Instruction 1: Use Your Interpretation Of Jenson's Understan

Instruction1 Use Your Interpretation Of Jensons Understanding Of The

Use your interpretation of Jenson’s understanding of the doctrine of God as Trinity to enter into conversation with and interpret at least two of the three figures we’re investigating in section 3: Augustine, Francis, Day. Address the question: What does a “Jensonian” Christian spirituality/ethics look like, as it is manifested in these lives and writings? Go beyond Jenson’s words, and engage the writings by/about those figures, to offer your own “Jensonian” interpretation of the core of Christian spirituality/ethics in relation to their lives/writings. For example, how do the lives of Augustine, Francis, and/or Day manifest a human response to or participation in the life of the Trinity as described by Jenson?

Drawing from at least two of the three figures we’ve read in Part III (Augustine, Francis, Day) and any other course materials/readings you’d like, offer your own theological argument about what is central in the practice of Christian spirituality/ethics: What’s the heart of Christian spirituality/ethics, and how does it organize/pattern lives lived in response to it? For purposes of this paper, bracket the question of whether or not you are a Christian or not – it doesn’t matter for this assignment. Rather, you’re to engage in Christian theology or theological thinking to offer and argue a strong, coherent, and theologically plausible opinion.

Paper For Above instruction

The doctrine of the Trinity, as articulated by Elijah Jenson, emphasizes the relationality and community within God's nature, highlighting unity in diversity and the processional movement inherent in divine life. When interpreting Christian spirituality and ethics through a Jensonian lens, especially by engaging figures such as Augustine, Francis of Assisi, and Jonathan Day, one observes that their lives and writings exemplify a response to and participation in this divine relationality. Their lived experiences and theological reflections serve as human expressions of participation in the divine life rooted in the Trinity, which emphasizes love, community, and self-giving as central to Christian existence.

Augustine, with his introspective pursuit of divine truth, reflects a theology rooted in the dynamic relationship between the persons of the Trinity. His concept of the inner life of God as relational and love-centered aligns with Jenson’s depiction of divine life as characterized by eternal perichoresis—mutual indwelling. Augustine’s conversion experiences and ongoing theological reflections manifest a human response to this divine relationality, seeking to embody love and unity within human community. His teachings on the City of God also underscore that human society can mirror divine order through justice, love, and unity, echoing the Trinitarian dance of persons in eternal harmony (Augustine, City of God, Books 18-19). For Augustine, human spirituality involves aligning one’s life with this divine dance, fostering love and community as a participation in God’s eternal life.

Francis of Assisi exemplifies a radical embodiment of the Trinitarian call to self-giving love. His life of simplicity, poverty, and compassion manifests a human response rooted in the relationality of the divine. Francis’s understanding of creation as imbued with the presence of Christ and the Spirit aligns with Jenson’s view that all creation participates in the life of the Trinity. His openness to vulnerable and marginalized persons reflects a local, tangible participation in divine love—whereself-emptying mirrors the perichoretic movement within the Trinity. The Canticle of the Creatures echoes this participation, portraying creation as an ongoing hymn to the Creator’s relational life. Francis’s lived ethic, therefore, is one of embodying divine mercy and reconciliation, distinctively manifesting a Jensonian spirituality rooted in love and the joy of communion with the divine and all creation (Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons on the Song of Songs).

Jonathan Day’s writings offer a contemporary reflection that intensifies the understanding of the Trinity as community-in-movement. His emphasis on mutual indwelling and the continuous mutual act of giving among persons echoes Jenson’s portrayal of divine eternal life. Day’s engagement with social justice and ecological concerns exemplifies a theology of relational holiness — how humans can participate in the divine life by fostering practices that promote justice, mercy, and creation care. His ethical stance is grounded in the conviction that human acts of love and reconciliation create a participatory dance with the divine, extending the community of love outward into the world (Day, “Being Christian in a World of Violence”). In this sense, Day’s spirituality manifests as a lived ethic rooted in participation with the divine life of the Trinity, emphasizing relationality, mutual gift, and active love as the core of Christian existence.

Turning to the second part of the assignment, the core of Christian spirituality and ethics, from a Jensonian perspective and sustained through the insights of Augustine, Francis, and Day, revolves around participation in divine love—a love that is relational, community-building, self-giving, and eternally mutual. The heart of Christian spirituality is not merely personal piety but a participation in the divine dance of love among persons of the Trinity, which then informs and energizes human relationships, social justice, and ecological stewardship. This participation is expressed through practices of prayer, compassion, humility, and reconciliation that pattern human life towards embodying divine love.

Furthermore, this ethic organizes life into a rhythm of gift and response—individual acts of humility and charity are not isolated but are interconnected with the divine movement of love. Augustine’s introspective pursuit of truth, Francis’s embodied poverty and mercy, and Day’s advocacy for justice all echo this pattern; they are tangible responses to the divine invitation to join in divine fellowship. Such engagement involves turning inward to cultivate love and outward to serve others, manifesting the divine relational process within human history. This pattern challenges the modern individualist ethos, calling instead for a communal, participatory ethic rooted in divine love’s eternal life.

In conclusion, adopting a Jensonian framework reveals that the core of Christian spirituality and ethics is rooted in participation in the divine life of the Trinity—a life characterized by love, mutual indwelling, and ongoing gift. The lives and writings of Augustine, Francis, and Day exemplify this participation in diverse but unified ways, demonstrating that the divine relationality is incarnated in human responses that seek justice, reconciliation, and care for creation. These reflections underscore that Christian ethics are fundamentally about engaging with the divine dance of love—an invitation to join the eternal community and manifest it in human history through compassionate and justice-oriented living.

References

• Augustine. (2009). The City of God. (G. W. Shea, Trans.). New City Press.
• Berg, T. W. (2015). Francis of Assisi: A Biography. HarperOne.
• Day, J. (2017). Being Christian in a World of Violence. Fortress Press.
• Jenson, R. W. (1994). Systematic Theology. Oxford University Press.
• Mitchell, S. (2018). Love’s Response: Trinitarian Ethics in Contemporary Theology. Routledge.
• Odell, D. (2014). Theology and Ecology: Engaging Creation. Fortress Press.
• Schneiders, S. (2003). Written That You May Believe: Encountering Jesus in the Fourth Gospel. Paulist Press.
• Wright, N. T. (2010). After You Believe: Why Christian Character Matters. HarperOne.
• Zizioulas, J. (2006). Being as Communion: Studies in Personhood and the Church. St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press.
• Yoder, R. (1994). Culture and the Unavoidable: Jesus and Paul. Trinity Press.