Life in the Trinity with Dr. Donald Fairbairn

Hank Unplugged: Essential Christian Conversations

The Christian Research Institute

Education, Society & Culture, Religion & Spirituality

4.9 • 809 Ratings

🗓️ 25 October 2017

⏱️ 70 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week, Hank is joined on Hank Unplugged by Dr. Donald Fairbairn, professor of Early Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, the academic dean of the Charlotte campus and author or translator of seven books. His book Life in the Trinity has had a great impact on Hank, and Hank has no doubt that everyone will take something valuable away from their conversation this week.

Topics discussed include: the relationship between the Father and the Son as explained in Fairbairn’s book Life in the Trinity (2:00); how the evangelical Fairbairn’s travels around the world correlate to his interest and study of Eastern Orthodoxy (3:30); deification and Theosis as foreign concepts for many in the West (9:00); the ways Dr. Fairbairn believes his work in ministry has grown directly from his deafness (11:00); the fundamental relationship involved in salvation and how the focus can all too often be on the means to salvation as opposed to the meaning of it (15:00); the role that doctrines play in the Christian faith (18:00); the danger of making the Christian faith transactional in nature as opposed to transformational (24:00); the importance of the early church fathers (26:30); the Trinity, Incarnation, and Eucharist as concepts that we can apprehend, not comprehend (30:30); the problem when academic arrogance creeps into theology (34:00); what happens to society when we place humanity, rather than God, at the top of the order (36:30); the Lord’s high priestly prayer exemplifying the relationship between Father and Son in the Trinity (43:00); how Fairbairn used Star Wars to explain the premise of his book Life in the Trinity for the Christian Research Journal (47:30); is it possible to achieve unity throughout the branches of the “family tree” of the Christian faith? (51:30); ecclesia and the importance of being part of a church body (54:00); unpacking the idea of deification (57:30); and what drives Dr. Fairbairn to make a difference every day (1:02:30).

Transcript

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2:05.5	This is the podcast, not the broadcast, that is bringing to you some of the most interesting, some of the most informative, some of the most educated people in the world. And today is no exception. My guest is Dr. Donald Fairbairn.
2:15.3	He's the academic dean and professor of early Christianity at Gordon Conwell
2:19.8	Theological Seminary right here in Charlotte, North Carolina. Dr. Fairbairn's research interests
2:28.5	focus on the relation between the doctrines of the Trinity, Christ, salvation, and the Christian life in the early
2:38.8	Christian church, especially in the period of the 4th through the 6th centuries.
2:47.3	His responsibilities include further developing the Robert C. Cooley Center for the study of early Christianity at the Charlotte campus, which explores the historical foundations of the historic Christian faith.
3:03.1	I am so happy to meet you in person today and to have this conversation.
	...

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