Christian Trinity: A Constructive Christian Theology

This essay explores the central content and functional aspect of the Christian Trinity in Christian theology based on the book 'Trinity and Revelation: A Constructive Christian Theology for the Pluralistic World' by Kärkkäinen (2014). It discusses the interconnection between God and humanity, the embodiment of Jesus Christ, and the symbolic representation of the Trinity. The essay also highlights the post-modern approach and its role in promoting social reform and inclusivity.

Running head: CHRISTIAN TRINITY
CHRISTIAN TRINITY
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Author Note

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Christianity is a monotheistic faith but the presence of God as per the tenets of the
religion is dispensed in three elements, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. All three
elements of the trinity are but manifestation of the Supreme God as per the Christian theological
doctrine, hence that does not make Christianity a polytheistic religion. The element of Son from
the trinity is however of the utmost importance as it represents Christ, the one unto whom the
religion traces its origin. In this essay the discussion shall be focusing upon the central content of
the doctrine of the Trinity in Christian theology, and discuss its function within Christian
theology as a whole on the basis of the ideas propounded by Kärkkäinen (2014) in the book
‘Trinity and revelation. A Constructive Christian Theology for the Pluralistic World’.
The central content of the Christian Trinity and the functional aspect of Trinity in the
Christian traditions and theology as per the views espoused by Kärkkäinen (2014) are
intertwined to each other and are essentially a departure from the mainstream theological
explanations and justifications. The basic aim of Kärkkäinen (2014) have been to relate the
experiences and realities of the world to the theological concept of Trinity, by means of
attempting to find the discrepancies between the traditional and the contemporary methodology
used in understanding Trinitarian theology. The influences of the works of Tillich, Moltmann
and Pannenberg can be found in the views which he had espoused but apart from that the
element of science and an inter faith approach employed by him shows that Kärkkäinen (2014)
has gone beyond the abstract and other worldly theological explanations which one can find in
the mainstream theological explanations.
The central argument thus as per Kärkkäinen (2014) is that Trinity is symbolic of the
interaction of God with human beings and the element of it is very much evident from the
structurization of the Trinity itself. By hinting at the inextricable connection between God and

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Humanity Kärkkäinen (2014) has hinted at Jesus Christ being the embodiment of it. Jesus Christ
was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and was born of a human figure, the Holy Mother
Mary which made Jesus Christ partly Divine and partly human. Kärkkäinen (2014) had tried to
show that the human and the divine world are intertwined to each other, and also that the human
life is like the trinity, which is a conjunction of the divine embodiment, the human element and
the supernatural forces. The human and the divine inextricably linked to each other is something
which is inextricably linked to each other but the traditional theological interpretation of the
Trinity has missed out on that point. The traditional flow of thought tends to consider the Divine
element and God as separate entities which is wrong and a misinterpretation of the biblical
message as per the views of Kärkkäinen (2014). Rather the humanity is a manifestation of the
three elements of the trinity. The Father in the Trinity is the commandment of leading life which
is morally duty bound to uphold the principle of piety and charity amongst all sections of the
society. The Son refers to the fulfillment of the values that the Father wants the Son to fulfill.
The element of the Holy Spirits is the symbol of the presence of God in all. The human soul
being the gift of God hence the human beings are supposed to act like the Son as per the wishes
of the Father. In this interpretation lies the central argument of Kärkkäinen (2014) that the human
existence is the inter connection between the human and the divine element. The functional
aspect of this particular interpretation has been deemed as necessary by Kärkkäinen (2014) to
secularize the religious teachings and make it acceptable to the world by all sections of the
society and traverse above the parochialities of human life. The most important functional aspect
of the conception of the Trinity provided by Kärkkäinen (2014) has been in the field of
promoting gender equality something which is absent in the traditional the theological ideas and

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is in tandem with the spirit of being all embracing and simplification of the theological
abstractions.
Thus it becomes clear that the ideas provided by Kärkkäinen (2014) serve the function of
being an agent of social reform and being inclusive which would not have been possible had
Kärkkäinen (2014) not taken the post modern approach.

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References
Karkkainen, V. M. (2014). Trinity and Revelation: A Constructive Christian Theology for the
Pluralistic World (Vol. 2). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing.