Traces of the Trinity: Signs, Sacraments and Sharing God's Life [Paperback]

A contribution to trinitarian theology, examining the nature of the Trinity and its significance for the Christian through semiotic concepts and methods.


Traces of the Trinity is a masterful exploration of Christian theology through the lens of semiotics  the study of signs. Andrew Robinson provides helpful analogies and clear explanations throughout to lead even the non-specialist through the subject with ease.

Although the variety of signs is endless, all signs and sign-interpretations have the same basic, underlying structure: sign, object and interpretation. Further, this triad rests upon the existence of three elemental grounds: Quality, Otherness and Mediation. According to Robinsons highly original thesis, in the structure of signs we can see vestiges of the powerful, threefold dynamic of the Trinity in creation. He proceeds to develop a highly original semiotic model of the Trinity, illuminating and integrating key areas of Christian thought: creation, incarnation, and atonement; the roles of baptism and the Eucharist; the nature of the church and the basis of participation in the divine life. Traces of the Trinity makes belief in the Trinity relevant to ordinary, everyday experience, and challenges the church to recognize the implications for its calling to be transformative, truthful, and inclusive.GBOnce in a decade, at most, one encounters a fundamentally new and exciting way of conceiving the Trinity. 'Traces of the Trinity' is such a work. Even rarer are trinitarian theologies that arise out of cutting edge science (in this case, biosemiotics). Scientists, philosophers, and theologians will recognize the immensely rich interweaving of ideas that Robinson accomplishes here. But you won't need a PhD to feel the spiritual tug of this vision . . . of vestigial marks written into the very structure of Creation.In this highly accessible book, Robinson opens up the depth and relevance of biblical texts and traditional Christian dogmas.l£9