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Devon

Poor case made for the Trinity, or the deity of Christ

Reviewed in the United States on November 8, 2019

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This book is a very poor and dishonest attempt to establish the doctrine of the Trinity By James white. He starts by making a case for what the Trinity is, but makes such a poor explanation of it that it can't really even be defended. He lacks understanding of modern scholarship on the philosophy of the Trinity with no references to any of them to explain what exactly his theory is. As he tries to derive it from scripture, it becomes a mess of theological confusion and contradictions. In some cases, identifying Jesus with God would seem like modalism, in others, he does this very thing and says it is Trinitarianism. The reader is left wondering what the Trinity really even is by the time the book is finished. Some sort of mystery that he explains that can't be explained, I suppose.

His exegesis of certain scriptures, while i understand are not meant to be comprehensive and arguing against every interpretation, fail to even mention huge manuscript variants in problem passages, and just seems outright dishonest. One of my main criticisms is the way he straw man's the Unitarian position. He takes the weakest version of an argument (which no Unitarian writers ever even use besides maybe Jehovah's Witnesses), and beats it to death without mentioning the real criticisms provided by them, and even other Trinitarian scholars who disagree with White's case for the Trinity from these passages, or the deity of Christ.

I hoped that reading this book would give me more insight into the Trinitarian worldview from a scholar, but there are many more and much better writers to spend your time studying and researching. I wouldn't recommend this one, I'm afraid.

gunman42782

Outstanding book

Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2017

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I first seen Dr. White on a youtube video talking about Jehovah's Witnesses. I was raised as a JW, and after being totally and thoroughly disillusioned with them, left in my 20s. For 25 years I wanted nothing what so ever to do with any religion. Hearing Dr. White blew me away, because he obviously knew what he was talking about, and it was like he was describing me in the video. So, I bought this book, which further blew me away. One point he makes that is so true is that JWs and others that attack the Trinity are in fact not attacking the true doctrine of the Trinity, but what they think the Trinity is, which is a form of Modalism. I have read many books now on the Trinity, but not one is as clear, concise, and makes near as much sense as this one. I credit Dr. White with helping me to see the lies and deception of my childhood, and thank him for showing me the glory that is our triune God.

refxian220

I can certainly say with Dr. White, “I love the Trinity!”

Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2017

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The doctrine of the Trinity has been on the minds of Christians nearly from the time shortly after Jesus Christ ascended into heaven. Throughout Christian history, many have tried to defend the doctrine against various heresies. Dr. White takes a different approach. Dr. White is a well-known apologist who has written on various apologetic subjects. In The Forgotten Trinity: Recovering the Heart of Christian Belief, Dr. White seeks to, “introduce, explain, and make understandable a doctrine that, while at the center of our faith, is often ignored and misunderstood.” (31).
Dr. White offers a simple definition of the Trinity which he repeats throughout the book: “Within the one Being that is God, there exists eternally three coequal and coeternal persons, namely, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” White states that this is a very simple definition of the doctrine that all other definitions expand upon.
White’s arguments in support of the Trinity rest in three main areas. First, we are to know God has He has revealed himself. White rightly argues that without properly knowing who God is, as He has revealed himself, one worships a false deity. While one does not need to have exhaustive knowledge of God or a perfect understanding of Him, we must, nevertheless, strive to understand God has He shows himself to us. White repeats this argument in every chapter.
The second area White focuses on is a defense of the deity of Jesus. White’s engagement with other faiths makes this a logical step (though when the book was published, he was not engaging with Islam as heavily as he is now-unless I am mistaken). White first argues this through numerous passages of Scripture integrating enough Greek to satisfy the intellectual, while keeping the text in the reach of a lay person with little to no Greek training. White examines the “standard” Trinitarian passages (i.e. the prologue of John’s gospel, the “I am” statements, Colossians 1:15-18, and the Carmen Christi of Philippians 2:5-11). He also addresses less common passages such as Hebrews 1:8-12 and John 12:37-41. In these passages, he shows that the New Testament writers address Jesus as Jehovah using passages from the Old Testament.
The third area White focuses on is the concept of “person” in discussion of the Trinity over against how it is used in everyday conversation. White expands his definition of the Trinity to discuss nuances of the Trinitarian language of “being” and “person.” This is meant to help the reader defend the right doctrine of the Trinity. White argues that often, Trinitarians are asked to defend a doctrine they do not believe because their opponent does not understand the Trinity. Again, a proper understanding of how God has revealed himself is White’s main point.
White briefly discusses the deity and personhood of the Holy Spirit but does not spend as much time discussing this as the deity of Christ or the concept of the person. He also spends some time discussing the formulation of the doctrine throughout Church History which was very enlightening. Those who have not spent much time studying the early Church will benefit from this discussion.
White ends his book on a pastoral note. White asks, “why does it matter?” The answer is clear. He argues that it matters because God insists that we worship Him as He is (194). This again, is the main theme that runs throughout the book. White also argues that without the Trinity, there is no Gospel. White writes, “The Gospel is the means by which the Father, in eternal love and mercy, saves men through the redeeming work of the Son, Jesus Christ, and draws them to himself by the power and regenerating work of the Spirit” (195).
White begins the work with a line that he hopes jars his reader. He says, “I love the Trinity” (13). His focus in the work is to explain how God has revealed himself in the Bible so that the reader can join him in saying this. I would recommend this book to anyone who seeks to know how God has revealed himself and who wishes to worship Him rightly. I can certainly say with Dr. White, “I love the Trinity!”

