Has anyone ever said to you, “Oh, you believe Jesus is just a mere man.” How do you respond when someone says that? Do you just go along with it and say, “Yep, that’s what I believe–Jesus is just another guy”? I hope not. Jesus is not just another guy. He’s the virginally-conceived son of Read more about 577 Nothing Mere about a Man Made in the Image of God (Anna Brown)[…]
Something is going on in New Zealand…and I’m excited to tell you about it. In today’s interview I speak with Zach Mayo who along with his wife, Kayla, were serving as youth pastors at an evangelical church when they came to change their minds on the doctrine of the Trinity. Now they’re organizing a conference Read more about 554 Biblical Unitarian Christians in New Zealand (Zach Mayo)[…]
From her childhood in a Jewish family to a 7-year stint with the Jehovah’s Witnesses to attending evangelical churches, Susanne Lakin never felt comfortable with the doctrine of the Trinity. She signed up to attend Phoenix Seminary, a conservative evangelical school, thinking they would help her finally get to the bottom of it. She was Read more about 552 Seminary Convinced Me the Trinity Is Wrong (Susanne Lakin)[…]
Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts We’ve all heard plenty of stories of Trinitarians who begin questioning their received teaching and eventually become Unitarian. However, today, we’re bringing you a story that’s a little different. My guest is Rick Naviello who held a biblical unitarian view of Jesus for decades before attending Read more about 518 Tried to Believe in the Trinity (Rick Naviello)[…]
This is part 14 of the Early Church History class. We’ve been learning about the controversy over Christ’s origins in the last couple of episodes. This battle raged between groups of Christians who agreed that Jesus pre-existed for sixty years. But today we are taking a break from that and looking instead at the early Read more about 496 Early Church History 14: Paul of Samosata and Photinus of Sirmium[…]
Can Jesus relate to us? In a major ad campaign called “He Gets Us,” the artful message is clear: Jesus understands us, which is why he’s as relevant and attractive as ever. Here are a few of their videos: Dinner Party: Jesus was radically inclusive The Rebel: Jesus knew how it felt to be Read more about He Gets Us Because He’s One of Us[…]
Below is my conference presentation from the 2nd Unitarian Christian Alliance Conference, presented on October 14, 2022 in Springfield, Ohio, USA. You can access this paper on Academia.edu to get the pdf. Also, if you’d like to read Frederick Conybeare’s 1898 English translation of The Key of Truth, you can get it here. My presentation Read more about The Key of Truth: A Monument of Armenian Unitarainism (Paper)[…]
Have you heard of the Integrity Syndicate? No, not a crime syndicate, the Integrity Syndicate–the online ministry of Theophilus Josiah, my guest today. Abused and neglected by his parents and raised in a California orphanage, Josiah met God in his youth resulting in a new course for his life. Through a series of providential events, Read more about 435-Holistic Biblical Unitarian Christianity (Theophilus Josiah)[…]
Have you heard about the upcoming Unitarian Christian Alliance conference (or as I like to call it, UCA-con)? It’s going to happen next month from October 15-17. My guest today is Dr. Dale Tuggy, the chairman of the board of the UCA. Listen in as he discusses what’s on the docket for our inaugural UCA Read more about 410 Thomas Emlyn and the Unitarian Christian Alliance Conference (Dale Tuggy)[…]
Have you heard of Claude of Savoy? He was a bold witness to God’s oneness in the 16th century, even spending a month in Wittenberg in 1535 trying to convert Martin Luther. He wrote this fascinating theological summary: “The Lord thy God is one.” Whence then are there two others? particularly since it is written Read more about Claude of Savoy: 16th Century Biblical Unitarian[…]
Did you know the Unitarian Christian Alliance just launched a podcast? In this interview, Mark Cain explains what he aims to do with this newest addition to one God podcasts and how the UCA podcast is different from the others. Ultimately, he wants to see unitarian Christians carry ourselves with confidence, knowing that our faith Read more about 368 Introducing the UCA Podcast (Mark Cain)[…]
Sam who asked me not to use his last name for fear that he will get kicked out of his current church, tells his story of navigating evangelical Christianity as a biblical unitarian. He shares two sad stories of excommunication from a college ministry and a local church. As you might suspect, this harsh treatment Read more about 367 Excommunicated for My Beliefs (Sam)[…]
