Calls for theological innovation and the employment of "theological imagination" are now routine among mainline Protestants and others prone to theological revisionism. Dismissive of doctrinal orthodoxy and biblical language as out of date, oppressive, patriarchal, and worse, the proponents of theological reformulation intend to restructure Christianity around an entirely new system of beliefs, playing with language even as they reinvent the faith.
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Now, along comes the Presbyterian Church (USA) and its controversial policy paper on gender-inclusive language for the Trinity. The more liberal denominations have been debating contentious issues such as sexuality for years. Yet, even as the PCUSA is embroiled in its own controversies over homosexuality, the denomination has decided that a bit of controversy over the Trinity is also in order.
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On June 19, the 217th General Assembly of the church voted to "receive" and commend to the church for study the paper entitled "The Trinity: God's Love Overflowing." The recommendation before the General Assembly was modified so that the report was "received" rather than "approved," but the result is practically the same. The paper is now a part of the official proceedings of the General Assembly and it is now forwarded to local congregations for study and application.
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In its most controversial sections, the report suggests new triads of language that can be used in place of the biblical language for the Trinity--namely, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The new triads, suggested for employment in worship, include "Rainbow, Ark and Dove," "Speaker, Word and Breath," "Overflowing Font, Living Water and Flowing River," "Compassionate Mother, Beloved Child and Life-Giving Womb," "Sun, Light and Burning Ray," "Giver, Gift and Giving," "Lover, Beloved and Love," "Rock, Cornerstone and Temple," "Fire that Consumes, Sword that Divides and Storm that Melts Mountains," and "The One Who Was, The One Who Is and The One Who Is to Come."
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The report was also amended to assert that the biblical language of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit remain standard for use during baptisms, supposedly because the language Jesus used in the Great Commission is more specific than in other biblical texts. This is itself an odd assertion, since the other references to God's names throughout the Bible are equally specific and precise.
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The controversial report was written by a team of theologians and church leaders. At the onset, the report claims to be responding to an inadequate appreciation for the Trinity in local congregations. "Despite the remarkable renewal of Trinitarian theology in recent decades, this doctrine is widely neglected or poorly understood in many of our congregations," the theologians noted.
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In its opening sections, the report appears to be deeply rooted in Christian orthodoxy. "The doctrine of the Trinity is a summary of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It cannot be properly understood apart from this gospel, and the gospel cannot be fully understood apart from the doctrine of the Trinity," the report states. Further: "The trinitarian understanding of God has been at the heart of the church's message and prayer since its beginnings. Far from an ivory tower doctrine, it is a doctrine concerned with the truth of God and the reality of our salvation. Only God can save us and sanctify us. When we speak of the three distinct but inseparable persons of the Trinity, they are not to be understood, as modalism teaches, as mere masks or temporary roles that hide God's deepest reality. Nor are Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit secondary deities or mere creatures of a supposedly solitary supreme God, as subordinationism teaches. The trinitarian faith of the church rejects both these views because they deny that God is truly present as our savior in Jesus Christ and truly present among and in us as the life-giving Spirit. Against the views of modalism and subordinationism the church declares in its doctrine of the Trinity that Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are, together with God the Father, fully and eternally God."
