A contribution to trinitarian theology, examining the nature of the Trinity and its significance for the Christian through semiotic concepts and methods.


Traces of the Trinity is a masterful exploration of Christian theology through the lens of semiotics – the study of signs. Andrew Robinson provides helpful analogies and clear explanations throughout to lead even the non-specialist through the subject with ease.

Although the variety of signs is endless, all signs and sign-interpretations have the same basic, underlying structure: sign, object and interpretation. Further, this triad rests upon the existence of three ‘elemental grounds’: Quality, Otherness and Mediation. According to Robinson’s highly original thesis, in the structure of signs we can see vestiges of the powerful, threefold dynamic of the Trinity in creation. He proceeds to develop a highly original ‘semiotic model’ of the Trinity, illuminating and integrating key areas of Christian thought: creation, incarnation, and atonement; the roles of baptism and the Eucharist; the nature of the church and the basis of participation in the divine life. Traces of the Trinity makes belief in the Trinity relevant to ordinary, everyday experience, and challenges the church to recognize the implications for its calling to be transformative, truthful, and inclusive.