Restitutio

The 1800s was an exciting time for Christianity in America. At the same time that secularism and liberal Christianity made huge gains, several renewal movements occurred throughout the land, including the Second Great Awakening. In this episode you learn about the birth of the Protestant missionary movement with the Moravians and the Baptists, how the various Adventist denominations got their start, and last of all the most successful made-in-America religion–Mormonism. These thumbnail sketches will help you understand a number of groups that are still around today. This is lecture 14 of a history of Christianity class called Five Hundred: From Martin Luther to Joel Osteen. All the notes are available here as a pdf. —— Notes —— Pietism (late 17th c. to 20th c.) Movement within Reformed and Lutheran countries (happened during Enlightenment) 1675 – Philipp Jakob Spener (1635-1705) published Pious Desires The earnest and thorough study of the Bible in private meetings Laity should share in the spiritual government of the Church Knowledge of Christianity must be attended by the practice A sympathetic and kindly treatment of Christians of other groups Universities should give more prominence to the devotional life Rather than pleasing rhetoric, preach to implant Christianity in the inner man Emphasized inner life and conversion Millennialism (Pietists had millennialist leanings) Continued baptizing infants but de-emphasized it in favor of conversion experience Halle in Saxony established as center of Pietism   Moravians (Unitas Fratrum) Descendants of the 15th Hussites; persecuted during 30 years war in Bohemia In late 17th c., they went to Poland; 18th c. they went to Saxony 1722 – Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf (1700-1760), a Pietist who attended school at Halle (godson to Spener) gave the Moravians land which became the community of Herrnhut 1731 – Some Moravians went to the coronation of the King of Denmark. 1732 – Johann Leonhard Dober (1706-1766) chose David Nitschmann (1695-1772) as his travelling companion; petitioned the Danish government for passage to St. Thomas in Virgin Islands Teaching them about God and how to read and write In less than a century, the Pietist Moravians sent 300 missionaries throughout the world and baptized some 3,000 converts. Moravian motto: “In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; and in all things, love” Today, around 825,000 members worldwide (largest concentration is in Tanzania)   Modern Missions 1792 – William Carey (1761-1834) published An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens Used the best available geographic and ethnographic data to map and count the number of people who had never heard the gospel “It is inconsistent for ministers to please themselves with thoughts of a numerous auditory, cordial friends, a civilized country, legal protection, affluence, splendor, or even a competency. The flights, and hatred of men, and even pretended friends, gloomy prisons, and tortures, the society of barbarians of uncouth speech, miserable accommodations in wretched wildernesses, hunger, and thirst, nakedness, weariness, and painfulness, hard work, and but little worldly encouragement should rather be the objects of their expectation. Thus the apostles act

This is part two of our discussion about Charles Mathewes’ Washington Post article, “White Christianity is in big trouble. And it’s its own biggest threat.” Check out part one here. In this episode we consider gun control, immigration, the death penalty, and treatment of the poor in an effort to understand and respond to evangelicalism’s ongoing public relations problem. Are “white evangelicals” as Mathewes puts it “a breathtakingly cruel bunch?” —— Links —— Read the original Washington Post article here Listen to part one of this discussion: Off Script 40: Roy Moore, Gay Wedding Cakes, and White Evangelicals Check out these Off Script episodes mentioned in this discussion: Off Script 38: Killing in War (A Christian View of Violence) Off Script 28: Seeking a Christian View on Refugees and Immigrants Off Script 37: Killing Criminals (A Christian View of Capital Punishment) Off Script 16: Christians Discussing Politics Intro music: “Protofunk” by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.  

This lecture covers the two main types of criticisms leveled against Christianity during the Enlightenment period: biblical and philosophical. In addition you’ll see how some Christians dug their heals in and worked hard to defend their faith while others gave ground but reinterpreted Christianity in a way that would not only survive the criticisms but also attract “cultured despisers.” We’ll conclude with a brief sketch of unitarianism in America. This is lecture 13 of a history of Christianity class called Five Hundred: From Martin Luther to Joel Osteen. All the notes are available here as a pdf. —— Notes —— Early Views of Biblical Inspiration “The Holy Spirit did not simply inspire the meaning or sense of the words contained in Scripture, which the prophets and apostles then set forth, expressed, and embellished with their own words by their own will. The Holy Spirit supplied, inspired, and dictated the very words and each and every utterance to the writers.” –Johann Quenstedt (1623-1687)[1] “The Hebrew Original of the Old Testament…is, not only in its consonants, but in its vowels—ether the vowel points themselves, or at least the power of the points—not only in its matter, but in its words, inspired of God” –Helvetic Consensus (1675)[2]   In the 18th c., we have Deism and Pietism. In the 19th c., we have higher criticism and revivalism. In the 20th c., we have secularism and Pentecostalism.   Enlightenment[3] (1650-1890) Not an organized movement but widespread current of thought Critical of superstition, enthusiasm, fanaticism, and supernaturalism Philosophy is no longer the handmaiden of theology but an independent field Though in France the Enlightenment was anti-Christian, it was embraced by Christians in other places like England and Germany Three phases (according to Alister McGrath) Demonstrating the rational nature of Christian belief (John Locke’s The Reasonableness of Christianity) Could derive Christian beliefs from reason alone Reason sits in judgment over revelation 1751 French Encyclopédie: multi-volumes covering all human knowledge and written by atheist Denis Diderot (1713-1784) and the Philosophes   Deism (17th-18th centuries) Revelation, ritual, and traditional practices minimized or written off as superstitious Clergy criticized for Keeping people in bondage Monopolizing truth using their authority Freedom to inquire and religious toleration Essence of religion is morality expressed in universal principles Idea that all religions contained the same basic moral precepts 1738: Pope Clement XII denounced Deism Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) Cut miracles out of the gospels[4] Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)   Philosophical Criticisms of Christianity 1656 – Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677) excommunicated from Talmud Torah congregation 1777 – Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion by David Hume (1711-1778) Only have knowledge of what we directly experience (empiricist) Cannot determine cause from effect (the world does not point to a creator) Miracles were made up, based on hearsay, or the result of ignora

While scrolling through Facebook, I came across Charles Mathewes’ Washington Post article, “White Christianity is in big trouble. And it’s its own biggest threat.” At first reading, I was infuriated at what I felt were unfair criticisms, but after I thought about it, I realized what an opportunity this article presented. It collects together no less than thirteen criticisms against Christianity. In this episode Dan Fitzsimmons, Rose Rider, and I (Sean Finnegan) respond to the first seven, including: Our society’s war on Christmas bothers Christians A Christian baker refused to sell a cake for a gay wedding 80% of white evangelicals in Alabama voted for a pedophile We’re ignorant of history We’re ignorant of the current state of the world We’re ignorant about scientific knowledge We’re surprisingly ignorant about our own religion —— Links —— Read the original Washington Post article here Intro music: “Protofunk” by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

Hear the winding tale of early Christian history in the Americas with a special focus on the thirteen colonies. Right from the start the Americas were full of Christian diversity including Catholicism, the Church of England, Puritans, Baptists, and Quakers. In this lecture you’ll see how this diversity led to an unprecedented level of religious tolerance and flourishing. Other significant issues in this period include the horrors of the slave trade and the treatment of native Americans as well as the impressive success of the Great Awakening under the preaching of George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards. This is lecture 12 of a history of Christianity class called Five Hundred: From Martin Luther to Joel Osteen. All the notes are available here as a pdf. —— Notes —— Founding the Colonies Catholicism in the Americas Spanish claims included American west coast, Florida, and much territory in central and South America (Catholic) French claims included eastern Canada (Quebec) and the territory of Louisiana (Catholic) 1634 Catholics founded “Mary land” 1607 Virginia founded as first English Colony founded as joint effort by the Virginia Company to make money (Tobacco export) brought Church of England to New World Separatists founded New England 1620 Plymouth settled (from Brownists who were sojourning in Holland) 1630 Puritans establish Massachusetts Bay Colony fleeing from Archbishop Laud 1648 Cambridge Platform: Westminster Confession w/ congregational polity No religious freedom 1636 Harvard founded for training of Puritan ministers 1631 Roger Williams (1603?-1683) arrived 1639 Williams founds first Baptist church in RI 1681 William Penn founded Pennsylvania (Penn’s Forrest) he was a Quaker who tolerated all monotheists many people outside of England moved to Pennsylvania including Moravians, Lutherans, German Reformed, Amish   Immorality tobacco 1602 an English doctor wrote Chimney-Sweepers or a Warning for Tabacconists warning about health risks 1604 King James wrote a tract against tobacco 1617 Virginia exported 10 tons; 1622 30 tons; 1627 250 tons; 1639 1,500 tons; 1688 colonies exported 14,000 tons; 1771 52,000 tons rum 1667 Boston’s first distillery 1774 Mass had 63 distilleries, producing 2.7 million gallons of rum a year RI had more than 30 distilleries colonists preferred rum made in the West Indies so they sold it in Africa and to Indians Golden Triangle molasses bought in New England to make rum rum sold in Africa to purchase slaves slaves sold in West Indies to purchase molasses slavery 1619 first Africans came to VA as indentured servants (work for a set time to pay off travel debt) by 1680 racial slavery insanely inhumane conditions on slave trader ships Falconhridge: “The hardships and inconveniences suffered by the Negroes during the passage are scarcely to be enumerated or conceived. They are far more violently affected by seasickness than the Europeans. It frequently terminates in death, especially among the women.The exclusion of fresh air is among the most intolerable. Most ships have portholes for air. But whenever the sea is rough and the rain heavy, it becomes necessary to shut these and every other conveyance by which air is admitted. The fresh air being thus excluded, the Negroes’ quarters very s

Several significant sexual harassment cases have come to light in the last few months. Now a whole range of behaviors have come under scrutiny as women (and some men) have felt emboldened to make public their experiences. In this episode we even out our Off Script panel with one more female voice, Terri Crowder, to help us discuss this prevalent phenomenon from street corners to workplaces to churches. After discussing sexual harassment in some detail, we bring relevant scriptures to light to provide a Christian response. —— Links —— More on the Christian work ethic here Also check out Off Script 31: Stewarding Our Bodies Check out the first part of episode 603 of This American Life to hear what happens when a woman confronts men after catcalling her. Intro music: “Protofunk” by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

