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Trinity and Creation: A Scriptural and Confessional Account
Trinity and Creation explores Scripture and the Reformed confession on the doctrine of creation as they relate to the triune God. When considering an act of God, it is important to understand the agent of the act in order to account properly for the act of the agent. Any faithful account of divine creation must ground its argument first in the God who creates. This method of treating the doctrine of creation is displayed in this book. It will become clear to readers that understanding the nature of God is essential in order to account for what God does. It will also become clear that this is not a novel method of accounting for creation. This book argues that not prioritizing theology proper in our accounting for creation is a recipe for theological novelty and, if unchecked, heresy. Trinity and Creation is offered to account for creatures given who God is, to display that its argument is firmly rooted in the Christian theological tradition, to address the views of some who (it will be argued) apply a faulty method when accounting for creatures, and to enhance readers’ knowledge and worship of our triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
- GenresTheology
134 pages, Paperback
Published October 12, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
May 7, 2021
A very needed book that seeks to recover a confessional and catholic doctrine of God in the Reformed tradition as expressed clearly in 4.1 of the Reformed Confessions. A wonderfully gracious and intelligent critique of both Frame and Oliphint; an accessibly advanced and intentionally God-centered theological work that attempts, and succeeds, in bringing the church to a better understanding of who God is and what He has done in Creation.
April 25, 2021
This is a book that will challenge your mind and stir your heart. I confess that works like these on Trinitarian theology are challenging to me because I’ve not interacted with a lot of material. However, Barcellos does a great job unpacking what we confess as Reformed Christians about the Trinity. He also graciously yet firmly pushes back on some of the novel views proposed that creation in some way changed or added to God something He did not have. Pick up and read.
February 25, 2021
Wonderfully niche. Barcellos provides a devastating critique of Frame and Oliphint, specifically through the lens of the God-creation relationship. In short: their position is as problematic as their critics claim, and the "dog-pile" is more than warranted. Refutation is necessary on this one.
December 14, 2023
Just finished this book for the second time. It’s an excellent, well-researched treatment on the subject of the Trinity and Creation.
February 19, 2023
Excellent. A clear, historically orthodox understanding of the Trinity is essential to understanding the Scriptures, God and your salvation. To start off wrong will inevitably end up in a terrible place.
It's difficult for me to understand the need for theologians and thinkers to tinker with long established and settled doctrines. But we do.
Pastor Barcellos has done the church a great favor by defining, describing and critiquing the faulty theology of the Trinity in relation to creation from John Frame and Scott Oliphant. That somehow God had to add characteristics that He did not eternally have to be able to relate to the created order (you and me). It might sound plausible but thoroughly changes who God is; His immutability, His eternality, His unchangeableness, and others.
I highly recommend this book. It is a worthy read.
It's difficult for me to understand the need for theologians and thinkers to tinker with long established and settled doctrines. But we do.
Pastor Barcellos has done the church a great favor by defining, describing and critiquing the faulty theology of the Trinity in relation to creation from John Frame and Scott Oliphant. That somehow God had to add characteristics that He did not eternally have to be able to relate to the created order (you and me). It might sound plausible but thoroughly changes who God is; His immutability, His eternality, His unchangeableness, and others.
I highly recommend this book. It is a worthy read.
March 12, 2024
Methodical, incisive, clear. The critiques are well-founded yet delivered in a gracious manner.
October 28, 2020
A superb, gripping book that will raise your whole being to stare in awe and adore the Triune God of Scripture, Barcellos has delivered a book different than anything else I've read on the Trinity. It patiently takes the reader to the very foundations of it (hermeneutics and proper exegesis), and accounts for classical Christian orthodoxy by grounding the doctrine in Scripture and the confessions, particularly the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith. It deals with dense material, but it is well worth your time and meditation. This will be the book I recommend to anyone asking for an introductory work on the subject, not because it is "simple," but because, as he says in the book, "we need help. If we are going to retrieve a theological method that serves the church well, we need help. Many in our day were not trained to do theology in a historically Christian manner."
Barcellos professionally, charitably, and very able addresses serious error in the theology of renowned theologians, and correctly warns against not only holding to these errors, but against promoting them and their proponents. There is too much at stake.
