Restitutio

What is the proper role of your emotions? Should you trust them? How do you know when they are helping and when they are hurting? Today we'll take a look at another exciting advantage that Christianity provides. In this episode, you'll learn about the problems endemic to emotional reasoning, the robust biblical teaching about your heart, and how God provides us away to exercise self-control. Even if these are not new concepts, I believe they provide fresh insights in our emotionally fraught time while helping us to lead better lives. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts This is part 13 of the Why Christianity class. https://youtu.be/M_6CuLEOTsM —— Links —— More information about KingdomFest (Sep 24-26, 2021) See other episodes of Why Christianity More episodes about defending your faith here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow us on Twitter @RestitutioSF If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here or designate Restitutio as your charity of choice for Amazon purchases Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library —— Notes —— Cognitive Distortions----------------------- Emotional Reasoning- Catastrophizing- Overgeneralization- Dichotomous Thinking- Mind Reading- Labeling- Negative Filtering- Discounting Positives- Blaming Biblical View of the Heart---------------------------- The problem is worse than you think (Jeremiah 17.9; Mark 7.21-23)- We are the problem- Yet, God has provided a comprehensive solution both now and in the age to come Good News-----------1. New Birth- admit you are lost, believe in Christ’s death for you, accept God’s gift of salvation, repent, enter into covenant- he’ll give you a new heart (Ps. 51.1-2, 10)- regeneration via the spirit (Titus 3.3-7) 2. Sanctification- enkrateia ἐγκράτεια = “restraint of one’s emotions, impulses or desires, self-control” (BDAG); Proverbs 16.32; 12.16- God will help us through his spirit- (Proverbs 3.5-6; Galatians 5.16-23)- Jesus is our example (1 Peter 2.21-23)- ultimately we will benefit from a heart transplant (Ezekiel 36.24-28)

One of the most enduring problems we have faced throughout human history is tribalism. From the Nazis to the Rwandan genocide, we’ve repeatedly seen the devastating results of group think and dehumanizing outsiders. Although some Christian groups have tragically fallen into this sin, we don’t have to. Christianity provides a better way. We can draw upon our roots in scripture to live out a faith that recognizes insiders from outsiders while simultaneously inviting outsiders to become insiders. Rather than excluding and shunning those who are different, we are called to love them and invite them in. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts This is part 12 of the Why Christianity class. —— Links —— See other episodes of Why Christianity More episodes about defending your faith here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow us on Twitter @RestitutioSF If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here or designate Restitutio as your charity of choice for Amazon purchases Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library —— Notes —— Racial Inclusion —————– – glimpses in the Old Testament. Jethro, Rahab, Ruth, Jonah – Philip in Samaria – Philip with Ethiopian treasurer – Peter with Cornelius the Roman soldier – Antioch (Acts 11.19-26) – Barnabas and Paul’s missionary journey – the Jerusalem council – Paul’s 2nd and 3rd missionary journeys – see also Eph 2.11-16 and Rev 5.9-10 Gender Inclusion —————– – in a.d. 177, Celsus criticized Christianity, “It is only foolish and low individuals, and persons devoid of perception, and slaves, and women, and children, of whom the teachers of the divine word wish to make converts” (Origen, Contra Celsum 49) – Galatians 3.27-29 How to Treat Outsiders ———————– – love your neighbor as yourself – love your enemies – 1 Peter 2.11-15; 3.14-16; 4.12-16 – listen and be humble (Acts 17.11) – invite them to follow Christ (Luke 9.23-24) – if ANYONE will put Jesus first…then she or he is welcome to follow him – once God and his son begin to live in someone through the spirit, they will change him/her (sanctification)

Who are you and why does your life matter? These two piercing questions get to the heart of your identity. Our society in the West has increasingly embraced an internally discovered identity on the basis of individual passions. Such expressive individualism is exciting to live out, especially if those around you push back, however, the resulting identity is both fragile and abrasive. In contrast, the Christian identity begins with a surrender and an acceptance of who God says you are. This received identity is both more durable and more loving. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts This is part 11 of the Why Christianity class. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEEoHr42eGk —— Links —— See other episodes of Why Christianity More episodes about defending your faith here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow us on Twitter @RestitutioSF If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here or designate Restitutio as your charity of choice for Amazon purchases Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library —— Notes —— Identity--------Sense of self—who are you and your understanding of yourself in relation to your family, friends, society, and the world. Sense of worth—your assessment of your personal value in life. Individualism--------------Expressive Individualism—a desire to pursue one’s own path but also a yearning for fulfillment through the definition and articulation of one’s own identity. It is a drive both to be more like whatever you already are and also to live in society by fully asserting who you are. • You be you; Be true to yourself• Follow your heart; Find yourself Christian Identity------------------Not outward or inward, but upward. Grounded in the immutability, the unconditional love, and the faithfulness of God. A secure sense of worth and value that is not dependent upon anything but God alone.

Let's face it, suffering is a major problem for those of us who believe in a good and powerful God. How do you answer skeptics who challenge your belief in God because of the gratuitous suffering endemic in human history? In this episode we'll explore some answers to this question offered by several worldviews before looking at how the Christian metanarrative offers hope. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts This is part 10 of the Why Christianity class. https://youtu.be/Lu-TyjXB-Nc —— Links —— More podcasts about suffering and evil See other episodes of Why Christianity More episodes about defending your faith here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow us on Twitter @RestitutioSF If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here or designate Restitutio as your charity of choice for Amazon purchases Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library —— Notes —— Suffering---------Natural Evil—suffering that is caused by impersonal agents (e.g., hurricanes, famine, fires, illness, etc). Moral Evil—suffering that is caused by personal agents (e.g., murder, rape, torture, theft, slander, etc). The BIG Questions1) Why me?2) Where’s God?3) What does it mean? How do the 3 major categories of metanarrative answer these questions? Tri-Lemma----------• Is evil, evil?• Is God all good?• Is God all powerful?• Evil exists• God is omnibenevolent• God is omnipotent Critics: “Which of these do YOU deny?” Response: “How are they all true?”

Freedom and morality are two interrelated concepts that everyone has an opinion about. From a Christian perspective, we limit our freedom based on our received moral code. We believe that the restrictions the bible provides us are for our good; They are not the result of a capricious deity's arbitrary or stifling whims. In fact, we believe that the limits God places on our freedom lead to the best human flourishing available in our fallen world. After thinking through Christian freedom, we'll delve into the much more important question of moral motivation. Most people believe in right and wrong, but many of us lack the drive to chose the good over the convenient or self-serving course of action. In this episode we'll survey some of the popular moral systems out there, including classic systems such as virtue ethics, categorical imperatives, and utilitarianism as well as religious systems, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity. Although we'll only scratch the surface, I hope you will find this approach useful when conversing with people who call into question your Christian moral commitments. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts This is part 9 of the Why Christianity class. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D8wiyxxJOw —— Links —— More podcasts about Christian ethics See other episodes of Why Christianity More episodes about defending your faith here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow us on Twitter @RestitutioSF If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here or designate Restitutio as your charity of choice for Amazon purchases Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library   —— Notes —— Jesus Explains Morality------------------------Mark 12:29-3129 Jesus answered, "The most important is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' 31 The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." 5 Biblical Reasons To Do the Right Thing----------------------------------------1. fear of God (Deuteronomy 6:1-2)2. duty (Ecclesiastes 12:13; Luke 17:10)3. personal/communal benefits/detriments (Psalm 7:14-16; Galatians 6:7-8)4. love (1 John 4:9-11)5. prophetic witness (1 Corinthians 6:1-3) Other Worldviews-----------------1. Atheisma. Virtue Ethicsb. Deontological Ethicsc. Teleological Ethics 2. Hinduisma. karma, rebirth 3. Buddhisma. life is suffering, eliminate desires 4. Islama. five pillarsb. Yawm al-Qiyamah

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts This is part 8 of the Why Christianity class. Last time we delved into the first two components of scripture's overarching story line: creation and fall. These two explain where the world came from and what went wrong with it. Today we'll consider the last two components: redemption and restoration. These two tell us what God has done about the problems of our world already and what he yet plans to do in the future. Taken together, these four elements of the Christian metanarrative provide a robust explanation that not only makes sense of the human experience, but also gives us purpose and hope. https://youtu.be/HxVEkcyeuAQ —— Links —— More podcasts with Jerry Wierwille See other episodes of Why Christianity More episodes about defending your faith here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow us on Twitter @RestitutioSF If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here or designate Restitutio as your charity of choice for Amazon purchases Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library —— Notes —— Redemption-----------Redemption – Greek apolutrōsis, meaning “to release,” connoting the deliverance effected through the death of Christ from the retributive wrath of God and the merited penalty of sin. Eph 1:17—“In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our transgressions, according to the riches of his grace” Rom 8:24—“Now in this hope we were saved, yet hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees?” Restoration-----------Restoration – Greek apokatastasis, meaning “to return to a previous good state,” connoting the restoring of what was once good but has since been altered. Acts 3:21—“Therefore, repent and turn to God, so that your sins may be erased; so that times of refreshing may come from the Lord's presence; and he may send the Messiah appointed in advance for you, that is, Jesus. He has to remain in heaven until the time comes for restoring everything, as God said long ago, when he spoke through the holy prophets.”  