Although the focus of this class is on the history of Protestants of various stripes, it’s also important to realize that Catholicism changed a good deal during the last five hundred years. In this lecture, you’ll get a brief sketch of the history of significant Catholic movements and doctrinal declarations during this period, including the inquisition, Council of Trent, the Jesuits, doctrines about Mary, the first and second Vatican Councils, and much more. This is lecture 11 of a history of Christianity class called Five Hundred: From Martin Luther to Joel Osteen. All the notes are available here as a pdf. —— Notes —— Initial Responses to Reformation Pope Leo X thought Reformation was just a drunken brawl among German monks 1541 Regensburg Colloquy   Inquisition started in 12th France to combat heresy of Cathars and Waldensians The 1578 handbook for inquisitors spelled out the purpose of inquisitorial penalties:”… for punishment does not take place primarily and per se for the correction and good of the person punished, but for the public good in order that others may become terrified and weaned away from the evils they would commit.” 1821 Inquisition abolished in Portugal; 1834 Inquisition outlawed in Spain 1908 Inquisition renamed to The Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office 1965 Inquisition renamed to The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF)   Council of Trent (1545-1563) response to Protestant movement Catholicism after Trent is called Tridentine Catholicism 7 sacraments, recognized Apocrypha as canon, Scripture and Tradition determine doctrine bishop as pastor of diocese rather than prince of the church: have to live in their diocese, preach regularly, inspect clergy to insure proper teaching, meet regularly at synods support of Baroque style of art, music, and architecture 1559 Index of Prohibited Books list had circulated since 1521 in Paris and Louvain 1966 Index of Prohibited Books abolished still to this day the word Imprimatur (let it be printed) is on approved Catholic books 2011 imprimatur first applied to iPhone app   Jesuits (Society of Jesus) Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556) 1521 severely wounded by a cannon ball 1522 stayed in a cave for a while practicing severe asceticism 1523 pilgrimage to the holy land 1524 finished Spiritual Exercises (Ignatian Contemplation) returned to Spain and preached on street corners 1528 attended University of Paris and got master’s degree 1534 started Jesuits with 6 companions, taking solemn vows 1540 Society of Jesus approved by pope Rules of the Order: vows of poverty, chastity, obedience to pope, go anywhere in the world Rule 13 “That we may be altogether of the same mind and in conformity … if [the Church] shall have defined anything to be black which to our eyes appears to be white, we ought in like manner to pronounce it to be black.” Missionary Activity Francis Xavier (1506-1552) preached in India and had success in Japan Matteo Ricci (1522-1610) dressed as Confusion scholar, brought Christianity to China Robert Nobili (1577-1656) brought Christianity to Brahman caste in India Alexander de Rhodes (1591-1660) preached in Vietnam   Colonialism

Learn about the dissident groups in Britain in the 17th and 18th centuries, including the Puritans, Baptists, Quakers, and Unitarians. In addition, Sean Kelly presents a vignette of John Biddle&#8217;s life and influence. This is lecture 10 of a history of Christianity class called Five Hundred: From Martin Luther to Joel Osteen. All the notes are available here as a pdf. —— Notes —— Puritans Robert Browne (1550-1633) Treatise of Reformation without Tarrying for Any, and of the Wickedness of those Preachers which will not Reform…till the Magistrate Command and Compel Them Reformation needed to take place whether or not the king wanted it or not Congressionalist rather than Presbyterian A group of Dutch Brownists were the ones who came to the New World in 1620s &nbsp; English Baptists Not related to continental Anabaptists Founded by John Smyth in 1609, an Englishman from Cambridge who fled to Amsterdam General [Arminian] vs. Particular [Calvinist] are two types of Baptists Reject role of the state in matters of conscience (church should be independent of the state) John Bunyan (1628-88), Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners (1666) Wrote autobiography Grace Abounding to Chief of Sinners Pilgrim&#8217;s Progress (1678), second part appeared in 1684 Roger Williams (1603?-1683) brought Baptist faith to America &nbsp; Quakers (“Society of Friends”) Founded by George Fox (1624-1691) “Inner Light” written in 1647: The word of God is not confined to the Bible but rather came directly to each person (inner light or inner voice) He rejected social distinctions, allowed women to preach Pacifists and egalitarians (worked against slavery in the US using underground railway) No sacraments at all b/c they were physical Total silence during meetings until someone is inspired to speak &nbsp; British Unitarians John Biddle (1615-1662), the father of English Unitarianism brilliant man 1634 his anthology he published his translations from classics into English at university he “outran his instructors and became tutor to himself” (Protesters, 131) 1634 he went to Magdalen Hall at Oxford 1641 he was headmaster of the Crypt Grammar School in Gloucester immersed himself in Scripture for years knew entire NT by heart in English and most in Greek, though about Rev. 4 his memory got fuzzy claimed he never read Socinian literature before coming to his own opinions wrote a pamphlet, Twelve Arguments against the Deity of the Holy Spirit 1646 summoned to London’s parliament and imprisoned for 5 years 1648 Publishes two anti-Trinitarian documents A Confession of Faith Toughing the Holy Trinity According to Scripture The Testimonies of Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Novatianus, Theophilus, Origen. As Also of Arnobius, Lactanius, Easebius, Hilary and Brightman Concerning the One God and the Persons of the Holy Trinity 1652 Biddle released and remained in London where he found fellowship 1654 Biddle published his Twofold Catechism when Oliver Cromwell got in power Biddle was released returned to quiet active work in a church two months later he was imprisoned in Newgate prison remained at St Mary’s for 3 years<

In this sprint through British church history, you&#8217;ll learn about King Henry VIII and his staggering Act of Supremacy when he pulled the Church of England out of Catholicism and appointed himself the head of the church. After Henry&#8217;s death, England swayed back and forth as Henry&#8217;s successors adopted Protestantism then Catholicism then Protestantism again. Still none of this tumult compares to the chaos of the English Civil War a century later when a Protestant Parliament executed a too Catholic King Charles I for treason and initiated stringent Puritanical laws throughout the land. You&#8217;ll also learn about the persistent and tenacious John Knox who was instrumental in bringing the Reformation to Scotland. This is lecture 9 of a history of Christianity class called Five Hundred: From Martin Luther to Joel Osteen. All the notes are available here as a pdf. —— Notes —— Henry VIII (1491-1547) Wives, Heirs Catherine of Aragon (m. 1503), mother of Mary Tudor The Great Issue: could not divorce her to marry mistress Ann Bolin 1534: Act of Supremacy (Henry declared “Supreme Head” of the church Ann Bolin (m. 1533), mother of Elizabeth Jane Seymour (m. 1536), mother of Edward Anne of Cleves (m. 1540) Catherine Howard (m. 1540) Catherine Parr (m. 1543) Religious Policies Ostensibly Catholic, apart from his great issue (Cardinal Wolsey) Dissolution of monasteries and shrines 200 hangings of people who resisted Henry’s royal assertions as head of the church Six Articles (1539) affirmed traditional Catholic understandings of Transubstantiation, no cup for laity during communion, chastity for clergy, private Masses, confession &nbsp; William Tyndale (1495-1536) Languages: Greek, Latin, French, German, Spanish, Italian, English 1521 &#8211; ordained a Catholic priest 1522 &#8211; he was called before John Bell—chancellor of the diocese of Worcester but was released &#8220;We were better to be without God&#8217;s laws than the pope&#8217;s.&#8221; Master Tyndale, hearing this, full of godly zeal and not bearing that blasphemous saying, replied, &#8220;I defy the pope, and all his laws;&#8221; and added, &#8220;If God spared my life, ere many years I will cause a boy that driveth the plough to know more of the Scripture than thou doest.&#8221; 1523 &#8211; he went to Bishop Cuthbert Tunstall to ask permission to translate the Scriptures 1524 &#8211; he fled England to the continent possibly to study at Wittenberg (12 years a fugitive) 1525 &#8211; he finished the NT 1526 &#8211; the NT was printed in Worms and Antwerp 1526 &#8211; Tunstall had as many copies as he could find publicly burned 1529 &#8211; Cardinal Wolsey condemned Tyndale as a heretic 1530 &#8211; he finished the Torah (Gen-Deut) 1530 &#8211; he wrote The Practice of the Prelates, opposing Henry VIII’s divorce as unscriptural 1531 &#8211; he finished Jonah 1534 &#8211; a new edition of the NT published (thoroughly revised) 1535 &#8211; Henry Philips gained Tyndale’s trust and friendship and betrayed him to the authorities. Letter from Tyndale to overseer of the castle in September: “I believe, most excellent Sir, that you are not unacquainted with the decision reached concerning me. On which account, I beseech your lordship, even by the Lord Jesus, that if I am to pass the winter here, to urge upon the lord commissary, if he will deign, to send me from

Did you know that Christianity spread to Asia in the first century? At one time the Church of the East was bigger than the Roman Catholic Church. Although often overlooked, this part of the world is critical to our understanding Christianity in the last five hundred years. Our guest lecturer, Matthew Elton, guides us through an enlightening and helpful survey of the history of Asian Christianity. This is lecture 8 of a history of Christianity class called Five Hundred: From Martin Luther to Joel Osteen. All the notes are available here as a pdf. —— Notes —— Early Christianity (1st Century) Christianity spreads in Arabia, Persia, India. &nbsp; Nestorian Schism (431) Nestorius was bishop of Constantinople (present day Istanbul, Turkey). Disagreement over unity vs. separation of human and divine natures in Christ. Disagreement over title of Mary: theotokos (“God-bearer”) vs. Christotokos (“Christ-bearer”). Nestorius accused of heresy, excommunicated, and exiled to Egypt. 17 other bishops also excommunicated. Nestorian view of Christ accepted by Church of the East (Nestorian Church). &nbsp; The Church of the East (~431 to Present) Also called the Nestorian Church. Split from the western church as a result of the Nestorian Schism. Main power base was in Persia (present day Iran). Spread east into India, Nepal, Mongolia, China. Height of power c. 700-1000. During this time it was the largest and possibly most populous church in the world, more powerful than the Catholic church. Islam founded by Muhammad in early 7th Church of the East collapses under Muslim persecution and war, almost extinct by 1500. Survives today in very small “Assyrian Church of the East” in U.S. and groups active in Iraq, Syria, etc. &nbsp; Early Christianity in China (7th Century) Aluoben was a Nestorian Christian from Persia. Led the first mission to China in 635. Emperor Tang Taizong calls Christianity “religion of light,” commands that it be spread throughout China. Oldest church in China is in Xi’an, dates to 640, still standing today. Nestorian Monument erected in 781 to celebrate Chinese Christianity. “Jesus Sutras”: Early Chinese Christian texts discovered in a cave in Dunhuang. Recently translated into English. Persecution in later dynasties diminished Christianity in China. &nbsp; Christianity in Japan: Francis Xavier (active 1541-1552) Jesuit missionary from Portugal. Wins converts in Africa, India, Indonesia. Meets Anjiro, an exiled samurai, in Indonesia. Travels to Japan with Anjiro aboard a pirate ship. Third European to go to Japan, and first to learn Japanese. Preached in Japan 3 years but won few converts due to cultural barriers. Christianity in Japan grew rapidly c. 1550-1600. &nbsp; The Tokugawa Shogunate (1600-1868) Shoguns (warlords) ruled Japan for almost 300 years. They hated foreigners and persecuted Christians. February 5, 1597: 26 Christians crucified in Nagasaki. 1632: 55 Christians crucified. &nbsp; The Meiji Restoration (1868) Emperor Meiji restores the rule of the emperor. Modernizes Japan with western technology. Establishes a democratically elected parliament (Diet of

