36 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good, but there are Better., December 23, 2005
This review is from: Making Sense of the Trinity: Three Crucial Questions (Paperback)
I purchased this book because of the three previous reviews. While I have gained a little from my reading of this book, I thought it would be beneficial for me to give a brief review. I am not, as the other three reviewers, very pleased with this book. I have three issues of which I feel need to be addressed.
First, I believe that Millard Erickson confused this topic more than he explained it. He constantly talked about how people perceive it as strange and illogical and he discussed the fact that it is a total paradox and doesn't seem to conform to logic. Instead of talking about how confusing and how illogical this subject appears to be, he should have simply explained it (as was his goal for the book). Even if it is a complicated subject (which I do not feel it is though I will admit it isn't overly simplistic), a basic look at the trinity should not create more fear and confusion but less. Erickson's continual hammering of the confusing complicated nature of this doctrine served only to take away from instead of add to the overall goal of his book, to make sense of the trinity.
Second, I believe that Erickson does a poor job at discussing the origin of the trinity. In his own words, "the church formulated the strange doctrine of the Trinity" (notice the unnecessary adjective "strange" only serving to complicate the doctrine - pg.17). The doctrine of the trinity was not formulated by the church because it is progressively revealed in scripture. A group of Christians during the Nicene period (of which he is referring) did develop a theological position on the trinity, but we must not suggest that this doctrine did not exist before Nicea. This IS the eternal nature of God, not some formulated description of his nature. His language throughout the book (more often found in the earlier section) focuses on the trinity being a man made doctrine than a biblical one (even though he does argue that this doctrine is biblical). This I felt was a major obstacle in reading his book. He even once argued that to support one aspect of this doctrine, we must look "beyond the New Testament" to when history understood the doctrine (pg. 81).
Finally, I had great reservations accepting his ultimate description of the doctrine of the trinity. The terms he used and the description I did not find very biblical. This did not necessarily make the book bad, but the reader should be aware that he might have a conflict with Erickson's ultimate conclusion as to what the trinity is. One struggle I had was his proposition that the Word "became" the Son. While he had one good argument which challenged my eternal Sonship view, the rest of his arguments were irrelevant and obviously lacking in logical support. They only made me want to reject his interpretation even more.
The reader should be aware that while there are good aspects of this book, it is not the best that I have read. A good beginner's book or introductory book which is both simple yet thorough is Bruce A. Ware's book, Father, Son, & Holy Spirit; Relationships, Roles, & Relevance. This book did not try to confuse the topic but began explaining it from the very beginning and used scripture (instead of history) throughout the book to formulate a very good position on the doctrine of the trinity.
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23 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Surprisingly comprehensive in its relative briefness, February 22, 2003
This review is from: Making Sense of the Trinity: Three Crucial Questions (Paperback)
I picked up this book by Millard Erickson expecting a rather basic look at trinitarianism that might prove helpful in discussing the doctrine of the Trinity on a basic level with folks who have introductory level questions about it. And while it's true that the book is predominately a beginner level book, I nonetheless found it to be quite thorough in a number of places that I found very rewarding.
The book is less than 100 pages, and in it, Erickson seeks to tackle three main questions - is the Trinity biblical, is it rationally coherent, and is it at all relevant to anything. While there have certainly been more exhaustive treatises written which address the first two questions, I thought that Erickson did a good job of analyzing them at a top level while still being pretty thorough. His analysis of deviations from the orthodox view of the Trinity was especially good for purposes of making it clear to the reader that the Trinity is an exacting doctrine that requires both exacting language and exacting thought in order to be true to the Bible.
Erickson's attempt at sorting through the rationality of the 'Three in One' aspect of the Trinity was also very interesting, as was his analysis of Trinitarian prayer. In particular, I appreciated his analysis of the functional subordination aspect of the Trinity that is too often neglected in other studies of the Trinity, as well as his proper focus on the Holy Spirit which is likewise treated almost as an afterthought in many studies of the Trinity.
Overall, I think this is an outstanding beginner level book that not only takes on basic questions with easy to follow answers, but also digs a bit to take on more difficult questions both Biblically and philosophically. An outstanding resource for one who wants to become firmly rooted in the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity.
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11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good scriptural and philosophical presentation, July 15, 2001
This review is from: Making Sense of the Trinity: Three Crucial Questions (Paperback)
Though the previous reviewer was right in saying this is a short read, brevity does not mean lack of meaty content. Erickson dives in deep for just one-hundred pages. I hope to read it again soon to get a better grip on the content. Erickson does a great job of preseting both scriptural and philosophical arguments. His last section on the doctrine's importance and application to both individual and corporate worship/service unto God is also very helpful. A good book on a deep, but oh so important topic. Flaws in the nature of God ultimately equate a different gospel. The time has come for the church to stand against those within who are apathetic about rightly defining and acticulating this timeless truth.
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