Judgments in Scripture and the Creed: Reflections on Identity and Difference

Abstract

AbstractThe article considers whether Nicene trinitarian doctrine is present within biblical texts. It focuses on some terminology that David Yeago has developed for approaching this question. The article argues that in order for his distinction between judgments and concepts to work, it is necessary to amplify the acknowledgement of difference that is inchoate in his assertation that the Bible and the Creed are basically the same rather than fully and completely identical. Three specific domains of difference receive attention: the Creed is a retrospective claim about Jesus’ nature and mission, while the Old Testament prefigures Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of God’s promises; the Bible consists of several different literary genres, while the Creed is a single sort of writing; and Scripture is a long, internally differentiated text, while the Creed attempts a summary of leading themes. In order fully to recognize these differences, it is necessary to emend the ecclesiology that underpins Yeago’s thesis. Without modifying the relationship between the Spirit and the church, it remains impossible to give the three areas of difference due acknowledgement, and there is pressure to fall back on an established prior understanding of the text.