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The Birth of the Trinity: Jesus, God, and Spirit in New Testament and Early Christian Interpretations of the Old Testament, by Matthew W.
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How and when did Jesus and the Spirit come to be regarded as fully God? The Birth of the Trinity offers a new historical approach by exploring the way in which first- and second-century Christians read the Old Testament in order to differentiate the one God as multiple persons. The earliest Christians felt they could metaphorically 'overhear' divine conversations between Father, Son, and Spirit when reading the Old Testament. When these snatches of dialogue are connected and joined, they form a narrative about the unfolding interior divine life as understood by the nascent church. What emerges is not a static portrait of the triune God, but a developing story of divine persons enacting mutual esteem, voiced praise, collaborative strategy, and self-sacrificial love. The presence of divine dialogue in the New Testament and early Christian literature shows that, contrary to the claims of James Dunn and Bart Ehrman (among others), the earliest Christology was the highest Christology, as Jesus was identified as a divine person through Old Testament interpretation.
- A new historical proposal for how the doctrine of the Trinity first emerged
- Unfolds the story of the God in a uniquely Trinitarian fashion
- Exemplifies the theological interpretation of Scripture
- Shows how and why one can read the Old Testament and the New Testament together as Christian Scripture
- Fresh evidence for an early high Christology
- Sales Rank: #256527 in Books
- Published on: 2015-05-12
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 6.30" h x .90" w x 9.30" l, 1.40 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 256 pages
Review
"The Birth of the Trinity is a stunningly important book that defies easy categorization. Is it exegetical? Is it theological? Is it historical? The resounding answer to each of these questions: 'Yes, and much more!' Setting aside widespread and long-held views about Christological development or adoptionism, or about Trinitarian theology as an intrusion into biblical faith from Hellenistic philosophy, Bates urges that early high Christology and Christian understanding of the Trinity itself were cultivated through dramatic reading of Israel's Scriptures. For biblical and theological studies alike, this is a compelling game changer." --Joel B. Green, Professor of New Testament Interpretation, Fuller Theological Seminary
"This is a bold and ambitious book that cuts across disciplinary lines as typically perceived, and will certainly (and reasonably) generate debate on a number of the points argued in it. But Bates makes an important contribution in underscoring how early Christians perceived the voice and person of Jesus in their ('Old Testament') scriptures, and in contending that this constituted an important mode of theological reflection along the route to the doctrine of the Trinity." --Larry W. Hurtado, Emeritus Professor of New Testament Language, Literature & Theology, University of Edinburgh
"In this fascinating new study Matthew W. Bates mines a stream of early Trinitarian thinking that has all too often been forgotten. Of particular importance is his attention to the continuities between the New Testament writers own ways of attending to the divine agents at which Israel's Scriptures already hinted, and also to the modes of Trinitarian exegesis that remained central throughout the early Christian period." --Lewis Ayres, Professor of Catholic and Historical Theology, Durham University
"In this bold and erudite study, Matthew W. Bates argues that it was not least by reading the Scriptures (the 'Old Testament') theodramatically, or prosopologically, that Jesus and his followers came very early on to Trinitarian conclusions. Scholars and students will find here a new and exciting way of investigating Christian origins. A landmark book." --Matthew Levering, Perry Family Foundation Professor of Theology, Mundelein Seminary
About the Author
Matthew W. Bates (Ph.D., The University of Notre Dame) is Assistant Professor of Theology at Quincy University in Quincy, Illinois.
Most helpful customer reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful.
Groundbreaking research. A fascinating read.
By Zeke
The author of the book of Hebrews identifies Christ as the speaker of this line in Psalm 40: "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me." How and why did the author identify Christ as the speaker, and to whom was he speaking? Beginning with this puzzle, Matthew Bates evaluates every instance where New Testament authors employ a "dramatic" interpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures, where the persons of the Godhead are considered to be speaking to one another. Bates argues convincingly that this interpretive strategy, which he calls prosopological (person-centered) exegesis, was crucial in forming the early church's understanding of the Trinity. Bates is not afraid to occasionally offer speculative proposals regarding particular passages, with which the reader may disagree, but it is difficult to disagree with his main argument and the center of the book. What makes his case even more compelling is how it brings Irenaues, Origen, and their interpretive methods into the conversation. Their methods are seen to be in continuity with those already being employed by the New Testament authors themselves.
In addition to shedding considerable light on the concept of the Trinity, Bates's insights illuminate contemporary discussions of Christology, atonement, and hermeneutics.
I have rarely been so moved and enriched from an academic book. Bates communicates his insights in lucid prose, with metaphors and turns of phrase that snap ideas into place. Highly recommended reading for scholars and pastors.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful.
