Retrieving Eternal Generation. Edited by Fred Sanders and Scott R. Swain
Fred Sanders (Biola University, California) and Scott R. Swain (Reformed Theology Seminary, Florida) have assembled an impressive array of contributors to discuss a doctrine that is often understated or disputed: eternal generation. The question at stake is that of the relation between Father and So...
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| Format: | Electronic Review |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2020
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| In: |
The journal of theological studies
Year: 2020, Volume: 71, Issue: 2, Pages: 985-987 |
| Further subjects: | B
Book review
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Fred Sanders (Biola University, California) and Scott R. Swain (Reformed Theology Seminary, Florida) have assembled an impressive array of contributors to discuss a doctrine that is often understated or disputed: eternal generation. The question at stake is that of the relation between Father and Son in the triune life and economy, and specifically the matter of the Father’s ‘begetting’ of the Son.The collection of essays is divided into three parts: Biblical Reasoning, Historical Witnesses, and Contemporary Statements. Each part argues for and discusses the doctrine of eternal generation from a variety of perspectives. Scott Swain’s introductory chapter sets out the occasion for this collection: ‘evangelicals have not warmly embraced the … ecumenical consensus on eternal generation’ that has obtained in most centuries of Christian thought (p. 30). In his discussion of the divine names as indicative of the begottenness of the Son, Swain explores the ‘spiritual and theological attempt to reconnect to a vital root’ (p. 31). Crucially, Swain notes that the doctrine can be described, but not fully explained. In chapter 2, on Proverbs 8, Matthew Emerson asserts that Wisdom is always and only the person of Christ, without allowing for the alternative rendering of Wisdom as the Holy Spirit. Emerson also argues for an ‘implied’ unity of essence between Father and Son that is not entirely convincing. Madison Pierce’s chapter 6 on Hebrews 1 has a strong footing, given the epistle writer’s use of terms and intertexts, although attributions of the writer’s ‘intended’ meaning and what he was ‘trying to communicate’ or ‘could have had in view’ seem unusually speculative approaches to the text. |
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| ISSN: | 1477-4607 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The journal of theological studies
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1093/jts/flaa067 |