In advancing Edwards’ theology as fundamentally <i>Trinitarian</i>, we start with God <i>in se</i>, as the “fountain” from which history and reality flows. Second, we place God’s economic movement in creation in parallel with the saints’ participation in the beatific life of the Godhead in eternity. God’s act and purpose in creation parallels his act and purpose in consummation, thereby bracketing and governing the work of redemption. Lastly, we broadly answer the question: “How does God redeem the elect?” by addressing spiritual knowledge, regeneration and affection. The first chapter addresses Edwards’ doctrine of the Trinity in light of its polemical context. We argue that a sufficient development of Edwards’ understanding of the immanent Trinity must be an account of persons, delighting in their own infinite beauty and perfection. This is the source of history and, as is shown, the goal of history oriented towards eternity. God’s purpose in creation is the second ground of theological reflection, and is exposited in parallel with God’s uniting believers to himself for eternal union and communion. Redemptive history, therefore, is understood as God enacting his ends in creation towards consummation. History, as Edwards conceives it, is both teleological and cyclical; it is always aiming towards a given end, God’s end, and flows back to God through cyclical movements of time. Creation and consummation, therefore, serve to locate and govern Edwards’ doctrines of redemption. In short, God creates for his own glory, which he brings to pass through creaturely participation in his own beatific-delight. Furthermore, we suggest that this beatific self-glorification of God serves as a heuristic key to God’s redemptive activity. We apply this interpretive scheme in the final chapter.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:521242 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Creators | Strobel, Kyle C. |
| Publisher | University of Aberdeen |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk:80/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=128189 |
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