Have you ever thought about what it must have been like for Adam and Eve have that conversation after the Fall, after they had become ashamed of what they had done and they had to come to grips with the new reality. In this stunning piece of poetry, written by Preston and Jackie Perry, we see the two of them embodying Adam and Eve in a very intense exchange where they blame each other and then come to an understanding and resolution of this issue. I found this piece to be at once melodic and beautiful, but also deep and profound. —— Transcript —— Eve: So I guess it was convenient for you to turn your back on the woman who held your spine. Adam: Woman &#8211; you were brought fourth from my side- created to support me like the gravity stricken moon does to brisk breath of nightfall- but when fear clawed its way into my heart when he called my name in the garden you shrunk and hid your shameful body- Both: Where were you? Eve: When the prince of night found his way to your star, you watched him lie… I watched you sit and set like sun you morning of a man. You can&#8217;t even see the nightmare you have become. Adam: I was there, standing in the distance having a conversation with my backbone. I wanted to stop you but you let that evil reptile with eyes slow dancing with deceit and tongue swift as breeze woo you dumb to think we could be wise as the God who thought the galaxies into existence. Eve: Adam, I thought he was my friend, letting me in on secrets God pinky promised the leaves not to tell. He pointed me to the tree, told me of what I was missing and as my faith in his lies led me to stare, I watched death become gorgeous. Adam: But God is beautiful. Eve: Adam, my tongue became sight. The fruit looked too good not to- Both: Taste Adam: -and see that God is Good Eve: God is thief. He kept us from the one thing he knew would turn our minds deity. Adam: No God is wise, Eve cant you see? In our feast for knowledge we have become fools, searching for wisdom in a mere branch we forgot about the God who had the power to grow us from dust with no roots. His mind is wide as sky and we were free as clouds, but now the silent hum of shame echoes the land&#8211;the eerie chill of fathers curse crawls across our conscience and the very river we bathe our naked souls in is damned because of you. What have you done? Eve: Do not blame me for murder and name yourself victim as if we are not both ghosts with skin. Both: You left me for dead. Did you forget the sixth day when God made you? Eve: From dust. Adam: But he made you from me for me! While sleeping he carved you from my caged bones beautiful, but you with your pride of dis-positioned switched positions and tried to lead, took heed to a snake without consulting me first. You didn’t respect me! Eve: He gave you authority. He made you the head of us but you became neck. I can still see the apple stuck in your throat, Adam. Swallow your pride. You were supposed to lead me, yet I am to blame? Your wife, your Eve, the one who is now shame once beauty the moment you saw her breath. Maybe, I should noose a ribbon around my neck, make a skirt of wrapping paper, stuff my natural naked chest with leaves. Maybe then these bones will be enough gift for you again, this flesh enough body for you to bathe in. The day you removed God from your soul. Emptied your nest of his glory is the day you begged me to take his place. Fill your voids, become this image of perfection to satisfy your insecurities. Both: God forbid. Eve: -Our sons grow up treating their sisters like cemeteries. Stacking their bodies and bones in one closet to wear as one flesh every time they want to feel alive. Adam: Eve please understand that you further prove my point. That prideful o

Zooming out, this episode casts a wide net to summarize how the movement started by Luther, Zwingli, and Calvin affected Europe over the next century. We&#8217;ll see how the Reformation took root in Germany, Scandinavia, and the Netherlands while simultaneously failing to find fertile ground in France, especially among those in power. Lastly, we&#8217;ll consider the Thirty Year&#8217;s War (1618-1648) and how this brutal conflict fundamentally changed the way religion and politics related henceforth. This is lecture 8 of a history of Christianity class called Five Hundred: From Martin Luther to Joel Osteen. All the notes are available here as a pdf. —— Notes —— Germany Philipp Melanchthon (1497-1560): systematic theologian of Lutheran movement 1521 &#8211; Diet of Worms: edict outlawed Luther and followers 1526 &#8211; Diet of Speyer suspended the edict of Worms 1529 &#8211; Diet of Speyer re-enacted the edict of Worms 1530 &#8211; Diet of Augsburg Lutherans presented Augsburg Confession[1] (written by Melanchthon) Johann Eck prepared a confutation against the Augsburg Confession Charles demanded Lutherans sign this refutation 1531 &#8211; Schmalkaldic League 1532 &#8211; Emperor called a truce at Nuremberg that lasted a decade 1546-7 &#8211; First Schmalkaldic War 1552 &#8211; Second Schmalkaldic War 1555 &#8211; Peace of Augsburg Cuius regio, eius religio: whose region, his religion &nbsp; Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, Denmark) All of Scandavia ultimately became Lutheran during the 16th Monarchs converted to the faith 1527 &#8211; Gustav Vasa (1496-1560), king of Sweden split with Rome King took possession of all church property Subjected clergy to civil law Declared all churches to preach “the pure Word of God” &nbsp; Netherlands Anabaptist movement was popular Spanish government (Philip II) harshly persecuted Protestants in the Netherlands 1560s &#8211; Dutch Reformed Church dominated &nbsp; France French Protestants were called Huguenots Francis I (r. 1515-1547) initially was tolerant, owing to humanist tendencies until 1534 1534: Affair of the Placards stirred Catholics against Protestants 1562-1698: French Wars of Religion were civil wars “The parish pulpits of Paris taught hatred of heretics and suspicion of those—including the magistracy and monarchy—who allowed their continuing existence. Catholic preachers goaded people into a frenzy of fear and hatred of the religious and moral depravity of the ‘Deformed’ that would undermine royal efforts for toleration and produce deadly fruit. …For over the next 30 years Huguenots and Catholics murdered and assassinated each other with increasing barbarity.”[2] 1572: St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre Marriage between Marguerite of Valois and Henry of Navarre brought many prominent people into Paris August 24th King Charles IX (1550-1574) had gates of Paris locked “The streets were covered with dead bodies, the rivers stained, the doors and gates of the palace bespattered with blood. Wagon loads of corpses, men, women, girls, even infants, were thrown into the Seine, while streams of blood ran in many quarters of the city…One little girl was bathed in the blood of her butchered fa

Have you ever noticed that pastors tend to get called to bigger churches over time, usually with better pay. However, after fifteen years of serving at a church in rural South Carolina, Pastor Alan Cain heard God calling him to move to a smaller church that was having financial difficulty. Although he took some convincing, Cain moved his wife and children up to Ohio and began serving at the Lawrenceville Church of God. Over the past thirteen years, they&#8217;ve gone from 30 people in attendance on a typical Sunday to 175! In this interview I ask Cain what his secret is. The answer he gives may surprise you. —— Links —— Check out Alan Cain&#8217;s sermons on his church YouTube channel Visit the Lawrenceville Church of God website Intro music: “District Four” by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

In the 1500s scholars in northern Italy began questioning the traditional doctrine of the Trinity. Before long the Inquisition forced these burgeoning Italian biblical unitarians to flee, resulting in the spread of their ideas to other parts of Europe. The two most significant groups that emerged were the Polish Brethren and the Unitarian Church of Transylvania. In this lecture, you&#8217;ll learn about this interesting though typically overlooked chapter of church history. This is lecture 6 of a history of Christianity class called Five Hundred: From Martin Luther to Joel Osteen. All the notes are available here as a pdf. —— Notes —— “Not only psychopannychism but also Antitrinitarianism was to find its fullest ecclesial expression in Polish Socinianism and Hungarian Unitarianism. The leaders of these two parallel and closely interrelated movements…were Italians or palpably dependent upon Italians.”[1] &nbsp; Italian Roots Marsiglio Ficino (Marsilio Ficino) (1433-1499) Subordinated Son to Father “Made bold to translate Verbum as sermo, thereby sloughing off the philosophically freighted conception of Christ as the Eternal Word (Logos, Verbum), as the Mind and Instrument of God, and substituting the idea of Christ as merely the voice of God. Although Ficino, basing his thought allegedly on Paul, wrote of approaching the preached sermo with the same reverence as the eucharistic corpus, he had started a train of thought that would equate the Word with the prophetic vox of the Old Testament, and even with rational meditation and literary scripta, and which would inevitably render philosophically difficult the received formulation of the Logos-Son as consubstantial with the Father.”[2] 1540s &#8211; Vicenza Society Vicenza is a city in Italy that had a strong unitarian church Fled and ended up all over Europe in Moravia and Switzerland Lelio Sozzini (1525-1562) Part of the Vicenza Society, a leader Visited Poland in 1551 Fausto Sozzini (1539-1604) Went to Poland and Hungary and worked with unitarians there In 17th, people started calling the Polish brethren “Socinians” Polish Brethren (1565-1658) Also called Minor Reformed Church of Poland and Socinians by outsiders, but called themselves “brethren” or “Christians” Peter Gonesius (1525?-1573) Studied at University of Padua in northern Italy and graduated with a doctorate in philosophy 1556 &#8211; Synod of Secemin: excommunicated for non-Trinitarian beliefs Became the leader of the Ecclesia Minor in Poland along with Marcin Czechowic Georg Schomann (1530-1591) Left a letter to children and grandchildren (a kind of will) “If you want to find out these things yourselves, there is my second catechism which I compiled from Holy Scripture privately for you. It explains about the Most High God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, man, only begotten Son of God our Lord, who are to be worshipped in spirit and in truth…May your understanding of God be that which we have from the prophets of Israel and not after the fashion of the Lutherans and Papists.”[3] In 1574, a little work, Confession of Faith of the Congregation Assembled in Poland (thought to be Schonmann’s work) <p

Is war ever justified? If so, can Christians participate in killing? In this episode we delve into a sensitive and controversial subject to figure out what the bible has to teach us about how we should treat our enemies. Our aim here is not be provocative, but faithful to what our lord taught us. Here now is the conclusion of our series on killing: off script 38: Killing in War: A Christian View of Violence —— Notes —— Four Texts in the Sermon on the Mount Clearly Show What Jesus Taught Mat 5.5 Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Mat 5.9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Mat 5.38-42 You have heard that it was said, &#8216;An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.&#8217; But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. Mat 5.43-48 You have heard that it was said, &#8216;You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.&#8217; But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Jesus&#8217; Apostles Furthermore Continued His Teaching: 1 Thess 5.15 See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rom 12.14, 17-21 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them&#8230;Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, &#8220;Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.&#8221; To the contrary, &#8220;if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.&#8221; Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. 1 Pet 3.8-11 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. For &#8220;Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. Three Views of &#8220;Resist Not Evil&#8221; total nonresistance find exceptions to Jesus&#8217; commands confrontational nonresistance Quotes: Hippolytus (a.d. 215) A soldier of the civil authority must be taught not to kill men and to refuse to do so if he is commanded, and to refuse to take an oath. If he is unwilling to comply, he must be rejected for baptism. A military commander or civic magistrate who wears the purple must resign or be rejected. If an applicant or a believer seeks to become a soldier, he must be rejected, for he has despised God.” [1] Origen (a.d. 248) In the next place, Celsus urges us “to help the king with all our might, and to labour with him in the maintenance of justice, to fight for him; and if he requires it, to fight under him, or lead an army along with him.” To thi

