“Perfect unity of God in three persons, The Trinity“

by

Acknowledgement

I would take this opportunity to thank my Dissertation Advisor Dr. Ray L. Parker for valuable time and effort, your assistance and suggestions were extremely important in the successful completion of the Dissertation. A very special thanks and appreciation is owed to my wife Alice and daughters Lelie and Melanie, for their understanding and support throughout the years that required my absence while completing this research.

DECLARATION

I, [type your full first names and surname here], declare that the contents of this dissertation/thesis represent my own unaided work, and that the dissertation/thesis has not previously been submitted for academic examination towards any qualification. Furthermore, it represents my own opinions and not necessarily those of the University.

Signed __________________ Date _________________

Abstract

This thesis is that the adoption of a trinitarian viewpoint on Providence presents a conceptual paradigm whereby changing theological emphases are appreciated in a pattern of creative stress or balance, with each being rightly appreciated only in the context the other provides. The second section considered diverse facets of the specific methodological set about considered most befitting to supply the structure for our investigation. I discovered this to be the utilisation of differing perspectives, in this case especially a trinitarian viewpoint. In this present section, I start the task of giving the clues and contending the case in support of the thesis.

List of Figures

FIGURE #1: ANCIENT DIAGRAM OF THE HOLY TRINITY28

Table of Contents

CHAPTER # 1: INTRODUCTION1

Background of the Study1

Problem Statement1

Aim and Objective5

Significance of the Study6

CHAPTER # 2: LITERATURE REVIEW10

The Nature of this Revelation About God11

Historical Background18

Definition of the Trinity (Triunity) of God24

Ancient Diagram of the Holy Trinity28

The Providing God36

The Concept of Providence39

Shared Understandings Concerning the Doctrine of Providence42

Articulating Agreement Concerning the Doctrine of Providence48

Trinity - A Perspective on Providence60

CHAPTER # 3: METHODOLOGY78

CHAPTER # 4: FINDINGS & DISCUSSION85

The Open Theism Proposal91

The Relational Heart of Open Theism95

Open Theism and the Triunity of God99

Open Theism and Issues of Providence102

Excursus - The Centrality Of God And The Necessity Of Faith104

Providence and the Doctrine of Creation107

Providence and the Doctrine of God114

Providence and Faith117

The Triune God126

The Profit and Peril of Trinitarian Theological Reflection128

An Attitude of Charitable Discretion133

Divine sovereignty and human blame134

The environment of divine sovereignty134

Divine Sovereignty And Human Freedom139

Sovereignty, Freedom and the Trinitarian Divine Life140

Sovereignty, Freedom and the Hypostatic Union141

The Nature of Freedom143

CHAPTER # 5: CONCLUSION147

The Freedom of Responsible Dependence147

Freedom, Love and the Notion of “Other”152

Divine Sovereignty and the Future156

Presentism, Simple Foreknowledge and Middle-Knowledge156

Conclusion159

REFERENCES165

Chapter # 1: Introduction

Background of the Study

The Christian doctrine of the Providence of God (de providentia Dei) concerns  itself with the connection between the Creator and the created - that is,  between the truth of God and the truth of the cosmos. It is the theological  explication of the issue that lives between the activities of God  toward and in his creation and the actuality of that creation before its God.  Accordingly, the doctrine of Providence may be characterised as the Christian  understanding of God's extending activity by which all creation is preserved  and ruled by God's reasons ...