Book Notes: Delighting in the Trinity by Tim Chester

I initially picked up this book because the author, Tim Chester, mentioned on his blog that it was soon to go out of print, and so I grabbed one while they are still available. I'm very glad I did too because it was a very enjoyable, educational, humbling and worshipful experience to think long and hard about the unique understanding of God that is Christian Trinitarianism.

The book comes in three main sections, biblical, historical and practical. After a brief introduction which argues powerfully that Trinitarianism is not some optional appendix at the end of Christian theology, but its beating-heart, and its point of departure - Chester provides the best biblical explanation of it at a popular level that I have read. I have struggled my way through some fairly dense and impenetrable works on the Trinty, along with lectures and secondary literature to help me, but been little wiser for the toil. Chester's book boils a lot of such material down to its essential elements and provides a really useful introduction.

The historical section of the book is the most comprehensive of its sections, dealing in some depth with the way that the doctrine emerged, was developed, defended and explained over the centuries. It provides a useful way into such matters as the Arian controversy, Nicene Creeds, key terminology, the Catholic/Orthodox division, development through the middle ages, Reformation, Barth and Moltmann. Chester's view is that the Reformation lead to the best of both Catholic (western) and Orthodox (eastern) theology being brought to bear on early Protestant worship of God. The historical section is comparatively hard going compared with the other two sections, and if I have a complaint about the book it is that section two is pitched at a considerably higher academic level than sections one and three. It should be stressed though that parts one and three could be very profitably read without the historical excurcus in between.

Section three looks at the way that a Trinitarian view of God affects our view of practical theological matters such as revelation, mission, and the atonement. It fascinatingly engages with the recent atonement debates, (Chalkegate) compelling arguing recent attempts to re-draw the nature of the atonement in purely Christus Victor models fail in that they are insufficiently Trinitarian. Certainly Chalke's dismissal of Penal Subsitutionary Atonement is based on a non-Trinitarian caricature of the model which both Chester here (and Miroslav Wolf elsewhere) have convincingly demolished.

Its a real shame that this book is going out of print - when there seems to be such a deluge of shallow and silly 'Christian' books around. Chester's book is a demanding read, not just because it requires us Christians to think through the 'deep-end' of the faith; but also because the human mind which truly contemplates God, not as a projection of our highest ideals or most noble aspirations - but as He has declared Himself to be, is humbled before the greatness, glory, love, wonder, beauty, warmth and sheer overwhelming significance of Almighty God! When Christian books start with us, our lives, cares, desires etc, they reduce the Bible to being a self-help manual. How much more profound, satisfying and worshipful it is to read a book like this which asks us firstly to gaze upon, and delight in God!