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&#8217;ll learn about three major biblical unitarian trailblazers of the sixteenth century, including Claude of Savoy, Adam Pastor, and Michael Servetus. These men did not give definitive shape to the larger groups that soon emerged, but they tread along the path, preparing the way for those who would come after. This is lecture 5 of a history of Christianity class called Five Hundred: From Martin Luther to Joel Osteen. All the notes are available here as a pdf. —— Notes —— Claude of Savoy (Claudius Aliodus) (1500?-1560?) Itinerant preacher 1534 &#8211; exiled from Basel and Bern 1534 &#8211; Henry Bullinger (1504-1575), Zwingli’s successor in Zurich, wrote a defense of the dual natures’ doctrine to refute Claude’s teachings. Claude’s confession of faith: “’The Lord thy God is one.’ Whence then are there two others? particularly since it is written [Rom. 11:34]: “Who hath been his counselor?” That man alone, whom Mary conceived and brought forth, is called Jesus, which is proved [by Luke 1:31 -32]: “Behold thou wilt conceive and bring forth a son and thou shalt call his name Jesus; and he will be called great and the Son of the Most High.” Who therefore is so holy, so great, who is called the Son of God, but he who was conceived in the womb of the Virgin and born? Therefore a Christian should acknowledge none other to be the Son of God than him whom Scripture so declares. Behold, the same man, the first born of Mary, is called the Savior and not some divinity of Christ. He is declared to have saved us by his blood, not by his divinity. For this reason he himself says of himself [John 6:54]: “who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life.” He does not say. “who eats my deity.” Therefore I am not held to eat the deity of Christ but rather his flesh and to drink his blood. They blaspheme therefore who say of the Virgin that she is the Mother of God, for she did not bear God but Christ. If heaven and earth cannot contain God, how much the less the womb of a woman? In any case, if Jesus were thus divided into God and Man, the Virgin would not be the Mother of Christ, but only of a part of him. Observe also the expression “this day” [I have begotten thee: Ps. 2:7; Acts 13:33; Heb. 1:5; 5:5], which indicates a definite time. He was not, therefore, begotten eternally of the Father, as they [the orthodox] falsely imagine. But when came the fullness of time he sent his Son made of woman. Therefore he is precisely called the Son of God, who is made of woman. The Father gives testimony concerning him [cf. Matt. 3:17]: “This is my Son with whom I am well pleased.” Concerning whom is this said, unless it be about him who had been baptized? For surely the divinity of Christ is not said to have been baptized, but only the man was shown forth. Again [John 1:29]: “Behold the Lamb who taketh away the sins of the world.” In that he is said to be a Lamb, nothing of deity is included, but exactly what is appropriate for sacrifice. It is also sufficiently shown, by the declaration [Heb. 2:16]: “he took not on him (assumpsit) the nature of angels, but he took on the seed of Abraham” that the Father, wishing to reconcile the world to himself, willed to do this by a creature and by blood, and not by any divinity. But the Father was in him through the plenitude of the Spirit reconciling himself to the

Determining the validity of capital punishment is a complex task, especially when approached from a Christian perspective. To arrive at a biblically informed decision we need to consider both the Old and New Testaments, giving special attention to the nuanced understanding the Apostle Paul gave in Romans 13. Furthermore, in America we have quite a few other issues we need to balance out such as the exorbitant cost of sustaining convicts on death row and the handful of cases where an executed person turns out to be innocent on the one hand, and capital punishment&#8217;s ability to deter crime and mete out justice on the other. —— Links —— Check out the other episodes in the series on Killing Intro music: “Protofunk” by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

In this lecture you&#8217;ll learn about the Anabaptist movement and their distinctive beliefs. We&#8217;ll consider the life of Michael Sattler, an important leader of the Anabaptists, and see how he stood firm in his faith even when his life was at risk. Next, you&#8217;ll find out about Melchior Hoffman and how his followers took over the city of Münster, eventually resulting in chaos, immorality, and significant loss of life. Sadly, European governments tended to lump all radicals together so that peaceful Anabaptists and violent apocalypticists got painted with the same brush. Lastly, we&#8217;ll look at Menno Simons who became so influential among the Anabaptists that a sizeable group took his name, becoming the Mennonites. Significant events in this lecture include: 1527 Schleitheim Confession 1527 Michael Sattler burned at the stake 1535 Münster captured 1537 Menno Simons becomes an Anabaptist 1544 Anabaptists in Netherlands called Mennonites 1569 Dirk Willems rescues pursuer This is lecture 4 of a history of Christianity class called Five Hundred: From Martin Luther to Joel Osteen. All the notes are available here as a pdf. —— Notes —— Anabaptist Distinctives Bible as the standard, not tradition or church hierarchy Discipleship &amp; love (literal obedience to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount) Separation from the world (especially government) Home fellowships (voluntary church, no infant baptism) Congregational polity &nbsp; Michael Sattler (1495-1527) 1525 -left Benedictine monastery, married a nun named Margaretha, expelled from Zurich 1526 &#8211; became Anabaptist 1527 &#8211; major leader in writing Schleitheim Confession[1] Baptism for those who repent only The ban practiced according to Matthew 18.15-17 Communion for baptized only Separation from the world (including government, Catholics, &amp; Protestants) Pastors supported and given authority The sword not to be used Oaths are not to be taken May 21, 1527 &#8211; burned at the stake &nbsp; Articles or Charges against Michael Sattler[2] First, that he and his adherents have acted contrary to the mandate of the Emperor. Secondly, he has taught, held, and believed that the body and blood of Christ are not present in the sacrament. Thirdly, he has taught and believed that infant baptism does not conduce to salvation. Fourthly, they have rejected the sacrament of extreme unction. Fifthly, they have despised and condemned the mother of God and the saints. Sixthly, he has declared that men are not to swear before the authorities. Seventhly, he has commenced a new and unheard of custom in regard to the Lord&#8217;s Supper, placing the bread and wine on a plate, and eating and drinking the same. Eighthly, he has left the order and married a wife. Ninthly, he has said that if the Turks should invade the country, no resistance ought to be offered them; and if it were right to wage war, he would rather take the field against the Christians than against the Turks; and it is certainly a great matter, to set the greatest enemies of our holy faith against us. Thereupon Michael Sattler requested permission to confer with his brethren and sisters, which was granted him. Having conferred with them for a little while, he began and undauntedly answered thus: &#8220;In regard to the article

Is it ever right to end someone&#8217;s life early? If so, under what conditions? In this episode we turn to the bible to sort out a Christian position on euthanasia. Drawing on the inherent dignity God has invested in each person by making us in his image and the fact that God claims sovereignty over life and death, we conclude that physician assisted suicide is a sin. In difficult cases of extreme and continuous suffering, Christians have pioneered palliative care in the hospice movement as a compassionate alternative to euthanasia. —— Links —— Check out the other episodes in the series on Killing Watch a short testimony of Joni Eareckson Tada Read more about Cicely Saunders, the founder of hospice Intro music: “Protofunk” by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

Learn about the Swiss Reformation, spearheaded by Ulrich Zwingli in Zurich as well as the formation of the sect of Anabaptists known as the Swiss Brethren, including Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, and George Blaurock. Key events covered in this episode include: 1519 Ulrich Zwingli begins Reformation in Zurich 1529 Zwingli and Luther part ways over communion 1523 Conrad Grebel broke with Zwingli 1525 Founding of first Anabaptist house church 1527 Felix Manz martyred by Protestants 1529 George Blaurock burned at the stake This is lecture 3 of a history of Christianity class called Five Hundred: From Martin Luther to Joel Osteen. All the notes are available here as a pdf. —— Notes —— Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531) “Zwingli’s reputation for biblical preaching led to his nomination for the post of people’s priest at the Great Minster in Zurich in 1518. Detractors raised the issue of Zwingli’s womanizing. Zinwgli responded to the rumor that he had seduced the daughter of an influential citizen by admitting his struggle with sexual temptations but denying both the woman’s ‘purity’ and her father’s influence. ‘Some three years ago I firmly resolved not to touch a woman;…I succeeded poorly in this, however. In Glarus I kept my resolution about six months, in Einsiedeln about a year,…That girl was a ‘virgin’ during the day and a ‘woman’ at night. She was such a ‘day’ virgin, however, that everyone in Einsiedeln knew exactly her role…She had had affairs with many men, finally with me. Or let me say it better: she seduced me with more than flattering words.’ The charge of immorality was finally ineffective since the other priest vying for the post lived openly in concubinage and had six children. In light of this specific example and the generally widespread practice of priestly concubinage in the late Middle Ages, it is not surprising that one of the first reforms initiated in the Swiss Reformation was the right of the clergy to marry. …[Only months after the ‘Affair of the Sausages,’ Zwingli, then living with the widow Anna Reinhart, led ten other Swiss priests in a petition to the bishop of Constance To Allow Priests to Marry, or at Least Wink at their Marriages (July 1522). The priests signing this petition declared that chastity is a rare gift of God, and that they hadn’t received it. Zwingli married Anna in a public ceremony in 1524 shortly before the birth of their child. In 1525 the Zurich magistrates instituted a marriage ordinance mandating clergy living in concubinage either to end the relationship or to marry.”[1] The following happened in 1519 Zwingli became leading priest in Zurich He preached from his own text rather than the church’s calendar He instituted Bible study groups He decided everything should be judged by Scripture He ministered during the plague 1522 &#8211; “Affair of the Sausages” 1523 &#8211; public disputation (Zwingli vs. Catholic Representative) 1525 &#8211; marriage required for priests/monks w/ concubines 1529 &#8211; Marburg Colloquy 1531 &#8211; died in battle &nbsp; The Swiss Brethren Conrad Grebel (1498-1526), a scholarly aristocrat 1521 &#8211; came to Zurich and studied under Zwingli 1522 &#8211; experienced conversion 1523 &#8211; broke with Zwingli over the Mass issue “He [Zwingli] continued to defend the principle of the sole authority of Scripture; in practice he followed the wishes of the council, thus virtually committing the

On average, 121 people commit suicide per day in America. It is now the tenth leading cause of death in this country. In this episode we discuss this phenomenon and seek to understand what the bible can teach us about this subject. In addition, we wrestle with a number of hard questions about suicide such as: Is suicide a sin? Will suicide bar someone from eternal life? How do we explain God strengthening Samson to commit suicide at the end of his life? How can we show compassion and love to those with suicidal thoughts? Lastly, we consider how the bible provides hope for when we go through the darkest of times. —— Links —— Check out the other episodes in the series on Killing For more on Wendy Savage and her interlocutor, Hayood Robinson, check out this Unbelievable episode Intro music: “Protofunk” by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

