By 325 AD, a number of ideas about the nature of God and Jesus Christ had emerged in the early Christian church, which led Roman emperor Constantine to convene a council in Nicaea to attain theological consensus. Since then, the Nicene Creed is often relied upon as the basis for modern Christian thinking, and can be a point of division between members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other Christians.

Keith Thompson, Professor and Associate Dean at the University of Notre Dame in Sydney, has researched this in depth. In this episode he joins me to discuss his recent book ‘Trinity and Monotheism’, which traces the evolution of the Trinity doctrine. As someone who frequently works with people of other faiths, Professor Thompson suggests that just like Constantine, who was willing to accommodate a number of differences in Christian belief, perhaps we need not be so divided when it comes to this doctrine.