What do you think?
Rate this book
The God of the Gospel: Robert Jenson's Trinitarian Theology
Who is the God of the gospel?
Robert W. Jenson's way of answering this question, according to Scott Swain, hinges on the nature of the relationship between God in himself and the redemptive events through which God becomes our God.
Swain first locates Jenson's pursuit of a relentlessly "evangelical" understanding of God in the broader history of trinitarian theology after Karl Barth, before carefully and sympathetically unpacking Jenson's doctrine of the Trinity. For Jenson, one of today's most prominent theologians, the answer to the question, "Who is the God of the gospel?" may be summarized as, "The one who raised Jesus from the dead." Swain then offers a constructive evaluation of Jenson's account of the mutually constitutive character of God's intrinsic identity and saving acts.
Although critical of many of Jenson's trinitarian reinterpretations, Swain remains attentive to Jenson's concerns and insights. In the process, Swain sheds new light on what it means for the ecumenical trinitarian tradition to advocate a truly evangelical doctrine of the Trinity in the wake of the twentieth-century recasting of the identity of the God of the gospel.
Robert W. Jenson's way of answering this question, according to Scott Swain, hinges on the nature of the relationship between God in himself and the redemptive events through which God becomes our God.
Swain first locates Jenson's pursuit of a relentlessly "evangelical" understanding of God in the broader history of trinitarian theology after Karl Barth, before carefully and sympathetically unpacking Jenson's doctrine of the Trinity. For Jenson, one of today's most prominent theologians, the answer to the question, "Who is the God of the gospel?" may be summarized as, "The one who raised Jesus from the dead." Swain then offers a constructive evaluation of Jenson's account of the mutually constitutive character of God's intrinsic identity and saving acts.
Although critical of many of Jenson's trinitarian reinterpretations, Swain remains attentive to Jenson's concerns and insights. In the process, Swain sheds new light on what it means for the ecumenical trinitarian tradition to advocate a truly evangelical doctrine of the Trinity in the wake of the twentieth-century recasting of the identity of the God of the gospel.
- GenresTheology
273 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 6, 2013
About the author
Scott R. Swain
36 books44 followersDr. Scott R. Swain is President and James Woodrow Hassell Professor of Systematic Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida. Dr. Swain has served on the RTS faculty since 2006, having previously taught at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.
His main research interests include the doctrine of God, theological interpretation of Scripture, and modern Protestant theology, and he has published a number of books and essays on these topics. With Dr. Michael Allen, he serves as general editor of two series: Zondervan Academic’s New Studies in Dogmatics and T & T Clark’s International Theological Commentary.
Dr. Swain is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church in America. He and his wife, Leigh, have four children.
His main research interests include the doctrine of God, theological interpretation of Scripture, and modern Protestant theology, and he has published a number of books and essays on these topics. With Dr. Michael Allen, he serves as general editor of two series: Zondervan Academic’s New Studies in Dogmatics and T & T Clark’s International Theological Commentary.
Dr. Swain is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church in America. He and his wife, Leigh, have four children.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 28, 2021
Solid material throughout, yet a bit disjointed. There is a thread connecting Barth, Jenson (the major focus of the book), and McCormack, but it feels a bit forced here IMO. Still quite helpful as an introduction to its titular material.
November 11, 2021
This is one of the better critical read of Jenson, I must say off the bat. That being said, it is not a very good read and struggles in that it has a very naive understanding of the history of theological reflection and the metaphysics that is on offer post-Chalcedon in thinkers like the Leontii or Maximus. As such, Jenson is squeezed to be a narrative hermeneutical thinker instead of being a committed neo-Chalcedonian. Naturally, then, Swain falls back on neat and tidy Scholastic distinctions that represent yet one more petitio principii as far as it comes to genuine engagement with Jenson's theology.
Yes, Jenson is weird and Jenson is no Maximus and makes many modern innovations. Even so, he is unintelligible unless you pursue this vital link. And if you are going to attempt to read Jenson well, you need to not read him as a modern innovator, but as a voice from within the tradition. Aquinas and the Latin Scholastics do not hold the canonical authority of theology and Jenson knew this and attempted to think through it to the very end. Swain does not know this and so retreats to their tidy distinctions even when there is no distance between he and Jenson in order to shore up his "system."
Even so, Swain is an accomplished theologian and this is a masterful work even if his picture of Jenson is merely a straw-man created in order to support a return to a more scholastic mode of theology.
Yes, Jenson is weird and Jenson is no Maximus and makes many modern innovations. Even so, he is unintelligible unless you pursue this vital link. And if you are going to attempt to read Jenson well, you need to not read him as a modern innovator, but as a voice from within the tradition. Aquinas and the Latin Scholastics do not hold the canonical authority of theology and Jenson knew this and attempted to think through it to the very end. Swain does not know this and so retreats to their tidy distinctions even when there is no distance between he and Jenson in order to shore up his "system."
Even so, Swain is an accomplished theologian and this is a masterful work even if his picture of Jenson is merely a straw-man created in order to support a return to a more scholastic mode of theology.
July 11, 2013
My review is on my blog here: http://thoughtsprayersandsongs.com/20...
Good book, though perhaps too technical for non-readers of theology.
Good book, though perhaps too technical for non-readers of theology.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews