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This is part 18 of the Read the Bible For Yourself. What tools can help you understand the bible better? Today we'll cover some recommended resources for you to deepen your study of the scriptures, including bible dictionaries, commentaries, bible software, AI, and more. Of course, it's impossible to cover everything in a reasonable time frame, so I'll just recommend two or three of each resource type, focusing primarily on tools that I personally have and use regularly. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJOFFIkNdUg&list=PLN9jFDsS3QV2TrdUEDtAipF3jy4qYspM_&index=18 —— Links —— See other episodes in Read the Bible For Yourself Other classes are available here, including How We Got the Bible, which explores the manuscript transmission and translation of the Bible Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here —— Notes —— 18 Helpful Tools to Understand the Bible Why do we need extra-biblical tools to help us understand the Bible? Different geography Different history Different cultures (ancient Near Eastern, first-century Jewish, Greco-Roman) Different economics Different literacy rates Different scientific and philosophical knowledge Bible Dictionaries International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915) Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000) Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (2015) The IVP Bible Dictionary Series Dictionary of OT: Pentateuch (2002) Dictionary of OT: Historical Books (2005) Dictionary of OT: Wisdom, Poetry, & Writings (2008) Dictionary of OT: Prophets (2012) Dictionary of NT Background (2000) Dictionary of Jesus & Gospels (2013) Dictionary of Paul & Letters (2023) Dictionary of the Later NT (1997) Commentaries Fee & Stuart: “Jesus says, ‘…It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’ You will sometimes hear it said that there was a gate in Jerusalem known as the “Needle’s Eye,” which camels could go through only by kneeling, and with great difficulty. The point of this “interpretation” is that a camel could in fact go through the “Needle’s Eye.” The trouble with this “exegesis,” however, is t

This is part 17 of the Read the Bible For Yourself. After reviewing the resources you can use to learn Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, we delve into the sources that translators use for their work. Next, we'll look at translation philosophies, including formal and dynamic equivalence. Lastly we'll cover the controversial issues of gender accuracy and translation bias. Over all, this episode should give you a nice introduction to a deep answer for what translations you should use and why. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsxuNfkTt-U&list=PLN9jFDsS3QV2TrdUEDtAipF3jy4qYspM_&index=18 —— Links —— See other episodes in Read the Bible For Yourself Other classes are available here, including How We Got the Bible, which explores the manuscript transmission and translation of the Bible Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here —— Notes —— 17 How to Choose a Bible Translation Translation basics Fee & Stuart: “Your Bible, whatever translation you use, which is your beginning point, is in fact the end result of much scholarly work. Translators are regularly called upon to make choices regarding meanings, and their choices are going to affect how you”[1] “Every translation is a commentary” -Lee Brice The Bible is in three languages. Hebrew: Old Testament except the Aramaic part Nearly 99% of the OT (22,945 of 23,213 verses) Aramaic: half of Daniel and two passages in Ezra Daniel 2.4b-7.28; Ezra 4.8-6.18; 7.12-26 About 1% of the OT (268 of 23,213 verses) Greek: New Testament (all 7,968 verses) How to begin learning Hebrew or Greek Immersion program in Israel or Greece Whole Word Institute offers a 9-month program. In-person college class (usually 2 semesters) Local colleges, RTS offers an 8-week summer program. In-person classes at a Jewish synagogue or Greek church or community center Online program with live instructor Biblical Language Center, Liberty University, etc. Digital program with pre-recordings Aleph with Beth (YouTube), Bill Mounce’s DVD course, etc. How to improve your existing knowledge of

This is part 16 of the Read the Bible For Yourself. Revelation is a complicated book of the Bible. It contains some of the most incredible and awe-inspiring descriptions of God's throne room and the final paradise on earth. It also describes sinister mayhem, wanton destruction, and toe-curling persecution. How can we make sense of it? In today's episode we'll go over the basics of authorship, audience, occasion, and purpose. Then we'll explore how Revelation uses visionary symbols to convey truth. Lastly, we'll go over five interpretive lenses through which you can understand the timing of the events in Revelation. We may not settle every issue, but my hope is that this overview will at least prepare you to read Revelation for yourself. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://youtu.be/98OFG5OSjNE?si=jcN6wZnbeqavNFRi —— Links —— See other episodes in Read the Bible For Yourself Other classes are available here, including How We Got the Bible, which explores the manuscript transmission and translation of the Bible Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here —— Notes —— How to Read Revelation Authorship John is the author. (Rev 1:1-2) It is hard to say if this was the same John who wrote the Gospel of John and the Epistles. Later Christians generally believed Revelation was by the same John. The style, vocabulary, and themes are completely different. John was exiled to the island of Patmos because of his faith. (Rev 1:9) “The Roman government, beginning with the emperor Nero, no longer considered Christianity as a sect of Judaism, which was a legal religion in the empire. Instead, Rome began to view it as an undesirable foreign cult that was a menace to society. John’s testimony about Jesus Christ was viewed as a political crime and hence punishable under Roman law. His suffering was the price paid for obeying a different King and testifying to a different Lord.”[1] Audience Rev 1:10 says John wrote to seven churches in the province of Asia Minor (western Turkey). These churches were in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. Occasion Ephesus: enduring well, not growing weary, having discerned false apostles well, not loving Smy

This is part 15 of the Read the Bible For Yourself. In previous episodes, we've looked at Paul's church epistles and pastoral epistles. Today we move into the third section of epistles in the New Testament--the general epistles. Instead of surveying each of the eight general epistles, we'll just focus on two: Hebrews and 1 John. We'll ask about author, audience, occasion, purpose, and mode for each. Going through these two will hopefully provide you with helpful examples to enable you to read these epistles more fruitfully on your own. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://youtu.be/alXkHkkhn_w —— Links —— See other episodes in Read the Bible For Yourself Other classes are available here, including How We Got the Bible, which explores the manuscript transmission and translation of the Bible Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here —— Notes —— The General Epistles Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude Some consider Hebrews to be Pauline, but even if Paul wrote it, it’s not to a church or a pastor, so it still fits as a general epistle 2 John and 3 John are technical to specific individuals and thus not general epistles Hebrews Authorship Evidence for Paul Associated with Timothy and Rome (Heb 13:23-24) Pauline themes Evidence against Paul Non-Pauline themes Ancient uncertainty (Origen, Eusebius, etc.) Non-standard opening Not an eyewitness (Heb 2:3) Daniel Wallace suggested Barnabas with help from Apollos. Audience As title indicates, the audience was Jewish. Persecuted (Heb 10:32-36) Occasion Became aware of some falling away from faith (Heb 3:6; 4:14; 6:4-6; 10:23, 26-27) Concern that they will return to Judaism Purpose Convince Jewish Christians to endure in the faith instead of falling away (presumably back into Judaism) Mode Show that Jesus is better Ch 1: Jesus as God’s promised Messiah is better than the angels who gave the Law. Ch 2: Jesus’ salvation is better b/c he is human. Ch 3: Jesus is better than Moses. Ch 7: Jesus’ priesthood is better than Aaron’s. Ch 8: Jesus’ covenant is better than the old covenant b/c it has bett

This is part 14 of the Read the Bible For Yourself. The Pastoral Epistles are letters to church leaders, instructing them how churches should function. Though they are not well read by most Christians today, they remain authoritative for pastors, elders, and deacons. Today we'll cover 1-2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. We'll explore the major theme of how the church should be a well-run household where godliness prevails. Additionally, we'll consider qualifications for leadership, warnings against false teachers, and the incredible importance of sound teaching. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-zdww6-Udk&list=PLN9jFDsS3QV2TrdUEDtAipF3jy4qYspM_&index=14&t=1004s&pp=iAQB —— Links —— See other episodes in Read the Bible For Yourself Other classes are available here, including How We Got the Bible, which explores the manuscript transmission and translation of the Bible Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here —— Notes —— The Pastoral Epistles 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon Philemon is not always included as a pastoral Epistle since it only deals with a specific issue regarding a single person. Household Paul employs the metaphor of a household in the pastorals to illustrate the order he’d like to see in the churches (1 Tim 3:14-15). ZIBBC: “In Xenophon’s essay, the husband instructs his fourteen-year-old bride (the average age for marriage among Greek and Roman girls was fourteen to sixteen) on her vital role in managing the household resources, including the care and supervision of household slaves, while he supervised the gathering of produce from the farms. Because of the presence of slaves and freedmen in an average ancient household, management of sometimes large households could be demanding.”[1] Lynn Cohick: “The family in the Greco-Roman world valued the community over the individual and promoted corporate honor and fortune. Those living in the domus (“home”) included parents and children, and perhaps extended family, such as adult siblings, cousins, and grandparents, as well as slaves, freedmen, and freedwomen. Each individual had a specific status within the home, and each family member deemed the social status of the family, including its wealth and social prestige, as of equal or greater val