Read it. Enjoy it. Share it. Meditate on it. Ask questions. If you are a Christian, you need to read this book to know the God you adore and will never comprehend. May it make you smaller and God greater, not because you can make God greater (He simply IS), but so that YOU are changed by knowing more about the God who condescended in revelation, not ontology, bow the knee, repent, and turn to the triune God for salvation and redemption.
"In less than 50 words, [2LCF] confession 4.1 takes us from the inception of creation to the ground of creation, the author of creation, the goal of creation, the essence of creation, the scope of creation, the duration of creation, and the nature of creation. Good symbolic statements encapsulate truth in economic fashion. Confession 4.1 certainly does that.
It is hoped that this book will assist its readers to understand better what is contained in confession 4.1 and, more importantly, its scriptural basis, along with the hermeneutical and theological method necessary to account for it. Knowledge of trinitarian creation and how to account for it, however, must not remain as a cranial exercise alone. Knowing must result in worship, thankfulness, and service in and through the church. The desire is that this essay will benefit the church by assisting its ministers and teachers to account for creation by our triune God for his glory and the good of many others.
May our meditations upon Trinity and creation be blessed by God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, “for the manifestation of the glory of His eternal power, wisdom, and goodness.” May the Lord bless this work for the good of all its readers and those who are served by them. Amen." - Pp. 112-113
Barcellos professionally, charitably, and very able addresses serious error in the theology of renowned theologians, and correctly warns against not only holding to these errors, but against promoting them and their proponents. There is too much at stake.
Read it. Enjoy it. Share it. Meditate on it. Ask questions. If you are a Christian, you need to read this book to know the God you adore and will never comprehend. May it make you smaller and God greater, not because you can make God greater (He simply IS), but so that YOU are changed by knowing more about the God who condescended in revelation, not ontology, bow the knee, repent, and turn to the triune God for salvation and redemption.
"In less than 50 words, [2LCF] confession 4.1 takes us from the inception of creation to the ground of creation, the author of creation, the goal of creation, the essence of creation, the scope of creation, the duration of creation, and the nature of creation. Good symbolic statements encapsulate truth in economic fashion. Confession 4.1 certainly does that.
It is hoped that this book will assist its readers to understand better what is contained in confession 4.1 and, more importantly, its scriptural basis, along with the hermeneutical and theological method necessary to account for it. Knowledge of trinitarian creation and how to account for it, however, must not remain as a cranial exercise alone. Knowing must result in worship, thankfulness, and service in and through the church. The desire is that this essay will benefit the church by assisting its ministers and teachers to account for creation by our triune God for his glory and the good of many others.
May our meditations upon Trinity and creation be blessed by God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, “for the manifestation of the glory of His eternal power, wisdom, and goodness.” May the Lord bless this work for the good of all its readers and those who are served by them. Amen." - Pp. 112-113
April 14, 2021
This is a 5 star book in many ways. I found the chapter critiquing Oliphint and Frame a weakness. Although I agreed with him, I also think he should’ve spent more time articulating their view, then interacting with it. I also found his chapter on hermeneutics helpful. Although I differ some than the author, helpful to know where he and many others are coming from. But in the end, the rest was great and helpful!
August 26, 2022
A good book to learn more about the modern views of theistic mutualism (particularly by John Frame and Scott Oliphint) and how to refute them. While this book is written primarily from a 1689 Baptist's confession, Barcellos also cited other earlier Reformed confessions, church fathers and medieval theologians to show that the Classical View is not a new thing invented by the 1689 Baptists.
January 26, 2022
Excellent model for how to do systematic theology in way that seeks to honor the biblical data, learn from history, and understand the Second London Confession (in this case, chapter 4, paragraph 1).
January 2, 2021
A 100 page mic-drop from Barcellos.
March 8, 2021
A account of creation and how it relates to the Trinity through the lens of the reformed confessions, There is no change in God due to creation– is the confessional thought.
April 29, 2021
Good book integrating John Webster in the consideration of the doctrine of creation
June 4, 2021
Outstanding
February 15, 2023
Essential reading for pastors
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews