The Image of the Immanent Trinity Rahner’s Rule and the Theological Interpretation of Scripture

«The sublime mysteries of the Holy Trinity become understandable through the prose of Fred Sanders. To say ‘the economic Trinity is the immanent Trinity’ is to say forcefully that the Holy One abides with us. This book communicates this message beautifully.» (Ted Peters, Professor of Systematic Theology, Graduate Theological Union, Author of ‘GOD as Trinity’)
«Fred Sanders explores one of the pressing issues in Trinitarian theology today. The renaissance of this core Christian doctrine in systematic theology in recent decades owes much to Karl Rahner’s axiom on the relationship between the immanent Trinity and the economic Trinity (‘the economic Trinity is the immanent Trinity and vice versa’) with emphasis on the centrality of the divine economy for a proper and fruitful theological perspective. Sanders examines the theological responses to the axiom with attention to those who enthusiastically radicalize the axiom and those who cautiously restrict it. The implications for the doctrine of the Trinity are not insignificant. Sanders attempts to resolve the dispute with his own proposal, namely, that the economic Trinity is the image of the immanent Trinity. Sanders’ contribution will be welcomed by all engaged in the discipline. He takes seriously both the endorsements and critiques and provides a solution that does not forget the Christological foundations for Trinitarian theology. In the midst of the continued appropriation of the Trinity across the theological spectrum, Sanders’ voice will be an important one if our thinking the triune God is to be given its full measure of theological depth and seriousness.» (Ralph Del Colle, Associate Professor of Theology, Marquette University, Author of ‘Christ and the Spirit: Spirit Christology in Trinitarian Perspective’)