Tag: asceticism

547 Read the Bible for Yourself 14: How to Read the Pastoral Epistles

Posted on by Sean Finnegan

This is part 14 of the Read the Bible For Yourself. The Pastoral Epistles are letters to church leaders, instructing them how churches should function. Though they are not well read by most Christians today, they remain authoritative for pastors, elders, and deacons. Today we’ll cover 1-2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. We’ll explore the major Read more about 547 Read the Bible for Yourself 14: How to Read the Pastoral Epistles[…]

535 Kingdom Journey Interview (Sam Tideman)

Posted on by Sean Finnegan

I’ve been putting out podcast episodes on Restitutio since 2015. I’ve interviewed many authors in that time. However, I’ve never been interviewed as an author. That changed a couple of days ago when Sam Tideman of Transfigured had me on his show to talk about my new book, Kingdom Journey. We discussed the biblical idea Read more about 535 Kingdom Journey Interview (Sam Tideman)[…]

516 Sean Finnegan on Restoring Authentic Christianity (Tom Huszti)

Posted on by Sean Finnegan

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)

Posted on by Sean Finnegan

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)[…]

499 Early Church History 17: The Kingdom of God in Early Christianity

Posted on by Sean Finnegan

This is part 17 of the Early Church History class. Throughout the first five hundred years of Christian history, a significant shift occurred in what we believed about our ultimate destiny. The New Testament and the early church fathers repeatedly expressed belief in God’s kingdom coming to earth. Over time, however, this idea gave way Read more about 499 Early Church History 17: The Kingdom of God in Early Christianity[…]

498 Early Church History 16: Jerome and Augustine

Posted on by Sean Finnegan

This is part 16 of the Early Church History class. Jerome and Augustine are two of the most influential Latin Christians of the first millennium of Christianity. This episode will introduce you to their lives, personalities, and some of their most important ideas. You’ll see how significantly asceticism affected their lifestyles as well as how Read more about 498 Early Church History 16: Jerome and Augustine[…]

497 Early Church History 15: Monasticism from Anthony to Benedict

Posted on by Sean Finnegan

This is part 15 of the Early Church History class. We are shifting gears away from Christology to talk about the desert fathers and mothers. These were people that decided to leave the city and go off alone or in communes to practice spiritual disciplines and asceticism. They denied themselves pleasure in their pursuit of Read more about 497 Early Church History 15: Monasticism from Anthony to Benedict[…]

488 Early Church History 8: Origen of Alexandria

Posted on by Sean Finnegan

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[…]

484 Early Church History 4: The Apostolic Fathers

Posted on by Sean Finnegan

This is part 4 of the Early Church History class. Our focus for this episode is the collection of second-century Christian literature known as the Apostolic Fathers. In total, there are 11 authors in this collection, 9 of whom we will briefly cover today. You’ll learn about the earliest Christian documents outside the New Testament, Read more about 484 Early Church History 4: The Apostolic Fathers[…]

483 Early Church History 3: Christianity in the Second Century

Posted on by Sean Finnegan

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[…]

103 The Kingdom Is Too Hedonic (Kingdom of God 12)

Posted on by Sean Finnegan

Last time we saw that some influential Christians rejected the biblical teaching on the kingdom because the idea of living on earth forever seemed crude to them.  This time, we look at how the ancients thought about bodies and bodily pleasures.  As it turns out, from (at least) Plato onward, many philosophers tended to embrace Read more about 103 The Kingdom Is Too Hedonic (Kingdom of God 12)[…]

Off Script 31: Stewarding Your Body

Posted on by Sean Finnegan

How should you steward your body?  Are all bodily pleasures inherently sinful?  In order to grapple with these questions, we take a tour through the bible from the Garden of Eden through to the time of Jesus to observe the balanced biblical perspective between asceticism (denying all pleasures) and hedonism (living for pleasure).  As it Read more about Off Script 31: Stewarding Your Body[…]

Podcast 68: Soli Deo Gloria (Sean Finnegan)

Posted on by Sean Finnegan

Did you make any new year’s resolutions this year? We are now three weeks into 2017 and I bet many of us have already reverted to our old ways. However, what I want to propose here is not a new habit or a trick to stop an old one. Rather, I want to encourage you Read more about Podcast 68: Soli Deo Gloria (Sean Finnegan)[…]

Rejecting the Kingdom 2: Too Hedonistic

Posted on by Sean Finnegan

by Sean Finnegan According to the Hebrew prophets, one day the God of heaven will set up a kingdom on this world, restoring it back to its original glory. Instead of shucking off the body like a husk so the soul can ascend, the biblical teaching about humanity’s destiny is rather fleshy. God designed humans Read more about Rejecting the Kingdom 2: Too Hedonistic[…]