Endorsements
This book is a fascinating look at a neglected chapter in the history of the old South. The author offers an inspiring account of southern theologians’ convincing arguments that the Trinity is foundational to every aspect of Christian faith and practice. The book will be a delight to anyone interested in this era of America history.
S. Donald Fortson, Professor of Church History and Pastoral Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte, North Carolina
Read moreWith interest in the Trinity blossoming today broadly in both academia and practical ministry, Mantle Nance’s contribution to the field is most welcome. He introduces us to the labors of a forgotten portion of Christendom on this provocative subject — the nineteenth–century theologians of Old Columbia Seminary—James Henley Thornwell, Thomas Smyth, and Benjamin Morgan Palmer. Tossed out with the bathwater of sectionalism, slavery, and Civil War, their almost disremembered struggles against the Unitarian rationalism of their day make the Columbians a fascinating read on so many levels. Nance does not spare them where they fall short of their own Trinitarian belief. But neither does he fail to grasp the creative core of their insight: that the Trinity is not an abstract doctrinal loci but rather an immense dynamus for both faith and life.
W. Duncan Rankin, Adjunct Professor of Systematic Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary, Houston, Texas