Table of Contents

Old Testament traces of Trinity; the revelation of God in the New Testament; the formulation of the doctrine of the Trinity in the writings of the Fathers and in the early councils; Augustine of Hippo and conciliar teachings to 6815; Trinitarian developments in the Early Middle Ages; Thomas Aquinas, the Reformation and the Enlightenment; Friedrich Schleiermacher and the 19th century; recent Catholic contributions to Trinitarian theology; recent Protestant contributions to Trinitarian theology; other important voices.

About the Author

William J. La Due taught canon law at Catholic University, and is the author of The Trinity Guide to the Trinity and Jesus Among the Theologians. He lives in Tucson, Arizona.

Reviews

"La Due allows the various authors to speak for themselves, seldom intruding with his own analysis or evaluations." J. Gresham, Kenrick-Glennon Seminary, Paul VI Institute, for CHOICE.--Sanford Lakoff

"The doctrine of the Trinity, while fundamental to and emblematic of Christian faith in God, has rarely captivated popular Christian imagination the way Jesus has. As noted by La Due (e.g., Jesus Among the Theologians), this probably has something to do with the human accessibility of Jesus and the concurrent transcendence of the Father and invisibility of the Holy Spirit. Here La Due investigates the history of the doctrine of the Trinity in the Jewish and Christian Scriptures and in the early Christian Church and presents a synthesis of medieval Trinitarian theology. He also examines the influence of post-Enlightenment voluntarism and rationalism on the doctrine and presents a summary of Trinitarian theology by Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox scholars including feminist scholars of the last 50 years. La Due shows how contemporary Christian theology has navigated through the dangers of Fideism's circular subjectivity, rationalism's skeptical negativity, Ontologism's elitist obscurity, and Modalism's necessary heresy. La Due has written an uncommonly comprehensive study, through which the Trinitarian doctrine can become more accessible to contemporary religious imagination. The result is a valuable handbook for students of religion. Recommended for seminary and academic libraries and for public libraries with heavy circulation in the religion department" David I. Fulton, Library Journal, March 2003--Sanford Lakoff

"William J. La Due has provided the interested reader with a wonderful survey of the doctrine of the Trinity...The student just starting their study of the doctrine of the Trinity will benefit greatly from this book, and certainly be equipped to engage in much more detailed study, whether they want to focus on Patristics, Medieval theology, or something more contemporary... All in all, this book is the perfect introduction to the Trinity in my opinion... I recommend this book to all beginning students, as well as to intermediate students who might not be familiar with a particular era of Trinitarian theology. I would also recommend this to advanced students as a great refresher for information they have already obtained, and also as a good study guide to teach classes on the Trinity." Nick Norelli, Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth, April 21, 2008 --Sanford Lakoff

I am deeply grateful to William LaDue for his exhaustive survey of the reflections of theologians from the second century of the Christian era to the present day on the central mystery of our religion. It clarifies for me semantic problems created by developments since the Enlightenment in the concept of person and personality. Even more important, I have an increased awareness of the centrality of the Trinity in my life. Far from being a routine gesture, blessing myself is a reaffirmation of the eternal communion of Father, Son and Spirit as the prototype of all my associations in family, church, and society.--Gary MacEoin

"This volume goes a long way toward helping Christians understand the history of the doctrine of the Trinity..La Due's historical overview, though brief, is a useful digest of the major voices and movements in trinitarian theology." Publishers Weekly, February 2003

"All the major players are here: La Due's choice of theologians is impressively inclusive, as are his efforts to show the historic interaction of their thoughts. As such, La Due's Guide serves as a more than adequate compendium to introduce the novice "