Like Father Like Son - Paperback

by Tom Smail (Author)

What does it mean to be made in God's image if God is Father, Son and Spirit? Tom Smail offers an approach to theological anthropology base on the doctrine of the Trinity, arguing that we are only human when we reflect the relationships between Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The book focuses on what it is to be like Father, like Son and like Holy Spirit, focusing in particular on the initiating love of the Father, the responsive love of the Son and the creative love of the Holy Spirit. Interacting with sociological, theological and personal issues of concern on a day-to-day level, Like Father, Like Son is relevant to Christian living in both the church and the world.

Back Jacket

There has been a remarkable resurgence of interest in the Trinity over the last fifty years among both laypeople and theologians. But if God is Father, Son, and Spirit, what does it mean for us to be made in God's image? And what does the rich, fascinating doctrine of the Trinity have to do with our everyday lives?

In "Like Father, Like Son" Tom Smail answers these questions, asserting that we are most fully human when we reflect the relationships between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Smail explores the concept of image in detail from various angles, including the biblical accounts, the theological history of the concept, and the implications of being created both male and female.

Smail also discusses our likeness to each part of the Trinity, focusing in particular on the initiating love of the Father, the responsive love of the Son, and the consummating love of the Spirit. Interacting with major modern thinkers while also speaking to issues of everyday concern, Smail's "Like Father, Like Son" is an intelligent discussion celebrating God as Father, Son, and Spirit, the threefold source of our created human existence.

Author Biography

Tom Smail is Senior Visiting Research Fellow at King's College, London as well as Honorary Canon Emeritus of Southwark Cathedral.