The Surprising God

This post continues a series exploring  T.F. Torrance in Recollection and Reappraisal   by Bruce Ritchie. For other posts in this series, click a number: 1 , 3 ,  4 . Last time , we began with Ritchie's recap of Torrance's life, followed by his overview of a key element in T.F.'s theology--the central role that Jesus' entire life  has in accomplishing the atonement of humanity. This time we'll look at Ritchie's overview of additional foundational understandings in Torrance's incarnational and Trinitarian theology. Professor Torrance Begin with the "Who?" question Ritchie points out that T.F. was well-known for emphasizing that the basis for good theology is to begin with the "Who?" question. Why? Ritchie answers (quoting his notes taken in one of T.F.'s lectures): This is because in theology we deal with personal being (God), and not with impersonal objects. Therefore, the primary theological question is the question "Who?" ...

This post begins a series exploring T.F. Torrance in Recollection and Reappraisal   by Bruce Ritchie. For other posts in the series, click a number: 2 , 3 ,  4 .  Published in 2021 (Wipf & Stock), Ritchie's book is a welcome addition to a body of literature that not only presents Thomas Forsyth (T.F.) Torrance's incarnational Trinitarian theology, but critiques it, making suggestions for clarification and improvement. Both comprehensive and accessible, the book serves as an excellent introduction to T.F.'s theology. It also gives a fascinating, personalized account of Ritchie's journey of theological discovery during his years studying under T.F. at New College, University of Edinburgh in Scotland. As noted by Robert T. Walker in the book's foreword, Ritchie "is one of the last generations to have studied under T.F. Torrance at New college" and "one of Torrance's ablest students" (p. ix). As reflected in the title, the book has two parts...