A Review by Alan Mordue
I was recommended this book by a friend of mine, and it is a great discovery. Alexander Irving has written a detailed work on something vital in the study of Christian theology; the councils of the early church and the development of the doctrines and creeds of the 4th century. It also looks at their enduring legacy in the church and the history of Christian thinking since. It is a fascinating and very well-articulated book that somehow manages to be learned and accessible at the same time.
The growing interest in the creeds and councils of the church is one of the most encouraging things in recent times. There is a growing trend to investigate the clear link between the Bible and Christian tradition, and we seem to have moved on from the idea of either scripture or tradition back to the world of scripture and tradition. After all, they have both contributed to the church and her theology as we have it today. This book looks at the period from the Council of Nicaea in 325 to the Council of Constantinople in 381, and delves into the various discussions on the creeds of the 4th century. One of the things that the creeds give us is a framework of belief and this has been extremely helpful in every generation, whether we agree with everything as articulated in the creed’s orbit or not. As well as marking out the development and triumph of creedal orthodoxy, there is also a surprising amount of information in the book about the controversial theologian Arius and heterodox views generally. This is vital to understand the debates that led towards the creeds, as well as a context in which to see what heterodoxy is as opposed to orthodoxy. But for Trinitarian Christians the outcome of the councils should be roundly applauded as they defined what is now traditional Christian belief in clear philosophical language with no ambiguity. There is a wonderful study and definition of the Holy Trinity here through the creedal understanding of the Persons of the Trinity. He explains how the church fathers articulated this complex and potentially undermining doctrine (in more clumsy hands) through the clever philosophical language of the Persons of the Trinity being in one substance, in Greek the Homoousias. I am in awe of the way he deals with these extremely complex philosophical devices and makes it all so crystal clear.
Often Christians today say that if a person becomes a Christian that’s all they need, as though that’s the end of the road. I strongly disagree with this minimalist attitude to faith and of course this is shown in a warning by Jesus Himself in the ‘mustard seed’ parable of the synoptic gospels. What the past few years have taught us, especially in the distorted view of some Christian nationalists, is that it is vital to define what being Christian means. We need a definition of the Christian life, and the creeds with scripture help with this definition enormously. They are remarkably resilient in every generation. To have a broad framework of Christian belief strengthens faith and brings a philosophical logic to all faith commitments. We should be proud of the great philosophical tradition in Christian theology that has come about because of the Bible and the traditions of the church. The embrace of philosophical intellect in this book is wonderful. Irving also shows the sheer beauties in the creeds themselves and the great figures of patristic literature underpinning that, notably Athanasius and his various ontological ways of looking at the Godhead, Hilary of Poitiers and his amazing work on the Holy Trinity and the Cappadocian fathers broad-based approach to numerous issues. Logic and intellect are part of the Christian tradition in every age and that is not underlined enough within churches, although when you speak to people from all traditions they don’t disagree with that assertion. What is greater than the opening of the Nicene Creed, which is one of the greatest pieces of literary language ever penned and sums up the Christian faith in incredible philosophical clarity? – ‘We believe in the one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible and the One Lord Jesus Christ, begotten of the Father …’.
This is a great book and I strongly recommend it. In many ways this kind of book is the very reason I am doing these reviews, I have a zeal for academic reflection on key elements in the development of Christian thinking and their enduring legacy, and this fits the bill perfectly. I do hope the author writes more books on the interface between history, theological philosophy and the reception of ideas in the church.
Alan Mordue is Sales Director at Darton, Longman and Todd and a member of the Society of Biblical Literature. Previously Alan worked as Sales Director at SPCK. Prior to that he was Sales and Marketing Director at DLT as well as the theological buyer and Deputy Manager of Durham University Bookshop and Manager of Durham Cathedral Bookshop.
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