Today, we are publicly announcing the launch of a new para-church organization called the UCA or the Unitarian Christian Alliance. This is a new ministry that I’ve been working on with Dale Tuggy, Kegan Chandler, and Mark Cain for months and I believe it will help all of us, but especially those who don’t live Read more about 309 Introducing the Unitarian Christian Alliance (Dale Tuggy, Kegan Chandler, Mark Cain, Sean Finnegan)[…]
How many is God? Although the ancient Shema (recorded in Deuteronomy 6) teaches that God is one, Christian theologians have put forward a number of reasons arguing for a plurality within God. We will examine a number of these words, texts, and reasonings in an effort to agree with Jesus who wholeheartedly affirmed the Jewish Read more about Theology 10 — Challenging God’s Oneness[…]
Greg Deuble grew up in the Church of Christ in Australia, went to N.S.W. Bible College in Sydney, and spent fifteen years serving as a pastor and evangelist. One day he attended a meeting during which Anthony Buzzard challenged him on his belief in the deity of Christ. Rattled, Deuble began on a quest to reassess Read more about Interview 49 They Never Told Me This in Church (Greg Deuble)[…]
Have you heard of the Christian Disciples Church? They are a biblical unitarian group scattered throughout Asia primarily. In this episode Calvin Chan, who has been with the disciples since the beginning, will tell you the story of how this group got started as a student disciple movement. He also shares about how the founder, Read more about Interview 47 Christian Disciples Church and the Only True God (Calvin Chan)[…]
In parts one and two, we examined ten misunderstood verses in the Gospel of John. In part three, we’ll examine seven more texts from the rest of the bible: Genesis 1.26 Isaiah 9.6 Matthew 2.2 Matthew 28.9 Matthew 28.19 (cf. 2 Cor 13.14) Romans 9.5 Acts 20.28 Repeatedly, Bill Schlegel calls us back to understand Read more about Interview 45 Misunderstood Texts about Jesus 3 (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)[…]
Dale Tuggy will debate Michael Brown on the question: “Is the God of the Bible the Father Alone?” at Fire Church, Concord, North Carolina on January 11 at 7pm. There is no charge for this event. Please attend if you can make it. This is an opportunity to hear both sides of this very important Read more about Debate: Dale Tuggy vs. Michael Brown[…]
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)[…]
How much does truth matter to you? In particular, how should we think about Christians who hold very different views on key subjects? For example, I’m a biblical unitarian, someone who believes that we should take Jesus literally when he called his Father “the only true God.” Of course I believe Jesus is God’s only Read more about Interview 40: How Much Does Truth Matter? (Chuck Whitlock)[…]
Born to Italian immigrants, Daniel Calcagno grew up in Canada, near Niagara Falls and attended a Pentecostal church. After he began taking his faith seriously, he started researching the Jewish people–especially those who believe in Jesus. Over time he founded Messianic Niagara, a local home group with a website that promoted audio teachings. However, Read more about Interview 34: From Pentecostal to Messianic Unitarian (Daniel Calcagno)[…]
Bill Schlegel, professor and cofounder of The Master’s University extension program in Israel (IBEX), was studying the phrase “Son of God” and came to understand the term did not correlate with the traditional “God the Son” teaching, but instead meant God’s heir, the king he has designated to rule the world. Although he had taught Read more about Interview 31: Master’s University Prof. Finds Son of God, Loses Job (Bill Schlegel)[…]
Although sometimes lumped in with enlightenment rationalism, the biblical unitarian movement came to prominence right from the start of the Reformation. Essentially, as soon as bible translations started getting into the hands of regular people, a great many Catholic doctrines came under scrutiny. In this episode you’ll learn about three major biblical unitarian trailblazers of Read more about 120 Biblical Unitarian Trailblazers of the 16th Century (Five Hundred 5)[…]
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)[…]
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)[…]