This is part 13 of the Read the Bible For Yourself. Before getting to the Church Epistles, we'll begin with an overview of how letters were written, read, and performed. Then we'll see how they are arranged in our Bibles. We'll spend a good deal of time talking about occasion. Why did Paul write each letter? What was going on that prompted him to initiate the expensive and elaborate process of writing to them? Lastly, we'll briefly consider how to apply what we read to our lives. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qg3tInZU9JY&list=PLN9jFDsS3QV2TrdUEDtAipF3jy4qYspM_&index=13&pp=iAQB —— Links —— See other episodes in Read the Bible For Yourself Other classes are available here, including How We Got the Bible, which explores the manuscript transmission and translation of the Bible Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here —— Notes —— Letters in the First Century Letters written on papyrus with ink by a professional scribe (amanuensis) Though most letters that have survived from the ancient world were short and to the point, Paul’s Epistles are extremely long. Because there was no postal system, someone had to carry the letter to its destination. Upon arrival, most people couldn’t read, so a professional would need to read it aloud. This was difficult because there were no chapters, verses, paragraphs, punctuation, or spaces between words (scriptio continua). Name Greek Words English Words Verses Chapters Romans 7113 9506 432 16 1 Corinthians 6832 9532 437 16 2 Corinthians 4480 6160 257 13 Galatians 2232 3227 149 6 Ephesians 2424 3047 155 6 Philippians 1631 2261 104 4 Colossians 1583 1993 95 4 1 Thessalonians 1484 1908 89 5 2 Thessalonians 826 1065 47 3 Church Epistles in Chronological Order

This is part 12 of the Read the Bible For Yourself. Acts is an action-packed book full of excitement and wonder. We learn about the early expansion of the Church from a small group of ragged Christ-followers to dozens of house churches throughout major cities in the Mediterranean world. How did Christianity "go public"? The book of Acts tells that story. In this episode you'll learn four major emphases in Acts as well as how to think through application for us today. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TIzpc3mfOg&amp;list=PLN9jFDsS3QV2TrdUEDtAipF3jy4qYspM_&amp;index=12&amp;pp=iAQB —— Links —— For more about Family Camp visit LHIM Check out the UCA conferences for USA, UK, and NZ here See other episodes in Read the Bible For Yourself Other classes are available here, including How We Got the Bible, which explores the manuscript transmission and translation of the Bible Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here —— Notes —— Luke wrote Acts. Acts 1:1-2 Acts is the second volume. Luke is about the life of Christ. Acts is about the early expansion of the church. Major events of Acts 1:1-11 Jesus commissions and ascends. 1:12-27 Peter initiates replacing Judas. 2:1-47 Spirit is poured out, and Peter preaches. 3:1-26 Peter heals lame man and preaches. 4:1-6:7 Communal living in Jerusalem 6:8-7:60 Stephen’s martyrdom 8:1-40 Philip’s expansion to Samaria, Ethiopia 9:1-31 Paul’s conversion, expansion to Damascus 9:32-9:43 Peter’s mission to Lydda and Joppa 10:1-11:18 Peter converts Cornelius in Caesarea. 11:19-30 Barnabas brings Paul to Antioch. 12:1-24 Peter’s arrest and miraculous escape 12:25-16:5 Paul’s 1st missionary journey 16:6-19:20 Paul’s 2nd missionary journey 19:21-21:17 Paul’s 3rd missionary journey 21:18-28:31 Paul’s arrest and trip to Rome Organization of the book The first half is about Peter (1-12). The second half is about Paul (13-28). Acts 1:8 outlines the book: they expanded from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria to the ends of the earth. Leading and experience of God’s spirit <

This is part 11 of the Read the Bible For Yourself. The Gospels are evangelistic biographies of Jesus. In today's episode you'll learn the basic storyline of the four biblical Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Then we'll go through them from shortest to longest to see how each brings a unique and helpful perspective in telling the life of Christ. We'll also hit some important concepts like the kingdom of God, parables, and the word of God. Lastly, we'll ask about application. How can you figure out which sayings of Christ apply to you today and which ones do not? Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://youtu.be/0iHhidbL4e8?si=3rs4fGGtQjsJAObB —— Links —— See other episodes in Read the Bible For Yourself Other classes are available here, including How We Got the Bible, which explores the manuscript transmission and translation of the Bible Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here —— Notes —— The Four Gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John Gospel = good news The Gospels are biographies about Jesus which seek to convince readers about the good news that he is the Messiah. Basic Storyline of the Gospels Birth narratives John’s ministry John baptizes Jesus. Jesus calls the twelve. Teachings of Jesus Miracles of Jesus Conflict with critics Triumphal entry Intensified conflict Last supper Arrest, trial, execution Resurrection appearances Great commission Mark (11,305 words) Papias: “And the elder used to say this: ‘Mark, having become Peter’s interpreter, wrote down accurately everything he remembered, though not in order, of the things either said or done by Christ. For he neither heard the Lord nor followed him, but afterward, as I said, followed Peter, who adapted his teachings as needed but had no intention of giving an ordered account of the Lord’s sayings. Consequently Mark did nothing wrong in writing down some things as he remembered them, for he made it his one concern not to omit anything that he heard or to make any false statement in them.’”[1] John (15,633 words) Purpose statement: John 20:30-3130 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are

This is part 10 of the Read the Bible For Yourself. We've taken our time working through the Old Testament, section by section. Before we tackle the New Testament and look at the Gospels, we need to talk about the time between the Old and New Testaments. In the gap of roughly four hundred years, massive political and cultural changes occurred. Nowhere in the Old Testament do we see anything about the Romans, Pharisees, Sadducees, or the Sanhedrin. In today's episode I'll catch you up on what happened after the OT and before the NT so you can better understand the world in which Jesus functioned. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3humYIVYho&amp;list=PLN9jFDsS3QV2TrdUEDtAipF3jy4qYspM_&amp;index=10 —— Links —— See other episodes in Read the Bible For Yourself Other classes are available here, including How We Got the Bible, which explores the manuscript transmission and translation of the Bible Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here —— Notes —— Recent History Persians: Cyrus the Great Greeks: Alexander the Great, Antiochus Epiphanes Hellenization (2 Maccabees 4.7, 10-15; 1 Maccabees 1.41-53) Maccabean Revolution: Mattathias, Judah the Maccabee, Jonathan Apphus, Simon Thassi, John Hyrcanus, Aristobulus I, Alexander Jannaeus, Salome Alexandra, Hyrcanus II, Aristobulus II Romans: Pompey the Great annexed Judea in 63bc Herodian Dynasty: Herod the Great and his descendants Geographical and Political Setting Roman Empire: Augustus (27bc-ad14), Tiberius (14-37), Caligula (37-41), Claudius (41-54), Nero (54-68) Provinces: every region outside of Italy Galilee: Herod the Great (37-4bc), Herod Antipas (4bc-ad39), Herod Agrippa I (37-44) Judea: Herod the Great (37-4bc), Herod Archelaus (4bc-ad6), Coponius (6-9), Marcus Ambivulus (9-12), Annius Rufus (12-15), Valerius Gratus (15-26), Pontius Pilate (26-36), Marcellus (36-37), Marullus (37-41), Herod Agrippa I (41-44) Samaria: under Judean jurisdiction; Samaritans and Jews conflicted with each other Jewish Groups Sadducees controlled the temple partners with Roman governors wealthy aristocrats chief priests were the leaders only accepted the Torah as scripture didn’t believ

This is part 9 of the Read the Bible For Yourself. The 17 books of the prophets comprise 27% of the Old Testament. Although some parts can be difficult to comprehend, they reveal the heart of God with raw pathos and brutal honesty. To read the prophets, then, is to draw near to God. No other section of scripture so beautifully and tragically reveals God's feelings. In this episode you'll learn about the major time periods, how to read the prophets within their context, and some of the major themes. As always, this brief survey should help you read and understand the bible for yourself. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nOkfIUxJJw&amp;list=PLN9jFDsS3QV2TrdUEDtAipF3jy4qYspM_&amp;index=9 —— Links —— See other episodes in Read the Bible For Yourself Other classes are available here, including How We Got the Bible, which explores the manuscript transmission and translation of the Bible Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here —— Notes —— Canonical Arrangement 5 Major Prophets Isaiah Jeremiah Lamentations Ezekiel Daniel 12 Minor Prophets Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi Chronological Arrangement early pre-exilic: Amos, Hosea, Jonah, Micah, Isaiah late pre-exilic: Nahum, Zephaniah, Obadiah, Joel, Habakkuk, Jeremiah exilic: Ezekiel, Daniel post-exilic: Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi Setting The historical context is helpful In Jer 1.1-3, Jeremiah prophecies during the last days of the kingdom. He’s the last chance for the people to repent. Since they go into exile anyhow, it’s easy to anticipate that the people will not respond to Jeremiah. The Prophet God calls prophets into his service (Jer 1.4-6) oftentimes, the prophet has access to the king and speaks to him competition with false prophets (Jer 28.1-3, 15-17) Acting out prophecies Ezekiel built a model of Jerusalem and acted out a siege against it (Ezek 4.1-3) lay on his side for 390 days (Ezek 4.4-5)</

