The Trinity

In Our Time

BBC

History

4.6 • 9.2K Ratings

🗓️ 13 March 2014

⏱️ 42 minutes

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Summary

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Trinity. The idea that God is a single entity, but one known in three distinct forms - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - has been a central belief for most Christians since the earliest years of the religion. The doctrine was often controversial in the early years of the Church, until clarified by the Council of Nicaea in the late 4th century. Later thinkers including St Augustine and Thomas Aquinas recognised that this religious mystery posed profound theological questions, such as whether the three persons of the Trinity always acted together, and whether they were of equal status. The Trinity's influence on Christian thought and practice is considerable, although it is interpreted in different ways by different Christian traditions. With: Janet Soskice Professor of Philosophical Theology at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Jesus College Martin Palmer Director of the International Consultancy on Religion, Education, and Culture The Reverend Graham Ward Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Oxford and a Canon of Christ Church. Producer: Thomas Morris.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Thank you for downloading this episode of In Our Time for more details about In Our Time
0:04.1	and for our terms of use, please go to bbc.co.uk slash radio4.
0:09.0	I hope you enjoy the program.
0:11.3	Hello, one of the beliefs that sets Christianity apart from all other faiths is known as
0:15.3	the doctrine of the Trinity.
0:17.2	From the early years of the religion, Christians believe that God existed in three forms, God
0:21.4	the Creator, His Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost.
0:25.9	But also central to Christianity is the belief that there's only one God.
0:29.6	Now a single God could appear in three forms as a question which preoccupied early theologians
0:34.4	and caused disputes and even splits in the church.
0:37.5	Since the 4th century, most Christians have accepted the doctrine of the Trinity, the
0:41.0	idea of three divine individuals who together make up one God.
0:45.5	The doctrine also raises philosophical problems as you've occupied some of the greatest religious
0:49.4	thinkers of the last 2,000 years.
0:52.2	With me to discuss the Trinity hour, Janet Toskis, professor of philosophical theology
0:57.2	at the University of Cambridge and the Fellow of Jesus College, Martin Palmer, director
1:02.1	of the International Consultancy on Religion, Education and Culture, and Reverend Graham Ward
1:07.3	reaches professor of divinity at Christ Church University of Oxford.
1:12.5	Janet Toskis, when did the idea of the Trinity emerge and why did it come from?
1:17.6	Well, I would say it's emergent from the earliest days.
1:20.2	I mean, first of all, the doctrine of the Trinity is about what Christians think about God
1:24.2	and it's not, and Jesus, of course, it's not something extra Christians believe that
	...

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