Chapter 1: The Patristic Period, C

Chapter 10: The Doctrine of the Trinity

Quiz questions: 1. In the words of Irenaeus, the way God has ordered the salvation of humanity in history is the ______of salvation. 2. The addition of the phrase “and from the Son” to the Nicene creed is known as the ______controversy. 3. The theologian named ______developed the distinction between the economic and the immanent Trinity. 4. Lesslie Newbigin has been instrumental in constructing a trinitarian theology of ______. 5. Some of Miroslav Volf’s work has focused on a trinitarian understanding of ______.

Multiple-choice questions: 1) The doctrine of the Trinity arose out of a. reflection on the Holy Spirit b. attempts to clarify the relationship of Christianity to Judaism c. questions about the identity of Jesus Christ d. defense of the Christian faith against Islam

2) The foundations of the doctrine of the Trinity a. are in later theological reflection rather than Scripture itself b. can be drawn from patterns in both the Old and New Testaments c. are found in the New Testament but not the Old Testament d. has very faint biblical support

3) The word “Trinity” (Trinitas) was coined by a. Tertullian b. the Gospel of John c. Aquinas d. Augustine

4) The term perichoresis refers to a. the distinct roles taken on by each member of the Trinity

Wiley-Blackwell 2010 b. the subordination of the Son and the Spirit to the Father c. the mutual interrelationships of the persons of the Trinity d. the full divinity of each member of the Trinity

5) Anti-trinitarianism in the Christian tradition arose especially through a. the radical Reformation b. the work of Karl Barth c. resistance to the divinity of Jesus from other religions d. the philosophy of the Enlightenment

6) The economic Trinity refers to a. the inner life of God b. the essential nature of God c. the way the members of the Trinity relate to one another d. the way God is known in history

7) The belief that the self-revelation of the one God occurred in different ways at different times is known as a. the immanent Trinity b. modalism c. perichoresis d. the economic Trinity

8) In the filioque controversy, the position of the eastern (Greek) church is that a. the Spirit proceeds from the Father b. the Spirit proceeds from the Son c. the Spirit proceeds from neither the Spirit nor the Father but is co-equal with both d. the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son

9) Latin (western) writers in the filioque controversy wanted to emphasize a. the divinity of the Spirit b. the mutual relations of the Son and the Spirit c. the Father as the sole source of divinity d. the humanity of Jesus

10) The formula “one substance [ousia] in three persons [hypostaseis]” sums up a. Augustine’s approach to the Trinity b. Karl Barth’s approach to the Trinity c. the western (Latin) approach to the Trinity d. the Cappadocian approach to the Trinity

11) In Augustine’s approach to the Trinity, the Spirit could be described as a kind of a. rainbow

Wiley-Blackwell 2010 b. dance c. glue d. cloverleaf

12) For Karl Barth, the doctrine of the Trinity is a. discernable in the natural world as well as Scripture b. the first and most fundamental statement about God c. revealed in the workings of the human mind d. the last word to be said about God

13) In his analysis of the Trinity, theologian John Macquarrie uses the insights of a. John Calvin b. process theology c. Augustine d. existentialism

14) The statement “The Trinity is our social program” represents the view of a. Jürgen Moltmann b. F.D.E. Schleiermacher c. Robert Jenson d. Catherine Mowry LaCugna

15) Sarah Coakley suggests reconceiving the doctrine of the Trinity through a. using feminine imagery for the members of the Trinity b. the practice of prayer c. gender-neutral names for God d. freeing it from secular metaphysics

Wiley-Blackwell 2010