This is part 8 of the Read the Bible For Yourself. The Book of Psalms is an eclectic collection of poetry that you can use to connect to God. In today's episode you'll learn about the different kinds of psalms, who wrote them, and how Hebrew poetry works. The goal, as always, is to equip you to read and understand on your own. Whether you've been reading the Psalms for years or are brand new to them, this episode should empower you to get more out of them than ever before. Also, I conclude by recommending a method of reading, called Lectio Divina, which you can use to meditate on the Psalms. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2lJMxFR7n4 —— Links —— Check out All 150 Psalms Categorized See other episodes in Read the Bible For Yourself Other classes are available here, including How We Got the Bible, which explores the manuscript transmission and translation of the Bible Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here —— Notes —— Basic Facts Phenomenal for devotional reading, emotional connection 150 total psalms Called psalms, not chapters (Psalm 50:4 not Psalms 50:4) Authors: David (73), Asaph (12), Sons of Korah (11), Heman the Ezrahite (1), Ethan the Ezrahite (1), Moses (1), Solomon (2), Anonymous (49) Book 1: 1-41 Book 2: 42-72 Book 3: 73-89 Book 4: 90-106 Book 5: 107-150 David reassigned the Levites to develop a music ministry to worship God (1 Chron 16:4-6, 41-42). Chesed כִּי לְעוֹלָם חַסְדּוֹ (1 Chron 16:41) for his chesed (is) forever. הוֹדוּ לַיהוָה כִּי־טוּב כִּי לְעוֹלָם חַסְדּוֹ (Ps 118:1) O give thanks to Yahweh for (he is) good for his chesed (is) forever. chesed is an extremely important word in the Psalms. “EVV [English versions] translate chesed by expressions such as ‘steadfast love’ and ‘constant love.’ It is sometimes described as covenant love, though in the OT it rarely appears in the company of the word ‘covenant.’ It is used in two connections: when someone makes an act of commitment for which there is no reason in terms of prior relationship, and when someone keeps their commitment when they might be ex

As the dust continues to settle from last week's debate between Dale Tuggy and James White, reviewers are coalescing on a rather exciting conclusion. Tuggy handedly won the debate! Rumor has it that James White has even requested a rematch! We'll have to wait and see if anything happens on that front, but requesting a rematch is not something the winner typically does. In today's episode, I bring on Dr. Dustin Smith of the biblical unitarian podcast to respond to James White's arguments, not only in his opening statement, but also in his rebuttal, cross-examination time, and conclusion. Yes, he introduced new arguments in every single phase of the debate. One wonders why he didn't respond to any of Tuggy's arguments. Let's see what Dustin Smith has to say. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts —— Links —— Watch the original debate between Dale Tuggy and James White Check out Dale Tuggy's review of the debate See Sean Finnegan's paper and video presentation "The Deity of Christ from a Greco-Roman Perspective" See the video responses of Dustin Smith on Hebrews 1.10-12, Sean Finnegan on 1 Peter 3.15, Jerry Wierwille on Philippians 2.6-11, and William Barlow on John 12.41 Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here

We're taking a break this week from our class on Reading the Bible for Yourself. By the way, did you know that there's a separate podcast just for classes without any interruptions like this? You can find it if you search your podcast app for Restitutio Classes. Anyhow, I had an opportunity to speak with Dr. Dale Tuggy about his recent debate with Dr. James White and wanted to share that conversation with you now rather than waiting until the end of this class. On March 9, 2024 in Houston Texas at the First Lutheran Church, Dale Tuggy debated James White on the question, "Is Jesus Yahweh?" White affirmed and Tuggy denied. Just to give you a little background on these two scholars, James White is a professor of Apologetics at Grace Bible Theological Seminary and has a bachelors from Grand Canyon University, a masters from Fuller Theological Seminary, and a doctorate of ministry from Columbia Evangelical Seminary. He has participated in over 180 public moderated debates and has written the book The Forgotten Trinity in which he presented his case that the Trinity is biblical. Dale Tuggy is an Analytic Theologian who has a bachelors from BIOLA, a masters from Claremont School of Theology, and a Ph.D. from Brown University. He's the chair of the Unitarian Christian Alliance and the author of What Is the Trinity?, which explains the major Trinity theories and the problems each faces. In what follows, I ask Tuggy how he thought the debate went. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts The debate lasted over two hours and is accessible on YouTube. The format of the debate was as follows: Opening Statement (25 min each) Rebuttal (10 min each) Cross Examination (10 min each) Concluding Statement (5 min each) Audience Questions (20 min total) Here's the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ky2SaHscSIo —— Links —— More interviews with Dale Tuggy here Visit Tuggy's website at trinities.org Check out his books on Amazon, especially <a href="https://www.amazon.com/What-Trinity-Thinking-Father-Spirit/dp/154677260X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9._mRE5Xjh5HXTnQHe9hsbntNJUVBi5EVIUmJWJTO1NaNuQVtYpUb8Atcni9iEsrbgyZUgc5b7h2oG2Y7ZbzkqZ8aXIZKL1MluwHzYIyS73bfXotqcpfo9zYpg7qMNEmC7zknGFoGDwKJ_-AXJRO1SIbkEyZAs

This is part 7 of the Read the Bible For Yourself. The Bible contains a treasure trove of wisdom literature that can help you navigate the ups and downs of life. Today you'll learn how to read and understand the books of Proverbs, Song of Songs, Job, and Ecclesiastes. Proverbs and Song of Songs teach us how to handle ourselves when the world is working the way it should while Job and Ecclesiastes address how to think and live when chaos strikes. Taken together these four books offer a full-orbed perspective on practical wisdom that you can incorporate into your life. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MZCAxSSNzU —— Links —— See other episodes in Read the Bible For Yourself Other classes are available here, including How We Got the Bible, which explores the manuscript transmission and translation of the Bible Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here —— Notes —— Proverbs “[Proverbs] should not be read as promises but as guidelines, as principles for living. They show the way life works best 80 to 95 percent of the time. The Bible is clear throughout Scripture: if you live a life oriented to God, you will tend to have a good life.”[1] Proverbs 14:7: Leave the presence of a fool, for there you do not find words of knowledge. The Fool Mouth of a fool brings ruin near (10:14) Utters slander (10:18) Doing wrong for fun (10:23) Broadcasts folly (12:23) No restraint, careless (14:16) Despises parent's instruction (15:5) Does not receive a rebuke (17:10) Has plenty of personal opinions (18:2) Perverse speech (19:1) Quick to quarrel (20:3) Devours wealth (21:20) Despises wise words (23:9) Vents anger (29:11) Hasty in speech (29:20) The Wise Honoring your parents (1:8-9; 10:1) Handling money well, avoiding debt (3:9-10; 22:7 Discernment between right and wrong (3:21; 10:9; 28:5) Understanding (3:13; 4:7; 18:2) Fidelity in marriage (5:15-19; 6:32-35) Hard work instead of laziness (6:6-11; 15:19) Fearing the LORD (9:10; 24:21; 31:30) Teachability, humility (9:9; 11:2) Controlling what you say (10:19; 21:23) Righ

This is part 6 of the Read the Bible For Yourself. Tragically, many Christians skip over reading the Torah. They focus on the Gospels or Epistles of the New Testament. However, the first five books of the Bible contain many rich insights into God's heart and how he asked Israel to live. In fact, it's impossible to understand the rest of the Bible, or even Jesus, without first becoming familiar with the Law. This episode will provide you an overview of the Torah's instruction about holiness, sacrifice, justice, and sacred time. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://youtu.be/a9wxI1TWBlE —— Links —— See other episodes in Read the Bible For Yourself Check out the class New Covenant Theology to learn more about biblical covenants as well as this podcast episode on the New Covenant and this one responding to typical arguments for Torah observance today Other classes are available here, including How We Got the Bible, which explores the manuscript transmission and translation of the Bible Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here —— Notes —— Reading the Law takes work Sometimes it’s just weird (Lev 11:20-23) Sometimes it’s tedious (Ex 26:7-9) Important to focus while reading Eliminate distractions Read aloud if you can Keep track of things (underline, highlight, write notes in the margin) The books of the Law (Torah) Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Four categories of Law Holiness Sacrifice Justice Sacred time Sinai and the giving of the Law God came down on the mountain and spoke audibly (Ex 19:16-21) The people agreed to obey and then “stood at a distance” while Moses went up and received the rest of the Law (Ex 20:18-21) Tabernacle The 2nd half of Exodus contains meticulous instructions on how to build the tabernacle and everything that went outside and inside of it. The tabernacle is where