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts This is part 7 of the Why Christianity class. So far in this class we have stuck to classic apologetics topics like reasons for God’s existence, the historicity of the resurrection, and the rationality of Christian epistemology. Now we are going to shift gears and do some work on worldview. One of the reasons Christianity appeals to someone is how it “works.” In other words, from inside a Christian worldview life makes sense. We understand where the world came from, how it got corrupted, what God has already done to remedy the situation, and what he still plans to do in the future. This four stage metanarrative provides us with a framework to understand not only history, but also our place in the world. Today we’ll focus on just the first half of the biblical metanarrative (creation and fall) and next time we’ll cover the second half (redemption and restoration). —— Links —— More podcasts with Daniel Fitzsimmons See other episodes of Why Christianity More episodes about defending your faith here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow us on Twitter @RestitutioSF If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here or designate Restitutio as your charity of choice for Amazon purchases Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library —— Notes —— What Are Metanarratives? ————————- An overarching story or storyline that gives context, meaning, and purpose to all of life; a worldview   Examples of metanarratives, or the “-isms” —————————————— • Marxism, capitalism, nihilism, atheism, agnosticism, enlightenment & scientism • Religions: Christianity, Buddhism, Islam etc…   Why are metanarratives useful? —————————— • Give structure to our existence • Give meaning and purpose to our lives • Help explain why things are the way they are, provide a lens through which to view and interpret the world • Metanarratives are comforting and allow us to think about other things besides the ostensible mystery of our existence   What is the Christian metanarrative? ————————————- • God created the world and all that is within it • God’s original design was that we be together in paradise, living in harmony with Him, the land and the animals • Through original sin – the fall – both man and earth became corrupted • The consequences of sin endure to this day and created the need for redemption

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts This is part 6 of the Why Christianity class. The Bible is such a strange thing. On the one hand, it looks like a big book, on the other hand, it’s a library of books. It’s loaded with very different kinds of literature from poetry and wisdom to history and prophecy. Dozens of people were involved in it’s production over centuries…and most important of all, it claims that the creator God inspired it all! In this presentation, Jerry Wierwille briefly covers what the Bible is, how Christians decided which books belong in it, how we transmitted it over the eons, and why other collections of books like the Apocrypha, Psuedepigrapha, and Gnostic Gospels didn’t pass muster. —— Links —— See other episodes of Why Christianity More episodes about defending your faith here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow us on Twitter @RestitutioSF If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here or designate Restitutio as your charity of choice for Amazon purchases Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library —— Notes —— How We Got the Bible ——————— Bible – from Greek biblia, meaning “books,” and then from the Latin biblia, meaning “book.” The Bible refers to the collection of sacred writings of the Christian Faith. Canon – from Greek kanōn, meaning “a rule or standard.” A canon refers to an authoritative list of books accepted as Holy Scripture. Criteria for Canonicity 1) Apostolicity 2) Orthodoxy 3) Catholicity Inspiration – from Greek theopneustos, meaning “God-breathed.” It refers to the origin and character of a writing as being authored by and produced according to God’s will. Supposed “Lost Books” of the Bible ———————————– Apocrypha – from Greek apokryphos meaning “hidden, concealed, obscure.” It refers to a body of writings that are considered noncanonical. Pseudepigrapha – writings with anonymous authorship that are falsely attributed to other individuals.

  Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts This is part 5 of the Why Christianity class. How would you go about convincing someone that the resurrection of Jesus actually happened? Now, what if that person didn't recognize the scriptures as inspired by God. How would you go about making a case for Jesus' resurrection in that kind of scenario? In this presentation, you learn four key pieces of historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus, including (1) the honorable burial, (2) the empty tomb, (3) appearances, and (4) resurrection belief. You'll also become familiar with competing theories and how to respond to them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uax_VwrUS94 —— Links —— See other episodes of Why Christianity More episodes about defending your faith here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow us on Twitter @RestitutioSF If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here or designate Restitutio as your charity of choice for Amazon purchases Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library —— Notes —— Honorable Burial-----------------1. multiple, early, independent sources say he was buried in a known marked tomb (1 Cor. 15.4, Mark 15.46, John 19.42) 2. Joseph of Arimathea is unlikely to be a Christian invention since he is not one of the disciples, but a member of the Sanhedrin, the very body that condemned Jesus3. no competing burial story exists (even enemies never claimed a common grave or that Joseph’s grave was inaccurate) Empty Tomb-----------1. several independent sources attest to empty tomb (Mark 16.6, Luke 24.5/Acts 13.29-31, John 20.2)2. a movement founded on Jesus’ resurrection could not get far if his body was still in a known tomb…otherwise early opponents could just bring Jesus’ corpse out disproving resurrection3. that women first discovered the empty tomb is unlikely a Christian invention since Josephus tells us women weren’t even allowed to serve as legal witnesses in a court of law4. the Gospels lack marks of legendary development and theologizing in the resurrection narratives (cp. to Gospel of Peter)5. the earliest Jewish polemic, “His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep” (Matthew 28.13) presupposes an empty tomb Appearances-----------1. the early creed of 1 Cor. 15.3-7 contains a list of eyewitnesses2. the Gospel appearance narratives contain earmarks of eyewitness testimony and their divergences exclude the possibility of collusion3. that the disciples failed to anticipate or believe in Jesus’ resurrection even after they found out about the empty tomb is unlikely to be a Christian invention4. James & Paul both did not believe in Jesus as Messiah, but became leaders in the church after they claimed they saw him Resurrection Belief--------------------1. belief that God raised Jesus from the dead is unlikely to be a Chr

