C.S. Lewis once lamented that “a great many of the ideas about God which trotted out as novelties today are simply the ones which real Theologians tried centuries ago and rejected.” Today, that trotting continues. It is now up to you to decide whether or not the church going forward will continue that trotting or recover the scriptural, orthodox doctrine of the Trinity.
This week the blog is sponsored by Baker Books and is adapted from Matthew Barrett’s new book Simply Trinity: The Unmanipulated Father, Son, and Spirit.
“If Christian theology today is sometimes in disarray… one of the major reasons is…its lack of roots.” —John Webster
Ihave always wanted to travel to Lebanon and touch one of its ancient cedars. These cedars are so old that monks used to call them the Cedars of God. When Solomon built his temple, he told his architect to cut down the cedars of Lebanon (1 Kings 5:6). Solomon wanted a temple with a foundation he knew could last. The painter Vincent van Gogh felt the same way about the olive tree. As he prepared to paint his masterpieces, van Gogh liked to walk in the olive groves and just listen. What did he hear? “The murmur of an olive grove has something very intimate, immensely old about it,” he said.
Something very intimate, immensely old—unfortunately, modern man has promised something immensely new instead. A Trinity liberated from the heavy shackles of old creeds and inspired texts, a Trinity that is relevant to the changing winds and whims of society. A Trinity that can be molded, even manipulated into the image of our society, until it at last acquiesces to the social agenda of our liking.