Shawn R Hare

A Concise, Irrefutable Defense of the Necessary Doctrine

Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2017

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As the author states early on, it's not intended to be an exhaustive treatment on the topic of the Trinity, as this has been done already in many other books. But the concise arguments presented therein are, for any reasonable, teachable mind, easy to understand, and irrefutable. Only the obstinate can walk away from this book, or really any book on the subject, especially the Scriptures themselves (since they brazenly teach the Doctrine of the Trinity) with the fantastic claim that the necessary Christian Doctrine is not well presented in this short volume. It's a shining example as to why James White is such a brilliant (and virtually unbeatable) Christian debater. I say "virtually unbeatable" only because, with all his otherwise brilliant comprehension of the Scriptures, he hasn't come to grips with, and submitted to, the Biblical Doctrine of covenant infant baptism. But perhaps some day, the Lord willing ;) Meanwhile, until he becomes fully Reformed, he'll remain my favourite Sovereign Grace Baptist.

Top reviews from other countries

Cooper Michael

White Delivers; Amazon Kindle Does Not

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 18, 2019

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To no one's great surprise, White delivers well on this not-ever-so-easy topic. If, like me, you struggle with NT Greek, White spoon-feeds you, expecting only that you apply yourself as best you can.
Unfortunately, and again to no one's great surprise, the Kindle version of this book fails to render a good deal of the Greek text properly. I found this extremely confusing until I realised that the fault lay not with me, but with Kindle. Thereafter, it was merely annoying.
If you are entertaining Jehovah's Witnesses on a regular basis, this is the book to plough through!
Five stars for White. A rather generous two for Kindle.

Mr. G. R. Cox

Excellent treatment of an essential truth

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 23, 2018

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This an excellent treatment of this essential truth. It requires the reader to think but the underlying evidence in terms of the Greek of the New Testament and the deeper theological works are in the references rather than the main text which greatly aids readability. For anyone who would like to explore this truth or who is dealing with false teachers who deny the Trinity this is essential reading.

Alastair

An important Book for the church today.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 1, 2020

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Dr. White did a great job accurately presenting the view of those who oppose the trinity. He broke down a lot of passages used against it, explaining the Greek/Hebrew and used the context of the verses in question to find out the original meaning that the author of the passage intended. The book was well written and easy to follow. During these times where the study of theology has been thrown out for emotional experiences, this book is highly needed!

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.‭‭ 2 Corinthians‬ ‭13:14‬ ‭

Amen!

R. C HODGES

It'll Deepen Your Perception

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 22, 2015

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This is an awesome book.

Keep in mind that it can be hard going as the author discusses evidences from original Hebrew and Greek texts but he really does a very good job in bringing it down to the level of a lay person.

This is also an inspiring book, opening the reader's eyes to an increasing knowledge of God as He has revealed Himself in the Bible resulting in a deeper desire to worship and know this Person who has revealed Himself in Jesus.

Mr M R Morgan

Excellent book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 18, 2020

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Excellent and informative book on a very under studied subject. All Christians should have this on their shelf and all people in disagreement with this subject should read this book.

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