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts This is part 4 of the Why Christianity class. Is Christianity irrational? Is believing in God intellectually vacuous? Jerry Wierwille will address the criticism of skeptics that Christian belief is arrogant, unjustified, and irrational. Next, he'll describe the popular secular belief in scientism before exposing its deleterious effects. —— Links —— See other episodes of Why Christianity More episodes about defending your faith here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow us on Twitter @RestitutioSF If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library —— Notes —— Arrogant, Unjustified, & Irrational?-------------------------------------Justified – a belief is justified if after careful reflection and investigation of a matter, including objections and counter-arguments, it is still found to be strongly compelling.Rational – a belief is rational if it is produced by cognitive faculties that are functioning properly and successfully aimed at discovering what is true.Warrant – a belief is warranted if it is produced by cognitive faculties that are functioning properly in an appropriate framework of knowledge according to a design plan successfully aimed at discovering what is true.Science & Scientism---------------------Science – the investigation and study of the structure and behavior of the physical world through observation and experimentation.Scientism – the belief that science alone has the intellectual authority to give us knowledge of reality.

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts This is part 3 of the Why Christianity class. How do you know God is real? What sorts of evidence would you marshal to make a case for God’s existence? It won’t do to tell skeptics you believe in God because you’ve always believed in him, because you were raised to believe in him, or because the Bible says so. In this episode you’ll learn six main lines of evidence for God’s existence to equip you to have meaningful conversations with your secular friends, coworkers, and relatives. —— Links —— See other episodes of Why Christianity More episodes about defending your faith here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow us on Twitter @RestitutioSF If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library —— Notes —— Objective: to provide six reasons to believe in God and marvel at that God’s attributes. 1 The Beginning of the Universe ——————————– 1. everything that has a beginning has cause of its beginning 2. the universe has a beginning 3. therefore, the universe has an external cause of its beginning 2 Fine-Tuning for Life ———————– 1. our universe is finely-tuned for the existence of complex life 2. fine-tuning is not the result of physical laws 3. therefore, a super-natural fine-tuner exists 3 DNA Code ———– 1. all languages come from a mind not natural processes 2. DNA is a language 3. all biological life requires DNA to exist 4. therefore, a non-biological DNA designer exists 4 Moral Absolutes —————– 1. moral absolutes exist (i.e. torturing children for the fun of it is always wrong) 2. nature, society, and individuals do not supply moral absolutes 3. therefore, a supernatural source for moral absolutes exists 5 Miracles ———- 1. miracles are events in which the laws of nature are interrupted by an agent outside of the natural realm 2. documented miracles have happened 3. therefore, a miracle causer exists 6 Personal Experience ———————- 1. I’ve experienced God 2. therefore, God exists

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts This is part 2 of the Why Christianity class. It’s so easy to universalize our own local context. For example, I (Sean) live in a secular, post-Catholic part of New York state. It would be easy for me to think that most of the state or country or world is just like my area. However, this ethnocentric perspective will not do justice to the data we have about Christians in the world today. Sociologists have long held to the “secularization thesis”–the idea that world religions die out as societies improved education, technology, and health-care. Is this what we see happening globally? Join me in this episode as we explore the data from a number of sources to get a lay of the land. How popular is Christianity today? —— Links —— See other episodes of Why Christianity More episodes about defending your faith here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow us on Twitter @RestitutioSF If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library —— Notes —— Objective: to understand the local and global religious landscapes in light of Christianity’s popularity and its claims about Christ’s universal supremacy. Secularization Thesis “The seminal social thinkers of the nineteenth century—Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer, Émile Durkheim, Max Weber, Karl Marx, and Sigmund Freud—all believed that religion would gradually fade in importance and cease to be significant with the advent of industrial society.” -Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart, Sacred and Secular, p. 3. Future Projections Religion, especially Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism, is expected to either keep pace with population growth or surpass it while non-religious ideologies are predicted to fall 3% by 2050. Universal Claims about Christ Scriptures that make big claims about Christ’s cosmic importance: – Colossians 1:19​-20; 2:1-3 – Ephesians 1:9-10 – Philippians 2:9-11 Christianity’s geographic distribution testifies to its transnational, transracial, transcultural appeal.

