Hidden and Revealed

Dmytro Bintsarovskyi

Description

A major contribution to ecumenical reflection on the doctrine of God. The past century has seen renewed interest in the doctrine of God. While theological traditions disagree, their shared commitment to Nicene orthodoxy provides a common language for thinking and speaking about God. This dialogue has deepened our understanding of this shared way of thinking about God, but little has been done across ecumenical lines to explore God's hiddenness in revelation. In Hidden and Revealed, Dmytro Bintsarovskyi explores the hiddenness and revelation of God in two separate theological streams-Reformed and Orthodox. Bintsarovskyi shows that an understanding of both traditions reflects a deep structure of shared language, history, and commitments, while nevertheless reflecting real differences. With Herman Bavinck and John Meyendorff as his guides, Bintsarovskyi advances ecumenical dialogue on a doctrine central to our knowledge of God.

Sujets

• Calvinist
• Philosophie et théologie
• Christian theology
• Theology
• Calvinism
• Christianity

Informations

• Publié par: Lexham Press
• Date de parution: 14 juillet 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781683594901
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 4 Mo

Extrait

HIDDEN and REVEALED
The Doctrine of God in the Reformed and Eastern Orthodox Traditions
DMYTRO BINTSAROVSKYI
STUDIES IN HISTORICAL AND SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY
Hidden and Revealed: The Doctrine of God in the Reformed and Eastern Orthodox Traditions
Studies in Historical and Systematic Theology
Copyright 2021 Dmytro Bintsarovskyi
Lexham Academic, an imprint of Lexham Press
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Scripture quotations marked ( ESV ) are from ESV ® Bible ( The Holy Bible, English Standard Version ® ), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Print ISBN 9781683594895
Digital ISBN 9781683594901
Library of Congress Control Number 2021933216
Lexham Editorial Team: Todd Hains, Kelsey Matthews, Jessi Strong
Cover Design: Brittany Schrock

This book was made possible by
the Neo-Calvinism Research Institute.
The Neo-Calvinism Research Institute
at Theological Kampen University
examines the relationship among
religion, life, and thought ,
how it takes shape, and
how it develops over
time in the global
tradition of
Neo-Calvinism.
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
1. Introduction
The Doctrine of God in Ecumenical Dialogue
God’s Hiddenness and Revelation in Eastern Orthodox and Reformed Traditions
Method and Outline
2. Herman Bavinck on Knowing God as a Revealed Mystery
Introduction
Underlying Characteristics of Bavinck’s Approach
God Hidden
God Revealed
The Relation of God’s Hiddenness and His Revelation
3. John Meyendorff on Union with God as the Unknown
Introduction
Underlying Characteristics of Meyendorff’s Approach
God Hidden
God Revealed
The Relation of God’s Hiddenness and His Revelation
4. Comparison and Evaluation
Comparison
Evaluation
Bibliography
Name Index
Subject Index
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The present book is the product of doctoral research at Kampen Theological University. It would not have been possible without the help and support of many individuals, some of whom I would like to mention by name.
First, I am grateful to my dissertation advisers, each of whom contributed to this work in unique and invaluable ways. Prof. Barend Kamphuis kindly accepted me as a PhD student, patiently oversaw the research, and provided important feedback throughout my writing. His wise and unobtrusive guidance gave me the intellectual freedom to find my own path into the subject. I owe my gratitude also to Dr. Hans Burger, who made insightful comments and drew my attention to new aspects of the issues I wrestle with. Our conversations were always enjoyable and led to further refinements of the text. I have also greatly benefited from Prof. Hans Boersma’s solid encouragement and his meticulous reading of my work. His academic excellence has motivated me to strive for rigorous thought and constantly reminded me of how much I still have to learn.
Several people have commented on parts of this work. My particular thanks are extended to Prof. Joost van Rossum, Vladimir Kharlamov, and Wolter Huttinga, who closely read significant portions of my work and suggested ways to improve it. Further, I am deeply indebted to Jos Colijn, not only for his particular observations and suggestions, but also for his constant encouragement throughout all the stages of this project. A special word of gratitude is due to Henk van ter Meij for his helpful suggestions, and to Alister Torrens for his thorough job of correcting my English.
Finally and above all, my thanks are due to my wife for her love, understanding, and numerous sacrifices. My wife and my daughter are my most precious treasure and the source of my joy and inspiration.
ABBREVIATIONS
ANF
Ante-Nicene Fathers
BavRev
The Bavinck Review
CD I
Barth, Karl, Church Dogmatics . Vol. 1, The Doctrine of the Word of God , Part 1. Translated by Geoffrey W. Bromiley. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 2004 .
CD II
Barth, Karl. Church Dogmatics . Vol. 2, The Doctrine of God , Part 1. Translated by T. H. L. Parker et al. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 2004 .
CTJ
Calvin Theological Journal
ECR
Eastern Churches Review
GD 1
Bavinck, Herman. Gereformeerde Dogmatiek . 4 vols. Kampen: Bos, 1895–1901
GD 4
Bavinck, Herman. Gereformeerde Dogmatiek . 4th ed. 4 vols. Kampen: Kok, 1928–1930
IJST
International Journal of Systematic Theology
NPNF 2
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers , Series 2
PG
Patrologia Graeca [= Patrologiae Cursus Completus: Series Graeca]. Edited by Jacques-Paul Migne. 162 vols. Paris: 1857–1886
PL
Patrologia Latina [= Patrologiae Cursus Completus: Series Latina]. Edited by Jacques-Paul Migne. 217 vols. Paris: 1844–1864
PRR
Presbyterian & Reformed Review
PTR
Princeton Theological Review
RD
Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics . 4 vols. Edited by John Bolt. Translated by John Vriend. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2003–2008
SVTQ
St Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly
WTJ
Westminster Theological Journal
1
INTRODUCTION

