Daily Archives: December 21, 2006

On the Economic Trinity

This is prompted in part by a student paper from my mass of grading I’m slowly coming out from under…since I think my grades are due today…

 

If people complain that the Trinity isn’t in the Bible, they ought to complain even more about the Economic Trinity: “Creator, Redeemer, Sanctifier.” The more I think about it, the more uncomfortable I am with it, especially in its current liturgical use. This formulation is—as far as I know—a construct of liberal protestant theology without particularly deep roots in Christian practice, especially in the ways it’s coming more and more into use. My reading of medieval sources in particular is often at odds with it in several key respects and highlights the dissonances within it for me.

 

Increasingly, the Economic Trinity is gaining favor as a liturgical substitute for the classical Trinitarian of “Father, Son, Holy Spirit”; functionally, people seem to map the terms with the various parts of the Godhead: Father=Creator, Redeemer=Son, Sanctifier=Holy Spirit. I don’t know if this was the original intent of the folks who constructed it or not but it’s certainly the way it’s playing out in our faith communities. And as strict equivalencies—they don’t work. Medieval catechetical documents lift up Christ as creator in ways at odds with this construction. And, when the dissonance is probed, the New Testament evidence—John, the Pauline group, the Petrines—comes down much more on the medieval side than the modern side. The same is true of disassociating the Father for the Redeemer;  who is it that leads out his people “with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm”?

 

Professional theologians have the learning and leisure to sit around and discuss how Christ is functioning in the Exodus narrative or in Creation and how the economic terms neither precisely limit nor delineate the persons of the Godhead—but most other folks don’t. I suggest we think real hard about the theological problems of replacing one with the other before making it an unreflective liturgical change. It’s the unreflective changes that seem like a good idea at the time that can lead not only us but our fellow believers into trouble…

Biblical Marriage Helps

My parents have recently sent a couple of books on marriage and family relationships (long story…). These books are authored by people with degrees from the Moody Bible Institute. They purport to give me biblical advice on dealing with relationships. As a biblical scholar—I’m underwhelmed. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think they’re chock full of conservative social principles with carefully selected biblical stories, vignettes and decontextualized sayings functioning as illustrations rather than real sources for the reflections. No, if I want a book teaching me how to have a good relationship as grounded in Holy Scripture, I want a book that wrestles with the hard questions and that seriously engages what’s actually in the text. Here’s a sampling of things I want to see and need advice on drawn directly from Scripture…:

  • How should I handle it when my wives team up against me?
  • What are the complexities and complications of family life when my wives are also sisters? Does sibling rivalry help or hurt a relationship?
  • What’s the proper etiquette when one of my wives sends her slave to have sex with me?
  • The parents of your wife/wives are your “in-laws”; what’s the proper form of address (and holiday gift giving requirements) for the parents of your concubines?

And this is just the beginning…