Joseph A. Bracken argues that the failure of theology and science to generate cohesion is the lack of an integrated system of interpretation of the Christian faith that consciously accords with the insights and discoveries of contemporary science. Bracken utilizes the language and conceptual structures of systems theory as a philosophical and scientific grammar to show traditional Christian beliefs in a new light that is accessible and rationally plausible to a contemporary, scientifically influenced society.

This book is a comparative study of two major pneumatological paradigms of Patristic times: the theologies of Origen of Alexandria and Augustine of Hippo.00In a renowned and controversial passage Origen writes: "Of the subsistence of the Holy Spirit, no-one could have even a suspicion, except those who profess a belief in Christ" ('De Principiis', 1,3). But how come that ancient Christian authors elaborated a theology of the Holy Spirit? This innovative study tackles this question by analysing how the exegesis of the Gospel of John shaped the Trinitarian and soteriological agency of the Holy Spirit in the theologies of two of the most important Christian authors of all times: Origen and Augustine. In particular, the Johannine Father-Son-Spirit relation and the dichotomy between God and the world represent the foundation on which Origen and Augustine built their pneumatologies. At a closer look, one even realises that they both conceived the God-man relationship through a Johannine lens.0The heuristic comparison proposed in this book is focused on the three large themes, towards which Origen and Augustine represent opposite approaches: the understanding of the immanent Trinity, the dualism between God and the world and the proper role of the Holy Spirit. On the one hand, Origen put forward a paradigm of participation to explain the oneness and Threeness of God. On the other, Augustine understands God?s self-relation through a paradigm of identity. These two Trinitarian constructions are shaped by a different understanding of the Gospel of John: while Origen?s theology mostly smooths the gospel?s dualism by interpreting God?s salvific act as a gradual spiritualisation of the world, Augustine tends to accentuate the Gospel?s dichotomies by radicalising the Johannine dualism.

What can the early church contribute to theology today? Donald Fairbairn takes us back to the biblical roots and central convictions of the early church, showing us what we have tended to overlook, especially in our understanding of God as Trinity, the person of Christ and the nature of our salvation as sharing in the Son's relationship to the Father.

Unique for its breadth in studying theologians not only from Europe and North America but also from Latin America, Asia, and Africa, this landmark volume introduces the doctrine of the Trinity, examining the work and thought of contemporary theologians throughout the world. Veli-Matti Karkkainen provides an overview of the biblical roots of the doctrine, discussing both the idea of plurality in God in the Old Testament and the rise of Trinitarian understandings in the New Testament. He details the historical growth of Trinitarian traditions and delves into specific theologies, both Western and non-Western. Also including both an introductory consideration of the doctrine's significance and a concluding assessment and agenda for future thought, Karkkainen'sThe Trinityis the broadest and most comprehensive contemporary study on the Trinity available.

In this brief and winsome book, Michael Reeves presents an introduction to the Christian faith that is rooted in the triune God. He takes cues from preachers and teachers down through the ages, setting key doctrines of creation, the person and work of Christ, and life in the Spirit into a simple framework of the Christian life.

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The Trinity is a speaking God: three divine persons who share the same essence and commune with each other in love and glory. How does this truth shape the way we view the world and our place in it? The Speaking Trinity and His Worded World explores these questions by presenting all of life through the lens of language. Understood as communion behavior, language has its roots in God himself. What's more, God has used language not only to create our world, but to sustain and direct it. Because of this biblical fact, we live in a place that always and everywhere reveals the trinitarian God whose speech upholds it. All things "speak" of God by revealing aspects of his character (Romans 1). We live in a worded world, a world that was spoken and speaks of God. Thus, language is far more than a means of human communication; it is at the center of who God is, who we are, and what our world is like. Join the author as he walks through redemptive history and points out not only how all things can be perceived through the lens of language, but what this means for us practically in our use of language.