In this episode, you&#8217;ll get a brief introduction to the contributions of Martin Luther and John Calvin to the initiation and spread of the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century, including these events: 1505 Martin Luther becomes a monk 1517 Martin Luther nails 95 Theses on Wittenberg church door 1524-5 Peasants War 1536 John Calvin publishes Institutes of the Christian Religion 1541 John Calvin returns to Geneva as leader This is lecture 2 of a history of Christianity class called Five Hundred: From Martin Luther to Joel Osteen. All the notes are available here as a pdf. —— Notes —— Martin Luther (1483-1546) An Augustinian Monk (1505) Professor of Bible at Wittenberg (1512) 95 Theses (October 31, 1517)[1] Debate with Johann Eck at Leipzig (1519) “On 4 July Luther came into the debate. Eck prodded him with charges of being a ‘Hussite’ and a ‘Bohemian.’ This was tantamount to being labeled a communist in the 1950s, because this area still recalled the numbers of Germans expelled from Bohemia during the Hussite revolt. Luther protested Eck’s charges but finally went to the library and looked up Hus’s teachings. When he returned, he stated that many of the condemned Hussite articles were truly Christian and evangelical, and ought not to be condemned by the church. After a moment of shocked silence, there was uproar. Eck pressed on and got Luther to state that both the papacy and councils may err. This was an immediate triumph for Eck. After this, Karlstadt returned to take up the debate again, but Duke George was anxious to bring the whole thing to a close.” (Lindberg, pp. 86-7) Three admissions Officially excommunicated (1521) Diet of Worms (April 16, 1521) “My conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God, help me.” Translated New Testament into German at Wartburg Castle (1522) Marriage to Katharina von Bora (1523) Peasants’ War (1524-1525) Against the Murderous, Thieving Hordes of Peasants: “The peasants have taken upon themselves the burden of three terrible sins against God and man; by this they have merited death in body and soul&#8230; they have sworn to be true and faithful, submissive and obedient, to their rulers&#8230; now deliberately and violently breaking this oath&#8230; they are starting a rebellion, and are violently robbing and plundering monasteries and castles which are not theirs&#8230; they have doubly deserved death in body and soul as highwaymen and murderers&#8230; they cloak this terrible and horrible sin with the gospel&#8230; thus they become the worst blasphemers of God and slanderers of his holy name.” Finished translating Old Testament so complete Bible was in German (1534) Believed in the sleep of the dead John Calvin (1509-1564) Child prodigy (employed by bishop as clerk by age 12) Conversion experience (1533) &#8220;God by a sudden conversion subdued and brought my mind to a teachable frame, which was more hardened in such matters than might have been expected from one at my early period of life. Having thus received some taste and knowledge of true godliness, I was immediately inflamed with so intense a desire to make progress therein, that although I did not altogether leave off other studies, yet I pursued them with less ardour.&#8221;[2] Published I

Today we are beginning a new series on life and death, in which we&#8217;ll consider abortion, suicide, euthanasia, and capital punishment. Our goal is to address each topic from a biblical framework in order to arrive at a Christian position. At the outset, I&#8217;ll admit that we don&#8217;t know everything and could be wrong, so we appreciate your engagement in helping us arrive at a godly position. Today we&#8217;ll focus on abortion and consider whether it&#8217;s ever right for a Christian to have an abortion. We&#8217;ll cover the scriptures that relate to this topic, the track record of early Christianity, and how this relates to our own time. We discuss the major objections and consider the toughest cases like rape, incest, and when the mothers&#8217; life is in danger. Please note that some of what we discuss here is probably inappropriate for children. —— Links —— Check out the other episodes in the series on Killing For more on Wendy Savage and her interlocutor, Hayood Robinson, check out this Unbelievable episode Intro music: “Protofunk” by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

500 years ago, there was only one Christian denomination throughout most of the world. 500 years ago, the church and the government killed those who resisted tradition. 500 years ago, no one could read the bible in their own language. How did we get from there to here? Discover the wild and exciting story of Christianity for the last 500 years, so you can understand how the world ended up the way it is now, avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, and gain inspiration from heroic people who made a difference. In this first lecture, you&#8217;ll learn: 1. What the religious world was like 500 years ago in Europe 2. Precursors to the Reformation, including John Wycliffe and Jan Hus 3. The movement called humanism, including Gutenberg&#8217;s printing press and Desiderius Erasmus All the notes are available here as a pdf. —— Notes —— Three aims for this class: to understand why the world is the way it is now to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past to gain inspiration from heroic people who made a difference I want to talk about Martin Luther, but first need to do some background key person reason why this class if 500 instead of 600 or 400 on Oct 31st 1517 he started the Reformation (i.e. the changing of Christianity) before we can understand what he reformed, we have to understand what was already there Three points for today: Setting the Scene Precursors of the Reformation Humanism 1| Setting the Scene life and death no electricity, running water, indoor plumbing, gas heat, computers, phones, facebook, cars, postal service thinly populated (black death in 14th) high infant mortality 15-35% of infants died before first birthday 10-20% of children died before 10 agricultural subsistence 65-90% were peasants or small farmers suffering and death were pervasive (bad medical care, famine, epidemic disease, war) highly stratified society, most stay at same status they were born into towns had extreme differences in wealth beliefs/practices infant baptism church as God’s instrument of salvation on earth death =&gt; eternal torment in hell, purgatory, heaven needed right belief and right behavior, which was determined by church faith was not enough for salvation, needed concrete actions authority on the basis of apostolic succession and good standing with hierarchy hierarchy: pope, bishops, local priests religious orders: monks, nuns, contemplative orders: Benedictines, Cistercians, etc. cloistered lives of prayer and devotion mendicant orders: Franciscans, Dominicans, Augustinians, etc. served through preaching, teaching, missionizing, and hearing confessions weekly mass with Eucharist as weekly sacrifice to God (transubstantiation) priest’s words make bread and wine Christ’s actual body and blood sacraments: means by which God dispenses grace through priests who claimed authority on the basis of apostolic succession baptism, penance, communion, confirmation, matrimony, extreme unction, and holy orders communion was only once a year before which one did confession and penance to cleanse sins processions and pilgrimages (relics) vigorous practices books of hours were most common printed book 50 years before Reformation endowing masses, paying for urban preachers, paying for church upkeep many were taking their faith seriously anti-cler

Have you ever read about the time Uzzah touched the ark and God struck him down? When&#8217;s the last time you heard a sermon preached on this text? Anytime I&#8217;ve reflected on this passage, I&#8217;m so focused on trying to explain how God could be just in carrying out this judgment that I&#8217;ve missed the point for my own life. In this rousing sermon, Victor Gluckin argues that we often commit the same sin as Uzzah. We reject God&#8217;s good way of doing life and prefer instead to &#8220;put it on a cart,&#8221; that is, come up with our own easier way of handling the situation. —— Notes &amp; Links —— Listen to more Restitutio podcasts with Victor Gluckin Get info about Revive 2018 (Jan 5-7) at Woodstock, CT To stay up to date with Revive (any year), like the Revive facebook page Watch or listen to Victor Gluckin&#8217;s sermons delivered at Living Faith Christian Church Intro music: “District Four” by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. &nbsp; &nbsp;

Divorce is a painful and complicated subject to talk about in America today where about half of all marriages end in divorce. Our laws have changed to accept &#8220;no-fault&#8221; divorce and many of us are unaware of what the bible teaches on this critical subject. To figure out the biblical perspective on divorce and remarriage, we will consider three scriptures from the Old Testament (Mal 2.13-16; Deut 22.13-21; 24.1-4) and three from the New (Mat 5.31-32; 19.3-12; 1 Cor 7.10-40). We&#8217;ll give particular focus to the reasons that allow for divorce both in Deuteronomy as well as how Jesus interpreted it when he was asked about it. —— Notes —— To figure out the biblical perspective on divorce and remarriage, we will consider three Scriptures from the Old Testament (Mal 2:13-16; Deut 22:13-21; 24:1-4) and three from the New Testament (Mat 5:31-32; 19:3-12; 1 Cor 7:10-40). Although other verses touch on this subject, the constraints of time limit what we can consider here. Other texts include: Lev 21:7, 14; 22:13; Num 30:9; Is 50:1; Jer 3:8; Hos 2:2; Mat 1:19; Mark 10:2-12; Luke 16:18. Malachi 2:13-16 13 In antiquity, divorced women had limited options. A man could get rid of “the wife of his youth” and upgrade to a younger wife. God takes a strong stand on this. He will not accept the offerings of a man who has done this. He hates divorce.[1] Deuteronomy 22:13-21 This law protects the virtuous woman from getting divorced. If her husband falsely accuses her of pre-marital sex, he will get whipped, fined, and barred from divorcing her henceforth. If she’s guilty, she’ll suffer capital punishment, a harsh ruling by our standards. Even so, this shows how seriously they treated pre-marital sex and virginity. Deuteronomy 24:1-4 Providing a divorced woman with a certificate of divorce (today called “a get”) was a huge step forward for women. It meant she was legally free and could remarry. This law specifically prohibited remarrying a woman who had an intervening marriage with someone else, but our interest is more on the reason for the initial divorce. The Hebrew word in question is עֶרְוַת (ervat), the word for “nakedness.”[2] Translation ervat davar ESV/NASB some indecency JPS (1988) something obnoxious KJV some uncleanness NET something offensive NRSV something objectionable The rabbis argued over what ervat precisely meant. From the Babylonian Talmud, we gather three perspectives: Hillel, Shammai, and Akiva. Hillel (110 – 10 BC) died before Jesus was born, Shammai (50 BC – AD 30) overlapped with Jesus, and Akiva (AD 50 – 132) was born a generation after Jesus. Here are their positions on divorce: Tractate Gittin 90a Mishnah. The house of Shammai says: a man should not divorce his wife unless he has found her guilty of some unseemly conduct, as it says, because he has found some unseemly thing in her. The house Hillel, however, says [that he may divorce her] even if she has merely spoiled his food, since it says, because he hath found some unseemly thing in her. Rabbi Akiva says, [he may divorce her] even if he finds another woman more beautiful than she is, as it says, it comes to pass, if she find no favor in his eyes. Shammai some unseemly conduct Hillel spoiled his food Akiva finds another more attractive How did Jesus compare to these other rabbis from this period? Matthew 5:31-32 31 &#8220;It was also said, &#8216;Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.&#8217; 32 But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits

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&#8217;s gradual separation from its Jewish roots The subtle exaltation of Jesus towards deity Worldly and political motivations The introduction non-biblical words and concepts Chee delivered this message at LHIM&#8216;s annual 2017 Kingdom Fest. —— Links —— Information about Stan Chee and the college outreach he does at the University of Toronto available here Books referenced in this message: The Only True God by Eric Chang The Only Perfect Man by Eric Chang and Bentley Chan Christianity: Essence, History, and Future by Hans Kung When Jesus Became God by Richard Rubenstein More biblical unitarian podcasts Intro music: “District Four” by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. &nbsp;

