The Image of the Immanent Trinity: Implications of Rahner's Rule for a Theological Interpretation of Scripture(12 Issues in Systematic Theology)

If the economic Trinity is the immanent Trinity, as Karl Rahner said, then what difference does it make for how we read the Bible? This book takes up the discussion that has dominated the last several decades of Trinitarian theology - that of Rahner's Rule - and brings it into dialogue with the longer history of the doctrine, particularly with the history of interpretation of scripture. The history of Trinitarianism is the history of complex interpretive moves, a long conversation in which the Christian church has sought to learn how to ask the right questions of scripture. Surveying recent theological projects and learning from their successes and failures, The Image of the Immanent Trinity argues that the eternally perfect fellowship of Father, Son, and Spirit is truly present for our salvation in Christ who, as the image of the invisible God, secures God's presence in the economy of salvation as the image of the immanent Trinity.

About the Author :
The Author: Fred Sanders is Assistant Professor of Theology in the Torrey Honors Institute at Biola University, La Mirada, California. He received his Ph.D. in systematic theology from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. He has written articles on the doctrine of the Trinity and on christology.

Review :
The sublime mysteries of the Holy Trinity become understandable through the prose of Fred Sanders. To say 'the economic Trinity is the immanent Trinity' is to say forcefully that the Holy One abides with us. This book communicates this message beautifully. (Ted Peters, Professor of Systematic Theology, Graduate Theological Union, Author of 'GOD as Trinity') Fred Sanders explores one of the pressing issues in Trinitarian theology today. The renaissance of this core Christian doctrine in systematic theology in recent decades owes much to Karl Rahner's axiom on the relationship between the immanent Trinity and the economic Trinity ('the economic Trinity is the immanent Trinity and vice versa') with emphasis on the centrality of the divine economy for a proper and fruitful theological perspective. Sanders examines the theological responses to the axiom with attention to those who enthusiastically radicalize the axiom and those who cautiously restrict it. The implications for the doctrine of the Trinity are not insignificant. Sanders attempts to resolve the dispute with his own proposal, namely, that the economic Trinity is the image of the immanent Trinity. Sanders' contribution will be welcomed by all engaged in the discipline. He takes seriously both the endorsements and critiques and provides a solution that does not forget the Christological foundations for Trinitarian theology. In the midst of the continued appropriation of the Trinity across the theological spectrum, Sanders' voice will be an important one if our thinking the triune God is to be given its full measure of theological depth and seriousness. (Ralph Del Colle, Associate Professor of Theology, Marquette University, Author of 'Christ and the Spirit: Spirit Christology in Trinitarian Perspective')