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Rating: 
Summary: An indispensible book on the Trinity
Review: LaCugna's is without question one of the most important books to be written on the Trinity in the last half of the twentieth century. More importantly, it is one of the best feminist theological treatment of the Trinity that has ever been written, period. There are certainly shortcomings to the book, as many will point out, but that should not obscure the many valuable contributions this book makes.
The main problems the book has is in who it names as a "defeaters" of Trinitarian theology. While LaCugna is certainly right about how the Trinity has been eclipsed in the West, she does seem to go a bit far in who she decides is part of the problem. She even acuses the Nicene Creed of undermining a Trinitarian theology that truley does justice to the economy of salvation.
LaCugna's central insight is that Western Trinitarianism has tended to ignore God's revelation in the economy of salvation (oikonomia) and engage in speculative refflection on the divine nature (theologia). This has allowed notions of God informed by Greek philosphy rather that the biblical revelation to define our understanding of the Trinity. LaCugna seeks to undo this problem by returning to the economy of salvation as definitive for our understanding of the nature of God.
Thus she goes ont ot exposit the practical ramification of the doctrine of the Trinity in conversation with John MacMurray and John Zizzioulas. Her argument that the Trinity is ultimately "a practical doctrine with radical implications for the Christian life." is one that very much needs to continue to be heard in the church today. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: A Critical Review of LaCugna's God for Us
Review: Reading LaCugna's God for Us is like looking at a wreck on the side of the freeway. You know you shouldn't, but you can't help yourself so you continue to stare in morbid fascination and feel awful afterwards. Despite the praise lavished on this book by theologians who ought to - and, in most cases, undoubtedly do - know better, this is perhaps the worst recent book written on the Trinity. Despite its pretense of scholarship and its copious use of obfuscatory theological jargon (a technique pioneered by Rahner and Schilebeecx, who knew that an honest, straightforward statement of their views would result in their books being placed on the Index) the basic teachings of God for Us are clearly incompatible with the dogmatic understanding of the Trinity as taught in the Ecumenical Councils and as articulated in the mainstream of Roman Catholic theological orthodoxy. This does not bother LaCugna, who regards this tradition, rooted in Augustine's "one substance" theory of the Godhead (which she rejects), as having led to the "defeat" of the doctrine of the Trinity. In particular, she rejects the distinction between the immanent Trinity, constituted by internal relations within the Godhead, and the economic Trinity, which is the Trinity in its joint actions of creating, redeeming and sanctifying the world. LaCugna's feminist ideology dictates that this distinction be rejected, so that God is neither a substance nor has any sort of "nature" that the persons might share in common. To the contrary, LaCugna's God is literally "God for us" - the whole reality of God is exhausted in his activities in regard to creation, especially in relation to human beings. This view, if taken seriously, annuls the transcedence of God, makes God a creator by necessity, makes God dependent on His creation and, as such, puts God in no position to make any demands on us in return. Instead, LaCugna's God can do little more than smile indulgently, always give us our own way and then take responsibility for whatever havoc that causes. Daddy loves us and will fix everything, with at most mild chiding. In other words, LaCugna's God is the perfect cut-down God for liberal Catholic feminists - and spoiled children everywhere. I could go on to say that LaCugna's views are heretical, but they are too silly and metaphysically incoherent to rise to the level of seriousness that merits that appelation. The book carries no imprimatur or nihil obstat; contemporary Catholic theologians no longer seem to need or want these guarantees of orthodoxy. However, those who do care about such matters deserve to be informed that there is no guarantee that anything that LaCugna writes in God for Us reflects the magisterium of the Church. God for Us is a book that is best ignored rather than refuted, however; the effort is not worth the payoff. It is much more profitable to read the works of e.g., Gerald O'Collins, S.J., which take a much more mainstream view of the Trinity and Incarnation despite having conciliatory things to say about LaCugna's work. He also takes pains to explore and explain the spiritual dimensions of the doctrine and its relevance for modern life, something that LaCugna claims it cannot have. In conclusion, don't buy and don't read God for Us unless your morbid curiosity exceeds all bounds of reason and propriety or you need some easily-critiqued primary source to serve as the grist for a doctoral dissertation. (The foregoing should be sufficient to dispel the contention that Amazon only prints favorable reviews. The author of this review received no compensation for his work and is happy to make its contents available as a public service out of the goodness of his heart. Enjoy!)