We all get beaten down in life. Whether it&#8217;s catastrophes like hurricanes, shootings, or economic meltdowns, or just dealing with the day to day demands and responsibilities of life, we all go through periods of dryness, feeling like we aren&#8217;t making a difference. This is where Elijah&#8217;s example is particularly pertinent. Having reached the peak of his influence and achieved a mighty victory over the prophets of Baal and Ashera, Elijah still found himself on the run from the government, hunted like an animal. In the deepest time of despair and discouragement, we encounter a message that can help us today as well. God told Elijah that he wasn&#8217;t done with him yet. I believe God&#8217;s not done with you yet either. He has work for you to do. &#8212;&#8212; Notes &#8212;&#8212; 1 Kings 17:1 Elijah’s name means “Yahweh is my God.” He wants to attack Baal directly, by undermining his alleged weather powers. It will not rain until Yahweh’s prophet says so. 1 Kings 18:5-18 After 3 1/2 years (James 5:17), Elijah meets Ahab again who hasn’t repented or turned away from supporting Baal worship in the land. 1 Kings 18:19-22 Elijah challenges the prophets of Baal and Asherah to a contest. Whoever answers by fire is the true God. This occurs before an assembly of Israelites who stand as witnesses. 1 Kings 18:27 Elijah mocks Baal publicly. He’s certainly not holding back here. 1 Kings 18:36-39 Yahweh comes through, and the people say, “Yahweh, He is God; Yahweh, He is God.” 1 Kings 18:46 Elijah ran before Ahab’s chariot for 17 miles while the rain storm approached. Upon arrival, Elijah’s heart must’ve thought, “This is it! Revival at last!” 1 Kings 19:1-4 However, Jezebel, undaunted by her god’s obvious inferiority to Yahweh, vows to capture and execute Elijah. He’s ready to quit. 1 Kings 19:9-18 Elijah speaks to God at Mount Horeb, where Israel first became a nation when they left Egypt. God asks him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He is worn out; he needs a word from the Lord. 1 Kings 19:13-18 God doesn’t spend much time comforting Elijah, but gives him important work to do. He assures him that he’s not alone, but that 7,000 others are faithful as well. God’s not done with him yet. Is God done with you, or does He still have more work for you to do? What’s God calling you to do? Is it to volunteer here on Sundays, invite your neighbors over for dinner, invite your coworker to church, start teaching your kids the Bible, go to a foreign land as a missionary, serve the poor, feed the hungry, or clothe the naked? Whatever God’s calling you to do, it’s time to do it. &#8212;&#8212; Links &#8212;&#8212; Listen to other sermons by Sean Finnegan Watch or listen to a message on St. Patrick Intro music: “District Four” by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

The first verse of John&#8217;s Gospel reads: &#8220;In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.&#8221; 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 the native biblical context. Instead of assuming the Word just is the Son, Schoenheit carefully shows how God&#8217;s word is his plan for salvation. In fact this is what became incarnate in Jesus in verse 14. Here&#8217;s a link to John Schoenheit&#8217;s slideshow Links: Listen to my interview with Schoenheit, called Word of Faith vs. Trusting God More on John 1.1 from a biblical unitarian perspective available at ChristianMonotheism.com Check out videos of the other presentations from KingdomFest 2017 Intro music: “District Four” by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

This world is not my home I&#8217;m just a passing through My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue The angels beckon me from heaven&#8217;s open door And I can&#8217;t feel at home in this world anymore Oh lord you know I have no friend like you If heaven&#8217;s not my home then lord what will I do The angels beckon me from heaven&#8217;s open door And I can&#8217;t feel at home in this world anymore So goes the classic hymn, &#8220;This World Is Not My Home.&#8221; However, the bible frequently portrays the final destination of the righteous as occurring on earth. In this message we&#8217;ll take our cue from Daniel&#8217;s vision in chapter seven to see what God&#8217;s plan is for his people. Ultimately, he wants a restored world without suffering and sin so that he can enjoy a relationship with his people forever. This world is your home. You were born here. You currently live here. And your hope is to remain here. &nbsp; Notes: Vision Daniel 7.1-8: Vision of the four beasts: a lion, a bear, a leapord, a dreadful beast, little horn Daniel 7.9-12: The Ancient of Days passes judgment against the dreadful beast Daniel 7.13-14: The Son of Man rules over all peoples forever Daniel 7.15: Daniel’s response Interpretation Daniel 7.16-18: first clarification – the beasts are kings, but saints will receive a kingdom and rule forever Daniel 7.19-27: second clarification – the fourth kingdom and the little horn who persecutes the saints Daniel 7.28: Daniel’s response The Saints Will Reign Matthew 19.28; 20.21-23; 1 Corinthians 6.2; 2 Timothy 2.12; Revelation 2.26-27; 5.9-10; 20.6 Kingdom Driven Luke 4.43; Matthew 24.14 &nbsp; Links: Check out the kingdom of God class podcasts More posts about conditional immortality (the sleep of the dead) Get the book Heaven Is Not My Home by the late David Burge or listen to my interview of him here Check out these additional audios, videos, articles, and ebooks on conditional immortality Intro music: “District Four” by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

John McCave has faithfully served God as a minister for 36 years. In this interview he shares his story of how God brought him from a hardened tough guy to a humble servant, motivated by love. McCave also shares key insights he&#8217;s gained along the way, especially with regard to his wife, Mary without whose support he could never have succeeded. Although this interview is chock-full of fascinating first-hand accounts of what God has done in his life, McCave&#8217;s humility, more than anything else, shines through as an example for all of us. &nbsp; Notes and Links: Watch McCave&#8217;s recent sermon from KingdomFest called &#8220;Yahweh, the Only God&#8220; Visit his ministry website at Christian Outreach Fellowships Order his book, Worship: God&#8217;s Desire for All Ages Take a look at our KingdomFest 2017 videos Intro music: “District Four” by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

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 &#8220;God the Son&#8221; but that he is &#8220;the Son of God.&#8221; In this presentation, he discusses various key texts including John 1.1 and Philippians 2.1-9 among others. &nbsp; Notes: Watch the video of this lecture More podcasts on monotheism Intro music: “District Four” by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. &nbsp;

Why are there so many divergent beliefs about what the bible teaches? Partially, this results from mistakes we make when reading scripture. In this interview, Dr. Jerry Wierwille enumerates seven typical fallacies that bible students commit when reading: Root Fallacy Time-Frame Fallacy Misusing Parallels Fallacy Single Meaning Fallacy Word-Concept Fallacy Disjunctive Fallacy Lexical Fallacy Avoiding these pitfalls will help you engage with scripture better and build solid understandings that can stand up to critical analysis. &nbsp; Notes and Links: Dig deeper by reading Introduction to Exegetical Fallacies and Overview of Exegetical Fallacies Listen to Wierwille’s earlier interviews, especially the one he did on Hermeneutics (interpreting scripture) Check out these sermons and articles on Wierwille&#8217;s website (JerryWierwille.com) To delve deeper, take a look at D. A. Carson&#8217;s Exegetical Fallacies Intro music: “District Four” by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

Are you a missionary? Although we typically think of missionaries as those who travel to foreign lands to share the gospel with people, the simple fact is that we are all called to the work of sharing the gospel. Furthermore, as HeartCry Missionary Society points out, indigenous missionaries have huge advantages over foreign missionaries since they are more plenteous, less expensive, culturally literate, fluent, and avoid nationalistic biases. What if you altered your thinking just a little? Rather than seeing your role as a member of a church or a participant in a community of faith, what if you thought of yourself as an indigenous missionary? How would that change your life? Please pardon the quality of this recording. This meeting happened outside in a park in the Albany, NY area. &nbsp; Notes: Info about KingdomFest 2017 More podcasts on evangelism Intro music: “District Four” by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

What do you know about the book of Proverbs? It can be quite difficult to understand what&#8217;s going on without some knowledge of how Hebrew poetry works. In this episode Jerry Wierwille, serves as our guide to get a better grip on what Proverbs is all about. He explains the poetic structures, general approach, and theological content of this incredibly important book so you can get more out of it. &nbsp; Notes and Links: Listen to Wierwille&#8217;s earlier interviews: Caring Enough to Confront, Hermeneutics, and Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Check out these sermons and articles by Jerry Wierwille on his website (JerryWierwille.com) Read the recently completed Revised English Version of Proverbs To delve deeper, take a look at Robert Alter&#8217;s The Art of Biblical Poetry Intro music: “District Four” by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

Service is an important part of Christian living. We are not spectators waiting to be entertained, but participants looking for ways to help out. In this sermon, John Cortright shows what Jesus taught us about service at the last supper as well as what sort of attitude we should have. So often we either critique from the sidelines or remain oblivious to the needs around us. Instead, we can take the initiative and jump in where there&#8217;s a need. This is a call to action! Notes: At the last supper, Jesus shared many important truths with his disciples that they would need to know after his departure. John 13:1-17 Jesus washed the disciples’ feet and then explained why. Foot washing was an Eastern/biblical custom of service towards others (Gen 18:1-4; 19:1-2; 24:30-32; 43:16-24; 1 Samuel 25:40-41; Luke 7:44; 1 Tim 5:10). Jesus was their Teacher (Master) and Lord. If we are Christ’s disciples, he should be also our Lord and Master (Roman 10:9). If he is our Lord, then we ought to wash one another’s feet. The slave (the servant) is not greater than his master. Neither is the one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. Blessed are you if you “do” these things. Luke 22:24-27 This account also took place during the last supper. The greatest should become the servant. Romans 12:1 We are urged to present our bodies a living sacrifice, a spiritual service of worship. Romans 12:2-11 We are individually members of the body of Christ, “each” having a function to perform. Ephesians 4:7, 14-16 &#8212; “Each one” of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 &#8212; There are a variety of gifts, ministries, and effects, but it is one spirit, one Lord, and one God that works all things in all persons! 1 Corinthians 12:11 &#8212; One and the same spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually. 1 Corinthians 12:27 &#8212; Now you are Christ’s body and individually members of it. 1 Peter 4:7-11 The end of all things is near! So serve!!! As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another. Philippians 2:1-13 Be intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit. Do not look out for your own interests but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude which was also in Christ Jesus! It is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Links: More Restitutio podcasts featuring John Cortright include 45 Talking with Jesus and 77 God Is Enough Check out dozens of more sermons by Cortright at the Living Hope International Ministries archive Take Cortright&#8217;s classes, including Isaiah and The Twelve (aka the &#8216;minor&#8217; prophets) Intro music: “District Four” by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

What is faith? To some it is believing in something without evidence. To others it is a means by which to attain God&#8217;s blessings like prosperity and health. John Schoenheit explains how neither of these definitions best encapsulates the biblical understanding. Instead, he shows how faith is really just trust in what God says, whether in scripture or by revelation. In this fascinating interview you&#8217;ll learn about how the meaning of the word faith has changed throughout Christian history as well as how the &#8220;Word of Faith&#8221; approach could ruin your life. Notes and Links: Read the full article &#8220;Faith is Trust&#8221; or check out his ongoing by translation project, the Revised English Version (REV) More resources by John Schoenheit are available at Spirit and Truth Fellowship and at Truth or Tradition and at Biblical Unitarian More information about KingdomFest here (Sept 8-10, 2017) Intro music: “District Four” by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

