Hierarchy Among Equals? A Response to Paul Molnar’s Torrance-Inspired Critique of Karl Barth’s Trinitarian Theology

This essay responds to Paul Molnar’s Torrance-inspired critique that Barth inappropriately read back elements of subordination into the immanent trinity, improperly introducing a notion of hierarchy within God’s life. It proposes that Nicene and pro-Nicene engagement with John 14:28 permits the kind of trinitarian negotiation Barth undertook and that Barth’s interpretation is to be preferred for exegetical and hermeneutical reasons and concludes with an implication for systematic theology.