The evolution of Trinitarian Theology
AFTER THE SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL
Contemporary renovation of Trinitarian theology is based on the overcoming of deist and rationalist positions, as well as their influence on the theological way of thinking regarding God.
From the very beginning of the 19th Century, Catholic theology underlined with great awareness that Christianity could not be considered as a mere expression of human religiousness, understood both in a rational and in an emotional sense, but rather as a new historical event, originating in the gratuitous initiative of God, in which the eternal Son becomes man for our redemption and thanks to whom [God] will send the Holy Ghost upon us. Hence, the relationship between mankind and the Christian God cannot simply be considered only as rational knowledge of the Creator, of the immortality of the soul, of moral laws and the justice of the divine final judgment that distributes rewards and punishments. In this perspective, Trinitarian doctrine could not be more than a marginal dogmatic addition, devoid of a real meaning for the life of the believer.
The perception of the urgency to retrieve the historical-redeeming perspective so as to safeguard the true nature of Christianity and faith once again places at the center of attention the Trine God, who, out of merciful love, personally moves towards mankind, communicating himself and offering mankind the possibility of a living and personal relationship such as that of adopted children who live within the same Holy Ghost.
These perspectives were to become those of the Second Vatican Council which bases its teachings on them. Equally, Trinitarian theology is renewed assuming as a methodological principle the way "from Economy to Theology".
The systematic choice of this perspective of thought was at first theologically seen as the surmounting of an individual and more philosophical than theological treatise De Deo uno, as well as the urgent need to once again place at the center of meditation the Trinitarian God, determining the entire comprehension of God’s relationship with mankind at its very roots. The inevitable consequence was a revision of the usual manner of presenting theology regarding God in the most widely used manuals; although a few excesses have been verified in the criticism of certain presentations of the treatises De Deo uno and De Deo trino, the renewal of the basic positions was absolutely necessary for Christian beliefs, and it has in effect proved to be unstoppable.
A fundamental step forward in this was the distinction between the theology in our manuals and that of St. Thomas d’Aquinus, a reference point and recognized teacher for all Catholic theologians. During the first half of the 20th Century this attention paid to St. Thomas, while bearing in mind these preoccupations, once again placing his work within the history of tradition and not confronting it in a rational manner as a kind of "absolute science", had already brought about a splendid renovation of studies concerning the work of St. Thomas. It became possible to observe that Thomas had written the work of a theologian, that this had been his constant intention; and following this route it also became clear that his treatise on God had been written, and should be read, in a theological perspective and not merely a philosophical one with roots deeply embedded in the Holy Scriptures and supported by the contributions of patristic tradition just as had also taken place in the previous great Councils.
This has allowed, with a greater understanding of its historical and theological background, the reaffirmation of the Augustinian-Thomasian tradition that had so deeply marked the evolution of Trinitarian theology.
This peculiar in depth belief in the trinity of the one God and the unity of the Trine God, which culminates in the presentation of the divine persons described by Thomas as an "existing relation" that once and for all unites the unique divine essence with the revealed Three Persons, constitutes a theological reflection that cannot be disregarded.
Therefore, placing the Thomistic teachings within the historical-redeeming perspective, does not represent a refusal to acknowledge its doctrinal intention and value, nor does it profess to belittle the conceptual rigor of that great Trinitarian tradition or theological "analogical" method used to develop it. This contribution continues to be indispensable as the way for being capable of grasping the deep reasonableness of the Trinitarian mystery; this is an intrinsic and absolute requirement for mankind, who due to his nature is unable to accept what fully contradicts reason. This effort, undertaken by the Fathers and of which Thomas is a symbol, appears to be of particular urgency for the existence of faith in the Trinitarian God in modern times. The tradition of modern thought, characterized by rationalism, with essential outlines that continue to exist and influence our world, states this precise basic objection: the irrationality and the absurdity of the Catholic Trinitarian dogma, which seems to be unacceptable to a rational adult. This accusation of irrationality, which has not vanished, but on the contrary is still present at least as a question and a challenge in the more frequent relations also with other cultures and religions, among which Islam certainly plays an important role.
On the other hand, the fruitfulness of a full and non controversial reception in an adequate historical perspective of the contributions of classical Trinitarian theology has recently been underlined by the immensely important agreement reached concerning the ancient and painful question of the Filioque.
The adoption of historical-redeeming perspectives has inevitably led to once again place at the center of Trinitarian theology the testimony of the Scriptures and especially those of the New Testament, that on the other hand were transformed as from the end of the 18th century in the primary ambit of the debate concerning the nature of the revelation of God and the redemption of mankind.
