Introduction

INTRODUCTION During the latter part of the 20th century and early into the 21st century, Colin E. Gunton (1941–2003) was an important voice in the contempo- rary theological dialogue, especially in the area of trinitarian studies. He has been heralded as a key figure in the “renewal of systematic theology in Britain” and is credited with contributions that led to a resurgence of trinitarian theology in both Britain and the United States.1 Gunton’s most well-known and discussed aspects of his work revolve around his concep- tion of the Trinity and how the Trinity acts as a hermeneutical key that shapes the content and nature of theology. While Gunton is well known for his work on the doctrine of the Trinity, he has also crafted a trinitarian account of the doctrine of creation that is, according to Alan Spence, “a rich and complex body of constructive theology.”2 John Webster notes that, “along with T.F. Torrance, Gunton is one of the few theologians in Barth’s tradition to devote serious thought to the theological description of the created order.”3 Even though there is agreement that Gunton’s doctrine of creation is a significant aspect of his work, there remains relatively little research available on his constructive views of creation. Furthermore, no full-scale study has attempted to expli- cate his doctrine of creation and locate the significance of the doctrine of creation within the wider spectrum of his theology. This volume proposes a reading of Gunton’s work that takes his theological description of creation as an integral aspect of Gunton’s theology, and argues that his doctrine of the Trinity cannot be read in abstraction from his doctrine of creation. I will demonstrate how Gunton conceives the Trinity in relation to the created order and how his correlations between creation, soteriology, eschatology and his theory of culture elevate the doctrine of creation to a place of importance in his theology. Thus, we will see that for Gunton, if one is to understand the triune nature of God, then one must grasp the unity of divine action in the created order, and 1 John Webster, “Systematic Theology after Barth: Jüngel, Jenson, and Gunton” in The Modern Theologians: An Introduction to Christian Theology since 1918, David F. Ford ed. (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers), 259. 2 Alan Spence, “The Person as Willing Agent” in The Theology of Colin Gunton ed. Lincoln Harvey (London: T&T Clark, 2010), 57. 3 John Webster, “Systematic Theology after Barth: Jüngel, Jenson, and Gunton,” 261. 2 introduction this includes God’s action in salvation and eschatological perfection.4 In addition to this, I will also argue that it is only through an understand- ing of Gunton’s doctrine of creation that one is able to fully apprehend the practical and ethical aspects of his theology. For Gunton, the value of trinitarian theology enables one to rethink “the topics of theology and culture” rather than simply “offering a privileged view of the being of God.”5 It is the relation between the Trinity and creation that allows Gunton to offer some unique contributions regarding a theology of culture and ethics. Since the majority of research has focused on elements of Gunton’s doctrine of the Trinity, the ethical and cultural aspects of Gunton’s theology have often been neglected. However, for Gunton, the doctrines of the Trinity and creation have practical significance since we come to understand the nature of God, and “come to learn what kind of beings we are and what kind of world we inhabit.”6 This work will demonstrate how Gunton’s trinitarian account of creation remains a vital key to unlock some of Gunton’s most valuable insights regarding human nature, culture and ethics. Gunton claims that a trinitarian doctrine of creation is a “prime desid- eratum for modern Christian theology” and argues that the created order cannot be an afterthought in theological discourse.7 A survey of Gunton’s later works reveals the centrality of the doctrine of creation, and this is evidenced in: Christ and Creation (1990), “Creation” in the Cambridge Com- panion to Christian Doctrine (Gunton, ed., 1997), The Doctrine of Creation (Gunton, ed., 1997) and The Triune Creator: A Historical and Systematic Study (1998). In addition to this, Gunton’s work, The One, the Three and the Many (1993) is a theological description of Modernity that attempts to demonstrate the difference that the doctrine of the Trinity makes for creation, anthropology and culture. Further constructive aspects of creation are also addressed in: A Brief Theology of Revelation (1995) and The Promise of Trinitarian Theology (1997). While Gunton devotes attention to the doctrine of creation in his later work, it is also a theme that remains implicit in his earlier work. This is seen in his doctoral dissertation 4 See further: Christoph Schwöbel, “God, Creation and the Christian Community: The Dogmatic Basis of a Christian Ethic of Createdness,” in The Doctrine of Creation: Essays in Dogmatics, History and Philosophy ed. Colin E. Gunton (London: T&T Clark, 1997), 160. 5 Colin E. Gunton, The Promise of Trinitarian Theology (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1997), xxix. 6 Colin E. Gunton, “Salvation” in The Cambridge Companion to Karl Barth,” ed. John B. Webster (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000), 155. 7 Gunton, The Promise of Trinitarian Theology, 156..

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