, our understandings have been limited by culture, religious debate, and the human tendency to put ourselves at the center. Drawing on scripture, history, and spiritual practice, Rohr articulates a transformative view of Jesus Christ as a portrait of God’s constant, unfolding work in the world. “God loves things by becoming them,” he writes, and Jesus’s life was meant to declare that humanity has never been separate from God—except by its own negative choice. When we recover this fundamental truth, faith becomes less about proving Jesus was God, and more about learning to recognize the Creator’s presence all around us, and in everyone we meet. Thought-provoking, practical, and full of deep hope and vision, The Universal Christ is a landmark book from one of our most beloved spiritual writers, and an invitation to contemplate how God liberates and loves all that is.

Offering an alternative to the usual models of theological reflection, this careful and helpful guide demonstrates to students the possibilities which emerge when the starting point for theological reflective practice.

What would theological reflection look like if scripture were the starting point? For many, beginning the process of formation the bible is already a natural place to begin, and models of theological reflection which start in other places can be hard to swallow. All too often, as a result, they reject the idea of reflecting theologically altogether, an outcome which is damaging for their future ministry and for the church as a whole. This book to re-discover the theological heart of the discipline of practical theology and develop new methods which take scripture and tradition more seriously. Offering an alternative to the usual models of theological reflection, this careful and helpful guide demonstrates to students the possibilities which emerge when the starting point for theological reflective practice