Speaking of God:

Straight AheadThis Sunday, I will be preaching to my congregation regarding the study document relating to the Trinity which was recently accepted by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, (USA.) I believe there are still some significant points which need to be made regarding this paper which have not yet been widely expressed; so I will make them here. Let us consider the term "Father." Jesus Himself refers to God as "Father." Not only does He do this in the Lord's Prayer, but as He calls to God as "Abba!" Father, the term Paul later uses in the eighth chapter of Romans. God is the Father of those who believe in Jesus Christ. This is a particular relationship. God is personal. As such He has a particular relationship to His children. God is not just some vague energy or force. This is not a symbol of patriarchy, but of reality! If some have trouble with the image of "Father," because of their own difficult past or a dysfunctional family life, then let us celebrate the Good Father, the loving Father that many never had on earth. It is neither necessary nor desirable to exploit the Trinity as a means of introducing feminist theology. Let us also remember that the Scriptures give us names for God, as several commentators and theologians remind us. In the Old Testament, God is referred to as Our Peace, Our Banner, Our Righteousness, the Eternal, and many more. These are names that God gave Himself. We do not need to create more names for God. Suppose instead of calling my wife by the name she was given as a child, I decided that I would call her something else? Instead of Lydia, I will call her Kathy or Joanne! She would rightly conclude that I had snapped under the strain of my pastoral activities and would strongly suggest an extended period of rest! Yet, this is exactly what we're doing if we decide to call God by some name of our own invention! As one ministerial colleague of mine asks, "Is Christianity something we just invent ourselves, or is it something that God has given to us?" Charles Wiley, the main writer of this paper, insists that these new triads describing the Trinity were not intended as alternatives to traditional language or as replacements for "father, Son, and Holy Spirit." He does not say, however, for what purposes these new triads were intended. In fact, in a recent interview, he indicated that another study paper would soon be forthcoming to tell us the precise intention of the committee that wrote this paper on the Trinity, "God's Love Overflowing." Just what we need--a study paper on a study paper! Even if these new terms were helpful--and I contend that for the most part, they are not--we still have the problem of the relationship between the persons of the Godhead--a point which this paper completely ignores. There is no obvious relationship between the newly conceived terms given as descriptions of the various persons in the Trinity in this document. This paper should not have been received. It should have been rejected outright or referred for additional work. It is not helpful or biblical to attempt to make the Trinity politically correct. The Trinity is correct as it is stated in Holy Scripture. I do not choose to pray in the name of "Overflowing Font, Living Water, and Flowing River." Our Westminster Confession of Faith reminds us that the Trinity defines "three persons in the Godhead--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." God is the Father--not the Sun. (The Egyptians worshipped the sun god. I do not find that description particularly helpful." I do not need a modernized version of the Trinity--and neither does anybody else!