Find out what the most commonly misunderstood texts about the kingdom are as well as how to interpret them within their own contexts. In this final session of the kingdom of God class, we&#8217;ll look at these important verses: Matthew 16.28 &#8220;Some&#8230;will not taste death until they see&#8230;the kingdom&#8221; Luke 17.21 &#8220;The kingdom of God is in your midst&#8221; Matthew 24.34 &#8220;This generation will not pass away until all these things take place&#8221; Luke 23.43 &#8220;Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise&#8221; John 18.36 &#8220;My kingdom is not of this world&#8221; John 14.3 &#8220;I go and prepare a place for you&#8221; 2 Corinthians 5.8 &#8220;to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord&#8221; Philippians 1.23 &#8220;My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better&#8221; Ecclesiastes 12.7 &#8220;The dust returns to the earth&#8230;and the spirit returns to God&#8221; This is lecture 15 of the Kingdom of God class, originally taught at the Atlanta Bible College. To take this class for credit, please contact ABC so you can do the work necessary for a grade. Notes: Some will not taste death until kingdom comes Matthew 16.28-17:9 28 Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.&#8221; 1 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. 3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4 And Peter said to Jesus, &#8220;Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.&#8221; 5 He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, &#8220;This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.&#8221; 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, &#8220;Rise, and have no fear.&#8221; 8 And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. 9 And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, &#8220;Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.&#8221; they received a vision of the kingdom; this fulfilled Jesus’ prophecy that they wouldn’t die before “seeing” the son of man coming in his kingdom &nbsp; Kingdom is within you Luke 17.20-31 20 Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, &#8220;The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, 21 nor will they say, &#8216;Look, here it is!&#8217; or &#8216;There!&#8217; for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.&#8221; 22 And he said to the disciples, &#8220;The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23 And they will say to you, &#8216;Look, there!&#8217; or &#8216;Look, here!&#8217; Do not go out or follow them. 24 For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. 25 But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. 26 Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah en

Sean Holbrook was attending a typical evangelical church when he heard a series of sermons teaching the Trinity.&nbsp; Ironically, these very messages, designed to bolster faith in the doctrine, ended up inspiring Holbrook to question the age old dogma.&nbsp; As a result, he set out to study the topic more and watched James White debates and read his book The Forgotten Trinity.&nbsp; Once again, what was meant to convince Holbrook of the Trinity opened his eyes to more flaws and shaky logic that spurred him on to study the subject even further.&nbsp; After much investigation and careful consideration, he concluded the bible teaches that the Father of Jesus is the only true God. Early in 2017, Sean Holbrook debated Joshua Lovell on the question: Is God a Trinity? Here&#8217;s another link to the debate with better audio quality. Notes and Links: Check out Sean Holbrook&#8217;s blog: droptozro Follow him on Twitter @titus2_11_14 Listen to more episodes about biblical unitarianism Intro music: “District Four” by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

We&#8217;ve looked at how and why Christianity lost the kingdom message; in this episode you&#8217;ll learn how we got it back. Over the last five hundred years, three different movements have made significant strides in recovering the kingdom: the Anabaptists (16th century), the Adventists (19th century), and liberal scholars (20th century). In this lecture you&#8217;ll get a brief overview of each of these groups and see a bit about how they learned about the kingdom and did their part to restore it. This is lecture 14 of the Kingdom of God class, originally taught at the Atlanta Bible College. To take this class for credit, please contact ABC so you can do the work necessary for a grade. Notes: (16th c.) Anabaptists and Radicals Rediscover the Kingdom in the 1440s, the invention of Gutenberg’s printing press led to the reexamination of traditional Catholic doctrines the bible revolution initiated a new interest in doctrine 1454 Gutenberg Bible (Latin) 1516 Erasmus’ Greek NT 1522 Luther’s German NT 1526 Tyndale’s English NT 1534 Luther’s German Bible 1535 Coverdale English Bible George Williams: “Because the New Testament uses the euphemism of sleep, the term soul sleep (Seelenschlaf) is often encountered in the sixteenth century. It will be sharply opposed by Calvin in his first theological work, Psychopannychia (1534; Strasburg ed., 1542). This important work against Anabaptists and perhaps Servetus supplies our generic term psychopannychism in the present narration for that full range of Christian views not in line with the decree on the natural immortality of the soul of the V Lateran Council and of Calvin himself who would come to hold to the continued consciousness of the departed souls, as saints ‘under the alter’ (Rev 6.9-11), participants as the elect in the invisible Church, awaiting the Last Judgment. Luther, for his part, was himself, at the outset of his scriptural career as reformer a psychopannychist, as was his most renowned English follower, the Bible translator, William Tyndale.”[1] why do you think Calvin wrote this book? his book, Psychopannychia, fought against people who believed in the sleep of the dead this means sufficient people believed in this idea that he felt it was the first doctrine he had to attack! apocalypticism vs. millennialism vs. millenarianism active apocalypticism (Melchior Hoffman and the Munster debacle) passive apocalypticism George Williams: “Not only psychopannychism but also Antitrinitarianism was to find its fullest ecclesial expression in Polish Socinianism and Hungarian Unitarianism. The leaders of these two parallel and closely interrelated movements…were Italians or palpably dependent upon Italians.”[2] these 2 groups combined sleep of the dead w/ biblical unitarianism Polish Socinians, Hungarian Unitarians &nbsp; (19th c.) Adventists and Restorationists William Miller (1782-1849) father of Adventism Adventism: movement based on rediscovery of the return of Christ Adventist: someone who believes Jesus is coming back and usually also believes in conditional immortality American Baptist who preached in upstate New York (Hampton, east of Lake George on VT border) studied prophecies of Daniel and used day-year method in 1822 he predicted Christ would come by 1843 (made public in 1831) submitted 16 articles to <e

We all have resources, whether money, time, talents, or skills. How should we steward these resources? In this episode, we conclude our series on stewardship by talking about work, debt, contentment, retirement, volunteering, industriousness, and laziness. We conclude that as with all areas of life, we need to seek God&#8217;s glory with our resources. Links: Check out the other episodes in the Stewardship Series Listen to Off Script 6: Consumerism or read this article Listen to Podcast 4: A Biblical Theology of Finance (Craig Blomberg) Intro music: “Protofunk” by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

This is part three of a series of three lectures on why some Christians ended up rejecting the kingdom message in the first few centuries of Christianity. In this part, I work through the major differences between how Jews and Greeks read scripture. What we find is that the Christians who didn&#8217;t like the kingdom idea lumped in those who did believe in it with the unbelieving Jews who rejected Jesus as the Messiah. In other words, kingdom advocates got labeled &#8220;Judaizers&#8221; for supporting biblical (literal) interpretations that the Jews were using to show that Jesus could not be the Messiah because he did not literally fulfill the kingdom prophecies. This is lecture 13 of the Kingdom of God class, originally taught at the Atlanta Bible College. To take this class for credit, please contact ABC so you can do the work necessary for a grade. Notes: Christians Who Spoke Against the Kingdom as Too Jewish Origen of Alexandria (3rd c.) Now some men, who reject the labour of thinking and seek after the outward and literal meaning of the law&#8230;picture to themselves the earthly city of Jerusalem rebuilt with precious stones laid down for its foundations and its walls erected of jasper and its battlements adorned with crystal&#8230;Then, too, they suppose that &#8216;aliens&#8217; are to be given them to minister to their pleasures, and that they will have these for &#8216;plowmen&#8217; or &#8216;vinedressers&#8217; or &#8216;wall-builders&#8217;&#8230;and they consider that they are to receive the &#8216;wealth of nations&#8217; to live on and that they will have control over their riches, so that even camels of Midian and Ephah will come and bring &#8216;gold, incense and precious stones&#8217;. All this they try to prove on prophetic authority from those passages of scripture which describe the promises made to Jerusalem&#8230;and they quote from the scriptures many other illustrations, the force of which they do not perceive must be figurative and spiritual. Then, too, after the fashion of what happens in this life, and of this world&#8217;s positions of dignity or rank or supreme power, they consider that they will be kings and princes&#8230;And, to speak briefly, they desire that all things which they look for in the promises should correspond in every detail with the course of this life, that is, that what exists now should exist again. Such are the thoughts of men who believe indeed in Christ, but because they understand the divine scriptures in a Judaistic sense, extract from them nothing that is worthy of the divine promises. (De Principiis 2.11.2) Eusebius of Caesarea (4th c.) In addition to all these letters, he [Dionysius of Alexandria] composed two treastises, On Promises, occasioned by Nepos, a bishop of Egypt, who taught that the promises made to the saints in the divine Scriptures should be interpreted in a more Jewish fashion and that there would be a sort of millennium of bodily indulgence on this earth. (Ecclesiastical History 7.24) Like the Jewish people who read the Scriptures literally, one could assume that it is the land of Palestine. But according to the deeper meaning, according to the final word, the high and heavenly and angelic word of God and the divine apostle of the &#8220;heavenly&#8221; Zion teaches that it is &#8220;the Jerusalem above, which is the mother of us all.&#8221; (Commentary on Isaiah 2.1-4) And though the lion is carnivorous by nature, he shall be nourished with husks as a herbivorous animal. So too there are savage and coarse people who understand only the literal interpretation of the graces of the divine Scripture. The divine Scripture is the nourishing word of souls, but its secrets escape the notice of our minds, for the meaning is surrounded by a husk. (C

Last week we looked at stewarding your body. In this episode we focus on a phenomenon that has been growing over the last couple of decades&#8211;tattoos and piercings. What was once seen among sailors, bikers, and soldiers is now rampant among celebrities, athletes, and countless others. What&#8217;s a Christian to do? Should we go with the flow? Does the bible condemn tattoos and piercings outright? If tattoos are ok, how should we figure out what is appropriate and godly versus what is inappropriate and sinful? In this Off Script episode we discuss these questions in an effort to set aside cultural bias and think biblically about tattoos and piercings. Here&#8217;s a quick list of questions to ask before getting a tattoo or piercing: 10 Questions to Ask before You Get a Tattoo or Piercing Will it portray something God is against? Is your motivation vanity (drawing attention to yourself)? Will this limit your career options? Are you ok with strangers coming up and asking you about it? Are you sure you want this on your body permanently? Would this cause issues or offense in your cultural setting? Does your spouse agree with you on getting it? Will it cause irreversible damage? Will it remind you of something God has done or give God glory? Will it open doors for evangelism? Here are some pictures we reference in the episode: &#8220;The LORD is my shepherd&#8221; Wife&#8217;s matching tatoo &nbsp; Dan (cohost of Off Script) Close up of Dan&#8217;s tattoo &nbsp; Links: Listen to Podcast 68: Soli Deo Gloria Check out the other episodes in the Stewardship Series Intro music: “Protofunk” by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

