The Trinity, Language, and Human Behavior: A Reformed Exposition of the Language Theory of Kenneth L. Pike

Hibbs explains and explores the language theory of Kenneth Pike in the light of the Reformed doctrine of the Trinity, showing how various facets of language are analogically linked to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and their intra-Trinitarian relations. Hibbs argues that Pike’s theory is Trinitarian not only in its matter (showing how the Father, Son, and Spirit are ultimately behind human language) but in its manner (how various perspectives, hierarchies, and structures within language interact in a way that reflects the personal interactions of the Godhead). Because Pike’s language theory faithfully represents a biblical and Reformed doctrine of the Trinity, it emphasizes the complexity and depth of language, and, by extension, the complexity and depth of the Trinity.