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts This is part 1 of the Why Christianity class. In a culture where biblical Christianity is falling more and more out of fashion, it’s increasingly important to have confidence in your faith. Today we are beginning a class called Why Christianity, in which we will lay out a few of the ways that our faith makes sense and works best. In this first session, Jerry Wierwille will introduce our class premise, describe the cultural tension, and speak on the value of taking this class. Although this is an apologetics class, it is significantly different from the previous class we aired starting with Podcast 50 (back in 2016) though there will be some overlap. Our end goal for this class is that it would build your confidence and encourage you to share your faith with others. —— Links —— More episodes about defending your faith here Check out these other podcasts with Jerry Wierwille For more about Wierwille, see his site: JerryWierwille.com Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow us on Twitter @RestitutioSF If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library —— Notes —— Class Premise Worldview: A worldview is a set of beliefs about fundamental aspects of reality that ground and influence all of a person’s perceptions, thoughts, knowledge, and behavior. Correspondence Theory of Truth: The view that what is “true” is that which corresponds to, or with, reality (i.e., “what is”). Worldviews are not equal, e.g., religion, science, philosophy Cultural Tension Cultural Polarization: The differences in how people think, especially when two views emerge that drive people apart. Religious Privatization: When people no longer feel comfortable or accepted to discuss or express religious attitudes or behaviors in public. Purpose and Value of This Class Gain a better understanding of the coherence and validity of the Christian worldview. Become more confident and bolder about your faith and the reasons why Christianity is awesome.

What do you do when everything is stripped away? You find out who you really are. In this sermon you'll see what happened in ancient Judah when the Babylonians besieged Jerusalem, ultimately resulting in utter destruction, humiliating shame, and forcible deportation. Although our times today can't really compare to the level of suffering these people went through, their experience has much to teach us about hope in dark times. I pray that as you consider this traumatic episode in biblical history that you too would learn to say when you go through suffering, "God is enough."   —— Links —— More episodes about suffering here. If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here. Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library —— Notes —— Jehoiachin - reigned 3 months- did evil before God- surrendered to Neb. after siege- thousands deported 2Ki 24.13-14 13 He carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD, just as the LORD had said. 14 Then he led away into exile all Jerusalem and all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths. None remained except the poorest people of the land. Zedekiah - reigned 11 years- did evil before God- rebelled against Babylon- city besieged again- as Babylonians swept through countryside on way to Jerusalem, - lodging would become difficult- surround city w/ army 2Ki 25.1 Now in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, camped against it and built a siege wall all around it. - Jerusalem was fortunate- fuel to cook food- disease Lam 5.9-10 9 We get our bread at the risk of our lives Because of the sword in the wilderness. 10 Our skin has become as hot as an oven, Because of the burning heat of famine. - food Lam 1.11 All her people groan seeking bread; They have given their precious things for food To restore their lives themselves. "See, O LORD, and look, For I am despised." Lam 2.11-12 11 My eyes fail because of tears, My spirit is greatly troubled; My heart is poured out on the earth Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people, When little ones and infants faint In the streets of the city. 12 They say to their mothers, "Where is grain and wine?" As they faint like a wounded man In the streets of the city, As their life is poured out On their mothers' bosom. - corpses- 18 months! 2Ki 25.1-3 1 Now in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, camped against it and built a siege wall all around it. 2 So the city was under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 3 On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. Lam 4.8-10 8 Their appearance is blacker than soot, They are not recognized in the streets; Their skin is shriveled on their bones, It is withered, it has become like wood. 9 Better are those slain with the sword Than t

