The Holy Trinity is the oldest idea of Christian hope. The study of being or ontology was once regarded as a seminal preparation for the study of God as the creative cause of all being in theology. Yet due to a series of theological mistakes, metaphysics came to be separated from the Trinity before God came to be conceived as the supreme being of all beings in general metaphysics, natural theology, and modern ontology. The analytic and continental philosophical traditions have since tended to treat the Trinity as, at best, superfluous, and, at worst, redundant to modern formal ontologies. Yet the postmodern collapse of all such formal ontologies has prepared the path for a renewed study of metaphysics or ontology that shares in participation with the Trinity. New Trinitarian Ontologies names a creative response to this pivotal collapse of modern formal ontologies. If ontology cannot contain but rather more radically points to God, and if all nature thus tends towards the supernatural, the angelic, and the metaphysical, then we should renew the study of the metaphysics or ontology of the Trinity. This volume represents a collection of responses to this challenge of rendering ontology in a Trinitarian style.
Industry Reviews
“In a manner analogous to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—who are eternally new and surprising to one another within the Holy Trinity—New Trinitarian Ontologies reflects the ever-renewing surprise and gift of self-creation within all reality. More than just another theological or philosophical book, this volume brings together metaphysics, ecology, and poetics within the eschatological horizon, illuminating how all things participate in the unfolding mystery of divine life.”
—Eduard Fiedler, Palacký University Olomouc
“New Trinitarian Ontologies is a sumptuous feast of trinitarian speculation which includes many of the foremost Christian thinkers writing today. It is further a clarion call to return to the sources of trinitarian thought after Klaus Hemmerle’s 1976 manifesto that calls on Christian thinkers to turn towards the ‘distinctively Christian’ triune event of love. This volume is a turning towards the newness of trinitarian love as the only viable way for Christian thinking to advance into the uncertain future.”
—Philip John Paul Gonzales, associate professor of philosophy, St. Mary’s Seminary and University, Baltimore
“This superb collection of essays edited by John Milbank, Ryan Haecker, JD Lyonhart is after the various deaths triumphantly announced, such as the death of God, the death of Metaphysics, the death of the sign, and moves forward on Piero Coda’s call for a new beginning of Trinitarian thought framed in term of the Word which in John’s Gospel is associated with the true ‘beginning.’ The collection is lent authority by the major names in the volume, John Milbank, of course, but also William Desmond, Emmanuel Falque, Graham Ward, Catherine Pickstock, Judith Wolfe, among others. Yet, the real authority of the volume lies more broadly and more deeply in the essays in which the less well-known authors, across the different loci of metaphysics, eschatology, ecology, and aesthetics, perform at the level of their better-known colleagues. It is rare to have a collection in which each essay proves indispensable.”
—Cyril O’Regan, Husking Chair of Theology, University of Notre Dame
“As the long-dominant materialist worldview breaks down, there is a widespread search in the secular world for alternatives, including the recent revival of panpsychism, pantheism and idealism. Thank goodness for this new exploration of Trinitarian ontologies, which has so much to offer. The rich compilation in this volume is a very helpful starting point for those who are rediscovering and re-imagining Trinitarian traditions.”
—Rupert Sheldrake, author of The Science Delusion