Old Testament Exegesis as Way to Nicaea
By Johnny Walker
Matthew W. Bates continues his project of assessing early Christian interpretive practice in his latest volume, The Birth of the Trinity: Jesus, God, and Spirit in New Testament and Early Christian Interpretations of the Old Testament. The interdisciplinary/cross-disciplinary nature of his proposal is shown in the endorsements: Joel B. Green (New Testament), Larry Hurtado (Christian origins), Lewis Ayres (theology/patristics, and Matthew Levering (theology). Bates is to be commended at the very least for modeling an approach to the New Testament and early Christianity that takes both its historical location and theological significance seriously.
Bates notes that while there have been many attempts to locate the strands that led to the doctrine of the trinity (seeing it as an imposition of Hellenism, as an outgrowth of monotheism, as an encounter with the historical Jesus, etc.), no one has yet taken account of the way in which it was a certain reading strategy that played a crucial role in bringing about the affirmation of the triune nature of God. The Birth of the Trinity is Bates attempt to bring attention to this constitutive element of early Christian theological practice.
The argument goes that when early Christians read the Old Testament, they often made recourse to a kind of interpretive technique called prosopological exegesis. This was a method that was employed throughout the ancient world, and is explicitly forwarded by church theologians like Justin Martyr and Irenaeus. It is what Bates calls a "person-centered reading strategy" (27). Essentially, it reads Old Testament passages with an eye toward who is speaking, who is be spoken to, and what is being spoken about. Though there was certainly the human speaker, because of early Christian understandings of prophecy, this human speaker could speak as another "person" (prosopos) or "character." Bates writes, "The earliest Christians believed that ancient prophets, such as David or Isaiah, could speak in the character of God the Father, Christ the Son, and others" (34). While the prophets certainly spoke in their own time, within their own historical horizon, they could "slip into a role . . . and perform a speech or dialogue that has already come to pass, is presently happening, or will occur in the future, whether on earth or in the heavens. The speech is functionally a script authored by the Holy Spirit, as in the final analysis it is the Spirit who supplies the words to the prophet, because these words have been, are, or will become a reality when performed" (Ibid).
So alongside this "prophetic setting" is the setting of what the speech itself is talking about, this is what Bates calls the "theodramatic setting." Finally, there is the "actualized setting" which is "the moment at which the theodrama is truly performed, not by the prophet-actor but by the person(s) the prophet was representing in the theodrama" (35).
Bates argues that many of the New Testament writers and Christian theologians of the first few centuries recognized these three settings (of course not in those terms) and interpreted the Old Testament texts accordingly. Thus, they could find in the words of a Davidic Psalm a conversation between the Father and Christ over the nature of his earthly humiliation and resurrection.
The upshot of all this for the history of trinitarian doctrine is that Bates is able to contend that this was crucial in developing the nature of the intra-divine distinction of persons, across all of history. Indeed, this was likely a a major element that led to recognition of the Son's pre-existence. The burden of the book then is to demonstrate that the New Testament does indeed demonstrate this kind of interpretation toward the ends that Bates suggests. Naturally then, he spends most of his time looking closes at passages throughout the New Testament corpus (chiefly St. Paul), drawing out instance of prosopological exegesis.
He arranges these chapters in terms of the "theodramatic setting." Thus, they range from discussion of the pre-temporal life of God to the determination of the mission of the Son, from the Cross to the Resurrection, and ultimately to the final end of all things.
All in all, Bates makes a persuasive case for the presence of prosopological reading in the New Testament. Which in turn suggests that post-apostolic Christians were in continuity with the New Testament writers themselves when they employed person-centered exegesis in developing trinitarian doctrine. This is not to say that all of Bates' exegetical treatments are equally satisfying, yet it is to say that he has effectively demonstrated that contemporary interpreters need to recognize this approach to the biblical texts as apostolic.
NOTE: This book was provided free of charge in exchange for an honest review.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
Birth of the Trinity
By Lindsay
G. K. Chesterton tells the tale of of a man who sails out to discover a new land, only to mistakenly return to England and proceed to plant a British flag in this apparently virgin land. For Chesterton, this allegory captures the adventure of discovery and the familiarity of home. I suspect when studying for The Birth of the Trinity, Matthew Bates had a similar experience to Chesterton’s Englishman, as I certainly did when reading his book.
The Birth of the Trinity
In The Birth of the Trinity, Matthew Bates attempts to prove that the “specific ancient reading technique, best termed prosopological exegesis, that is evidenced in the New Testament and other early Christian writings was was irreducibly essential” to the doctrine of the Trinity (p2, emphasis italicized in original). In other words, what best explains the origin of the Trinity doctrine? For Bates, the answer is the early church engaging in prosopological exegesis of the OT.
However, aside from being a useful term for impressing one’s audience, what exactly is prosopological exegesis? It is a method of interpreting the Old Testament by discovering and assigning persons to the unnamed speakers and/or addressees. Prosopological exegesis (hereafter PE) begins with the recognition that OT prophets climbed through “a divinely ordained tear between heaven and earth” to overhear divine conversations (Isaiah 6, Daniel 7). PE is seen in Peter’s reading of Psalm 16 (Acts 2:25-32). Peter recognized David was writing the words of Christ as a Spirit-empowered prophet, and so he read the Psalm as “containing a real future conversation between the Father and the Son” (p6). Peter did not read the Psalm typologically, as if Psalm 16 contained David’s own experience and foreshadowed Christ. Rather, he read it prosopologically: David’s own experience was distinctly unlike that of the speaker in Psalm 16 (Acts 2:29), so David must be enacting the person (Gk. prosopon) of another. Discerning these occurrences is the heart of PE.
