Did the Church invent the Trinity? Dale Tuggy vs Joshua Sijuwade

Is the Trinity biblical? Conciliar Trinitarianism vs Biblical Unitarianism

In this special extended episode of Unbelievable? live debate from the Guild Church of St Katherine Cree in the City of London, hosted in partnership with the Unitarian Christian Alliance, two leading philosophers of religion go head-to-head over one of Christianity’s most fundamental doctrines: is the Trinity actually biblical - and is it truly orthodox?

Dr Joshua Sijuwade (University of Birmingham), author of The Coherence of the Trinity, defends Conciliar Trinitarianism – one God the Father, with the Son and Spirit as distinct, fully divine persons, in line with the early ecumenical councils.

Dr Dale Tuggy, analytic philosopher and biblical Unitarian, argues that the New Testament teaches one God, the Father alone, with Jesus as God’s miraculously conceived, exalted human Messiah and the Spirit as God’s power or presence rather than a third divine person.

Together they explore: 

• Key biblical texts (John 1, John 17, Philippians 2, Revelation 4–5, Acts, Paul’s letters)
• Jewish monotheism and the Creator–creature divide
• The personhood and divinity of the Holy Spirit
• The role of the church fathers and ecumenical councils
• Whether the doctrine of the Trinity is a faithful development or a departure from apostolic faith

Today’s episode is an extended, serious, fair, and thought-provoking exploration of what Christians mean when they say “God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”