Nice and Hot Disputes: The Doctrine of the Trinity in the Seventeenth Century

This work comprises seven chapters. The first deals with popular manifestations of the displacement of the doctrine of the Trinity taking place during the period. The second chapter describes and analyses disputes about the Trinity in the 1640s and 50s and argues that these provided a legacy for the disputes of the 1690s, a fact that other studies neglect. The bulk of the third chapter is taken up with a discussion of the eccentric trinitarian theology of Thomas Hobbes and the reactions of his critics. Chapter four is an extended discussion and analysis of the celebrated disputes about the Trinity that took place in the 1690s. Chapter five probes the public silence and private thoughts of the contemporary philosopher John Locke about the doctrine, and the reactions of his critics. Chapter six examines the continuation and development of the disputes into the early 18th century. The final chapter summarizes the discoveries made from the material and offers some conclusions for students of systematic and historical theology alike.