The Scriptures witness the experience undergone by Israel of a really transcending God and that at the same time takes the initiative of moving closer to save mankind who is moaning in slavery, moved by a benevolence —as the prophetic announcement will increasingly make manifest—that is a gratuitous and charitable love; This history of redemption reaches its summit and fullness in the sending of Jesus Christ. The New Testament however does not present the later developments of Trinitarian theology; in exchange it announces the event of the communication from God to mankind about the sending of the Father of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, that also culminates in clear Trinitarian formulations. The faith of the apostles and that of the first generations of Christians had always refused to reduce the meaning of the sending of the Son made Man to "myths", to limit themselves to a "moral" or "metaphoric" interpretation of the filiation of Jesus Christ and consequently of the adoptive filiation offered to mankind. In this, the Christian faith observed and defended from the very beginning the surprising and unimaginable manifestation of the glory of God, who really reveals His love for mankind in the personal and totally free gift of himself, just as in the final affirmation of the greatness of the redemption offered to mankind, in the glory of the destiny offered in a gratuitous manner to those who whish to freely welcome the Son of God and His Holy Spirit. The renewal of the critical and systematic understanding of these primordial affirmations of faith is necessary also in our times, times in which restrictive interpretations continue to be present, mostly of a rationalist origin, of the events of the history of redemption and, in real terms, of the divinity of the Son and the Spirit, as well as the redemption and the destiny of mankind.
The investigation of the New Testament, concentrated on the very event that is the foundation of Trinitarian faith, was carried forward by the significant development of the study of early Christian traditions which have greatly enriched our understanding of the first important theological conflicts and the answers provided by the Fathers: from the reflections on Judaic-Christianity to the study of gnosticism and the answers by Irenaeus, the theology of Tertullian, the development of the problem concerning the heresy of Arius, without forgetting the new readings of Augustine etc. This historical investigation illuminates and helps us to better understand the testimony of the Scriptures and their traditional reading which are at the foundations of all following Trinitarian doctrine.
This renewal of the perspectives concerning systematic meditation about the Christian God reaches its highest point in the very teachings of the Second Vatican Council. In particular the Dei Verbum teaches that "
God chose to reveal Himself and to make known to us the hidden purpose of His will by which through Christ, the Word made flesh, man might in the Holy Spirit have access to the Father and come to share in the divine nature". With its teachings about the nature of the revelation and of the Church, as well as about the destiny of mankind, the Council confirmed and reintroduced the route started upon by Catholic theology.Karl Rahner may be mentioned without doubt as one of the first great witnesses of post-Council Trinitarian developments, he represented mankind following the transcendental methodology as the "listener of the word", underlining in a very influential manner the urgency of radically accepting this historical-redeeming perspective into theological thought. Rahner presents the revelation as an auto-communication by God, through which mankind is called upon to take part in the truth and in divine life itself, which is Trinitarian life. Hence, in the economy of things, the eternal being that is God was revealed, Who becomes manifest and gives Himself to mankind as the principle for redemption.
The principle of Rahner’s Trinitarian theology derives from the fully conscious affirmation of all that took place during the history of redemption: The economic Trinity is the immanent Trinity and vice versa. The entire meaning of the Revelation of Christ is hence underlined, and at the same time that of the immanent Trinity. This takes place within Christ and is the manifestation and the gift to mankind of all that God is, in His most intimate essence, the presence and the opening of the eternal and immanent being of God.
The interpretation of the mentioned axiom, especially in the second part, has been the object of a wide debate within Catholic theology because it is easily misunderstood. It is certain however that also for Rahner, the Economy is the fruit of divine free initiative, of the gratuitous love of the eternal God; his theological proposal therefore should not be interpreted in a Hegelian perspective.
On the other hand, God is really revealed in the Economy; and it would be a serious mistake to affirm that the economic Trinity and at the same time to speak of the eternal God starting with the deist image of an unchangeable God and not as a personal mystery of love: this would mean running the risk of a concealed modalism. This danger remains present in our times, and in particular in the challenges launched by the pluralist theology of religions. In this sense, there continues to be a need for underlining that one cannot speak adequately of the immanent Trinity without starting from the economic one with which in the revelation the Trinity really became manifest in its mystery, freely opening access to His eternal being.
Post-Council theology will make an effort to reach an understanding of the Trinitarian God staring from this horizon of the Economy, rereading in this light the philosophical principles of divine immutability and impassibility, and relying on classical Trinitarian doctrine, whose origins already existed in this wish for understanding the revelation.
We would like to point out in particular here the ample and articulated proposal by Hans Urs von Balthasar, especially in the second and third part of his monumental Trilogy. He builds on the foundations of the traditional theology of the processions and accounts, and on the understanding of the temporal missions of the Son and of the Spirit in continuity with the eternal processions.
