A useful overview of the Trinity and Christology, providing a balanced approach that laypeople without training in Greek and Hebrew can profit from, with endnotes that get into more technical information for those interested who have training in Biblical Hebrew and Greek. James White makes it clear in the first chapter that the purpose of his book is not only to equip Christians to witness to Jehovah’s Witnesses and other groups with deny the Trinity and deity of Christ, but that it would also enrich the worship of believers by having a better understanding of the Triune God who has revealed himself in Scripture.There are 2 points on which I would disagree with Dr. White. First is that his definition for persons is taken from Charles Hodge as someone with mind, will, and emotion, but this is an argument from the creation and how person is defined for creatures, which is then applied to God, thereby ignoring the Creator-creature distinction. This view leaves the door open for modifications to the classical doctrine of impassibility, which would undercut the immutability and divine eternality of God. Here is a definition of persona from Richard Muller giving an overview of the historical issue of defining persona,“In none of these usages does the term persona have the connotation of emotional individuality or unique consciousness that clearly belongs to the term in contemporary usage. It is quite certain that the trinitarian use of persona does not point to three wills, three emotionally unique beings, or, as several eighteenth-century authors influenced by Cartesianism argued, three centers of consciousness; such implication would be tritheistic… Thus, in trinitarian usage, three personae subsist in the divine substantia or essentia (q.v.) without division and, in christological usage, one persona has two distinct naturae, the divine and the human. This can be said while nonetheless arguing one will in God and two in Christ—since will belongs properly to the essence of God and to the natures in Christ, and in neither case to persona as such. Thus, in the language of the scholastics, persona indicates primarily an individuum (q.v.), an individual thing, or a suppositum (q.v.), a self-subsistent thing, and, more specifically still, an intelligent self-subsistent thing (suppositum intelligens) ”. Richard A. Muller, Dictionary of Latin and Greek Theological Terms: Drawn Principally from Protestant Scholastic Theology (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 1985), 226–227Secondly, his view on Philippians 2:6-11 that emptying refers to Christ laying aside the voluntary use of his divine attributes is ontologically speculative and doesn't fit the context of the passage since as Calvin explained the emptying refers to Christ veiling his glory, as discussed in his commentary on Philippians.
I've been interested in church history recently, and I keep coming back to the torturous struggle that Christianity had in clearly defining the Trinity. I was having a hard time understanding what the big deal was, so I looked up what some respected people said was the best book available about the Trinity, and it was this. I was not at all disappointed.It was not quite what I expected: it reads more as a defense of the doctrine of the Trinity contrasted with the many misunderstandings/heresies around it. It seems like a systematic discussion of the doctrine (what I was expecting) only second to this primary role. However, having read the book, I think this is probably better. With a concept like this that's so hard to pin down precisely, it's often more helpful to define what it's not (a point he makes directly in the book), since what it IS is something beyond our ability to understand fully. I think every Christian should read this book or something like it to make sure they have a good understanding of this vital topic. Despite being a very difficult subject and despite the book going into details of Greek verbs and such, it never felt dry or boring.
Do You like book The Forgotten Trinity (1998)?
Anyone who desires to worship God in spirit and truth should read this book. Its purpose is not to provide an exhaustive, apologetic on the doctrine of the Trinity. Rather, it contains a concise explanation of the doctrine of the trinity, including very pastoral reasons as to why it matters and should be cherished.Although I would love for Dr. White to write an exhaustive book on this subject, he has done an amazing job with this one! I was very pleased with how much he *did* include, and at how clear his explanations were. But what I love most about this book, is Dr. White's pastoral, God-exalting focus. He says on page 17, "I wish to invite you, my fellow believer, to a deeper, higher, more intense love of God's truth. It is my longing that when you complete this work, you will not simply put it down and say, 'I got some good ammunition to use the next time I debate the Trinity.' Instead, I hope that God, in His grace, will use this to implant in your heart a deep longing to know Him even more. I pray that longing will last the rest of your life, and that it will result in your loving him more completely, worshiping Him more fully, honoring Him with the totality of your life."Thus, His purpose is not to fill us with intellectual knowledge so that we can win debates. His purpose is to show us the awesome, wonderful, amazing God, who has revealed Himself to us as Father, Son, and Spirit. And in so doing, his purpose is to lead us to love and worship Him more!He has definitely accomplished this purpose!
—Josue Manriquez
There are many good books on the Trinity. Robert Letham & Stephen Holmes have produced two of the best in recent years. But if you want a Book that deals with the Trinity in a Biblical exegetical manner then this is the one. Dr. White, in the introduction, deals with he reality of evangelical Christianity, we are by conviction Trinitarian, but functionally modalists. Listen to many preachers and they treat the Godhead in modal manners, so this book is one to understand from the text of Scripture that God is triune ontologically and economically. The chapters deal with many aspects of this, from the starting clause of monotheism, to proving the divinity and person of Christ and the Holy Spirit. Dealing with issues such as Jesus Christ in the I am sayings, Jesus is YHWH, and the Spirit as sovereign and omnipotent throughout the Scriptures. There is also the most wonderful citations from early patristics such as Clement of Rome and Ignatius of Antioch that clearly define the Trinity (without the use of the word) in the 1st-2nd century. If anyone wants to understand the Trinity, this is now the book I would give them.
—Craig Scott
A really great book on the subject. White deals with the subject in a very logical and well formulated order. The writing isn't so over scholarly that it's tough, it's written for anyone to pick up and read (which is the stated purpose of the book). White's writing is always on target and biblical. He gives each topic the serious and hard look it needs and even pulls in logical and historical claims with the understanding they are secondary to the biblical text. Not only does he make his case for the Trinity but also the importance of why it's needed; and this message is carried throughout each of the parts of the book. White also does a great job of tying both Old Testament and New Testament Scripture together and really provides a well rounded discussion on a lot of missed text outside the standard ones known. This book is the book I would recommend anyone to pick up if they are looking to understand, know, or grow deeper in seeing who the trinitarian God of the Bible is. Final Grade - A+
—Patrick S.
