‘Not the Same God’: Alexander Carson (1776-1844) and the Ulster Trinitarian Controversy

Abstract

The impact of the Salters’ Hall Synod went beyond its immediate context in England and spread throughout the British Isles and into Ireland. Ulster Presbyterianism was wracked with debate over confessional subscriptionism and Unitarianism. Two key interlocutors in this debate were the Unitarian theologian William Hamilton Drummond and his orthodox counterpart, Alexander Carson. This essay traces the debate with a particular emphasis on their use of Scottish Common Sense philosophy as a way into or out of heterodox views of the Trinity.

Keywords

• trinity
• unitarianism
• divine attributes
• long eighteenth century
• alexander carson
• william hamilton drummond
• ulster presbyterianism
• scottish enlightenment