The revelation of the Trinity : Karl Rahner's position and an evangelical alternative

• Main Author: Jowers, Dennis W.
• Published: University of Edinburgh 2005
• Subjects: 230
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.653161

The widely accepted <i>Grundaxiom </i>of Karl Rahner’s doctrine of the Trinity, “The economic Trinity <i>is </i>the immanent Trinity and vice versa,” functions in contemporary theology as a means of reconciling the seemingly contradictory claims: (a) that God has revealed the doctrine of the Trinity to the church; and (b) that he has not disclosed this doctrine verbally in Scripture. Rahner’s <i>Grundaxiom, </i>that is to say, serves to legitimate theological reflection on the Trinity that does not presuppose a pre-Enlightenment understanding of Scriptural revelation. In our dissertation, however, we argue: (a) that Rahner’s <i>Grundaxiom </i>does not cohere with certain elements of Rahner’s own theology; (b) that the <i>Grundaxiom </i>entails conclusions inconsistent with what Rahner regards as Trinitarian orthodoxy; and (c) that a pre-Enlightenment understanding of Scripture, by contrast, constitutes a reasonable foundation for Rahner’s ideal of Trinitarian orthodoxy. We conclude, therefore (d) that, barring the possibility of some third foundation for the theology of the Trinity, Rahner’s ideal doctrine of the Trinity itself presupposes a pre-Enlightenment conception of Scriptural revelation.