The Trinity and Creation: Augustine and Boff on Monarchy, Governance and Dominion

Abstract

<p>This dissertation explores the relationship between the doctrine of the Trinity and the doctrine of creation by examining the two predominant approaches to the doctrine of the Trinity - the classical model and the social model. A representative theologian of each approach is discussed in terms of their account of the divine world relationship. The project has two parts. In the first part, I examine Leonardo Boffs liberationist-ecological critiques of the classical doctrine of the Trinity and the traditional concept of divine creation and governance. I also analyze his own proposal for a alternative social doctrine of the Trinity that reflects the need for ecological justice. I then analyze Augustine's classical doctrine of the Trinity, paying special attention to how the doctrine of the Trinity influences his account of creation and providential governance in Genesis 1, and whether it is susceptible to Bott's critiques. Then, I consider how the Augustinian understanding of humanity's dominion over the creation is conceived in light of his trinitarian doctrine of creation. From this analysis of Boff and Augustine the limitations and the potential explanatory power of the classical and social understandings of the Trinity are articulated and explored as they relate to contemporary concerns in ecological theology.</p>