Few things are so vital to Christian life yet so mired in controversy as the language we use to name the mystery of the Trinity. By drawing on new developments in biblical studies, Soulen offers a fresh map of Trinitarian language that is simple, yet profound in its implications for theology and practice. He proposes that sacred Scripture gifts us with three patterns of naming the persons of the Trinity: a theo-logical pattern, a christo-logical pattern, and a pneumato-logical pattern. These patterns relate in a Trinitarian way: they are distinct, interconnected, and, above all, equally important. The significance of this thesis resides in its power to map the terrain of Trinitarian discourse in a way that is faithful to scripture, critically respectful of tradition, and fruitfully relevant to a broad range of contemporary concerns.
“Kendall Soulen represents the best kind of constructive theologian work today: winsome, attentive to Scripture, immersed in the complexity of historical tradition, able to offer critique in a spirit of charity, and profoundly attentive to the ethical implications of his theological assertions. His constructive proposal is surely one of the most important works of Trinitarian theology in years.” – Interpretation