The unimaginable and free realization of the economy of redemption should therefore be understood as the manifestation in time of the truth and infinite profoundness of eternal Relations: the author reaches the point of formulating the coincidence of the persona and the mission in Jesus Christ. In this perspective it is possible to understand the existence of a real Creation, in its otherness in respect to God, mainly expressed in the existence of a man endowed with real yet finite freedom; since the Father and the Son are already eternally One and the Other in the unity of the same Spirit. All the various facets of mankind’s free answer to God, including the distance that can be produced by negation and sin, are incomparable to the dimensions of eternal Love, the richness of life of the divine Persons. From this point of view, the entire route of the Incarnation, which culminates in the experience of abandonment of the Cross, is equally manifest in the time of He who eternally comes from the Father and answers Him with a gift of Himself that is equally eternal and without limits, in the unity of one same Spirit.
One can state without doubt that Balthasar’s proposal, which has been excessively simplified here, constitutes one of the most enrichening systematic contributions in the panorama of today’s Trinitarian theology. In any event, it is certain that contemporary theology has already chosen to place the reflection on the Trinity within the horizon of a redeeming plan; hence the first approach to the revelation and to tradition—with all the rigor of historical method—allows the adequate accomplishment of the step "from economy to theology". This has determined a new flourishing of the theology of the Christian God, both in the systematic presentation of the Trinitarian mystery and in the greater attention paid to its economic manifestation, as for example to pneumatology.
The understanding of the reasonableness of the Christian faith in the Trinity is not only manifested in the perception of its non-contradiction, meaning in fact that in principle the acceptance of a God, One and Trine, should be admissible for the mind and that in addition it is possible to also affirm the harmony between the essential characteristics of its historical manifestation in Jesus Christ and the requirements of critical philosophical reasoning. This reasonableness is stressed also by the powerful light that it bestows upon beings and on the relationships that constitute mankind and his life in this world.
Hence for example, the systematic acceptance of the Trinitarian perspective has allowed the comprehension of the very possibility of a Creation in which at the same time there is the affirmation of the full freedom of the God who works and the real consistence and autonomy of the Being and of created liberty, avoiding the two analogous but contrary risks of pantheism and of nihilism. Deeply-rooted in the gratuity of full and eternal Trinitarian Love, the created Being as such may be observed as a real gift, opening the way, for example, to a ontology of donation that would allow the full exploitation of the free gestures with which mankind writes his history in relation to the gift of Being.
The dialogue with contemporary philosophy has led to stressing with particular accents the personal and communional dimension of the mystery of the Trinity, in continuity with essential data of the revelation and the theological tradition (Ricardo de San Victor). This allows one to move closer in a more radical manner to the meaning of the human person as to that of the presence of the other for its constitution, opening the way for interesting perspectives of anthropology in the many dimension in which the dynamics of otherness exist: for example the relationships man-woman, individual-society etc.
In all events, together with the deep truth of a dogma capable of illuminating in a new and surprising manner the Being and the mankind, the need has become manifest here for authentic rigor in every theology of the Trinity; since in continuity with the modern understanding of people, and in relation to the attempted dialogue with personalist philosophical positions, an important debate has taken place regarding the urgency for a real purification of the concept of "persona" so as to apply it to God, avoiding its assimilation tout court by the different philosophical conceptions. By doing this one has once again underlined the indefeasibility of an accurate use of the principle of the analogy in Trinitarian theology.
In conclusion we could state that the post-Council theological route has shown that the understanding of the Christian faith as a historical redeeming event inevitably leads to placing the mystery of the Trinity at the center of the meditation, starting with its economic manifestations, so as to understand the essential datum of the entire Catholic dogma: the creation of the world and of mankind, the event of the Incarnation and the redemption of Christ, and also the fundamental sacrament that bears witness to this in history, the Church, which the Second Vatican Council builds and introduces in a Trinitarian manner.
This point of view immediately shows all its fruitfulness by strengthening and illuminating the area of in its work that consists in penetrating reality, in the understanding of the human creature and of human nature, opening new perspectives there where often the thoughts of mankind encountered tensions and deep paradoxes.
This route is followed today with the awareness of post-Council Catholic theology which has already reached the point of proposing real synthetic presentations of dogmatic theology from a formally Trinitarian point of view.
Following these routes Trinitarian theology is called upon to offer great help for life in the faith. This theology in fact does not only represent the true One and Trine God as an inaccessible Mystery for the forces of reason, and yet, in spite of appearances, not in contradiction with its laws; but introducing the believer to the Trinitarian perspective allows him to reach an adequate perception of the economy of redemption, of the gift of the Son and that of the Spirit, so that his faith shall become deeper with the firm belief that comes from understanding, and grows with real love for that God who has come towards him in an imaginable gesture of love.
Faith in the Trinitarian God will therefore illuminate all of reality allowing mankind to contemplate the world and its history in a real, free and personal relationship with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, with the Holy Trinity, the only God.