Beginning with the Triune God

I ditched the books I was reading and started a new one. I decided the reason I was having such trouble reading—I’ve been reading (or supposedly reading) the same two books since June—was that I wasn’t very interested in either of the books I was trying to read.

I needed a book I would enjoy reading, so I began Covenantal Apologetics by K. Scott Oliphant.

Here is Oliphant’s first tenet in a list of “ten crucial theological tenets for a covenantal, Christian apologetic”:

1. The faith that we are defending must begin with, and necessarily include, the triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—who, as God, condescends to create and to redeem.

Generic theism is no part of the Christian faith.  … [A]ny defense that does not include the triune God is a defense of a false theism. And theism of this sort is not a step toward Christianity, but an idolatrous reaction to (suppression of) the truth. Thus, a belief in theism that is not Christian theism is a sinful suppression of the truth. It masks, rather than moves toward, true knowledge of the triune God. 

In saying that we “must begin with” the triune God, we are not saying that a covenantal apologetic must always begin its apologetic discussion with the triune God. Rather, we are saying that we must never assume that we are defending anything but what God himself, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, has accomplished in creation and redemption. To “begin with” and “necessarily include” the triune God means that we stand squarely on Christian truth, including a Christian understanding of God, when we engage in our defense. 

I’ll be posting more quotes as I read and reviewing the book when I’m finished. And hey, I’m reading again.

Comments

[Kim Shay]

I'm glad you're reading this! I have had it on my wishlist for a while, but I haven't given in yet. Looking forward to your snippets!