EARTH SHADOWS ON THE SKY

A scholar reevaluates Christian debates about the Trinity and nature of God.

Just as the Earth can project shadows upward on the sky when the sun’s rays strike a large geographical body such as a mountain, so can a person risk “projecting his own conceptions and theories upward onto God instead of receiving the image of God through revelation from above,” Hopgood cautions. This risk can lead to “misconceptions of God’s nature” that limit definitions of the Trinity through “anthropocentric reasoning.” Hopgood, a professor at Andersonville Theological Seminary, argues that “a Christian must never imagine that he knows God in his entirety” and pays particular attention to the dichotomous positions of 18th-century theologians Charles Chauncy and John Gill. As a liberal Protestant, Chauncy espoused a universalist theology that would serve as the basis of the Unitarian movement, while Gill, his contemporary, reflected conservative “hyper-Calvinist leanings.” Too often, the book argues, theologians from the 1700s through today have attacked both men with ad hominem critiques that dismiss them as zealots rather than honestly appraising their arguments. In his analyses of both Chauncy and Gill, Hopgood suggests that despite their opposite conclusions, the two men interpreted Scripture through a newly emergent rationalist lens characteristic of the Enlightenment era. This lens, he contends, reflects a humanistic approach to Christianity that continues to influence doctrine. “Modern evangelicals,” for instance, are still “man-centered, focusing on those who are to be saved instead of who Christ is.” At around 150 pages, this book isn’t particularly long, but its seven chapters are fairly dense and esoteric in their writing style. Backed by ample footnotes that engage with both ancient and contemporary Christian writers, as well as a healthy bibliography, this well-researched book will have its highest appeal for theologians and other scholars. For lay readers interested in exploring niche corners of Protestant theology, it includes a helpful glossary and appendix. Either group, however, may disagree with Hopgood’s conclusions or with his use of the gender-exclusive term man to refer to humanity.

A nuanced examination of conflicting Christian interpretations of God’s nature.