Dr. Fred Sanders • The Davenant Institute • www.davenantinstitute.org

"Trinitarianism Thick And Thin: A Robust Doctrine Capable Of Simplification" - Dr. Fred Sanders

A lecture with Q&A given by Davenant Hall Teaching Fellow, Ryan Hurd.

Today, Anselm is much maligned for doing theology which results in a heartless god, and central to this caricature is his doctrine of God’s impassibility. However, critics often fail to understand the exact nature of this doctrine. Before one can even consider truth or falsity, one must determine: what does impassibility actually mean? 

In this lecture. Ryan Hurd determines what Anselm means by saying God is impassible, especially as found in Chapters 7 and 8 of his Proslogion, concluding that his judgment is akin to saying that someone is “invulnerable.” Although many adversities have power over us humans by virtue of our many vulnerabilities, none have any power over God, for he lacks all our vulnerabilities. This alone is what Anselm means when he says God is impassible. As he summarizes, “nothing has power against God.”

Ryan Hurd is a systematic theologian whose area of expertise is the doctrine of God, specifically the Trinity. His primary training is in the high medieval and early modern scholastics as well as the 20th century ressourcement movement. He has written a number of articles and regularly does translations of early modern theology sources; but his primary project is writing a systematics of the Trinity. He is a Teaching Fellow at Davenant Hall.

For more about Davenant Hall, visit our website here: https://davenanthall.com

The Invulnerability of God: Divine Impassibility According to Anselm

If all the trees in all the woods were men; 
And each and every blade of grass a pen; 
If every leaf on every shrub and tree 
Turned to a sheet of foolscap; every sea 
Were changed to ink, and all earth's living tribes 
Had nothing else to do but act as scribes, 
And for ten thousand ages, day and night, 
The human race should write, and write, and write, 
Till all the pens and paper were used up, 
And the huge inkstand was an empty cup, 
Still would the scribblers clustered round its brink 
Call for more pens, more paper, and more ink.

Cacoethes Scribendi

The Davenant Institute advances and renews Christian wisdom for the contemporary church. We seek to sponsor historical scholarship at the intersection of the church and academy, build networks of friendship and collaboration within the Reformed and evangelical world, and equip the saints with time-tested resources for faithful public witness.

The Invulnerability of God: Divine Impassibility According to Anselm

The Davenant Institute

Related tracks