Mini-Version of Fractured Foundations
based on Angus MacLeay's booklet.
The following is an adaptation of Angus' talk to the 2007 Reform conference. It has been summarised to be suitable for publishing in Parish magazines, newsletters, etc. (If you wish to do so please copy and paste from this page or contact the Reform administrator.)
In the United States of America and Canada the Episcopal churches seem to be gripped by a storm. It is sometimes portrayed as a skirmish over the homosexuality issue. Some recognise that though this is one of the presenting issues the far deeper problem relates to the Bible and concerns its authority, interpretation, relevance and application. Whilst this is true, underneath there may be another major issue that we need to consider. Romans 1:21-24 reminds us that immorality flows from idolatry and a false view of God.
Within Reform we have been involved in various campaigns over the years including concerns about the liberal drift within our denomination, penal substitution, the multi-faith agenda, concerns about female headship, and gay issues. These may seem quite varied as they relate to ethics, church order, salvation, mission and theology. However, there is a common unifying theme. Each of these different issues has arisen because of challenges to the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. The problems we face and will continue to face are because the foundations of this Christian view of the Godhead have been fractured.
1 The Trinity and Revelation
The first issue relates to the Trinity and revelation – who is God and how do we know Him? Within the wider church, the vocabulary of faith is slowly changing. Hymns often refer simply to God without mention of Father or Son. When invited by John Humphrys to convert him in an interview on Radio 4 on 31st October 2006, the Archbishop of Canterbury failed to mention the role of the Lord Jesus Christ in our salvation. In over 10 pages of the interview transcript there is only one fairly obscure reference to Jesus though God is mentioned all the time. We approach the Father through the Son by the Holy Spirit and when we come to this God we find not some lonely agency at work but the warmth of eternal relationships.
2 The Trinity and Salvation
Within the wider church the doctrine of penal substitution has been challenged. Steve Chalke has compared the doctrine of penal substitution to ‘a form of cosmic child abuse’ that is inconsistent with the teaching that ‘God is love’. In his Delighting in the Trinity Tim Chester comments: ‘the main problem with this view of substitutionary atonement is that it assumes a view of the Cross that is not truly Trinitarian. It assumes the Father and Son are separate individuals…. God does not punish another. He punishes himself.’ He continues: ‘Once you abandon a trinitarian understanding of Christ it is difficult to make sense of the cross except as an ideal to which we should aspire or an example of the transforming power of self-giving love.’
3 The Trinity and Mission
Amongst Christians there has been much confusion about who needs to hear the gospel. The popular misunderstanding is that the God who Abraham believed in is the same God who Jews believe in or Muslims believe in. This seriously compromises the Church’s ability and desire to be a witness to the Lord Jesus Christ within the world since it reduces him to being merely an add-on to the ultimate divine being who is commonly worshipped by all the major faiths.
Another confused view held by some within the church is that the God of the Old Testament is Unitarian and separate from the Trinitarian God revealed in the New Testament. This view also places some constraint on the Church’s evangelistic ability since it is difficult to testify that there is one true God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit - whilst also effectively believing that two different ‘Gods’ exist within the Bible.
4 The Trinity and Ministry
Many argue that appointmenting women to the presbyterate and episcopate is a matter of justice, equality and gifting. Yet the equality and differences between men and women reflect the equality and the differences within the Trinity. The Trinity models both authority and submission, love and sacrificial service, and so if we choose a different model for our human relationships we will reflect back on the Trinity something that is actually untrue. Grudem states in his book Evangelical Feminism & Biblical Truth “The idea of headship and submission never began. It has always existed in the eternal nature of God Himself…. Authority belongs to the Father, not because He is wiser or because He is a more skilful leader, but just because He is the Father”. Though Father and Son are equal their roles are not mutually interchangeable.
5 The Trinity and Sexuality
Gay rights is portrayed too as an issue of justice and of equality. But in Genesis 1:27 we are told ‘So God created man in his own image. In the image of God he created him. Male and female he created them.’ Men and women are each individually made in the image of God but it is also true to say that it is male and female together that are created in his image. Therefore, one of the truest reflections of the one triune God in his relationships within the Trinity is reflected in male and female becoming one, which reflects those ordered relationships of love and mutuality within the triune Godhead. If we lose hold of the doctrine of the Trinity eventually we will lose all that is distinctive within our Christian doctrine of marriage.
Conclusion
These five areas make it clear that the Trinity is anything but an irrelevant doctrine. When the Biblical theology of the Trinity has been lost then we will not be surprised when God becomes unknowable, remote and impersonal. We will not be surprised when the Cross becomes merely a moral example, a symbol of love. We will not be surprised when all impetus for mission is lost in a multi-faith society. We will not be surprised when ordained ministry reflects the world’s values rather than being modelled on the Godhead. And we will not be surprised when the character and significance of Christian marriage is threatened.
So what do we do? We go back to the scriptures. In 1 Peter 1:2 Peter uses the doctrine of the Trinity to give assurance and to provide encouragement in order to leave his recipients right at the very beginning of his epistle kneeling in obedience at the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ. His great desire is to enable these battered believers to live and work so that they will bring glory to our Lord Jesus Christ in all that they do. But he starts with the Trinity. That is the secure foundation. Therefore we are to be those in our generation who are prepared to work again at this tremendous doctrine from which all the other doctrines flow. We are to be those who are to use our minds, our hearts and everything that we have to focus on working out afresh what this doctrine means in every part of our lives. And we are to be those once again who are set on fire with a greater passion for God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.