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Proquest Dissertations Copyright © 2009 Brian Lee Walls All rights reserved. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary has permission to reproduce and disseminate this document in any form by any means for purposes chosen by the Seminary, including, without limitation, preservation or instruction. THE (IN)SIGNIFICANCE OF THE FILIOQUE IN CONTEMPORARY INCLUSIVE SOTERIOLOGIES A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy by Brian Lee Walls May 2009 UMI Number: 3411527 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI Dissertation Publishing UMI 3411527 Copyright 2010 by ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This edition of the work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. uest ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 APPROVAL SHEET THE (IN)SIGNIFICANCE OF THE FILIOQUE IN CONTEMPORARY INCLUSIVE SOTERIOLOGIES Brian Lee Walls Read and Approved by: I Chad O. Brand (Chairperson) Steph^jr/W^llilm V~ ^T i. C*~ Michael A. G. Hay1 Date To Kara TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vii PREFACE viii Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION 1 Thesis 5 Significance of this Dissertation 18 Methodology 21 2. THE PLACE OF THE FILIOQUE IN CONTEMPORARY INCLUSIVE SOTERIOLOGIES 25 Factors Contributing to the Elevated Importance of the Filioque in Contemporary Inclusive Soteriologies 28 The Participation of Eastern Orthodoxy in the Ecumenical Movement 28 The Shift from Cosmic Christology to Pneumatology 42 Pneumatological Inclusivism and the Filioque 51 Clark Pinnock 52 Amos Yong and "Sufficient" Ambiguity 60 Amos Yong and the Filioque 63 Veli-Matti Karkkainen 65 iv Chapter Page Conclusion 67 3. HISTORICAL RESPONSE: PNEUMATOLOGICALINCLUSIVISM AND EASTERN ORTHODOX THEOLOGY 68 Contemporary Eastern Trinitarian Theology 72 Boris Bobrinskoy 75 Sergius Bulgakov 82 Historical Eastern Trinitarian Theology 90 Athanasius 92 The Cappadocians 99 Eastern Support for an Economic Filioque 109 Economic Procession as an Immanent/Economic Problem 110 Economic Procession as a Viable Theological Concept 114 The Impact of Economic Filioque on Pneumatological Inclusivism 118 Conclusion 121 4. THEOLOGICAL RESPONSE: TRINITARIAN TAXIS AND THE ECONOMY OF SALVATION 126 The Priority of the Father and Taxis in the Trinity 129 Pneumatological Inclusivism and Trinitarian Taxis 132 Inclusivism's Denial of Taxis 132 The Spirit and Divine Sovereignty 138 Evaluation of Inclusivism's Denial of Taxis 141 The Biblical Portrayal of Trinitarian Taxis 147 The One Economy of Salvation 157 V Chapter Page The Father as the Initiator of Redemption 160 Conclusion 167 5. BIBLICAL THEOLOGICAL RESPONSE: THE SPIRIT'S WITNESS TO THE SON IN THE NEW COVENANT ERA 169 The Homogenization of the Spirit's Work in Inclusivism 172 Spirit and Eschatology 185 Pneumatology and Eschatology in Paul 188 The Eschatological Spirit's Connection to Christ 198 Old Testament Anticipation 201 New Testament Fulfillment 207 The Gospels 209 The Eschatological Spirit in Acts 212 The Eschatological Spirit in Romans 8 214 The Spirit's Witness to the Son 218 Conclusion 226 6. CONCLUSION 229 BIBLIOGRAPHY 239 VI LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Abl. Gregory of Nyssa, Concerning We Should Think of Saying That There Are Not Three Gods to Ablabius BST The Bible Speaks Today Commentary DSS Basil of Caesarea, De Spiritu Sancto ICC International Critical Commentary JBMW Journal of Biblical Manhood and Womanhood JES Journal of Ecumenical Studies JETS Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society MJT Mid-America Journal of Theology NICNT New International Commentary on the New Testament NSBT New Studies in Biblical Theology P/C Pentecostal/charismatic PNTC The Pillar New Testament Commentary SBET Scottish Bulletin of Evangelical Theology SBJT The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology SBTS The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary SJT Scottish Journal of Theology WCC World Council of Churches WJT Westminster Journal of Theology vii PREFACE My prayer and fervent hope is that this dissertation will ultimately serve Christ's church and in some small way contribute to his greater glory. It has been the privilege of a lifetime to study under the erudite professors of Southern Seminary, by whom I have been inspired not only to greater heights of academic excellence, but more importantly, to greater heights of sanctification. May our scholarly work never serve merely to placate man's intellectual curiosity, but rather be a means of loving God with all of our minds. I am particularly grateful to my supervisor, Dr. Chad Brand, for all his instruction. The other members of my committee, Dr. Stephen Wellum and Dr. Michael Haykin, have also been a tremendous encouragement not only through their instruction, but also through their fellowship and friendship. This dissertation would not have been possible without