Last weekend Living Hope International Ministries (LHIM) sponsored KingdomFest 2017 with the theme: “Yahweh, there is no other.” In addition to fabulous praise music, scrumptious homemade food, and tons of time to fellowship with each other, we heard teachings from the following people: John McCave “Yahweh Is the Only God“ John Schoenheit “John 1:1“ Stan Read more about KingdomFest Videos[…]
Sid Hatch, a former Baptist minister and graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary explains his reasons for questioning the Trinity. Ultimately he concluded the bible does not teach that Jesus is “God the Son” but that he is “the Son of God.” In this presentation, he discusses various key texts including John 1.1 and Philippians 2.1-9 Read more about 109 Five Reasons I Changed my Mind about the Trinity (Sid Hatch)[…]
Sean Holbrook was attending a typical evangelical church when he heard a series of sermons teaching the Trinity. Ironically, these very messages, designed to bolster faith in the doctrine, ended up inspiring Holbrook to question the age old dogma. As a result, he set out to study the topic more and watched James White debates Read more about Interview 25: Studying the Trinity, Discovering God Is One (Sean Holbrook)[…]
Sir Anthony Buzzard has led a fascinating life. He grew up in the Church of England in the 1930s and 40s. While at Oxford, he attended a “get saved” meeting and went forward. Next he joined Herbert Armstrong’s Worldwide Church of God, but then left and studied with the Christadelphians, before joining the Church of Read more about Interview 21: Anthony Buzzard, Tireless Herald of Jesus’ Gospel and Creed[…]
Yesterday Dale Tuggy challenged James White to debate whether or not the God of the bible is the Trinity on his Trinities podcast (Episode 182: White’s Case for the Trinity–Part 2 at 38:17). The question is, “Will White accept the challenge?” If so, he will have to do more than follow his standard approach of Read more about Will James White Take Dale Tuggy’s Challenge to Debate?[…]
Are you embarrassed of your non-traditional beliefs about God? Victor Gluckin says that it’s time to stand up for what we believe. Believing God is one (instead of three-in-one) is not some sort of fringe doctrine; it’s at the very heart of biblical faith. After all, Jesus himself identified the Jewish “shema” as the most Read more about Podcast 79: Proud of Our God (Victor Gluckin)[…]
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)[…]
Kegan Chandler grew up as a bible-believing Christian in Texas. His grandfather, Pat E. Harrell, was a leader within Church of Christ who founded their Restoration Quarterly publication. As a result of his grandparents’ and parents’ passion for God, Chandler grew up in a family steeped in bible study and theological reflection. One day the Read more about Interview 8: A Restorationist Discovers the God of Jesus (Kegan Chandler)[…]
In my previous interview with Professor Dale Tuggy, we discussed his journey of faith. In this conversation I ask him to discuss logical and biblical problems with the Trinity. This is a higher level conversation, but well worth the listen if you are at all curious about the Trinity or are interesting in hearing how Read more about Interview 7: An Analytic Philosopher Unleashes Logic on the Trinity (Dale Tuggy)[…]
Brian and Rochelle Allen of Vermont share their journey of faith, including how they became discontent with the traditional evangelical doctrines they grew up believing. In this interview they discuss how recontextualizing the bible in its Hebrew thought-world opened their eyes to understand Jesus so much better. He is the Jewish Messiah sent to redeem Read more about Interview 5: Seeking Truth Wherever It Leads (Brian and Rochelle Allen)[…]
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)[…]
Why Did Jesus Die? Exploring the Multifaceted Biblical Doctrine of the Atonement from a Biblical Unitarian Perspective Presented at Restoration Fellowship’s 25th Theological Conference in Hampton, GA on April 29, 2016 by Sean Finnegan (restitutio.org) Here is the PDF Abstract In part one, I categorize and summarize what the New Testament documents say about the Read more about Why Did Jesus Die? (Paper for 2016 Theological Conference)[…]
by Sean Finnegan My Conundrum I entered the mammoth façade of my local Barnes and Noble and found my feet carrying me directly to the Christianity section. Once at my destination, I stood before the familiar shelves, half filled with what I call “real” books and the other half, “inspirational.” I cocked my head to Read more about Looking For the Historical Jesus between Evangelical and Liberal Scholarship[…]