logo
episode-header-image
Mar 2014
42m 11s

The Trinity

Bbc Radio 4
About this episode

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.

Up next
May 15
Typology
Melvyn Bragg and guests explore typology, a method of biblical interpretation that aims to meaningfully link people, places, and events in the Hebrew Bible, what Christians call the Old Testament, with the coming of Christ in the New Testament. Old Testament figures like Moses, J ... Show More
50m 45s
Mar 2025
Kali
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Hindu goddess Kali, often depicted as dark blue, fierce, defiant, revelling in her power, and holding in her four or more arms a curved sword and a severed head with a cup underneath to catch the blood. She may have her tongue out, to catch mor ... Show More
57m 41s
Feb 2025
Pope Joan
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss a story that circulated widely in the middle ages about a highly learned woman who lived in the ninth century, dressed as a man, travelled to Rome, and was elected Pope.Her papacy came to a dramatic end when it was revealed that she was a woman, a ... Show More
46m 37s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2023
Day 36: The Nature of the Trinity
Together, with Fr. Mike, we continue our exploration of the Church’s teachings on the nature of the Holy Trinity. We examine three main ideas. The first is the unity of the Trinity, that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all one God. The next is the Divine Persons as distinct ... Show More
17m 40s
Feb 2024
Day 36: The Nature of the Trinity (2024)
Together, with Fr. Mike, we continue our exploration of the Church’s teachings on the nature of the Holy Trinity. We examine three main ideas. The first is the unity of the Trinity, that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all one God. The next is the Divine Persons as distinct ... Show More
17m 40s
May 2024
Three Ways of Approaching the Trinity
Friends, we come once again to Trinity Sunday. The Church has reflected very deeply on who God is, and this great doctrine of the Trinity has emerged from that speculation. What I want to do is give you, appropriately enough, three ways of approaching this profound mystery. 
14m 56s
Oct 2023
What in the World is the Trinity? with Christy Thornton
Rebecca McLaughlin is joined by Christy Thornton to answer questions about the Trinity.Questions Covered in This Episode:Has God always been Triune?Do other aspects of God’s identity change between the Old and New Testament?Is “let us make man in our image” written in plurality?I ... Show More
42m 5s
Jun 2022
What Is the Trinity?
Friends, Trinity Sunday has been called “the preacher’s nightmare.” But while the Trinity remains a supreme mystery, Thomas Aquinas used a basic principle that helps us to get at it: beings, at all levels, tend to make images of themselves. The higher you go in the hierarchy of b ... Show More
14m 57s
Jun 2022
#121 Making sense of The Trinity
Ahead of Trinity Sunday, Tom answers questions about the Trinity: How do I explain the Trinity without accidental heresy? is there a hierarchy in the Trinity? Can you explain Jesus' prayer for intimacy with the Father and the Spirit in John 17?• More shows, free eBook & newslette ... Show More
26m 51s
May 2023
To the Father, through the Son, in the Spirit
Friends, today we come to Trinity Sunday, which has been called “the preacher’s nightmare.” But as you probably know from previous sermons of mine, I don’t agree with that at all. I think every Sunday is Trinity Sunday. The Trinity names what is most fundamental and basic in our ... Show More
14m 45s