Energies of the Spirit: Trinitarian Models in Eastern Orthodox and Western Theology

This book examines twentieth-century theological commentators (Brath, Rahner, Florovsky, Lossky) on the problem of the doctrine of energies in God. Counter to existing trends in western theology, the author gives a positive evaluation of this doctrine and seeks common ground between the eastern idea of essence and energies and the western identification of the inner and economic trinity. Though written from a clearly western perspective, the book argues the coherence of the eastern position, and that underlying both eastern and western positions is a common intention to say that the encounter with God is real, and that the primary ontological distinction is between God and creation. This book was originally presented as the author's thesis (doctoral)—Universität Tubingen, 1992, under the title: Die Lehre von den ungeschaffenen Energien: Ihre Bedeutung fur die okumenische Theologie.