<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>If humans are created in the image of a trinitarian God, then we might consider that the fundamental ontology of humans would be relational, furthermore to some degree perichoretic. If <italic>perichoresis</italic> is somehow reflected in human relations (notwithstanding all Creation), <italic>perichoresis</italic> should be evident analogically in our social relations, theology, and various disciplines of thought. This relational concept of the Church Fathers failed to be further developed because the concept of the Trinity fell from theological focus over the centuries. Today subtle but radical changes are occurring in the field of social psychology and communications theory. Whereas it was once common for modern paradigms to dominate the field, social constructionists have begun to react against the preponderance of typically modern themes as the primacy of the subject or ontological discourse framed exclusively in the language of subject-subject. On the other hand, their work offers a unique opportunity for Christian theology to expand its understanding of <italic>perichoresis</italic>. For Kierkegaard the relationship itself becomes a positive third term that intensifies the polarities and therefore suggests an alternative tripartite consideration: subject-relationship-subject. From this tripartite relational structure of humanity as differentiated-unity, I am positioned to develop a logic of spirit and explore the possibility of <italic>analogia spiritus</italic>—the non-reflexive transformational dynamic facilitating holistic change and meaning—as the essential dynamic within <italic>perichoresis</italic>. This in turn reveals that these dynamics active as human spirit can be analogically correlated in <italic>mutual co-conditioning reciprocity</italic> in relation to the Trinity and <italic>the Eternal activity</italic> of the Spirit and Christ.</p>
</abstract>

If humans are created in the image of a trinitarian God, then we might consider that the fundamental ontology of humans would be relational, furthermore to some degree perichoretic. If perichoresis is somehow reflected in human relations (notwithstanding all Creation), perichoresis should be evident analogically in our social relations, theology, and various disciplines of thought. This relational concept of the Church Fathers failed to be further developed because the concept of the Trinity fell from theological focus over the centuries. Today subtle but radical changes are occurring in the field of social psychology and communications theory. Whereas it was once common for modern paradigms to dominate the field, social constructionists have begun to react against the preponderance of typically modern themes as the primacy of the subject or ontological discourse framed exclusively in the language of subject-subject. On the other hand, their work offers a unique opportunity for Christian theology to expand its understanding of perichoresis. For Kierkegaard the relationship itself becomes a positive third term that intensifies the polarities and therefore suggests an alternative tripartite consideration: subject-relationship-subject. From this tripartite relational structure of humanity as differentiated-unity, I am positioned to develop a logic of spirit and explore the possibility of analogia spiritus—the non-reflexive transformational dynamic facilitating holistic change and meaning—as the essential dynamic within perichoresis. This in turn reveals that these dynamics active as human spirit can be analogically correlated in mutual co-conditioning reciprocity in relation to the Trinity and the Eternal activity of the Spirit and Christ.

<italic>Perichoresis</italic> as a Hermeneutical Key to Ontology: Social Constructionism, Kierkegaard, and Trinitarian Theology

Perichoresis

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

 as a Hermeneutical Key to Ontology: Social Constructionism, Kierkegaard, and Trinitarian Theology

If humans are created in the image of a trinitarian God, then we might consider that the fundamental ontology of humans would be relational, furthermore to...

Perichoresis as a Hermeneutical Key to Ontology: Social Constructionism, Kierkegaard, and Trinitarian Theology

Published Online: Jul 04, 2022

Page range: 51 - 101

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/perc-2022-0022

Keywords
trinitarian ontology, pneumatology, interdisciplinary theology

© 2022 Gregory Scott Gorsuch, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Perichoresis as a Hermeneutical Key to Ontology: Social Constructionism, Kierkegaard, and Trinitarian Theology

Published Online: Jul 04, 2022

Page range: 51 - 101

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/perc-2022-0022

Keywordstrinitarian ontology, pneumatology, interdisciplinary theology

© 2022 Gregory Scott Gorsuch, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
trinitarian ontology, pneumatology, interdisciplinary theology