This is part 5 of the Read the Bible For Yourself. Now we begin the second main part of this class on reading the Bible for yourself. We'll be breaking the Bible into major sections so I can explain how each works. To start we'll consider the first 17 books of the Bible--the books of Old Testament historical narrative. You'll learn what to look for while reading, the major events covered, the various cultural backgrounds of those periods, God's personal name, and why reading OT history is extremely valuable. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtvJv-NfvBU —— Links —— See other episodes in Read the Bible For Yourself Other classes are available here, including How We Got the Bible, which explores the manuscript transmission and translation of the Bible Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here —— Notes —— Old Testament history includes the following books: Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Joshua Judges Ruth 1 Samuel 2 Samuel 1 Kings 2 Kings 1 Chronicles 2 Chronicles Ezra Nehemiah Esther Chronology of major OT events: Creation and Eden Rebellions and Consequences Abraham &amp; Sarah &amp; Descendants Sojourning in Egypt 10 Plagues and Exodus Receiving Torah at Mount Sinai 40 Years of Wandering Entering the Promised Land Judges Samuel (Hinge of History) Kings of the United Kingdom Succession of the Northern Tribes Assyrian Deportation of Israel Babylonian Deportation of Judah 70 Year Exile Return from Exile Cultural backgrounds: Pre-flood Patriarchs Egypt Tribes (Judges 17:6) Monarchy Empires Their History vs. Our History: Real Events Ancient Historiography Biased but Honest Genealogies Etiologies The Name of God: God’s Name is יְהוָה Hebrew Letters: yod hey vav hey (YHVH) Pronounced “Yahweh” Typically translated “the LORD” God’s proper name (Ex 20:2-3)</l

I've been putting out podcast episodes on Restitutio since 2015. I've interviewed many authors in that time. However, I've never been interviewed as an author. That changed a couple of days ago when Sam Tideman of Transfigured had me on his show to talk about my new book, Kingdom Journey.We discussed the biblical idea of God's kingdom coming to earth for well over an hour. It was an awesome chance to share about the central theme of scripture and the clear emphasis of Jesus's ministry. Although it breaks my heart that so much of Christianity still clings to heaven as their home and destiny, I'm optimistic that the word will get out about the biblical vision of a renewed world with everything wrong with it made right. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://youtu.be/lsykGsETgNw?si=HAxsK7x4W02aqJNp —— Links —— Get your copy of Kingdom Journey today! It's available as a hardcover, paperback, and e-book. See these other episodes with Sam Tideman More episodes about the kingdom of God Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here

This is part 4 of the Read the Bible For Yourself. Exegesis and application take work. Today you&#8217;ll learn how to grasp the content of scripture by asking the question, &#8220;What did this text mean to the original audience?&#8221; Looking for a book&#8217;s author, audience, occasion, and purpose will help you answer that question. Next, we&#8217;ll consider application and answering the question, &#8220;What does this text mean to me today?&#8221; We&#8217;ll follow Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart&#8217;s application strategy as well as their four warnings about extended application, particulars that are not comparable, cultural relativity, and task theology. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts —— Links —— See other episodes in Read the Bible For Yourself Other classes are available here, including How We Got the Bible, which explores the manuscript transmission and translation of the Bible Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here —— Notes —— “If there was one bit of wisdom, one rule of thumb, one single skill I could impart, one useful tip I could leave that would serve you well the rest of your life, what would it be? What is the single most important practical skill I’ve ever learned as a Christian? Here it is: Never read a Bible verse. That’s right, never read a Bible verse. Instead, always read a paragraph at least.”[1] What to Look For Author Audience Occasion Purpose Two Tasks Figure out what a text meant to its original audience. Figure out what it means to you today. Understand Then Apply Get the author’s point before asking about application. What’s the author’s train of thought? Do not ask, “How does this affect my life?” Do not ask, “How does this fit into my theology?” Just focus on getting what the author is conveying in his own historical context. Paragraph style Bibles help with this tremendously, whereas verse paragraphs make it hard to see what is connected to what. Look up words and phrases that you don’t understand like a “Sabbath day’s journey”, “high places”, a “talent” or a “mina”. In most cases, a simple internet search will provide the answer. A paper study Bible or some apps will provide footnotes with helpful information. Have an O

This is part 3 of the Read the Bible For Yourself. Today is the first of two episodes on how to understand and apply the Bible. One of the greatest problems facing Bible readers today is the lifted verse. It's so common to see a verse or even half a verse posted on social media or on a sign somewhere. When most people read a random verse, they impose their own modern context and background information on it. As a result, it's easy to accidentally give a scripture new meaning that the original author never intended. How can we overcome this problem? Context. Today you'll learn about the 5 major contexts that are important to keep in mind when reading the Bible. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2UQeDoPKHA —— Links —— See other episodes in Read the Bible For Yourself Other classes are available here, including How We Got the Bible, which explores the manuscript transmission and translation of the Bible Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here —— Notes —— Exegesis: a careful explanation of a text synonyms: explanation, exposition, elucidation to exegete a text is to understand it correctly so that you can explain it Hunger for Scripture Ask God to give you a desire to read the Bible Two Questions What did it mean to the original audience then? What does it mean to you today? Context, Context, Context Immediate context Canonical context Historical context Geographical context Cultural context Immediate Context Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Putting this verse in context:Philippians 4:10-1410 I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. 11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me. 14 Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. Canonical Context Leviticus 11:4, 74 But among

This is part 2 of the Read the Bible For Yourself. As I endeavored to show last time, the Bible is one of a kind. It's the result of dozens of authors, working under God's inspiration to produce scrolls of text over centuries. This process resulted in sixty-six books, including histories, legal texts, poetry, prophetic oracles and much more. Today we'll spend some time just getting oriented. We'll cover which books are in the Bible, the various genres, how references work, and ways that you can access the Bible. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UTTk73BX7E —— Links —— See other episodes in Read the Bible For Yourself Other classes are available here, including How We Got the Bible, which explores the manuscript transmission and translation of the Bibe Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here —— Notes —— The Bible is not a single book, but a collection or library of sixty-six books. Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Joshua Judges Ruth 1 Samuel 2 Samuel 1 Kings 2 Kings 1 Chronicles 2 Chronicles Ezra Nehemiah Esther Job Psalms Proverbs Ecclesiastes Song of Solomon Isaiah Jeremiah Lamentations Ezekiel Daniel Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi Matthew Mark Luke John Acts Romans 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians Galatians Ephesians Philippians Colossians 1 Thessalonians 2 Thessalonians 1 Timothy 2 Timothy Titus Philemon Hebrews James 1 Peter 2 Peter 1 John 2 John 3 John Jude Revelation The Old Testament includes 39 books, written in Hebrew and Aramaic. History [Torah, Judges, Kings, Exilic] Poetry [Philosophy, Songs, General Wisdom, Subversive Wisdom, Romance] Prophecy [Pre-Exilic, Exilic, Post-Exilic] The New Testament includes 27 books, written in Gre

This is part 1 of the Read the Bible For Yourself. Today we are beginning a new class called Read the Bible for Yourself. Whether you are new to scripture, or you’ve been reading it for years, this class will empower you to read and understand the bible like never before. You’ll gain key insights into the context, content, and application of scripture so you can take your reading and understanding to the next level.Today I want to begin with the question, "Why should you read the bible for yourself?" Why is this book even worth your time? For those of you who have been reading it for years, you get it, but how would you inspire a desire in someone else to go through the hard work of learning to read the bible proficiently? In this episode you'll see why everyone, even non-Christians, should put in the effort to read the good book. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://youtu.be/wXXnD1LLl-A —— Links —— See other episodes in Read the Bible For Yourself Check out the class How We Got the Bible Other classes are available here Check out Sean's book, Kingdom Journey Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here Notes The Bible survives in more manuscripts than other ancient documents.[1] The Bible is available in more languages than other books.[2] The Bible sells more copies than other books.[3] Which two sayings are in the Bible? Cleanliness is next to godliness Am I my brother’s keeper? God helps those who help themselves This too shall pass A living dog is better than a dead lion God works in mysterious ways Moderation in all things