This is part three of our Biblical Giving Series. In this third and final interview with Will Barlow, we'll spend some focused time looking at Malachi 3 to understand what this passage meant in it's original context and how it relates to us today. Next we'll take a look at three myths about Christian giving: 1. Christians are in debt to God. 2. Christians must pay for God’s protection. 3. The gifts of God can be purchased with money. Lastly, Barlow will share four keys to Christian giving: Everything that we have, from our finances to our abilities, are God’s. We are only giving back to God what we have from Him. When we give financially, let’s keep in mind the biblical precedent for giving: to support ministers, to support missions work, and to help the poor or those in need (especially among believers). As we follow Jesus and the examples of other faithful disciples in the NT, we will develop an attitude of service, which fuels the amount given. God works in the financial category to teach us about how to walk with Him. —— Links —— Find out more about Will Barlow on his ministry website: Study Driven Faith Check out these other episodes and posts about giving, especially A Biblical Theology of Finance (Craig Blomberg) If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here. Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

This is part two of our Biblical Giving Series. Today Will Barlow continues to lay out a comprehensive biblical theology of giving. First he looks at three areas of continuity between the Old and New Testaments: regarding ourselves as stewards of God's wealth giving to the poor giving to ministers Next, Barlow explains three ways in which the New Testament diverges from the Old Testament: no more sacrifices greater emphasis on freewill giving the need for wealthy believers to give liberally —— Links —— Find out more about Will Barlow on his ministry website: Study Driven Faith Check out these other episodes and posts about giving, especially A Biblical Theology of Finance (Craig Blomberg) If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here. Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

This is part one of our Biblical Giving Series. Having grown up with a prosperity theology, Will Barlow begins by sharing about his background regarding tithing before tackling five myths about giving: The tithe was monetary and applied to all Israelites.The tithe was the first fruits of the harvest The tithe was always 10%.The poor Israelites tithed to God.Abraham's tithing makes it applicable for all time. Now, I realize that finances, tithing, and giving are sensitive subjects within Christianity. Even so, I think you'll benefit a great deal from what Barlow has to share in this series. Today we'll mostly focus on the Old Testament tithe and next time we'll get into what the New Testament says about this important topic. —— Links —— Find out more about Will Barlow on his ministry website: Study Driven FaithCheck out these other episodes and posts about giving, especially A Biblical Theology of Finance (Craig Blomberg)Here is the Myth Busters Series that Barlow mentionedIf you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here.Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or commentsIntro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

Growing up in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Timypaul Lupe came face to face with poverty, hunger, and even war. However, his relationship with God provided him with stability and strength through the hardest of times. In this interview, you'll hear about what life was like in Africa, how Timypaul came to America as a student, and how he eventually came to find his role as a passionate evangelist and caretaker for the elderly. —— Links —— To get in touch with Timypaul Lupe on facebook, twitter, instagram, or by email: [email protected] Find out more Living Hope International Ministries LHIM and the Congo Mission Check out these previous episodes about evangelism If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here. Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library  

Have you ever attended an online bible study? Would you like to start one, but don't know how? In our episode today, John Paola Ely share about their own journey of faith and how they have come to appreciate the interactive bible study model of fellowship. Not only does this type of meeting help attendees engage with the text of scripture, but it also fosters genuine community in an age where we are all increasingly isolated. —— Links —— For more information, email the Elys at [email protected] or visit the Salt & Light Study Night facebook group.Check out Jerry Wierwille's episodes, especially Paul and Covenantal NomismOn the topic of baptism, listen to Ken LaPrade's Baptism JourneyIf you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here.Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or commentsIntro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

This is part 7 and the final episode in our holy spirit series. Are you on a journey with God or have you arrived? Are you still willing to learn and grow and try new things or have you erected boundaries around your current understanding and practice? Today my guest is Kevin Guigou, a full-time minister at Christian Family Fellowship in Tipp City, Ohio. Although he came from a background that stressed rigidity when manifesting the holy spirit, he's come to enjoy a greater freedom as he has continued to grow and learnx. Not only does Guigou encourage us to remain open to God's leading, but he also shares how we shouldn't let fear of doing something wrong stop us from stepping out in faith. —— Links —— Find out more about Kevin Guigou at Christian Family Fellowship's website and YouTube channelCheck out a few of Guigou's audio teachings hereSee the previous podcasts in this series on the holy spiritIf you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here.Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or commentsIntro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

This is part 6 of our holy spirit series. Today we hear a new perspective on the manifestations of the spirit from Carlos Jiménez who stakes out what he calls an "evidentialist" position. He is neither a cessationist nor a continuationist, but someone who retains a certain level of skepticism towards reports of spiritual activity. His concern is to test the spirits to make sure they are biblically valid. —— Links —— See more of Carlos Jimenez at Focus on the Kingdom website and YouTube channelFor the paper referenced in this episode, see "A Brief History of Spiritual Gifts"See the previous podcasts in this series on the holy spiritIf you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here.Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or commentsIntro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

