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CTF 2025 - Timeline of Classical Theism

Jim Butler · 2024-12-20 · 748 words · 6 min

CTF 2025 - Preview

That's a great segue into the 
next question I have here. So, about building bridges in 
the Reformed world, but really thinking of Chapter 2, which 
is titled, Of God and the Holy Trinity. Can you trace out the 
development of triune thought? in classical theism from year 
zero to now, and try to highlight if any church groups are moved 
away and how it got back, or if it's more a common shared 
heritage. Just speak to that a little between 
our confession, the other confessions, and potentially broader into 
the broader church world to highlight distinction and unity of chapter 
two. Wow. All right. That is a big 
question. Tracing the history of Trinitarian 
thought from year zero and moving forward. Well, I think maybe 
just first, if we work backwards, the question about Chapter 2, 
across the confessions that you mentioned at the beginning here, 
so the Westminster, the Savoy, the Second London, the Belgic, 
and other Reformed confessions, historically there is a significant 
measure of solidarity at the point of the doctrine of God. 
The subject matter of Chapter 2, the divine perfections, and 
then the triune reality of our blessed God. So there is nothing 
but solidarity at the point of that chapter on the Reformed 
confessions. You know, in our modern day, 
there have been some deviations from historical classical theism. We're seeing it considerably. But at the time of the writing 
of these confessions, there was a solidarity across Presbyterians, 
Congregationalists, Baptists. And, you know, one of the things 
that we're trying to do with the conference, especially given 
the fact that it is on chapter 2, is to demonstrate that historical 
solidarity and, in a sense, to reclaim that doctrine of God 
that seems to have been fallen on hard times in our modern era. Yeah, and tracing it back from 
year zero going to our day, this is what the early church fathers 
taught. This is what the best medieval 
theologians taught. Certainly our Reformed confessions, 
they didn't do brand new work on chapter 2 or chapter 8 of 
Christ the Mediator. They reached back into the historical 
church and took the best creedal expressions of the that doctrine 
of God and the Holy Trinity. So, for instance, in chapter 
2, you see the backdrop of Nicaea as you work through there. Chapter 
8, you see the backdrop of Chalcedon. So, when it comes to the Reformed 
confessions, We appreciate that those brothers stood on the shoulders 
of men that had gone before them. Now, that doesn't mean we agree 
with every jot and tittle of everything that every church 
father or every medieval theologian taught, but in those things most 
surely believed among us, vis-a-vis the doctrine of the Trinity, 
there has been a consistent expression of good theology in the life 
and context of the church. And so, that's one of the main 
things that we want to call attention to and just to show that unity 
that we have. Again, differences, to be sure. variations in the tradition to 
some degree or other with reference to peripheral things. But when it comes to the doctrine 
of God, there's been a consistent exegetical tradition. We call 
that today, or it's been called today classical theism. some 
take exception with that term, whatever you want to call it. 
However, the Scriptures articulate the doctrine of the Trinity, 
and then the Church, as gifts given by the ascended Christ, 
has theologized on Scripture and produced her creeds and confessions. 
We see that right up until the 20th century when there was some 
significant departure, and certainly that's carried through to today 
in the 21st century. It used to be called Christianity. We 
call it classical theism, but it used to simply be Christianity. One of the phrases in the introduction 
to our confession of faith is, we have no itch to clog religion 
with new words. And so, as Jim said, the confessionalists, 
those who frame these confessions, they are faithfully expressing 
what the Scriptures teach regarding these subjects, but they're also 
demonstrating that they are the inheritors of a received theological 
heritage. Spurgeon said something like, 
we take this doctrine of God and we make a pilgrimage into 
the past, And we see father after father, confessor after confessor, 
shaking hands with us and demonstrating that this is the doctrine of 
Christ's church. And that's what we're trying 
to express, to uphold, and to encourage with these conferences.