Although most often defined as "peace," the Hebrew word "shalom" is much bigger than that. It refers to not only the absence of war, but also the presence of wholeness and safety. In this sermon you'll gain a better understanding of this important biblical word as well as what God's heart is for shalom in the world and in your life. At times we all go through periods of crisis in which we lose our shalom, but thankfully we can return to God over and over and he can cause his face to shine upon us and give us peace. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts —— Links —— See these other posts about shalom and peace Check out Sean's brand new book, Kingdom Journey available on Amazon, Walmart, and Wipf and Stock Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts In Deuteronomy Moses famously taught the Jewish people the Shema--the heart of Judaism. He told them to repeat those words day in and day out: when they sit, when they walk, whey they lie down, and when they rise. In fact God built many mechanisms to remember him into the scriptures. What about us Christians? How can we build routines to likewise remember God throughout our day, week, month, and year? I shared this message at a weekend event, called Revive, last year. You may not recognize some of the references, but most of it should make sense. Also, during the sermon I played two videos I took of the Western Wall in Jerusalem. I've uploaded them to the Restitutio YouTube channel and posted them on Restitutio.org so you can watch them, if you're curious. https://youtu.be/ZFQFux7-MUo https://youtu.be/Ddgara8vcIY —— Links —— Listen to the other messages from past Revive events Information is available about attending Family Camp here or other Living Hope events here. Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here —— Notes —— Remember story of Akiva and the water dripping in a cave story of Akiva’s supportive wife who married him though he was poor, but made him promise to go away to study around the time of the 3rd Jewish-Roman War (Bar Kokhba Revolt), Emperor Hadrian outlawed the teaching of Torah in the land on pain of death- Rabbi Akiva kept teachingstory of his arrest and martyrdom [Talmud, Berakhot 61b, cited from Sefaria: https://www.sefaria.org/Berakhot.61b.9?lang=bi&amp;with=all&amp;lang2=en, accessed Jan 3, 2023.]- Talmud: “The Gemara relates: When they took Rabbi Akiva out to be executed, it was time for the recitation of Shema. And they were raking his flesh with iron combs, and he was reciting Shema, thereby accepting upon himself the yoke of Heaven. His students said to him: Our teacher, even now, as you suffer, you recite Shema? He said to them: All my days I have been troubled by the verse: With all your soul, meaning: Even if God takes your soul. I said to myself: When will the opportunity be afforded me to fulfill this verse? Now that it has been afforded me, shall I not fulfill it? He prolonged his uttering of the word: One, until his soul left his body as he uttered his final word: One.” דְבָרִים 6.4-5 ‏שְׁמַ֖ע יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵ֖ינוּ יְהוָ֥ה ׀ אֶחָֽד׃‎ 5 ‏וְאָ

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts Today my guest is Thomas Gaston who&#8217;s book is called Dynamic Monarchianism: the Earliest Christology? Dr. Gaston earned his Ph. D. from Oxford University and this book one of the fruits of that labor. In this interview we talk about the earliest Dynamic Monarchians, including Ebionites and Theodotus as well as how logos incarnational christology took off under the influence of Middle Platonism in the writings of Justin Martyr and his doctrinal successors. Dynamic Monarchians affirm the supremacy of the Father as the only true God and that Jesus was miraculously conceived, but did not pre-exist. The term more or less refers to what we today call &#8220;biblical unitarians,&#8221; but typically applies to Christians that held this view in the second, third, and fourth centuries. —— Links —— Get Thomas Gaston&#8217;s book on Amazon Follow Thomas Gaston at his website: Thomas-Gaston.com Check out Theophilus Press, the publishing arm of the Unitarian Christian Alliance Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here &nbsp;

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts Should Christians celebrate the birth of Christ? If so, where should we draw the line with respect to ancient pagan customs like bringing an evergreen tree into our houses or giving presents to each other? How much pagan practice is too much? My guest today is philosopher Dale Tuggy, the host of the Trinities podcast and the chair of the board of the Unitarian Christian Alliance. However, in this episode we're not talking about analytic theology or Christology. Instead we're discussing Christmas and how Christians should think about it. Tuggy argues that Christians have the freedom to celebrate or not celebrate Christmas. "Cultural appropriation is the birthright of the human race."- Dale Tuggy "How would the medieval pagans be so powerful that they could just eternally corrupt pine trees or wrapping gifts up in pretty paper and exchanging them or having a feast? They just don't have that much power. They're just people like us."- Dale Tuggy —— Links —— Follow Dr. Tuggy at his website, Trinities.org See Dale Tuggy's "What John 1 Meant" See Dustin Smith's "The Incarnation of Wisdom in Pre-Christian Judaism" Check out the Restitutio podcast on YouTube Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts It's the holidays and many of us are seeing family members and coworkers and neighbors at parties. Sometimes the topic of Christianity comes up, and you may be having conversations about your beliefs. You may find yourself defending your belief in Jesus in general or even trying to convince trinitarian loved ones and friends to understand who he really is. In today's episode Jeff Deuble explains how powerful and important presuppositions are in these conversations. Additionally, he recommends the approach of asking good questions to open the door to changing people's minds. Jeff Deuble is a retired pastor who has served in the Churches of Christ in Australia in various capacities for four decades. He's also the author of the book, Christ before Creeds: Rediscovering the Jesus of History. A book that has a conversational and friendly approach which in my opinion makes it a more effective tool at winning people over. —— Links —— Check out these other podcast episodes with Jeff Deuble Get Christ before Creeds (English) or Cristos ante los credos (Español) Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here &nbsp; &nbsp;

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts Do the Gospels give you the impression that the kingdom of God is about to arrive? My guest today is Troy Salinger who wrote an interesting article called, "The Postponement of the Kingdom – A Response to Preterists and Anti-Missionary Rabbis." His idea is that the kingdom of God is a political restoration of the kingdom of Israel to one of David's descendants--and that this kingdom could have come during the time of Christ. However, because the Jewish people, especially the leaders, rejected Jesus as their Messiah, God postponed the coming of the kingdom until a later time. Salinger lays out four points: John and Jesus said the kingdom was about to be established The establishment of the kingdom was contingent. The Jewish leaders and most of the people rejected Jesus as their king After the ascension, Christians are still waiting for the kingdom to come —— Links —— See Troy Salinger's blog here and read his article, "The Postponement Of The Kingdom – A Response To Preterists And Anti-Missionary Rabbis" Read Salinger's three-part series of articles on the kingdom of God Check out my class on the kingdom of God here Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts For centuries heresy hunters have labeled those who deny the pre-existence of Jesus "adoptionists." This ancient category was based on the idea some Christian groups denied the virgin birth, thinking instead that Jesus became the son of God at his baptism when God adopted him. Modern scholars such as Bart Ehrman and Michael Bird employ this term to describe several early unitarian Christian groups. My guest today is Dr. Jeremiah Coogan, a scholar of the New Testament and early Christianity. He's written a really helpful journal article analyzing the early so-called adoptionist groups. His conclusion? None of them actually qualifies as adoptionists. https://youtu.be/zPL25MPwvbM —— Links —— Read Jeremiah Coogan's article here Visit Professor Coogan's faculty page More episodes on adoptionism See also my class on early church history Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here —— Interview Questions —— - Today I'm interviewing Dr. Jeremiah Coogan. He is the Assistant Professor of NT at the Jesuit School of Theology. He has a PhD from Notre Dame in Christianity and Judaism in Antiquity. Welcome to Restitutio, I'm so glad to talk with you today.- Today we're talking about your article "Rethinking Adoptionism: An Argument for Dismantling a Dubious Category," published in the Scottish Journal of Theology early this year. In this article you argue that the label of adoptionism is a problematic anachronism. To make sure everyone is up to speed on this issue, could you briefly describe what adoptionism is?- Describe the problem with modern scholars retrojecting Nicene controversies into earlier Christian history.- You argue that though there may have existed adoptionists somewhere in the ante-Nicene period, we have no evidence for them. What about Cerinthus?- Let's talk about the Ebionites? Weren't they adoptionists?- Do you think there's a connection between the Christian community of James in Jerusalem and the Ebionites?- What about Theodotus? He and his followers are often cited as adoptionists, but they affirmed the virginal conception of Christ, right? - Let's move on to Paul of Samosata. I see you cited Paul Sample. I got a hold of his dissertation from Northwestern a little while ago and was impressed to see he had collected and translated so many sources about Paul. What do you make of Paul of Samosata's christology?- So your conclusion after analyzing the evidence is that none of these authors were adoptionists? Why

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts Ignatius of Antioch lived in the first generation of Christians after the apostles died during the late first and early second century. Modern day apologists regularly point to Ignatius' letters to prove the antiquity of the deity of Christ and one-bishop church governance (monarchical episcopate). But did you know that Ignatius' letters have survived in three different versions or recensions? Although most scholars and textbooks recognize the middle recension as authentic Ignatius, rejecting the shorter and longer versions, my guest today, Pastor Nathan Massie, says otherwise. He argues that the shorter recension is the most authentic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUUesuqB0pw —— Links —— Support Pastor Nathan Massie to go to grad school at GoFundMe Check out these other episodes that mention Ignatius of Antioch Take our Early Church History class on the web, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here