Today we enter into part 5 of our series on the holy spirit. We've seen a couple of perspectives, but my guest today is bringing in a third view to our exploration of this important topic. Growing up with the belief that tongues were the only evidence of salvation, Pastor Victor Gluckin eventually changed his view to accept more diversity in how the spirit shows up in believers' lives. Victor Gluckin attended George Washington University, the University at Albany, and the Atlanta Bible College, studying political science, history, Judaic studies, and theology. He served as the assistant pastor at Living Faith Christian Church in Warwick, RI for thirteen years before becoming the lead pastor there in 2018 (where he continues to serve). He's been an influential mentor and lifelong friend of mine, and I think you'll appreciate his candor and tone even if you see spiritual manifestations differently. —— Links —— Visit Victor Gluckin's church website: Living Faith Christian ChurchSubscribe to Gluckin's church's channel on YouTubeCheck out these other podcast episodes, featuring GluckinSee the previous podcasts in this series on the holy spiritIf you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here.Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or commentsIntro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

This is part 4 of our holy spirit series. Today we continue to hear John Truitt and Greg Deuble discuss speaking in tongues. If you haven't listened to the previous three episodes in this series, it would be good to do that before listening to this one. Also, if you want to get the most out of this bible-heavy discussion, you should read 1 Corinthians 14 prior to listening--and maybe also keep it open while you listen. These two go deep into the chapter to discuss this issue. —— Links —— More about John Truitt’s ministry: Allegiance to the KingMore about Greg Deuble’s ministry: The Bible JesusHere’s Deuble’s article, “Testing, Testing, One, Two…Nine!“If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here.Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or commentsIntro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

This is part 3 of our holy spirit series. Do you know what I don't hear enough of today? Dialogue--honest-hearted, biblically-informed, respectful dialogue. So often we silo ourselves off in echo chambers with our doctrinal comrades, occasionally lobbing malotov cocktails at the other side, never taking the time to understand them, much less ask the question, "Could I be wrong on this?" My goal here in this holy spirit series is to get various perspectives out there. We heard John Truitt a couple episodes back make the case that the gifts of the spirit are available to all Christians today while Greg Deuble explained why he believes tongues have ceased even though the other gifts remain. Today (and next week) the two of them are going to engage--not as sworn enemies, taking cheap shots at the other side, but as brothers who agree on way more than they disagree. —— Links —— More about John Truitt's ministry: Allegiance to the KingMore about Greg Deuble's ministry: The Bible JesusHere's Deuble's article, "Testing, Testing, One, Two...Nine!"If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here.Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or commentsIntro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

Last week John Truitt explained why he believes the gifts of the spirit are still available for Christians to experience. Today, Greg Deuble pulls on his own biblical research and personal experience to present an opposing case. What's fascinating about Deuble is that he believes in God's miraculous activity in the world today. However, he doesn't believe that speaking in tongues (glossalalia) is genuinely available anymore. Rather, based on his reading of 1 Corinthians 14.21-22, he makes the case that the purpose for tongues ceased the moment Gentiles destroyed Jerusalem, its temple, its people and dispersed them. —— Links —— Check out Deuble's website: TheBibleJesus.comArticles mentioned in this episode: My Experience with Tongues and Testing, Testing, One, Two...NineMore podcasts with Greg DeubleOther podcasts about speaking in tonguesIf you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here.Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or commentsIntro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

Restitutio exists to restore authentic Christianity and live it out today. As a restorationist, it really does matter to me how the earliest Christians practiced their faith. A question I ask myself is if I jumped in a time machine and went back to the late first century and attended a house church meeting, would I fit in? Is what I believe about the bible what they believed? Is how I do Christianity how they did it? Or, to bring in today's topic, would tongues, interpretation, prophecy, or other holy spirit activity be part of the service? Today we are beginning a new series on the manifestations of the spirit. We'll begin with John Truitt, a founder and leader of Alegiance to the King, a ministry with a thriving virtual fellowship and lots of teaching resources. He's also a successful entrepreneur and the CEO of Kalleo Technologies an IT company based out of Paducah, Kentucky. He's going to provide evidence for the view that the gifts of the spirit are available for all Christians today. Then, next week, we'll have Greg Deuble from Australia share an opposing viewpoint. Lastly, we'll listen in as these two discuss the subject more in depth. This should be a rewarding time for all of us, whatever your current views of the spirit are. It will at least help us to understand the other side. And...who knows, you may change your mind on this subject. —— Links —— Check out Truitt's ministry: Allegiance to the KingWatch past meetings of his virtual fellowship on YouTubeYou may also want to hear the interview we did with Sam Storms on this same subjectMore podcasts with John TruittIf you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here.Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or commentsIntro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

