516 Sean Finnegan on Restoring Authentic Christianity (Tom Huszti)

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts Recently Tom Huszti interviewed me for his YouTube channel, the Unitarian Anabaptist. We talked about the importance of geography, archeology, and Greco-Roman history for interpreting the bible, especially the New Testament. Next we delved into early church history, starting with the earliest forms of Jewish Christianity Read more about 516 Sean Finnegan on Restoring Authentic Christianity (Tom Huszti)[…]

514 Aphrahat and Early Persian Christianity (Sam Tideman)

Although he’s one of the lesser known Christian authors of the fourth century, Aphrahat is extremely important for our understanding of early Persian Christianity prior to the advent of Islam in the region. Amazingly a full-length book of his survives, called The Demonstrations. In today’s interview I ask about Aphrahat’s beliefs in general and his Read more about 514 Aphrahat and Early Persian Christianity (Sam Tideman)[…]

503 Early Church History 21: The Dual Natures Controversy of the Fifth Century

This is part 21 of the Early Church History class. In the fifth century Christians waged a theological civil war that ended in a massive church split. The issue was over the dual natures of Christ. How was he both divine and human? Did he have a human soul and a divine soul? Did his Read more about 503 Early Church History 21: The Dual Natures Controversy of the Fifth Century[…]

488 Early Church History 8: Origen of Alexandria

This is part 8 of the Early Church History class. Origen of Alexandria is the man behind the curtain. Although few Christians today would recognize his name, most denominations are still on a trajectory he initiated eighteen hundred years ago. His influences in theology, christology, eschatology, apologetics, textual criticism, asceticism, hermeneutics, and Christian philosophy are Read more about 488 Early Church History 8: Origen of Alexandria[…]

483 Early Church History 3: Christianity in the Second Century

This is part 3 of the Early Church History class. Today we begin to look at the second century. We’ll start by considering Jewish Christian movements, including the Nazarenes and the Ebionites. Next we’ll shift gears and explore the cultural pressure of asceticism and how it began infiltrating Christianity. We’ll briefly survey the influence of Read more about 483 Early Church History 3: Christianity in the Second Century[…]

The Key of Truth: A Monument of Armenian Unitarainism (Paper)

  Below is my conference presentation from the 2nd Unitarian Christian Alliance (UCA) Conference, presented on October 14, 2022 in Springfield, Ohio, USA. Here is the original pdf of this paper. Also, if you’d like to read Frederick Conybeare’s 1898 English translation of The Key of Truth, you can get it here. This is my Read more about The Key of Truth: A Monument of Armenian Unitarainism (Paper)[…]

451 Wisdom Christology in Hebrews 1.10-12 (Jerry Wierwille)

Whereas last time we examined 6 interpretations people hold for Hebrews 1.10-12, today we look at just one–the 7th. Jerry Wierwille is my guest again and in this episode he explains his take on Hebrews 1.10-12. He delves into wisdom christology to show how these verses speak of Jesus protologically as wisdom that created the Read more about 451 Wisdom Christology in Hebrews 1.10-12 (Jerry Wierwille)[…]

Short One-God Videos

Over at the Unitarian Christian Alliance, we’ve been hard at work putting out a bunch of short videos about who God and Jesus are. These videos are great to use as a teaching aid for adults and children. They’re also great to share with others from “traditional” Christian backgrounds to make them think. Here are Read more about Short One-God Videos[…]

175 Did Christians Believe in the Trinity before 325 (Council of Nicea)?

Now I realize we are in the middle of our theology class, but I thought this would be a good time to take a quick break and put out my recent presentation from Restoration Fellowship’s 2019 Theological Conference, titled, “The Trinity before Nicea.”  Next week we’ll get back to theology and build up a biblical Read more about 175 Did Christians Believe in the Trinity before 325 (Council of Nicea)?[…]

Did Christians Believe in the Trinity before the Council of Nicaea in 325?

