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Diary of a (Maybe) Retired Pastor

Tag: Trinity

  • I Didn’t Know This!

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    I Didn’t Know This!

    One of the great things about being “maybe retired” is having a lot more time to read.  So it was I came across a book titled “The Rise and Fall of the Complementarian Doctrine of the Trinity” by Kevin Giles (1). I knew what complementarianism was, or so I thought, and have raised my hands (figuratively) in exasperation at what I have always thought was a bit of fig-leaf of a doctrine (for those of you who don’t know what it is, it is the way some parts of the church justify excluding women from leadership in the church) but I didn’t know there was a complementarian doctrine of the Trinity! This may also surprise those of you who think, as I did, that the doctrine of the Trinity had been done and dusted 1600 years ago – there’s a complementarian doctrine of the Trinity!? So it was with a feeling of intrigue that I dived into this book.

    It was as good as a thriller, a page turner I couldn’t put down. As I delved into the nefarious doctrinal shenanigans surrounding the development and justification of the complementarian doctrine of the Trinity, open-mouthed astonishment would be a good description of my demeanour. The list of heavy-weight evangelical theologians and pastors nonchalantly strolling across the pages as major players in the development of major heresy – all to provide an irrefutable base for complementarian teaching about women – made me feel fortunate that I am of an age to have escaped their influence during my training!

    What these heavy weight theologians and pastors argued was that the Son – the Second Person of the Trinity – is eternally and essentially subordinate to the Father. And, from this position argued that this conclusively demonstrated that women must be subordinate to men (a little oversimplified perhaps, but the essence of the argument). It turns out, that for most of my time as an evangelical Christian, the bulk of the evangelical world has subscribed to a version of the Trinity that was labelled  heretical all the way back at the Council of Constantinople in 381AD. I have been fellowshipping with heretics!

    This may seem very obscure if you’re not a Christian, and even ordinary Christians might feel this is a bit dry, but we are taught by the ancient creeds of the church that the Father, Son, and Spirit are the same in divinity, power and authority; the Persons are each fully, and completely God but yet still one God. There are not three gods. It’s a mystery, and hard to get our heads around (who said God had to be simple?), but this has been what the church has professed since the 4th century. But late 20th – early 21st century evangelicals have seemingly deviated from this teaching and have taught a version of the Trinity that leads to the Son being a lesser god than the Father and, with that, the theology of the atonement goes out of the window (how is all of our sin paid for by a lesser god?)!

    The worrying thing about all of this is that it appears that foundational doctrine was changed simply to justify the subordination of women to men. Perhaps, the theologians and pastors involved would vehemently deny this, but this is what it looks like. Thankfully, It appears that in the last few years other evangelical theologians have recognised the serious departure from orthodox Christian teaching on the Trinity and have rejected the path taken by these senior theologians and pastors. How long this change of heart will take to percolate through the ranks of ordinary church ministers and local congregations who have been trained in this version of the Trinity is unclear. Complementarian teachers continue to argue their case but the fact that their leaders found it necessary to resort to fundamental heresy surely says all that needs to be said about the soundness of this teaching? It all seems like convoluted mansplaining to me!

    1. Kevin Giles, The Rise and Fall of the Complementarian Doctrine of the Trintiy, 2017 Cascade Books.

  • The Glory of God

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    The Glory of God

    Then he brought me to the gate, the gate facing east. 2 And there, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east; the sound was like the sound of mighty waters; and the earth shone with his glory.

    Ezekiel 43:1-2

    It’s Holy Week. As I was sitting through service on Palm Sunday I was thinking that we don’t seem to give much time in church life to teaching about how Jesus fulfils prophecy, particularly on the occasion of His entry into Jerusalem. This is a great pity because, as recent events demonstrate, properly understanding these matters profoundly affects our view of the Middle East today.

    Many people will know that Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem riding on a donkey on Palm Sunday was a direct reference and fulfilment of Zechariah 9:9 hailing the new king of peace. This was what prompted the cheers and acclamation of the crowds, but fewer of us, perhaps, appreciate the far greater prophecy that was also being fulfilled by Jesus on that day.

    The gospel writers are united in carefully specifying that Jesus started His procession on that day from Bethany. The first readers would have had the advantage of knowing the layout of Jerusalem in Jesus’ time, so, they would have been aware that, starting from Bethany, Jesus’ route would have led Him to enter through the eastern gate of the city.  This was not accidental. A greater prophecy than Zechariah’s is in play here.

    The prophet Ezekiel documents the fall of the first Temple and in chapters 10 and 11 recounts the departure of the Glory of God from the Temple and the city via the eastern gate. But, in chapters 43 and 44 he prophesies the return of the Glory of God to the new, restored Temple, again through the eastern gate.  This is a prophecy not only of restoration but the inauguration of the greater, perfect Temple and city of God. It is this prophecy that Jesus fulfils with His entrance to Jerusalem, riding on a donkey, through the eastern gate. Not only is He the king who brings peace, His entrance is the very Glory of God returning to His city. This is what the Pharisees and Temple authorities perceived which the ordinary people, and probably many of us today, did not. It is the reason why the Pharisees and Temple authorities determined to execute Him as a blasphemer because He made Himself God.

    Ezekiel’s prophecy of the new Temple continues with careful instructions to purify and cleanse the Temple and the people’s sins. Jesus, after His dramatic entrance into Jerusalem famously cleanses the Temple and then, a few days later, is crucified thus cleansing all the people’s sins.

    Ezekiel could only frame his prophecy in Old Testament terms, the reality of its fulfilment demonstrates the limitations of his conception. Jesus offered no sacrifice in the Temple for the atonement of the people’s sin and the cleansing of the Temple itself was a mere symbol of a much greater cleansing to come. The sacrifice Jesus offered for the people’s sin was His very own life, and the true cleansing of the Temple meant its utter destruction and the razing to the ground of Jerusalem itself decades later, just as Jesus Himself had prophesied during Holy Week.

    Understanding how Jesus fulfils Ezekiel’s prophecy gives a very different perspective to our attitudes and judgments concerning the Middle East today. The perfect new Temple and Jerusalem of Ezekiel’s prophecy is not to be found in bricks and mortar this side of the new creation. It comes only with the full return of the Glory of God in Jesus Christ.