Sometimes you’ve got to say something - 7 December 2009 |
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These are the questions for week 9 of the Guided Reading Course.
Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, vol 2, ch 6
1. Where in the OT does Bavinck find ‘seeds’ of trinitarian doctrine (pp. 261-264)?
2. How does Bavinck explain the OT appearances of ‘the angel of the LORD’? How does his view differ from that of the early Fathers (pp. 262-263)? Does this exegesis surprise you? How is Augustine’s view of this matter related to his trinitarian theology (cf. p. 287)?
3. What distinctive contributions to the elucidation and development of trinitarian doctrine were made by the Apostolic Fathers, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian and Origen? What were their shortcomings (pp. 280-285)?
4. What decisions were made at Nicaea about previous trinitarian reflection? How did these decisions affect future developments (p. 285)? Why?
5. How does Athanasius articulate the distinctions between the divine persons without denying their deity (pp. 285-286)? How does his understanding of the divine attributes help him to articulate the relationships between the divine persons?
6. What does Augustine gain by taking as his ‘starting point’ the ‘one, simple, uncompounded essence of God’ (p. 287)? Does this lead to a denigration of personal distinctions within the godhead? Why or why not?
7. What are the distinctive features of Arianism and Sabellianism (pp. 289-296)?
8. What three questions must be answered ‘for a true understanding of the doctrine of the Trinity’ (p. 298)?
9. What problems arise if we seek an analogy for the distinction between ‘nature’ and ‘person’ in the life of creatures (p. 299)? How does orthodox trinitarianism avoid these problems (p. 300)?
10. What challenge is presented to orthodox trinitarianism by the concept of ‘personality’ found in ‘modern philosophy’ (pp. 301-302)? How does a right understanding of the divine ‘persons’ correct this error (p. 302)?
11. How does this understanding of divine personhood help elucidate the relationship between the divine persons and the divine essence (p. 303)?
12. How does ‘the unfolding of the one human nature’ help us to understand the eternal existence of God’s being (p. 304)?
13. What difference developed between the East and West in the doctrine of the Trinity (pp. 314-318)?
‘We speak of persons “not to express what that is but only not to be silent”‘ (Bavinck, RD 2, p. 302, quoting Augustine)
Posted by Steve Jeffery · Topics: Guided Reading Course, Minister's Blog