After introducing PE and its implications for the history of Trinitarian doctrine, The Birth of the Trinity discovers instances of PE in the New Testament and the early church (e.g. Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, Ps-Barnabas and Tertullian). Chapter 2 uncovers Trinitarian conversation before creation in Psalm 2, 110, Isaiah 42, and Genesis 1:26. Chapter 3 explores conversations pertaining to the Son’s mission in Psalm 40, Mal 3:1, Isaiah 61:1-2, and Isa 42:1-9. Chapter 4 finds dialogue regarding the Son’s death in Psalm 69, Isaiah 65:1-2, and Psalm 22. In chapter 5, the Son is rescued from death to praise His Father in Psalm 22, Isaiah 8:17-18, Psalm 116, Psalm 18, and Psalm 16. Chapter 6 finds Christ’s enthronement and conquest, in addition to the new creation, in Psalm 2, 110, 45, and 102. Along the way, Bates explores questions related to PE, such as the eunuch’s question regarding the true speaker of Isaiah’s prophecy (Acts 8:32-33; Isa 53:7-8) or the nature of the Son’s forsakenness in Psalm 22. Chapter 7 asks the natural next questions: was this a faithful reading of the Scripture? and even more provocative, ought we emulate it? Bates recognizes that this question is not unprecedented; the early church set forth guidelines for faithful utilization of PE in response to Gnostic PE (yes they did it too!). Bates then answers both questions with a qualified yes, offering his own guidelines.
Evaluation
As for the origins of the Trinity doctrine, The Birth of the Trinity has much explanatory power. I eagerly await the ripples the book will cause in scholarship. For one, theologian Fred Sanders already highly praised the work. Bates’ proposal is provocative and I expect to see many others picking up his baton and running further down the unexplored track.
Bates’ PE approach raises some questions as to how we ought interpret the original OT passage. First, must a passage only have one referent? If for example Psalm 18 is David speaking in the voice of the Christ, then what should we make of the Psalm’s appearance in 2 Samuel 22, where it is (apparently) applied to David’s life? Can David not be speaking of himself and the Christ? Second, if PE is a faithful reading of the OT, should (and if yes, then how should) one go back and read the OT passage in light of the NT’s connections with Christ? Third, if the NT reads a portion of a Psalm as about Christ using PE, ought we consider the whole Psalm as about Christ? These questions are not criticisms of the book so much as evidence of a highly stimulating read that ought to provoke fruitful reflection and research.
Aside from my near-absolute praise for The Birth of the Trinity, I have a few small complaints. First, though Bates is to be applauded for staying focused on presenting his unique thesis, I would have appreciated more representation and even critique of differing exegetical conclusions on a given passage before Bates provided his own. This would have helped clarify Bates’ own views whilst undermining the alternatives; poking prevailing interpretations in the eye before delivering the rhetorical KO of Bates’ exegetical blindsides (all done in Christian love, of course). Along with this, how the NT’s interpretations stood in relation, whether agreement or contrast, with prevailing contemporary interpretations of these same passages would be welcome. How did Second Temple Jews interpret these texts? Can we find instances of PE there? Of course, this would have resulted in a much larger book. Lastly, on that note, I just wish the book were longer; I want more!
Conclusion
The Birth of the Trinity is clearly written, compellingly argued, and for me, a thrilling and stimulating read. I am thoroughly convinced that the NT uses PE, and this has opened up these texts again for me in a refreshing way. Along with insights into the Trinity, virtually every page has creative and provocative exegetical insights. What’s more, PE has vast implications: including the NT use of the OT, Messianic fulfillment, Christology and Trinitarianism. The implications of Bates’ work are not simply intellectually stimulating, however; they reveal a personal Triune God. They reveal impassioned conversations between a Father who, for example, provides a body for His Son to accomplish redemption (Ps 40), and a Son who willingly substitutes Himself to receive the blows directed at His Father (Ps 69).
The Birth of the Trinity is unique for simultaneously discovering a dusty overlooked interpretative tool and also pioneering a bold way forward in scholarship. Much like Chesterton’s Englishman who discovered England, this is both a deeply rooted, traditional, and orthodox reading, and also a creative and exciting new method with “rich Trinitarian fruit […] that has not yet been plucked by scholarship” (p6-7). The fruit is so abundant that this is without a doubt one of the best books I’ve read this year, and surely to be in my top five reads of the year. Though the Oxford University Press hardback is pricey, be on the lookout for the much more affordable paperback edition in September.
Many thanks to Ofxord University Press who provided a review copy.
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