Abstract

If Christian claims about Jesus are correct there are a number of implications which limit the options available for how we think about those truth claims. These are contained in the Trinitarian doctrine of God and those who disparage the doctrine of the Trinity – including evangelical, pietist and emerging church people - may not realise how close they are to repeating many of the theological mistakes of classic liberalism.  The thesis of this paper is that being a Christian is not, and never has been, about simply following Jesus, as though beliefs about the God tangled up with this man are somehow tangential. Biblical passages that speak of the worship of Jesus throughout the New Testament indicate the presence of a ‘proto-Trinitarian’ pattern of interrelated activity between Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It is thinking through the unity and distinction of the divine persons in their perichoretic life (thought by detractors to be a dark corner of the whole theological abyss) that may well be the most critical task in demarcating the Christian doctrine of God from paganisms old and new.