TryingToLearn
Puritan Board Freshman
The classic Western doctrine of the filioque states that, as Matthew Barrett puts it in his book, "Simply Trinity":
This, however, doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. This seems confused to ground the generation of persons in the essence and not in the persons. Should not we say that the Spirit proceeds from two persons instead of one source? Why is the essence generating a person? In other words, if the essence is what is generating persons, and the essence is common to all persons, should not each person be generating the other persons?
If the argument is that the Spirit must proceed equally from both the Father and the Son due to them sharing in the same essence, and yet the essence is shared by all 3 persons, then why not also argue that the Son must proceed from the Spirit since they share in the same essence? It seems to me that the modes of origins must be grounded in the persons and thus the Spirit would proceed from two persons, not one essence.
Also, per Calvin's autotheos, shouldn't the essence not be generating any persons in the first place, since the essence is incommunicable? As regards the essence, the Son and Spirit do not receive it from any person, yet as regards their persons, they find their origins in other persons. It seems to me that it would necessarily follow that if you hold to an autotheon view of divine personhood, that the Spirit has to be generated from two distinct persons, and not one common essence.
Anyways, those are just my thoughts and I'd appreciate any of your guys' thoughts here and any corrections and clarifications that I might need.
The Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son as from one, single source or principle (not two), since the Father and Son are both subsistences of the same, simple essence.
This, however, doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. This seems confused to ground the generation of persons in the essence and not in the persons. Should not we say that the Spirit proceeds from two persons instead of one source? Why is the essence generating a person? In other words, if the essence is what is generating persons, and the essence is common to all persons, should not each person be generating the other persons?
If the argument is that the Spirit must proceed equally from both the Father and the Son due to them sharing in the same essence, and yet the essence is shared by all 3 persons, then why not also argue that the Son must proceed from the Spirit since they share in the same essence? It seems to me that the modes of origins must be grounded in the persons and thus the Spirit would proceed from two persons, not one essence.
Also, per Calvin's autotheos, shouldn't the essence not be generating any persons in the first place, since the essence is incommunicable? As regards the essence, the Son and Spirit do not receive it from any person, yet as regards their persons, they find their origins in other persons. It seems to me that it would necessarily follow that if you hold to an autotheon view of divine personhood, that the Spirit has to be generated from two distinct persons, and not one common essence.
Anyways, those are just my thoughts and I'd appreciate any of your guys' thoughts here and any corrections and clarifications that I might need.