Salvation & the Trinity (4): Thomas G. Weinandy - The Father’s Spirit of Sonship

In the last few posts, I explored the trinitarian proposals of Moltmann and Pannenberg, for these seem to be promising for a New Wine theology. But I concluded that a refinement of their proposals is sorely needed, if their proposals to understand the substance of salvation from the intratrinitarian perichoresis is to be adopted in a soteriological framework for vindicating the charismatic renewal of New Wine.
A study that really might be helpful at this point, is Thomas G. Weinandy’s The Father’s Spirit of Sonship: Reconceiving the Trinity. Weinandy is a charismatic Catholic scholar. One of the greatest benefits of Weinandy’s concise study is that it clarifies and concretizes the relevance of the doctrine of the Trinity for the individual believer and the life of the church, and that he does so in soteriological terms.

Salvation & the Trinity (3): Problems with the proposals of Moltmann and Pannenberg

The proposals of Moltmann and Pannenberg to reconceive the Trinity in "social" or "relational" terms have been influential, and they seem promising for our quest for a systematic-theological framework for the charismatic renewal of New Wine. But their proposals have met with profound criticism too - at which points are their proposals problematic for a New Wine theology? A concise overview in five clusters.

[Part 14 in a series on New Wine and systematic theology, drawn from my research master thesis Life to the Full. From Creation to Re-Creation, VU University 2014]

Salman Rushdie bevecht de leegte met verbeelding

Wie herinnert zich het Boekenweekgeschenk van 2001? Een knappe roman van Salman Rushdie, Woede - over het kwaad in de wereld, dat in ons eigen hart blijkt te schuilen. Niet in persoonlijke schuld of zonde, zoals het christelijk geloof stelt, maar in het onvermogen om de eigen eindigheid en betekenisloosheid te aanvaarden. We hebben Grote Verhalen nodig om betekenis aan ons leven te geven, maakt Rushdie duidelijk - zolang we er maar niet echt in gaan geloven.

[Opgediept uit de oude floppydoos, een artikel dat ik schreef voor de cultuurbijlage van het Nederlands Dagblad, 9 maart 2001]

Salvation & the Trinity (2): Welcomed into the Divine Embrace - Reconceiving Salvation

The doctrine of the Trinity should be reconceived in terms of the divine perichoresis, Moltmann and Pannenberg argued (see previous post on salvation & the Trinity): The triune God, who created the universe and human being in his image (imago Trinitatis), is characterized by mutual self-giving love - each Person of the Trinity loves, adores and glorifies the others, giving himself to the others, constituting the identity of the others.
This must also lead then to reconceiving our understanding of salvation, they argue. Salvation is to be understood as being welcomed into the trinitarian perichoresis, the “divine embrace of love.” Let's unfold this statement.

[Part 13 in a series on New Wine and systematic theology, drawn from my research master thesis Life to the Full. From Creation to Re-Creation, VU University 2014]

Salvation & the Trinity (1): The Divine Dance of Love - Reconceiving the Trinity

Reformed theology has argued that all theology begins with the doctrine of God and God's self-revelation. How then is the proposed concept of salvation as wholeness (coming with the Kingdom of God) related to the doctrine of God? Both Moltmann and Pannenberg assert that salvation as wholeness flows from the trinitarian inner being of God, introducing the metaphor of the divine "perichoresis" in modern theology.
In four blogs on salvation & the Trinity, I'll explore how a "perichoretic" trinitarian theology allows for a fuller understanding of the distinct role of the Holy Spirit, shedding new light on charismatic experiences.

[Part 12 in a series on New Wine and systematic theology, drawn from my research master thesis Life to the Full. From Creation to Re-Creation, VU University 2014]