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Randal Rauser

Home of progressively evangelical, generously orthodox, rigorously analytic, revolutionary Christian thinking (that's what I'm aiming for anyway)

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Trinity

Should Christians Accept the Trinity? A Conversation with Dale Tuggy

August 6, 2022 by Randal

Should Christians accept the doctrine of the Trinity? Not according to philosopher Dale Tuggy. In this episode, Tuggy explains and defends his unitarian understanding of the doctrine of God. Check out Dale’s book What is the Trinity? https://amzn.to/3QFu4Pp (promoted link) ?

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: Dale Tuggy, interview, theology, Trinity

Confusion on the Trinity

February 6, 2019 by Randal

Are you looking for an excellent devotional that speaks intelligently on theology and apologetics while remaining accessible to and engaging for the lay reader? Yes, of course you are. Given that fact, I heartily commend Cornelius Plantinga Jr., Beyond Doubt: Faith-Building Devotions on Questions Christians Ask. (Buy it here!) But while the book is very fine, […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: Cornelius Plantinga Jr., doctrine of the Trinity, theological language, Trinity

Debriefing the Trinity Debate: A Conversation with Dale Tuggy

January 25, 2019 by Randal

Recently, one of the foremost defenders of unitarianism today, the analytic philosopher Dale Tuggy, squared off in a public debate with popular speaker, radio host, and author Michael Brown to debate the topic “Is the God of the Bible the Father Alone?” Tuggy defended unitarianism and Brown defended trinitarianism. I very much enjoyed this rigorous […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: Dale Tuggy, debate, Michael Brown, Trinitarianism, Trinity, Unitarianism

Is it proper to refer to the Trinity as “he”?

January 11, 2018 by Randal

The doctrine of the Trinity is a conundrum. So it should be no surprise that discourse about the triune God is itself a minefield of potential error and ambiguity. Consider, for example, the matter of divine reference: how does one refer to the triune God? I often encounter people referring to the triune God with […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: theological language, Trinity

What is the Trinity? A Review

September 2, 2017 by Randal

Dale Tuggy. What is the Trinity? Thinking About the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. CreateSpace, 2017, 142 pp. In one of his comedy sketches, Jim Gaffigan recalls an occasion when his young son said: “Look daddy! A silver stick!” Gaffigan replied, “Actually son, that’s an antenna!” Puzzled, the boy replied: “What’s an antenna?” After a moment, […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: Dale Tuggy, doctrine, reason, review, theology, Trinity, What is the Trinity?

55. Does the Trinity make sense? A conversation with Michael Rea

December 4, 2014 by Randal

A.W. Tozer once said, “Love and faith are at home in the mystery of the Godhead. Let reason kneel in reverence outside.” And why are we obliged to leave reason outside? Well the doctrine of God brings with it many conundrums, but there is probably none greater than that posed by Trinitarian doctrine, that is, […]

Filed Under: Podcast-The Tentative Apologist, The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: Analytic theology, doctrine, Michael C. Rea, mystery, paradox, Trinity

32. Fred Sanders on the Trinity

January 14, 2014 by Randal

Back in the 1960s theologian Karl Rahner famously lamented the fact that Christians are “almost mere monotheists”. Rahner’s lament reflects the observation that the Trinitarian confession at the heart of Christian faith is often not evident in the life of the Church. Sadly, I fear that Rahner’s concern still rings true today. To be sure, one […]

Filed Under: Podcast, Podcast-The Tentative Apologist, The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: Fred Sanders, The Deep Things of God, theology, Trinity

Are the orthodox better off than the heretical?

November 4, 2013 by Randal

In his intellectual biography Orthodoxy, G.K. Chesterton famously summed up the ironic conclusion of his wayward intellectual journey away from the church: “I did try to found a little heresy of my own; and when I had put the last touches to it, I discovered that it was orthodoxy.” But things don’t always work out […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: Dale Tuggy, epistemic virtue, heresy, orthodoxy, Trinity, Unitarianism

Dancing on the edge of the hermeneutical abyss

April 20, 2013 by Randal

I was once in conversation with a Mormon missionary who claimed he had evidence for the Book of Mormon in the Bible. “Oh really?” I said, barely able to conceal my dripping skepticism. “Can you show me?” He opened up a Bible to Ezekiel 37 and began to read: 15 The word of the Lord came […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: Bible, biblical interpretation, Christian, hermeneutics, Mormon, Trinity

The Peril of Praying to the Trinity

January 11, 2013 by Randal

This is a repost of an article originally published at The Christian Post in 2009. * * * This Sunday well meaning pastors and congregants across North America will make unintended blunders into heresy by praying things like this: “Heavenly Father, we thank you for dying for us”; “Lord Jesus, we thank you for being […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: God, prayer, Trinity

Must a Christian believe in the Trinity?

January 26, 2012 by Randal

Jeff is puzzled that I have made the claim that Christians ought to be trinitarian. Let’s hear Jeff in his own words: “Randal, sorry to be a pest, but I’m still surprised that you haven’t stepped back from your statement that adherence to trinitarian doctrine is essential for identification as a Christian. Maybe it’s a […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: doctrine, heresy, orthodoxy, Trinity

The Shack under Attack? A Response to Mark Driscoll

August 20, 2011 by Randal

Back in April of 2009 I offered a response to Pastor Mark Driscoll’s 8 minute response to William Paul Young’s bestselling novel The Shack which has sold over ten million copies. Driscoll’s screed, which was posted on Youtube and viewed hundreds of thousands of times, accused The Shack of four major heresies including modalism and goddess worship. I rebut both of those […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: heresy, Mark Driscoll, modalism, The Shack, Trinity, William Paul Young

Who needs the Trinity? A Review of Fred Sanders, “The Deep Things of God”

August 6, 2011 by Randal

Fred Sanders. The Deep Things of God. How the Trinity changes everything. Crossway, 2010. 256 pp. ISBN: 978-1-4355-1316-9. “Dear heavenly Father, we thank you for dying for us.” I winced. The church elder meant well of course. He certainly didn’t mean to endorse patripassianism. He was just aiming to provide an offeratory prayer in a sleepy suburban evangelical congregation. […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: Fred Sanders, God, The Deep Things of God, Trinity

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