God-images and politics: the contribution of Trinitarian theology

[摘要] English: The aim of this study is to determine whether Trinitarian theology could contributepositively towards the dialectical relationship between God-images and politics. Thecentral question is, 'In what way can the Trinitarian confession be related to the politicaldimension of society? That God-images influence the political environment in whichhumans live their lives has been established through various studies. It is also generallyaccepted that a person's God-image develops through various stages and, once formed,does not remain static but is fluid and changes with time as a result of his or herexperience and gaining of additional knowledge. Interaction with other important personsin their lives, as well as religious education, affect the formation of God-images. Ethnicand social background also play a role in the development of a person's God-image.The political nature of God-images is an indisputable fact. Changes in God-images areoften followed by changes in the political structures within societies. Strict monotheism,where God is perceived as a solitary singe-person, has often in the past been employed forthe justification of authoritarianism and hierarchy. It is argued that the one supreme rulerin heaven is represented on earth by one supreme ruler. It has been claimed that such astrict monotheism has promoted religious violence against the other who holds differentconvictions than those promulgated by the ruler.The twentieth-century Trinitarian renaissance has emphasized the relationality of theDivine. This new awareness of the doctrine of the Trinity and its practical implicationsfor human existence, together with the move from a substance ontology to a relationalontology, has initiated a number of studies which concentrate on the relevance of theTrinity for social ethics. The biblical foundation of the doctrine has been placed under amicroscope again as theologians started to realize the importance of this fundamentaldoctrine for Christian faith and life. The new emphasis on the Trinity started by Hegelwas continued by theologians such as Barth and Rahner, and in their wake a number ofprominent theologians have continued the discourse on the Trinity, with some excitingdevelopments.One of the developments that has significance for the church's understanding of thetriune nature of God is the development of a social Trinity. Theologians such asMoltmann, Boff, Johnson and LaCugna, influenced by Zizioulas' concept of personhoodas relational, articulated the concept of a social Trinity. Interestingly, this move towardssocial Trinitarianism has mostly left an older generation of South African theologiansunaffected, while it was picked up by the younger generation and incorporated into theirtheology.The move towards a relational Trinity and the emphasis on the practical relevance ofthe Trinity have been questioned by some scholars who caution that the differencebetween the Divine and human persons is just too significant. Prominent critics of thesocial Trinity and its correlation with society are, among others, Tanner, Kilby andHolmes. They reject the possibility of imitation of the Trinity and Tanner suggestsparticipation in the life of the Trinity through Christ instead.The position taken in this study is that both imitation and participation are validoptions with biblical justification and that the dichotomy, where one is set against theother, is the wrong approach towards addressing the problem. Humans are created in theimage of God and should therefore reflect something, however vaguely, of God's life inTrinity. Through Christ believers are drawn into the life of the Trinity and participate inthe Divine community, while they are also commanded in the Bible to imitate the actionsof mercy and righteousness of the triune God. The quality of the Trinitarian relationalitycould very well be reflected within society.

[发布机构] University of the Free State