10) Evolution of the Trinity, Interview with Dr. Dale Tuggy, part 1

In Part 1 of this two part series, Dr. Dale Tuggy leads us through the development of Christian theology of the AD 100s and into the AD 200s. 

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Dr. Dale Tuggy served as Professor of Philosophy at the State University of New York at Fredonia for 18 years. His PhD is from Brown University. He has authored about two dozen peer-reviewed articles and book chapters relating to the Trinity and other topics in analytic theology and philosophy of religion; for instance, the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy article on the Trinity, and his book called What is the Trinity? Thinking about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Since 2013 he has hosted “The Trinities” podcast which explores theories about the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. His podcast and articles can be found on the webpage  https://trinities.org

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In Part 1, Dr. Tuggy describes some main features of Christian theology and Christology of the AD 2nd century (AD 100s), including the centralization of authority in bishops, development of Logos theories from Hellenistic views of creation, presenting Christ as a kind of pre-existent yet "second, lesser, derived god", that is, not the One God, the Father. This is the view of Justin Martyr. Then later, as promoted by the "church father" Origin, Christ was said to have been eternally generated. As much as Christ became "god", his humanity became less and less significant. 

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Dr. Tuggy maintains that none of the  "church fathers" of the AD 100s and 200s were Trinitarians, that is, none believed that the One God was the Trinity. All of them still referred to the One God as the Father.

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In Part 2, Dr. Tuggy will take us into the AD 4th century (AD 300s), including discussion about the Councils of Nicea (AD 325), the Cappadocia -Fathers, and the Council of Constantinople (AD 381)

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Additional articles, books, podcasts and videos relating to the development of Christian theology in the centuries following Jesus Christ can be found on the One God Report resource page http://www.onegodreport.com/evolution_of_trinitarian_doctrine