Trinity paper invites female view of Trinity
By John H. Adams, The Layman Online, March 20, 2006
The 217th General Assembly will be asked to ratify a 40-page report – “God’s Love Overflowing” – on the Trinity.
The report, which includes theological and liturgical sections, suggests something old and something new: the classical Father, Son and Holy Spirit and such modifications as “Mother, Child and Womb.”
It is, as a panel of 10 describes it, “our attempt to express the amazing riches that flow boundlessly from the triune God who in loving freedom seeks and saves us, reconciles and renews us, and draws us into loving relationships that reflect the eternal oneness of God.”
Trinitarian theology is the anchor of orthodox Christianity. Chapter II of the Book of Order lists it first – the incarnation of Word of God as Christ is listed as second – among the classical teachings of the Church.
Yet, describing the Trinity has often been contentious in the Presbyterian Church (USA) because some ministers shun the classical Biblical description of the Triune Father, Son and Holy Spirit and substitute such alternatives as creator, redeemer and sustainer.
“In recent years new ways of speaking of the Trinity in the prayer and theology of the church have been proposed,” the report says. “Some of these proposals are helpful; some are unsatisfactory. What must be clear is that we cannot distinguish the persons of the Trinity simply by assigning different attributes or acts to each of the persons. The divine attributes are held in common by all three persons: all are holy, all are loving, all are wise and powerful. Similarly, an action of God cannot be restricted to one of the three persons. All of the acts of the triune God are indivisible.”
Noting that “while the first person of the Trinity is often referred to as the ‘Creator,'” the report says this “must not be understood to exclude the involvement of the second and the third persons in the work of creation. Thus, while the triad ‘Creator, Redeemer, Sanctifier’ appropriately names distinct aspects of God’s relationship to the world, it does not properly designate the relationships of the Triune persons to each other. In the life of the triune God the three persons are uniquely distinguished and uniquely united by their mutual relationships. Each person gives and receives love from the others in a distinctive way.”
“We have come to believe that no name, no metaphor, no set of words or phrases – however thoughtful, poetic or profound – will ever be able to say everything that could be said about the mystery of God’s love made known to us above all in Jesus Christ and sealed in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.”
Quoting from the Confession of 1967, section 9.7, the report declares that, “The work of God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is the foundation of all confessional statements about God, humanity, and the world.”
Yet the report also sanctions other terms – including feminine images – to describe the Trinity.
“Female imagery of the Triune God has yet to be adequately explored,” the report says. “The overflowing love of God finds expression in the biblical depiction of God as compassionate mother (Isa 49:15; 66:13), beloved child (Mt 3:17), and life-giving womb (Isa 46:3). The divine wisdom (hochmah in Hebrew, Sophia in Greek) is portrayed in the Bible as a woman who preaches in the streets, gives instruction, advocates justice, builds houses, and acts as a gracious hostess (Prov 1,8,9).”
Although the “language of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, rooted in scripture and creed, remains an indispensable anchor for our efforts to speak faithfully of God,” the report appeals to Calvin for a broader use of language.
“Responding to objections that the title ‘Father’ is ‘more appropriate’ to God, John Calvin reminds us ‘that no figures of speech can describe God’s extraordinary affection towards us; for it is infinite and various.’ He further explains that God ‘has manifested himself to be both … Father and Mother’ so that we might be more aware of God’s constant presence and willingness to assist us (Commentary on Isaiah 46:3). ‘God did not satisfy himself with proposing the example of a father,’ writes Calvin, ‘but in order to express his very strong affection, he chose to liken himself to a mother, and calls [the people of Israel] not merely “‘children,” but the fruit of the womb, towards which there is usually a warmer affection'” (Commentary on Isaiah 49:15).
“In praising the triune God we use biblical language, both classic – Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and surprising – Mother, Child, and Womb,” the report says. “We may use words that speaks of the inner relations of the Godhead – Lover, Beloved, Love, and those that speak of the loving activity of the Three among us – Creator, Savior, Sanctifier, Rock, Redeemer, Friend, King of Glory, Prince of Peace, Spirit of Love.”
“Confessing God’s Overflowing Love” summarizes “our sense of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s theological convictions,” the panel says.
Much of the report is essentially a sermon that urges congregations to be welcoming and inclusive.
The report includes six recommendations:
- 1. That “The Trinity: God’s Love Overflowing” be approved and commended to the church for study.
- 2. That the full text be published in the Minutes of 217th General Assembly (2006).
- 3. That the Office of Theology and Worship and Congregational Ministries and Christian Education be instructed to prepare study materials for the document.
- 4. That the Office of Theology and Worship be instructed to make the report available to the church, with a study guide, in both print and electronic forms.
- 5. That the Office of Theology and Worship be encouraged to work with Congregational Ministries Publishing and/or Presbyterian Publishing Corp. to make available liturgical resources based on the report.
- 6. That the Office of Theology and Worship be encouraged to work with Congregational Ministries Publishing and/or Presbyterian Publishing Corp. to make available the historical resources on prayer and worship that underlie the report. “The Trinity: God’s Love Overflowing.”
The members of the panel that produced the report are:
- Edwin Andrade, pastor of Hispano-Latino Ministries, Riverside Presbyterian Church, Sterling, Va.
- Phil Butin, pastor of Shepherd of the Valley Presbyterian Church, Albuquerque, N.M., now president and professor of Theology at San Francisco Theological Seminary.
- Daniel Migliore, professor of theology at Princeton Theological Seminary.
- Sung Wook Chung, assistant professor of theology at Denver Seminary.
- Amy Plantinga Pauw, professor of theology at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.
- Rebecca Button Prichard, moderator, pastor of Tustin Presbyterian Church, Tustin, Calif.
- Cynthia L. Rigby, professor of theology, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary.
- N’Yisrela Watts-Afriyie, contract staff, Synod of Southern California and Hawaii and candidate for ministry of word and sacrament, Presbytery of the Pacific.
- Rebecca Harden Weaver, professor of church history at Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, Va.
- Charles Wiley, associate for theology, Office of Theology and Worship, PCUSA.