these men. To the members of Cornerstone Community Church I also owe a sincere debt of gratitude. They hired me as pastor knowing that they would have to share me with this project for significant period of time. We have labored together in the cause of the gospel through many trials and tribulations over the past two years, and yet we have continued to see God's faithfulness displayed in our midst. May He who began a good work in us carry it on to perfection until the day of Christ Jesus. To my parents and parents-in-law my sincerest thanks. My mother, who took me to church unfailingly as a child, built in me a lasting legacy of faith. My father, who viii came to know Christ later in life, now serves Him as a pastor of great patience and faithfulness in the power of a transformed life. My wife's parents have been incredibly supportive, even as I moved their daughter and grandchildren multiple times during my studies. Their godly example has encouraged me more than 1 can say. Finally, to my wife, Kara, and to Samuel and Jonathan, our two sons my most grateful thanks. They have borne the brunt of the burden that comes with obtaining a seminary education, and have done so without complaint or regret. Time that could have been spent with them has been spent in the study instead, and they have regarded it as an act of service to the kingdom of Christ. May it be that God causes our two boys to become men of great service in his kingdom work. IX CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION There can be little doubt that some of the most dominant theological themes of the past few decades have been soteriology, pneumatology, and the doctrine of the Trinity. While these topics are certainly important in their own right, each has taken on particular significance as it pertains to Christianity's encounters with other world religions. The rise of relativism and pluralism, for example, has led to demands for revisions in the historic doctrine of salvation—revisions that seek to bring Christian doctrine more in line with the near-universal rejection of absolute claims to truth while nevertheless seeking to say something ultimate about Christ's place in the world of religions.1 Partially as a result of this trend (but for many other significant reasons as well),2 the doctrine of the Holy Spirit has emerged as central to many versions of evangelical soteriology that have generally been labeled "inclusivism."3 Pneumatology has become central to such soteriologies because it ostensibly provides a suitable basis :For an example of an inclusivist attempt at such a project see Clark H. Pinnock, A Wideness in God's Mercy: The Finality of Jesus Christ in a World of Religions (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992). 2Of course, the rise of the Pentecostal and charismatic movements have called particular attention to the work of the Spirit over the past century. Their enormous influence has been paramount in contributing to the current emphasis on the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. 3The categories generally used to describe the place of Christ in the world of religious truth claims are exclusivism, inclusivism, and pluralism. The first of these is simply the historic orthodox position that salvation is available only through conscious faith in Christ. Inclusivism, on the other hand, denies that knowledge of Christ is necessary to salvation, and yet affirms Christ as the sole source of salvation. Finally, pluralism argues that faith in Christ is but one of many means of salvation. This 1 2 for a theology of religions that is simultaneously universal enough to address the concerns those who tend toward pluralism (i.e., it is not so christocentric as to be offensive to non-Christians), and yet also particular to the Christian faith since the Spirit is the "Spirit of Jesus."4 The Spirit, inclusivists argue, can make salvation accessible to the unevangelized masses that have no cognitive knowledge of Jesus himself, while nevertheless grounding this salvation in the unique redemptive work of Christ.5 But no less important than pneumatology and soteriology is the doctrine of the Trinity. Not only has this doctrine received enormous attention over the past century, but it is now being utilized as grounds for various theologies of religion, many of which are either pluralistic or inclusive in nature.6 One connection between these three doctrines is that they all converge in the debate over the filioque? The importance of these three loci over the past century has, taxonomy may be found in John Hick et al., Four Views on Salvation in a Pluralistic Age, ed. Dennis Okholm and Timothy Phillips (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996). "There has been a clear shift from cosmic Christology to pneumatology as the basis for both inclusive soteriologies as well as various theologies of religions over the past few decades.
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