Last weekend I presented on “The Trinity before Nicea” at Restoration Fellowship’s Theological Conference in Hampton, GA.  This is such an important question to wrestle with, since the answer has a huge bearing on whether the Trinity was a new idea in the fourth century or if Christians had always believed and taught it since Read more about Did Christians Believe in the Trinity before the Council of Nicaea in 325?[…]

The Trinity before Nicea

Did the earliest Christians of the first three hundred years believe in the Trinity? This presentation works through the most quoted texts to show that they should not be used as proof of teaching the Trinity before a.d 325. Scroll down to see my conference paper. For more podcasts and videos challenging the Trinity see: Read more about The Trinity before Nicea[…]

160 Refuting Michael Brown’s Case for the Trinity 2

In this episode we tackle the next chunk of Michael Brown’s opening statement in the recent Trinity debate.  We address his argument that since God’s words remain forever and Christ’s words remain forever, they must be the same (cf. Mat 24.35 vs. Isaiah 40.7-8).  Next we briefly explain the grammatical issues related to Titus 2.13 Read more about 160 Refuting Michael Brown’s Case for the Trinity 2[…]

Interview 44 Misunderstood Texts about Jesus 2 (Bill Schlegel)

This is part two of my series with Bill Schlegel, former professor of the Israel Bible Extension and long time bible teacher and geography expert.  Last time we discussed five major texts in the Gospel of John and this time we cover four or five more: John 10.30 John 10.33 John 13.18-19 John 20.28 1 Read more about Interview 44 Misunderstood Texts about Jesus 2 (Bill Schlegel)[…]

Interview 43 Misunderstood Texts about Jesus 1 (Bill Schlegel)

Today we are beginning a new series called “Misunderstood Texts about Jesus” with Bill Schlegel.  Professor Schlegel lived and taught the bible and geography in Israel for more than three decades.  Recently, he came to change his mind on the deity of Jesus, seeing him now as God’s man rather than a God-man.  Since he Read more about Interview 43 Misunderstood Texts about Jesus 1 (Bill Schlegel)[…]

Bill Schlegel’s “Son of God in the Bible”

Here is a short 30 minute explanation of Bill Schlegel’s understanding of what the phrase “son of God” means in the bible. He explains that this term has nothing to do with deity, but instead refers to the descendant of David whom God anoints as king. Rather than impose on scripture the philosophically freighted ideas Read more about Bill Schlegel’s “Son of God in the Bible”[…]

113 Trinity History (Stan Chee)

Stanley Chee of the Christian Disciples Church in Toronto, Canada shares a brief overview of how the doctrine of the trinity developed in the first four centuries.  Pulling on the work of Eric Chang, Bentley Chan, Hans Kung, and Richard Rubenstein, Chee explains four major factors that played a role in this process: The church’s Read more about 113 Trinity History (Stan Chee)[…]

111 John 1.1 Explained (John Schoenheit)

The first verse of John’s Gospel reads: “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.” Typically, Christians understand the Word to refer to the Son and God to refer to the Father. However, as John Schoenheit explains, this reading owes more to later trinitarian theology than Read more about 111 John 1.1 Explained (John Schoenheit)[…]

Interview 9: Pagan Influences on the Development of the Trinity (Kegan Chandler)

Kegan Chandler joins me once again to talk about the history of theology.  If you haven’t yet heard his story, check out Interview 8: A Restorationist Finds the God of Jesus.  In this episode, I ask Chandler about his book, The God of Jesus in Light of Christian Dogma.  If you are at all interested Read more about Interview 9: Pagan Influences on the Development of the Trinity (Kegan Chandler)[…]

Interview 6: Dale Tuggy’s Journey

In this interview with philosopher Dr. Dale Tuggy, I ask him questions about his personal spiritual journey.  Dr. Tuggy is an analytic philosopher who works on world religions and the doctrine of the Trinity.  He’s a tenured professor of philosophy at the State University of New York at Fredonia.  Furthermore, he runs a popular website Read more about Interview 6: Dale Tuggy’s Journey[…]

Interview 3: A Letter to a Trinitarian (Hugh Knowlton)

Today Hugh Knowlton joins Restitutio to talk about how to handle important doctrinal differences with other Christians.  So often such intra-Christian discussions generate more heat than light.  Does that mean we should all just ignore our differences, forcing smiles and hoping that no one peers beneath our thin veneer of unity?  Or should we charge Read more about Interview 3: A Letter to a Trinitarian (Hugh Knowlton)[…]

Podcast 9: God and Jesus: An Overview (Sean Finnegan)

by Sean Finnegan What’s the difference between God and Jesus.  Many Christians believe they are mysteriously one in being, but what do the scriptures teach?  It turns out the bible clearly distinguishes between these two individuals and their attributes preclude their metaphysical oneness.  Listen in to hear the evidence for why Jesus is the son Read more about Podcast 9: God and Jesus: An Overview (Sean Finnegan)[…]