Trinity and Society

In this book, Brazilian Leonardo Boff, Franciscan priest and professor of theology, joins other contemporary theologians in defending both the truth and the practical value of the doctrine of the Trinity. For Boff, the community of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is not only the truth about God; it is also the prototype of human community dreamed of by those who wish to improve society, the model for any just, egalitarian (while respecting differences) social organization. Frequently expressing agreement with Moltmann’s ‘The Trinity and the Kingdom’, Boff argues that true and relevant Trinitarian faith must begin not with the oneness, but with the threeness of God; not with theistic speculation about God as the solitary One, but with openness to the self-revelation of God as a community or society of divine persons, who are what they are in their co-existence, co-relatedness, and self-surrender to each other. Boff also suggests how a social doctrine of the Trinity enables us to overcome the conflict between individualistic capitalism and collectivistic socialism, oppressor and oppressed, male and female, church authorities and church members. Leonardo Boff was born in Concordia, Santa Catarina, Brazil, in 1938. He joined the Order of the Franciscan Friars Minor in 1959 and received his doctorate in Philosophy and Theology from the University of Munich, Germany, in 1970. He is also the author of ‘Passion of Christ, Passion of the World’ and ‘Jesus Christ Liberator: A Critical Christology for Our Times’.