Endorsements
Mantle Nance’s study of the controversy in the Old South between Trinitarians and Unitarians is historically and theologically marked by careful scholarship and, although committed to the supernaturalism of Trinitarian belief, seeks to be fair and judicious throughout. Far from being a good, but dusty, relic of past concerns, it touches on many of the most crucial issues facing human thought and destiny today (or at any time). It is very much alive; a penetrating word for our times…
Douglas F. Kelly, Professor of Theology Emeritus, 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