The Trinity and the Religions: A Cappadocian Assessment of Gavin DCostas Theology of Religions [Hardcover]

Will the followers of other religions who have not heard of the gospel be saved? Since the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic church has been grappling with this question, culminating in a recent document, Dominus Iesus in 2000. In the post-DI climate, the British theologian, Gavin DCosta, has been described as a representative post-DI theologian of religions. And with good reason, since other theologians such as Jacques Dupuis whose work along the lines of neo-Rahnerianism have been curtailed by DI.

D'Costas work has spanned the past three decades and is aimed at developing a theology that echoes developments within the Catholic church's efforts to grapple with the existence of other religions. In doing so, he has appropriated the doctrine of the Trinity by reasoning it provides the very resources for interacting with Others and developed a form of Trinitarian inclusivism. Based on the work of patristic theologians such as Lewis Ayres and Michel Barnes and their conception of a Pro-Nicene theological matrix, this book is an attempt to assess whether DCostas utilization of trinitarian resources for contemporary concerns is faithful to the tradition. The book concludes that while there is much to commend in DCostas system, there remain some features not fully consonant with classical Trinitarianism.

This book is a major step forward in Evangelical-Catholic dialogue. Here we find a clear and profound analysis of D'Costa's important work on Christianity and the religions, along with a respectful critique -- rooted in Basil the Great's Trinitarian theology -- that encourages D'Costa to further specify the Christological dimension of his work. Anyone with an interest in interreligious dialogue and/or ecumenism needs to read this splendid book. May the conversation initiated here long continue! Matthew Levering, James N. and Mary D.l“c