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 a very negative view of pleasure, arguing that the truly enlightened person should exercise abstinence and discipline as much as possible. This idea flourished among the Stoics and Neo-Platonists and infiltrated Christianity from the second century onward. Consequently, the biblical descriptions of feasting in the kingdom with the patriarchs in resurrected bodies seemed to demand reinterpretation. Additionally kingdom deniers labelled kingdom advocates hedonists, as if their uncontrollable desire for pleasure motivated their belief in the kingdom. This is lecture 12 of the Kingdom of God class, originally taught at the Atlanta Bible College. To take this class for credit, please contact ABC so you can do the work necessary for a grade. Notes: ἡ ἡδονή (e edone): pleasure, enjoyment, delight hedonism, hedonist, hedonic hedonism: belief that pleasure is life’s goal Our Plan show you that some Christians rejected the kingdom belief because it was too hedonic explain why they had such an ascetic bias (ascetic means anti-pleasure) Greco-Roman background how this infiltrated Christian thinking biblical view on bodily pleasures how this affects us today &nbsp; Quotes showing rejection of the kingdom on the charge of hedonism Gaius (early second century) &#8220;But Cerinthus also, by means of revelations which he pretends were written by a great apostle, brings before us marvelous things which he falsely claims were shown him by angels; and he says that after the resurrection the kingdom of Christ will be set up on earth, and that the flesh dwelling in Jerusalem will again be subject to desires and pleasures. And being an enemy of the Scriptures of God, he asserts, with the purpose of deceiving men, that there is to be a period of a thousand years5 for marriage festivals.&#8221; (H.E. 3.28.2) Origen (early third century) Certain persons, then, refusing the labour of thinking, and adopting a superficial view of the letter of the law, and yielding rather in some measure to the indulgence of their own desires and lusts, being disciples of the letter alone, are of opinion that the fulfilment of the promises of the future are to be looked for in bodily pleasure and luxury; and therefore they especially desire to have again, after the resurrection, such bodily structures as may never be without the power of eating, and drinking, and performing all the functions of flesh and blood (De Princip. 2.11.2) “And even as those who because of the fact that they do not interpret the prophecies allegorically suppose (that) after the resurrection we will eat and drink bodily food and drink, since also the words of the prophetic writings embrace such as these, so also what has been written concerning marriages of both men and women, keeping to the literal and supposing (that) we will take part in intercourse then, on account of which it is not even possible to have time for prayer when being in (a state of) defilement and uncleanness partaking in sexual pleasures.” (Commentary on Matthew 17.35) Dionysius (mid third century) “For the doctrine which he [Cerinthus] taught was this: that the kingdom of Christ will be an earthly one. And as he was himself devoted to the pleasures

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 turns out, God designed us to experience pleasure, but within his boundaries. We discuss several of these before considering how sometimes we may need to enter a period of abstinence to recenter ourselves. Lastly, we look at how legalism can sneak in and wreak havok when we impose our own personal boundaries on other Christians. Links: Check out the other episodes in the Stewardship Series Read an article on how ancient asceticism invaded the church, leading to the rejection of the kingdom message Intro music: “Protofunk” by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

Now that you&#8217;ve seen the historical defenders of the kingdom faith, it&#8217;s time to turn our attention to those who fought against it. Over the next three lectures you&#8217;ll learn the main reasons why Christianity rejected the kingdom message of the bible and replaced it with going to heaven or hell at death. First up, we&#8217;ll take a tour of how the ancients thought about creation and the universe, giving special attention to how Plato and Philo influenced Christian thinking. This is lecture 11 of the Kingdom of God class, originally taught at the Atlanta Bible College. To take this class for credit, please contact ABC so you can do the work necessary for a grade. Notes: Kingdom Called Crude Dionysius of Alexandria (d. 265) “But since they bring forward a certain work of Nepos, on which they especially rely as irrefutably proving that the kingdom of Christ will be on earth&#8230;we should&#8230;examine and correct whatever appears to be unsoundly composed&#8230;But when a book is published which seems most convincing to some and do[es] not allow our simpler brethren to have high and noble thoughts, either regarding the glorious and truly divine coming of our Lord or our resurrection from the dead or our gathering together unto Him and being like to Him, but persuade them to hope for the small and mortal and such as are of the present in the Kingdom of God&#8230;then it is necessary that we, too, argue with our brother Nepos as if he were present.” (Eusebius, History of the Church 7.24) Origen of Alexandria (d. 253) “Because of this it happens that certain of the simpler Christians, since they do not know how to distinguish and to keep separate what in the divine Scriptures must be allotted to the inner man and what to the outer man, misled by the similarities in the designations, have turned themselves to certain foolish stories and vain fictions, so that even after resurrection they believe that corporeal foods must be used and drink taken not only from that true Vine which lives forever, but also from vines and fruits of wood.” (Comm. of the Song of Songs, Prologue) Eusebius of Caesarea (d. 339) “Among these he [Papias] says that there will be a period of about a thousand years after the resurrection of the dead, when the kingdom of Christ will be established on this earth in material form. I suppose that he got these ideas through a perverse reading of the accounts of the Apostles, not realizing that these were expressed by them mystically in figures. For he appears to be a man of very little intelligence, to speak judging from his books, but he was responsible for the great number of Church writers after him holding the same opinion as himself, who proposed in their support the antiquity of the man, as, for instance, Irenaeus and whoever else appeared to hold similar views.” (Church History 3.39) Augustine of Hippo (d. 430) “The same Evangelist John has spoken of these two resurrection in his book which is called the Apocalypse, but in such a way that some of us have not understood the first of the two, and thereby have turned it into some ridiculous fancies….Those who, because of this passage in this book, have suspected that the first resurrection is future and bodily…This opinion would be somewhat tolerable, if the delights of that Sabbath to be enjoyed by the saints were, through the presence of the Lord, of a spiritual kind. For we too were at one time of this opinion.” (City of God 20.7.1) “If we were to tell those pagan philosophers that our bodies are going to be victorious on a new earth and not in heaven, we would be speaking boldly and rashly, yes, even against the faith. For we ought to believe

We&#8217;re beginning a new series on stewardship. To start with, we&#8217;ll discuss the biblical mindset towards stewarding the earth. Future episodes will address stewarding our bodies and finances. In this show, we begin with creation theology and move to consider how God injected covenantal significance into how Israelites were to think about their land. Lastly, we look at how believing in the renewal of our earth in the age to come should affect us now. We also overcome several typical Christian objections to creation care while trying to avoid any kind of legalism. Links: Check out the other episodes in the Stewardship Series Intro music: “Protofunk” by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

Who has believed in the kingdom over the history of Christianity? In this lecture, you&#8217;ll find out who defended the kingdom belief in the first four centuries, before it faded out of the mainstream and got replaced with going to heaven instead. In order to put you in contact with the primary sources, we read through a bunch of quotes, so you can hear the unfiltered voices of these remarkable kingdom advocates. This is lecture 10 of the Kingdom of God class, originally taught at the Atlanta Bible College. To take this class for credit, please contact ABC so you can do the work necessary for a grade. Notes: 1st Century Author(s) of Didache (wrote/edited ad 60-150) Didache 8.2 Nor should you pray like the hypocrites. Instead, pray like this, just as the Lord commanded in his Gospel: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven…” Didache 9.4 Just as this broken bread was scattered upon the mountains and then was gathered together and became one, so may your church be gathered together from the ends of the earth into your kingdom; for yours is the glory and the power through Jesus Christ forever. Didache 10.5-6 5 Remember your church, Lord, to deliver it from all evil and to make it perfect in your love; and from the four winds gather the church that has been sanctified into your kingdom, which you have prepared for it; for yours is the power and glory forever. 6 May grace come, and may this world pass away. Hosanna to the God of David. If anyone is holy, let him come; if anyone is not, let him repent. Maranatha! Amen. Didache 16.6-8 6 And then there will appear the signs of the truth: first the sign of an opening in heaven, then the sign of the sound of a trumpet, and third, the resurrection of the dead—7 but not of all; rather, as it has been said, “The Lord will come, and all his saints with him.” 8 Then the world will see the Lord coming upon the clouds of heaven. Clement of Rome (wrote ad 80-100) 1 Cl. 42:3 3 Having therefore received their orders, and being fully assured by the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, and established in the word of God, with full assurance of the Holy Ghost, they went forth proclaiming that the kingdom of God was at hand. 1 Cl. 50:3 3 All the generations from Adam even unto this day have passed away; but those who, through the grace of God, have been made perfect in love, now possess a place among the godly, and shall be made manifest at the revelation of the kingdom of Christ. &nbsp; Barnabas (wrote ad 70-132) Epistle of Barnabas 1.7 For the Master has made known to us through the prophets things past and things present, and has given us a foretaste of things to come. Epistle of Barnabas 6.13 Again, I will show thee how, in respect to us, He has accomplished a second fashioning in these last days. The Lord says, &#8220;Behold, I will make the last like the first.&#8221; In reference to this, then, the prophet proclaimed, &#8220;Enter ye into the land flowing with milk and honey, and have dominion over it.&#8221; Epistle of Barnabas 10.11&#8230;Because the righteous person not only lives in this world but also looks forward to the holy age to come…. Epistle of Barnabas 15.4-5 Observe, children, what &#8220;he finished in six days&#8221; means. It means this: that in six thousand years the Lord will bring everything to an end, for with him a day signifies a thousand years…&#8221;And he rested on the seventh day.&#8221; This means: when his son comes, he will destroy the time of the lawless one and will judge the ungodly and will change the sun and the mo

Do you know what the Trinity is? Could you explain it to someone else or is it just a confusing collection of impenetrable statements hidden under a cloud of fog? In his recent book, Professor Dale Tuggy seeks to clarify everyone&#8217;s perceptions of the various Trinity theories so that we can have productive conversation on the subject. He delves deep into the various key concepts like explaining various ways of thinking about persons and essence (ousia) to help you make sense of it all. Whether you believe in the Trinity or not, this interview will help you understand how to have more focused and profitable conversation on this important doctrine. Notes and Links: Visit Dr. Tuggy&#8217;s website at Trinities.org Purchase his book at Create Space or on Amazon (Also, write him a review!) Follow him on twitter @DaleTuggy Intro music: “District Four” by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

Like all kingdoms, God&#8217;s kingdom is political in nature. As a result, the kingdom requires allegiance from its citizens. By examining Jewish messianism and Roman political sensibilities, you&#8217;ll come to better see how early Christians prioritized their allegiance to the age to come over their local and national allegiances. This is lecture 9 of the Kingdom of God class, originally taught at the Atlanta Bible College. To take this class for credit, please contact ABC so you can do the work necessary for a grade. Notes: two parts: Jewish Messianism Roman Allegiance politics and religion were not separate realms in antiquity Other leaders of messianic movements: Athronges (4 bc) Judah the Galilean (ad 6) the Samaritan Prophet (ad 36) Theudas (ad 45) the Egyptian Prophet (ad 58) Simon bar Giora (ad 69) Simon ben Kosiba (ad 132) the Roman empire always perceives the leaders of Jewish messianic movements as threats and moves decisively to eliminate them I bring up these leaders of messianic and quasi-messianic movements to contextualize Jesus he knows what he’s doing and he’s smart about it &nbsp; Messianic Secret messianic secret: Jesus kept the fact that he claimed to be the messiah a secret Jesus had been extremely careful up to this point casting out many demons Luke 4.40-41 40 Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. 41 And demons also came out of many, crying, &#8220;You are the Son of God!&#8221; But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ. Peter’s Confession (Mark 8.27-30) Matthew 16.15-20 15 He said to them, &#8220;But who do you say that I am?&#8221; 16 Simon Peter replied, &#8220;You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.&#8221; 17 And Jesus answered him, &#8220;Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven…20 Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ. &nbsp; until…the Triumphal Entry Mark 11. 7-11 7 And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. 8 And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. 9 And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, &#8220;Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!&#8221; 11 And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve. three coded actions riding the donkey waving palm branches called “Son of David” &nbsp; Riding the Donkey By riding the donkey Jesus provocatively fulfilled Zechariah’s prophecy.[1] Zechariah 9.9-10 9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from