Journal: Westminster Theological Journal
Volume: WTJ 66:1 (Spring 2004)
Article: How Important Is The Filioque For Reformed Orthodoxy?
Author: Marc A. Pugliese

WTJ 66:1 (Spring 2004) p. 159

How Important Is The Filioque For Reformed Orthodoxy?

Marc A. Pugliese

[Marc A. Pugliese is a Ph.D. candidate in Contemporary Systematic Theology at Fordham University, Bronx, N.Y.]

At the 2002 national meeting of one of the prominent conservative Reformed denominations in America, the issue was taken up as to whether it was erroneous to allow a minister seeking ordination to take exception to the filioque1 clause in the Westminster Confession of Faith.2 In the realm of academic theology, there has been increased questioning of the validity or necessity of the filioque, corresponding to a general tendency to demean Augustine’s many contributions as the seedbed of all of the ills of the Western world. Yet to many of us, whether layman, clergyman, or academic, the question about the filioque seems like another quodlibetal case of theological hair-splitting. The purpose of this essay is to explore the importance of the filioque for Reformed othodoxy. How important is the filioque for Reformed orthodoxy?

First, the essay will summarize the question and what really is at stake in the question. It will then briefly summarize the chief arguments against the filioque. After presenting the dilemma of affirming or denying the filioque, the essay will move into a section arguing for the importance of the filioque in orthodox Reformed theology. Finally, the conclusion will summarize the paper and its main arguments.

I. Summary of the Question

1. The Crux of the Issue

The question concerning the filioque is not whether the Son plays a role in the generation of the Holy Spirit, nor whether the Son is second in logical order in the Trinity, since the Eastern Churches admit that the Holy Spirit proceeds through (Gk. διά) the Son. Rather, the issue is whether the Son is also the ontological source of the Holy Spirit, along with the Father. That is, is the Son just as

WTJ 66:1 (Spring 2004) p. 160

much the source of the being and divinity of the Holy Spirit as the Father is? Louis Berkhof’s statement regarding the procession of the Holy Spirit succinctly sums up what is intended by the filioque clause:

Spiration may be defined as that eternal and necessary act of the first and second persons in the Trinity whereby they, within the divine Being, become the ground of the personal subsistence of the Holy Spirit, and put the third person in possession of the whole divine essence, without any division, alienation, or change.You must have a subscription and be logged in to read the entire article.
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