Let&#8217;s face it the New Testament probably calls Jesus God (or god) a couple of times and so do early Christian authors in the second century. However, no one offers much of an explanation for what they mean by the title. Did early Christians think Jesus was God because he represented Yahweh? Did they think he was God because he shared the same eternal being as the Father? Did they think he was a god because that&#8217;s just what they would call any immortalized human who lived in heaven? In this presentation I focus on the question from the perspective of Greco-Roman theology. Drawing on the work of David Litwa, Andrew Perriman, Barry Blackburn, and tons of ancient sources I seek to show how Mediterranean converts to Christianity would have perceived Jesus based on their cultural and religious assumptions. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts —— Links —— See more scholarly articles by Sean Finnegan Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here Below is the paper presented on October 20, 2023 in Springfield, Ohio at the 3rd annual Unitarian Christian Alliance Conference. Access this paper on Academia.edu to get the pdf. Full text is below, including bibliography and end notes. Introduction When early Christian authors called Jesus “god” (or “God”) what did they mean?[1] Modern apologists routinely point to pre-Nicene quotations in order to prove that early Christians always believed in the deity of Christ, by which they mean that he is of the same substance (homoousios) as the Father. However, most historians agree that Christians before the fourth century simply didn’t have the cognitive categories available yet to think of Christ in Nicene or Chalcedonian ways. If this consensus is correct, it behooves us to consider other options for defining what early Christian authors meant. The obvious place to go to get an answer to our initial question is the New Testament. However, as is well known, the handful of instances in which authors unambiguously applied god (θεός) to Christ are fraught with textual uncertainty, grammatical ambiguity, and hermeneutical elasticity.[2] What’s more, granting that these contested texts[3] all call Jesus “god” provides little insight into what they might mean by that phrase. Turning to the second century, the earliest handful of texts that say Jesus is god are likewise textually uncertain or terse.[4] We must wait until the second half

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts Philippians 2.6-11 has generated an immense amount of scholarly literature such as journal articles and monographs not to mention blog posts, video lectures, and podcasts. What does the enigmatic phrase "in the form of God" mean? Did Paul intend us to think Jesus refused to grasp at equality with God or that he refused to exploit the equality he already had? What does it mean that Jesus emptied himself? Today we are getting into the weeds in order to understand what Philippians 2 is all about. I don't want to say too much before you get a chance to listen, but I can at least tell you this: Dr. Perriman does not believe it's about a pre-existent being becoming a human. "Morphe is never used of the one living God, the one true God, for the simple reason that it always has reference to the external appearance of an object or a person or a god." -Andrew Perriman My guest today is Andrew Perriman who has a degree in English Language and Literature from Oxford as well as an MPhil and PhD from the London School of Theology where he currently works as an Associate Research Fellow. He teaches New Testament and works with graduate students on biblical interpretation. See also the previous episode on the other texts in Paul's epistle that traditional Christians think teach Jesus pre-existed. https://youtu.be/pLBX_DA1acQ —— Links —— Follow Andrew Perriman at his postost blog Get In the Form of a God from Wipf &amp; Stock or from Amazon Check out these previous episodes about pre-existence Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts My guest today is Dr. Andrew Perriman of London who will discuss his recent book In the Form of a God, which is part of the Studies in Early Christology series. (Read Perriman's helpful summary of the book here.) The focus for our conversation is looking at the subject of pre-existence in Paul's epistles. The question before us is whether Paul taught or assumed that Christ had a literal prehuman career prior to his birth. In this interview we'll cover five of the six major texts, including Galatians 4.4, 1 Corinthians 8.6, 1 Corinthians 10.4, 2 Corinthians 8.9, and Colossians 1.15-16. Next week we'll tackle Philippians 2. Andrew Perriman has a degree in English Language and Literature from Oxford and an MPhil and PhD from the London School of Theology where he currently works as an Associate Research Fellow. He teaches New Testament works with graduate students on biblical interpretation. https://youtu.be/KfuCJCGVY00 —— Links —— Follow Andrew Perriman at his postost blog Get In the Form of a God from Wipf &amp; Stock or from Amazon Check out these previous episodes about pre-existence Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts We've all heard plenty of stories of Trinitarians who begin questioning their received teaching and eventually become Unitarian. However, today, we're bringing you a story that's a little different. My guest is Rick Naviello who held a biblical unitarian view of Jesus for decades before attending evangelical churches and really trying to believe in the Trinity. He did everything he could to convince himself it was true. He thought he had succeeded until... Well, I don't want to give away the punchline, but let's just say he's more convinced of his biblical unitarian faith than ever. (And church history was involved.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiKgnzXcOes —— Links —— Get the transcript of this episode More testimonies here Check out the Early Church History class to learn about the development of the Trinity on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts Have you ever read miracle stories in the bible and asked yourself, "I wonder if this happens today?" My guests today are Josh and Daisy Jones of the UK who share their testimonies of God intervening in and through their lives. Hear about Josh's miraculous healing from asthma, Daisy's baptism when a Muslim spoke in tongues, and various adventures walking with God both at home and abroad, especially in Israel. They also talk about their interesting journey to unitarianism as well as their plans to organize the first UCA (Unitarian Christian Alliance) conference in the London area in the summer of 2024. —— Links —— Get the transcript of this episode For more about the Unitarian Christian Alliance (UCA) see unitarianchristianalliance.org. Check out episode 500 The Gifts of the Spirit in Early Christianity See also our 7-part series on the Holy Spirit, covering various major views of the manifestations of the spirit, especially speaking in tongues. Take a listen to episode 310 Are Gifts of the Spirit Available Today? with Sam Storms Lastly, check out these previous episodes on healing Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here &nbsp;

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts Recently Tom Huszti interviewed me for his YouTube channel, the Unitarian Anabaptist. We talked about the importance of geography, archeology, and Greco-Roman history for interpreting the bible, especially the New Testament. Next we delved into early church history, starting with the earliest forms of Jewish Christianity in the first and second centuries. We talked about the Jerusalem church, the Nazarenes, and the Ebionites. Next we considered the persecution many Christians faced at the hands of the Romans for their unwillingness to give their ultimate allegiance to Caesar. The conversation was wide ranging, but what came through over and over is the importance of studying the bible and history in order to restore authentic Christianity and live it out today. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KefOimH6ZU —— Links —— Get the transcript of this episode For the trip to Greece and Turkey with Jerry Wierwille, see the itinerary here and the map here. Follow Huszti's YouTube Channel, the Unitarian Anabaptist Check out episode 478 Unitarian Anabaptist (Tom Huszti) Get the free class on Early Church History here. Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts I'm so delighted to present you with an interview I did with Professor Nancy Pearcey, an author whose books have significantly helped me understand and live out my faith better. Today we're talking about masculinity. Have you noticed the critical and uncharitable tone in our culture towards men? Although our society celebrates women and girls who excel at sports, education, and business, men and boys often receive nothing but criticism, even outright hostility. Some even say masculine men are the cause of all the problems with the world. Listen in as I ask Pearcey about her recent book and how Christians should approach the whole issue of masculinity both biblically and historically. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOmzSm2_4RI Here are my 8 myths about masculinity that Pearcey responded to in this episode: Bible-believing Christians are slightly more likely to divorce than non-Christians or liberal Christians. Bible-believing Christian men are more likely to be harsh and abusive to their wives and children The Bible's endorsement of male patriarchy causes toxic masculine behaviors. Women initiated the suffragette movement in America because they wanted to be treated as individuals of equal value. Our time is the first when women in America have publicly accused men of toxic behavior. Men have traditionally worked outside of the home and have been the breadwinners. Traditionally women focused on keeping the home and raising the children rather than contributing economically. Blocking or limiting men's testosterone will solve the problems our society has with badly behaved men. Professor Nancy Pearcey is the author of The Toxic War on Masculinity: How Christianity Reconciles the Sexes,as well as Love Thy Body,The Soul of Science, Saving Leonardo, Finding Truth, and Total Truth. She is professor and scholar in residence at Houston Christian University. She's been quoted in The New Yorker and Newsweek, highlighted as one of the five top women apologists by Christianity Today, and hailed in The Economist as "America's preeminent evangelical Protestant female intellectual." —— Links —— Get the transcript of this episode Get The Toxic War on Masculinity here More about Pearcey at NancyPearcey.com Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB

Although he's one of the lesser known Christian authors of the fourth century, Aphrahat is extremely important for our understanding of early Persian Christianity prior to the advent of Islam in the region. Amazingly a full-length book of his survives, called The Demonstrations. In today's interview I ask about Aphrahat's beliefs in general and his christology in particular. My guest today is Sam Tideman. Other than a master's degree from Harvard and working full time for Google as a data scientist, Tideman is also the host of Transfigured, a Youtube channel and podcast that covers a wide range of Christian topics, including church history our topic for today. He's had all kinds of guests on his show, including many notable scholars. Jordan Peterson even shared a clip of Tideman's conversation with John Vervaeke on social media a while back. But, today our focus is on the research Tideman has done on Aphrahat. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://youtu.be/8QpqvZYkI4E —— Links —— Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here

