Show Notes
In this episode of the Credo Podcast, Matthew Barrett fields questions from Ronni Kurtz and Samuel Parkison about his new book, Simply Trinity: The Unmanipulated Father, Son and Spirit (Baker). They tackle the question: “Is the Son eternally subordinate to the Father?” Many of our listeners will be familiar with the debate over the novel position known as Eternal Functional Subordinationism (EFS). In this episode, Matthew, Ronni and Sam evaluate this position, and Matthew places it within its recent, historical context, revealing that EFS’s redefinition of the Trinity is inconsistent with biblical, Nicene orthodoxy. They also discuss how EFS is incommensurate with orthodox doctrines such as divine simplicity and eternal generation, and throws into question the total equality of the Son.
Ronni Kurtz is the Managing Editor of For The Church and also serves as the Assistant Director of Marketing at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary—where he is pursuing a Ph.D. in systematic theology. He also serves as Pastor of Teaching and Equipping at Emmaus Church. You can follow him on Twitter at @RonniKurtz.
Samuel G. Parkison is a PhD student at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and an editor of Credo Magazine. He lives in Kansas City with his wife (Shannon) and their three sons, where Samuel serves as a Pastor of Teaching and Liturgy at Emmaus Church. He is the author of Revelation and Response: The Why and How of Leading Corporate Worship Through Song.
Matthew Barrett is the founder and executive editor of Credo Magazine. He is also Associate Professor of Christian Theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the author of several books, including Simply Trinity; Canon, Covenant and Christology; and None Greater. He is the host of the Credo podcast where he engages top theologians on the most important theological issues today. You can follow him on Twitter at @MattMBarrett.