Rating:
Summary: A Critical Review of LaCugna's God for Us
Review: Reading LaCugna's God for Us is like looking at a wreck on the side of the freeway. You know you shouldn't, but you can't help yourself so you continue to stare in morbid fascination and feel awful afterwards. Despite the praise lavished on this book by theologians who ought to - and, in most cases, undoubtedly do - know better, this is perhaps the worst recent book written on the Trinity. Despite its pretense of scholarship and its copious use of obfuscatory theological jargon (a technique pioneered by Rahner and Schilebeecx, who knew that an honest, straightforward statement of their views would result in their books being placed on the Index) the basic teachings of God for Us are clearly incompatible with the dogmatic understanding of the Trinity as taught in the Ecumenical Councils and as articulated in the mainstream of Roman Catholic theological orthodoxy. This does not bother LaCugna, who regards this tradition, rooted in Augustine's "one substance" theory of the Godhead (which she rejects), as having led to the "defeat" of the doctrine of the Trinity. In particular, she rejects the distinction between the immanent Trinity, constituted by internal relations within the Godhead, and the economic Trinity, which is the Trinity in its joint actions of creating, redeeming and sanctifying the world. LaCugna's feminist ideology dictates that this distinction be rejected, so that God is neither a substance nor has any sort of "nature" that the persons might share in common. To the contrary, LaCugna's God is literally "God for us" - the whole reality of God is exhausted in his activities in regard to creation, especially in relation to human beings. This view, if taken seriously, annuls the transcedence of God, makes God a creator by necessity, makes God dependent on His creation and, as such, puts God in no position to make any demands on us in return. Instead, LaCugna's God can do little more than smile indulgently, always give us our own way and then take responsibility for whatever havoc that causes. Daddy loves us and will fix everything, with at most mild chiding. In other words, LaCugna's God is the perfect cut-down God for liberal Catholic feminists - and spoiled children everywhere. I could go on to say that LaCugna's views are heretical, but they are too silly and metaphysically incoherent to rise to the level of seriousness that merits that appelation. The book carries no imprimatur or nihil obstat; contemporary Catholic theologians no longer seem to need or want these guarantees of orthodoxy. However, those who do care about such matters deserve to be informed that there is no guarantee that anything that LaCugna writes in God for Us reflects the magisterium of the Church. God for Us is a book that is best ignored rather than refuted, however; the effort is not worth the payoff. It is much more profitable to read the works of e.g., Gerald O'Collins, S.J., which take a much more mainstream view of the Trinity and Incarnation despite having conciliatory things to say about LaCugna's work. He also takes pains to explore and explain the spiritual dimensions of the doctrine and its relevance for modern life, something that LaCugna claims it cannot have. In conclusion, don't buy and don't read God for Us unless your morbid curiosity exceeds all bounds of reason and propriety or you need some easily-critiqued primary source to serve as the grist for a doctoral dissertation. (The foregoing should be sufficient to dispel the contention that Amazon only prints favorable reviews. The author of this review received no compensation for his work and is happy to make its contents available as a public service out of the goodness of his heart. Enjoy!)
Rating: 
Summary: Refreshing integrity.
Review: The maze of philosophical thought through which the anti-Nicene Fathers traveled, and through which the leaders of the Church traveled following Nicea and Chalcedon, are very difficult to trace. However, Catherine Lacugna has been of great assistance to me in the effort to understand them.
Rating:
Summary: Best book on Trinity
Review: The Trinity is one of the most challenging and most neglected doctrines in the Church. Lacugna makes learning about the doctrine A VERY REWARDING EXPERIENCE. She summarizes the development of the doctrine from the first century to today. Her intent, however, is to argue that the doctrine of the Trinity is not an explanation of a God who is somewhere "out there" in eternity, but rather an explanation of the community of a God who is present and inviting us into community. She supports her position well, drawing from the ancients and contemporary Orthodox and Catholic theologians. The subject matter of the book is very challenging. It will take most people awhile to get through the material. But each page is a pearl and the reward for reading it is great. I encourage anybody with an interest in the doctrine of the Trinity to prioritize reading this book.
Rating:
Summary: Best book on Trinity
Review: The Trinity is one of the most challenging and most neglected doctrines in the Church. Lacugna makes learning about the doctrine A VERY REWARDING EXPERIENCE. She summarizes the development of the doctrine from the first century to today. Her intent, however, is to argue that the doctrine of the Trinity is not an explanation of a God who is somewhere "out there" in eternity, but rather an explanation of the community of a God who is present and inviting us into community. She supports her position well, drawing from the ancients and contemporary Orthodox and Catholic theologians. The subject matter of the book is very challenging. It will take most people awhile to get through the material. But each page is a pearl and the reward for reading it is great. I encourage anybody with an interest in the doctrine of the Trinity to prioritize reading this book.
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