Re-imagining Divine Simplicity in Trinitarian Theology

This article reconsiders the relationship between divine simplicity and trinitarian theology based on historical and systematic grounds. I first show that in its early emergence, simplicity was not understood as posing intuitive incompatibilities with the development of trinitarian language. This pr...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Ip, Pui Him (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Wiley-Blackwell [2016]
In: International journal of systematic theology
Year: 2016, Volume: 18, Issue: 3, Pages: 274-289
IxTheo Classification:NBC Doctrine of God
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
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Summary:This article reconsiders the relationship between divine simplicity and trinitarian theology based on historical and systematic grounds. I first show that in its early emergence, simplicity was not understood as posing intuitive incompatibilities with the development of trinitarian language. This provides good reason to question the assumption that incompatibility of this kind exists between simplicity and Trinity. I then argue that simplicity deeply enriches the doxological dimension of trinitarian theology. Divine simplicity forces us into the habit of questioning our understanding of the Trinity based on concepts that we are familiar with. As a result, it magnifies our sense of the Trinity's ‘super-abundant richness’. I conclude that trinitarian theology will lose a great deal of its doxological potential if we give up the doctrine of divine simplicity.
ISSN:1468-2400
Contains:Enthalten in: International journal of systematic theology
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1111/ijst.12163