Have you heard of the quests for the historical Jesus? This has been going on for two and a half centuries. It has produced a massive amount of literature and occupied the minds of some of the most impressive biblical scholars over the years. What's all this about? Why do we need to search for the historical Jesus? Isn't he right there in the Gospels that we find in the New Testament? My guest today is Craig Blomberg whose new book, Jesus the Purifier lays out a thorough yet accessible survey of the four quests for the historical Jesus. He also explains why bible-believing Christians should care about critical scholarship. Lastly, he describes how his own work on the Gospel of John has revealed some exciting insights that challenge the Church today. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://youtu.be/gJtEbv56xNg —— Links —— Get the transcript of this episode Check out Craig Blomberg's books on Amazon Listen to Blomberg's presentation on handling money in 4: A Biblical Theology of Finance Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here

We continue in our conversation on the topic of healing from bullying. This episode applies not only to those who suffered in school, but also should prove helpful to any who have suffered abuse later in life as well. Jon Nessle taps into Jesus' Sermon on the Mount to gain practical advice on what to do to find wholeness. In particular, he went into much greater detail about forgiveness and praying for one's abuser. Once again, Nessle's example and personal testimony help illustrate how these principles work in real life. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://youtu.be/QwLAXO_T_B8 —— Links —— Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here

Were you bullied in school? How did you deal with it? Do you still harbor feelings of bitterness and vengefulness in your heart towards those who mistreated and abused you? Today my guest is Jon Nessle who faced ruthless ridicule and physical abuse from kindergarten to the tenth grade. He shares seven points to help you get the healing you need to let go of past trauma and experience God's healing. You have value; you are special. Find something you're good at and invest in that, especially education. Sublimate your emotional urges into good outlets. Don't allow rage to build and blow. Get help. Tell you guidance counselor or pastor. Cast your cares upon God. Pray. Forgive the bully. Refuse to seek vengeance for yourself. Pray for your enemies. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-VuEBrWPTE —— Links —— Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here

Do you struggle with evangelism? Do you feel like you should tell others about the gospel and yet, you can't seem to find a way to do that? If so, then this episode is for you. Part of our aim here at Restitutio is not just exploring the bible and church history to recover authentic Christianity, but also figuring out how to live your faith today. This means we sometimes have practical episodes. In this presentation, you'll learn about hospitality evangelism. The idea is simple: invite neighbors or coworkers over for dinner. Rosaria Butterfield put it this way: make strangers neighbors and neighbors family. This presentation will not only give you some useful advice on how to be faithful to the Great Commission, but will also provide you with some comedic examples of what not to do. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLyvaJoK2OQ —— Links —— See other episodes about evangelism Check out the evangelism seminar of Josh Anderson Get Rosaria Butterfield's book: The Gospel Comes with a House Key Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here

Today we are continuing where we left off with part 2 of my interview with Kegan Chandler. In our last episode we spent most of our time talking about UAPs and the evidence that has come to light for their existence as well as non-human origin. Today, we are shifting gears to focus on the faith question. If aliens exist, what would that mean for Christian theology? What biblical categories exist to think about non-human intelligences (NHIs)? The answers Chandler provides may surprise you. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts —— Links —— See other episodes with Kegan Chandler Follow Chandler on Adademia.edu Check out his books on Amazon Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here —— Notes —— 5. You seem to be pointing to a potential overlap between science and what religions have been saying. How do you see this information impacting the ongoing discussion about “faith” versus “science”? &#8211; History of separation of methodological categories &#8211; a convergence of discussion with scientific or non-religious institutions &#8211; example of Bohr, etc. (short answer) 6. Do you think this is a difficult topic for Christians in particular to investigate? &#8211; Explain (long answer) 7. Are Christian theological discussions about the existence of NHIs something new, or something that’s been motivated only by recent events in the news? Have Christian theologians been interested in this topic before? &#8211; Brief history of this discussion in Western thought &#8211; Greek philosophers &#8211; anthroposolism vs. cosmic pluralism &#8211; The Church Fathers &#8211; Modern “exotheology” (CS Lewis, etc) &#8211; Contemporary Evangelical UFO/Alien demonological and eschatological literature (short answer) 8. In what ways have theologians imagined that the existence of extraterrestrial life or NHIs could affect Christian theology? &#8211; soteriology &#8211; Christology/The Incarnation &#8211; doctrine of creation; evolution (medium answer) 9. What are some interpretive options for UAPs/NHI from a Christian theological perspective? Most important: a realization of our current category problem. “Aliens” vs. “angels.”&lt;&#8211; explain in detail &gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;Christians already believe in NHIs.&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt; (!) From here, the options: &#8211; “Demons” or “fallen angels” (negative) &#8211; “good angels” (positive) &#8211; Or a mixture of the above &#8211; The “gods” as referred to in the OT and in ANE literature; or the “divine council” &#8211; Simply other creatures of god who aren’t referenced in the Bible (long answer)

Last month, the US Congress held a hearing with three whistle-blowers who provided testimony about UFOs. Yes, I just said UFOs. No, I haven&#8217;t lost my mind or started subscribing to the tabloids. This is a topic that has moved from the fringes of conspiracy land right into serious public hearings in the US government. In today&#8217;s episode I&#8217;m interviewing Kegan Chandler who has been seriously thinking about this subject for many years. Kegan Chandler is a historian of religion currently working on his Ph.D. in Religious Studies at the University of Cape Town where he is researching monotheism in Japanese religions. He also holds a Master of Theology degree from Campbellsville University. He is the author of several books and articles and currently writes for his blog, Exploring Religion. Now, I know this is a Christian theology podcast, but we need to talk about this subject, and Chandler is the guy to guide us. He&#8217;s intimately familiar with the evidence and has thought this topic through. I think you&#8217;ll agree that there are significant theological implications if it turns out non-human intelligence is behind these unexplained flying objects. But, before we get to that, we need to first talk about the evidence and different theories for what these objects are. &nbsp; Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts —— Links —— See other episodes with Kegan Chandler Check out his books on Amazon Follow Chandler on Adademia.edu Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here —— Notes —— 1. What are UAPs and NHIs (non human intelligences)? Where did these terms come from and why are people using them now? 2. What are the possible explanations of UAPs? &#8211; Prosaic hypotheses (incl. advanced human technology) &#8211; Extra-terrestrial hypothesis &#8211; Crypto-terrestrial hypothesis &#8211; Ultra-terrestrial / Inter-dimensional &#8211; Time-traveling humans hypothesis &#8211; Jacque Valle’s Control System hypothesis &#8211; Reverse Engineered technology hypothesis &#8211; Warning: fallacy of oversimplification 3. Why is the mundane explanation that these are experimental craft of terrestrial origin problematic? Explain. &#8211; Government studies – some still “unexplained” &#8211; Reported flight capabilities/characteristics &#8211; Near-peer adversaries? &#8211; Older reports &#8211; Credible sources’ testimony 4. We sometimes hear that news of “aliens” would somehow negatively affect religion on planet earth. What impact do you think widespread acknowledgemen

Today we are picking up where we left off with Dr. Steven Nemes. We've been talking about communion (also called the eucharist or the Lord's supper). He's been presenting a case for memorialism. Today we begin with the words of institution, which Jesus gave at the last supper. What did he mean when he said, "This is my body?" Next I ask Nemes about church history and what he's learned there. He talks about the Didache, Ignatius of Antioch, and Cyril of Jerusalem. Then I ask him how we should engage with the eucharist today. His answer may surprise you. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts —— Links —— See other episodes with Steven Nemes Check out Nemes’ personal website, blog on substack, and YouTube channel Follow Nemes on Twitter @snemes2 Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here

What do you think happens during communion? In my interview today, Dr. Steven Nemes provides a biblical, historical, and theological defense for memorialism--the idea that the eucharist memorializes what Christ has done (and will do) for us rather than actually becoming Christ in some metaphysical sense. Thus, the bread and wine signify or represent Christ's body and blood without mystically becoming them. I think you'll appreciate not only Nemes' argument, but also his clear and logical approach. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oCivff4ujQ —— Links —— See other episodes with Steven Nemes Check out Nemes’ personal website, blog on substack, and YouTube channel Follow Nemes on Twitter @snemes2 Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here

The Key of Truth is a fascinating book, written by a sect of Armenian Unitarian Christians in the 1700s. Originally under Muslim rule, this group of Christians migrated to Russian-controlled Armenia in the nineteenth century. Sadly, they faced investigation, persecution, fines, and probably exile at the hands of the Armenian Church authorities. Although lost to history, this group of twenty-five families lives on in their intriguing and bold surviving text--the Key of Truth. Translated into English by Frederick Cornwallis Conybeare, this book testifies to a biblical unitarian community trying to survive in a hostile environment. Here's the original paper (available to read online or to download as a pdf) that accompanied this presentation. It delves into the proposal that the Key of Truth was actually a medieval Paulician document. I conclude that the arguments of Conybeare (19th c.) and Garsoïan (20th c.) fail to stand up to scrutiny, especially in light of the work of Hamilton (20th c.) and Ohanjanyan (21st c.). Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4hQa-3g_YE —— Links —— Read the Key of Truth for yourself (Conybeare translation) See my original paper (available to read online or to download as a pdf) More Restitutio resources on Christian history Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here

