Persons in Communion

Dr Alan Torrance here seeks to outline the structure of human participation in the triune life which is conceived as the essential context for the articulation of God in human language. The three areas of focus concern firstly, the question of the propriety, or otherwise, of describing the 'members' of the Trinity as 'persons', secondly, the broader question of how language functions in describing God in such terms, and thirdly, the more fundamental question of the underlying models which shape our theological perspective.
The different approaches to the question of triune personhood representative of the modern ecumenical debate are examined, engaging with theologians such as Karl Barth, Karl Rahner, John Zizioulas, Catherine Mowry LaCugna, Eberhard Jungel and Jurgen Moltmann. The primary intention throughout is to address the critical methodological issues which these debates raise. This leads to a series of conclusions as to the nature of trinitarian description (analogy, metaphor), the model of the theological enterprise that must serve and underlie it, and finally, the necessity of a proper appreciation of the relationship between 'semantic' and 'doxological' participation.
Through this examination, Alan Torrance seeks to balance Karl Barth's 'revelation model' by seeing worship as the true context for trinitarian theology.