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A Way into the Trinity

Reviewed by John Watson.

At first reading, A Way into the Trinity feels more like lots of ways into the Trinity as the author in the early chapters begins to explore scriptural, personal and traditional attempts at explaining the mystery of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. There are lots of similes and formulae on offer which would be a welcome addition to any confirmation class or Christian education course.

However, the most powerful aspect of the book, and I think its greatest strength, is the personal account of how one man sees God at work in his life, revealing an intimate and relational God rather than a sterile and distant deity. It reads very much like an autobiography, with personal details and struggles over the years being shared. Yet rather than treating the subject matter as a systematic theological treatise to be presented, he leads you into moments of discovery and illumination through personal events and processes as well as doctrinal comment, all being interwoven with some spiritual classics.

There really is lot going on in this book, touching on a whole host of subjects ranging from baptism, the Eucharist, Markan theology and Christology, which entice the reader to explore these matters further. My own perspectives led me to feel that this was a very individual, if not existential, reading of the Gospel, and I found myself wanting to read more on the implications of the Trinity’s relationship with the world, and in the act of the new creation.