This is part 22 of the Early Church History class. This episode aims to wrap up our early church history class. We'll cover relics and pilgrimage, emperors Zeno and Justinian, as well as the theological battles that continued to rage in the 5th and 6th centuries. Unsurprisingly the christological controversy of the 5th century did not come to an end when the emperor endorsed the Council of Chalcedon of 451 that declared Jesus to have two natures "unconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, and inseparably." In addition to covering the Second Council of Constantinople of 553, we'll also briefly consider how the dual natures doctrine continued to foment division resulting in the Third Council of Constantinople in 681 and the Second Council of Nicea in 787. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59zyj9dMH4k&amp;list=PLN9jFDsS3QV2lk3B0I7Pa77hfwKJm1SRI&amp;index=22 —— Links —— More Restitutio resources on Christian history See other classes here Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here —— Notes —— Byzantine Beginnings 293 Diocletian initiated the division between east and west with his tetrarchy. 330 Constantine built a “New Rome” on the cite of old Byzantium, naming it Constantinople. Constantine’s mother, Helena, initiated the pilgrimage movement. 381 Egeria wrote a travelogue to her friends that influenced later pilgrimages. Helena also sent Constantine relics of the true cross. 397 Martin of Tours died, leaving behind his cloak, which became a famous relic. Fifth Century Developments Theodosius I (r. 379-392) had outlawed pagan sacrifices and endorsed Trinitarian Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire. Arian Germanic tribes moved into the western Roman Empire and began taking territory. 378 Visigoths win at Adrianople. 410 Alaric sacked Rome. 455 Vandals sacked Rome. 476 Odoacer deposes the last Roman Augustus. 493 Theodoric and the Ostrogoths took Italy. Zeno’s Henotikon 451 Chalcedon affirmed the dyophysite position (two natures in one person). 488 Byzantine Emperor Zeno attempted to reconcile monophysites and dyophysites by condemning Eutyches and Nestorius and approving Cyril’s 12 anathemas (Henotikon). Chalcedon remained controversial with Christianity now split into several groups: Arian Germanic kingdoms, monophysites (Egypt and Ethiopia), Chalcedonian dyophysites (Rome &amp; Constantinople), and Nestorian dyophysites (Syria and Persia). Justinian (482-565) 525 Justinian married Theodora and becam

This is part 21 of the Early Church History class. In the fifth century Christians waged a theological civil war that ended in a massive church split. The issue was over the dual natures of Christ. How was he both divine and human? Did he have a human soul and a divine soul? Did his two natures fuse into one new nature? Although such abstruse distinctions would hardly get anyone&#8217;s blood boiling today, these doctrinal distinctives resulted in a zero sum war for supremacy involving not only theological argumentation, but also political conniving and outright gangster tactics in the battles that led to the famous Council of Chalcedon in 451. Though church history textbooks often whitewash this period of theological creativity, this episode will give you a brief but unapologetic overview of the major players and their deeds in the dual natures controversy. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts —— Links —— More Restitutio resources on Christian history See other classes here Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here —— Notes —— Options for Two Natures Athanasius (c. 357) affirmed Jesus as God and man but did not explain how the natures united. He called Mary Theotokos (God-bearer). Apollinarius of Laodicea (d. 382) said the Word became flesh without assuming a human mind (Apollinarianism). Gregory of Nazianzus (d. 390) condemned Apollinarius and said that what God has not assumed, he has not healed. Eutyches of Constantinople (380-456) said the divine and human natures combined to form one new nature (Eutychianism/Monophysitism) Nestorius (c. 429) denied Mary as Theotokos, calling her instead Christotokos, and allegedly taught that Christ had two distinct natures in two persons (Nestorianism/dyophysitism). Leo I said Christ had two natures united in person, though the two natures remained distinct (Chalcedonian dyophysitism). Condemning John Chrysostom John Chrysostom represented the Antiochene school of thought (as opposed to the Alexandrian). 397 Chrysostom became bishop of Constantinople. Eudoxia, wife of the emperor Arcadius, worked with Theophilus of Alexandria to depose Chrysostom. 403 Synod of the Oak deposed Chrysostom. 404 Chrysostom exiled. 407 Chrysostom marched to death Condemning Nestorius 428 Nestorius became bishop of Constantinople. He immediately began persecuting “heretics” as a defender of orthodoxy. 429 Anastasius of Antioch preached in Constantinople that no one should call Mary Pu

This is part 20 of the Early Church History class. So far we've been focusing primarily on Christianity within the Roman Empire in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East--the land surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. Nevertheless, Christianity also spread south to Africa, north to Armenia, and east to Asia where it reached Persia, India, and China. Hopefully this session will counterbalance the Mediterranean focus we've had so far, expanding your perspective to be a little more global. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni_EnPzxJ4k&amp;list=PLN9jFDsS3QV2lk3B0I7Pa77hfwKJm1SRI&amp;index=20&amp;t=2890s&amp;pp=iAQB —— Links —— See my lecture on YouTube: History of Christianity in Africa For more on Armenian Christianity, see The Key of Truth: A Monument of Armenian Unitarianism More Restitutio resources on Christian history See other classes here Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here —— Notes —— Africa First Century Jesus took refuge in Africa as a baby (Matthew 2:13-15) An African from Cyrene carried Jesus’ cross (Mark 15:21). At Pentecost, Jews from Egypt and Libya were present (Acts 2:10). At Antioch, Simeon called Niger and Lucius of Cyrene were part of the Jew-Gentile mixed church (Acts 13:1). Egypt By the 2nd c., New Testament scriptures were translated into Coptic. Alexandria was a center for Christianity (Clement, Origen, Arius, Alexander, Athanasius). Maghreb (North Africa) Christianity attested from at least the second century through martyrs of Scilla in Numidia and Perpetua and Felicitas in Carthage. Tertullian, Cyprian, Novatian, Donatus, and Augustine Ethiopia Frumentius and Edesius became slaves to the King of Axum. Athanasius of Alexandria ordained Frumentius a bishop. King Ezana became a Christian between 330 and 350. In the late 5th c., the nine saints came and founded monasteries, including at Debre Damo. In the 6th c., King Kaleb crossed the Red Sea to defeat Du Nawas, king of Himyar (Yemen). He then rebuilt the churches there and spread Christianity in the region. Nubia In the second half of the 6th c., Christian missionaries began converting key people in Makuria. Makuria became a mighty kingdom that held off the Muslims

This is part 19 of the Early Church History class. Even though the Roman Empire chose Nicene Christianity as it's "orthodoxy," subordinationist Christianity continued to exist, especially outside among the Germanic tribes. In this episode, you'll learn about Ulfilas the Missionary to the Goths who not only brought Christianity to these "barbarians," but also made them an alphabet and translated most of the bible into Gothic. Next, we'll briefly survey the major Germanic tribes, including the Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Vandals, Burgundians, Lombards, and finally the Franks. This little known chapter of history when the Arian kingdoms took over the Roman Empire had a massive effects on Europe and North Africa for centuries to come. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jP9T3V1AWIs&amp;list=PLN9jFDsS3QV2lk3B0I7Pa77hfwKJm1SRI&amp;index=19&amp;t=27s&amp;pp=iAQB —— Links —— See also 494 Early Church History 12: Arius and Alexander of Alexandria and 423 One God 13: The Fourth Century More Restitutio resources on Christian history See other classes here Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan? Read his bio here —— Notes —— Ulfilas, Missionary to the Goths 340 Subordinationist bishops ordained Ulfilas bishop to the Visigoths 341-347 lived with the Goths and preached to them Ulfilas translated the Bible into Gothic. Rule of Faith: “I believe in one God the Father, alone ingenerate and invisible, and in his only-begotten Son, our Lord and God, artificer and maker of the whole creation, who has nobody like him–therefore there is one God the Father of all who is also God of our God–and in one Holy Spirit, the power which illuminates and sanctifies, as Christ said after the resurrection to his apostles, and he (i.e. the Spirit) is not God nor our God, but the minister of Christ ... subordinate and obedient in all things to the Son, and the Son subordinate and obedient in all things to his God and Father…”[1] Huns The Huns were a nomadic confederation of Mongolian tribes who began entering Europe in the fourth century. Ammianus Marcellinus described them as utter savages who never bathed or changed their clothes and lived on their horses. Atilla the Hun (r. 434-453) attacked Persia, the Balkans, Constantinople, Gaul, and Italy, terrifying many within the Roman Empire (both East and West). Visigoths Eudoxius, B