THE DOCTRINE OF GOD IN ECUMENICAL DIALOGUE
In a literal etymological sense, theology is the study of God. It is, therefore, unsurprising that the doctrine of God has been so central to the constructive endeavors of Christian theologians. The reconsideration of its significance in the twentieth century is owed mainly to renewed interest in the Trinitarian God. This revival, indebted to Karl Barth, awakened an interest in the doctrine of the Trinity, which since the Enlightenment had often been regarded as overburdened with philosophical speculations. Barth not only rearranged the doctrines by placing the Trinity “at the head of all dogmatics,” but also attempted to present it as the controlling principle of all Christian theology. 1 The resurgence of Trinitarian interest was further stimulated by Roman Catholic theologian Karl Rahner, who—working from a different standpoint and drawing mainly from other sources—reconsidered the Triune God as “the transcendent primal ground of salvation history.” 2 For their part, a number of Orthodox theologians noted that the liturgical practice, spirituality, and theology of the Christian East have always been marked by a Trinitarian structure, which serves as a helpful corrective to the alleged essentialism and unitarian inclinations of the West. 3
Subsequent developments of the doctrine of God included, among others, an emphasis on the relationality of God, which was developed as an alternative to substance metaphysics and implied that God’s being does not precede relation and can be known only through personal communion and commitment; the articulation of eschatological ontology in which the futurity of God and his kingdom defines the nature of the present reality and is the goal and meaning of world history; a reexamination of classical theist doctrines such as immutability, impassibility, and timelessness; and the further reconsideration of the doctrine of God in view of the post​modern turn in philosophy. 4 New approaches to the doctrine of God have also been closely interrelated with developments in other areas. Special mention must be made of the renaissance of participatory language, which first became apparent in nouvelle théologie and in the retrieval of the Eastern notion of theosis, but which later extended to other traditions and movements, including the new Luther interpretation in the Finnish school, the reevaluation of the place of “union with Christ” in Calvin’s theology, and the centrality of the notion of participation in the Anglo-Catholic Radical Orthodoxy movement. 5
Most remarkable about all these theological shifts and developments is that they occurred in an atmosphere of dialogue between different traditions. The doctrine of God has been both an impetus for and a fruit of ecumenical dialogue. On the one hand, the affirmation of the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed with its Trinitarian doctrine testified to the fact that different Christian traditions share much in common (which may be less obvious in the doctrines of Scripture, sin, salvation, church, and sacraments) and therefore stimulated dialogue and held out the promise of greater mutual understanding. On the other hand, the doctrine of God over the last fifty years has also been the product of a growing ecumenical awareness and exchange that has challenged all traditions and given rise to new ways of thinking. Engaging in dialogue, each tradition had the opportunity to learn from other theological heritages and be enriched without denying its own distinctive features.
The subject of the present book is not the doctrine of God in general, but a more specific issue—the relation between God’s hiddenness and revelation. 6 This issue has also been discussed in ecumenical dialogue, drawing the attention of many theologians from different Christian traditions. Here too, the impulse toward new reflections was largely generated by Karl Barth, whose thought was permeated with the persistent dialectic of God’s hiddenness and revealedness, of his veiling and unveiling. According to Barth, there is no Deus absconditus behind Christ; however, this does not exclude God’s hiddenness in revelation itself. The one who loves us in freedom is both fully known and wholly unknowable within his revelation. 7
Barth’s concern to preserve the genuine character of God’s self-giving and self-disclosure was echoed in Rahner’s Grundaxiom , “the ‘economic’ Trinity is the ‘immanent’ Trinity and the ‘immanent’ Trinity is the ‘economic’ Trinity.” 8 The main point of this dictum was relatively straightforward: the actual self-communication of God in revelation cannot be divorced from the internal constitution of the Trinity. What God is in his economy toward us, he is et