As our society increases in polarization and ideological tribalism, it's easy to become thin-skinned, taking offense at the slightest remark. Even certain words can trigger us to explode in outrage and vitriol. What are we to do? Should we cloister ourselves in echo chambers, surrounded by those who already agree with us? Should we listen when criticisms come our way? After all, sometimes they may be right? Should we always avoid emotional pain or can insensitive remarks, ideological attacks, and harsh criticisms ultimately make us stronger? In this sermon, you'll see how God's love is a game changer that anchors your value in his opinion of you while simultaneously freeing you to engage with offensive statements by others in a healthy and productive way. —— Links —— This sermon came from Revive 2020. Listen to other sermons about anger, jealousy, anxiety, and not being good enough by a variety of speakers on this page.You may also enjoy this teaching about Resilience on YouTubeIf you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here.Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or commentsIntro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

Today in our fourth and final part of our series on postmodernism Pastor Jacob Ballard explains four key guidelines for cross-cultural ministry. Always change the language, but never change the messageExchange meta-narrative for personal narrative or community narrativeExchange certainty for humility, clues, hints, and mysteriesExchange absolutist morality for personal accountability and communal action —— Links —— Find out more about Jacob Ballard at the Timberland Bible Church websiteBooks mentioned: They Like Jesus but Not the Church by Dan Kimball and Who's Afraid of Postmodernism by James K. A. SmithCheck out our episode about Gender in Bible TranslationIf you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here.Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or commentsIntro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

Today, in part three of our series on postmodernism we ask the question, "How is postmodernism affecting our world today?" Pastor Jacob Ballard explains how narrative, experience, community, and subjective truth are key ways that postmodern-minded people go about making sense of reality. Then he shows how movements like Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ+ rights draw strength from these postmodern ways of thinking. —— Links —— Find out more about Jacob Ballard at the Timberland Bible Church websitecheck out episode 358 A Christian Perspective on BLM (Russell Brown) and 292 A Change of Affection (Becket Cook), which was recorded just after Cook lost his job for no longer agreeing with the gay lifestyleIf you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here.Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or commentsIntro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

In our last episode, Pastor Jacob Ballard explained what worldviews are. Today he covers the two major worldviews: modernism and postmodernism. Although many today still approach life from a modernist mindset, postmodernism is here in increasing force. What are we as bible-believing Christians to do about this? The first step is to become aware of what's going on and how it both fits with and challenges the biblical worldview. —— Links —— Find out more about Jacob Ballard at the Timberland Bible Church websiteIf you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here.Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or commentsIntro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

Have you noticed the shifts happening all around us in our culture? Skepticism of traditional institutions from the government to the media to churches is at an all time high, while increasingly we're told to discover our authentic self and live it out courageously. Universal truth claims sound like power grabs while individual personal truths are celebrated no matter how patently false they seem. Corrosive deconstructionism has decimated traditional virtues, traditional ethics, and traditional ways of making sense of the world. The only hero that remains is the triumphant victim who boldly stands against the majority, shouting "This is who I am, you must accept me or we will take you down." Ok, so I hammed it up a little there. Not all expressions of postmodernism are so strident. Even so, what is going on? Pastor Jacob Ballard from Timberland Bible Church in Indiana will help us understand and engage with this incredible worldview shift that has occurred over the last few decades. Over the next four weeks, Ballard is going to share key insights from a class taught at the Atlanta Bible College designed to help students understand and minister to our changing society. —— Links —— Find out more about Jacob Ballard at the Timberland Bible Church websiteCheck out Dan Kimball's They Like Jesus but Not the ChurchIf you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here.Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or commentsIntro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

Have you noticed the shrill tone that permeates public discourse in our time? It seems like everyone is on a hairpin trigger ready to rage and vent at their ideological enemies. What is a Christian to do? Should we stand up for our beliefs, morals, and politics? Should we disengage from conversation about controversial issues? Is there another way? Peter Miano, my guest for today, shares how respect, courtesy, and love can navigate us through these stormy waters. After earning degrees from Boston University, Union Theological Seminary, and Harvard Divinity School and becoming an ordained United Methodist Minister, Miano founded the Society for Biblical Studies, which coordinates trips to the Holy Land and other interesting places where conflict abounds. —— Links —— Learn more about Peter Miano and get in contact with him at The Society for Biblical Studies of which he is the executive director.You may also like to read this article: "The Power of Unity in a Polarized Time"If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here.Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or commentsIntro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

Did you know the Unitarian Christian Alliance just launched a podcast? In this interview, Mark Cain explains what he aims to do with this newest addition to one God podcasts and how the UCA podcast is different from the others. Ultimately, he wants to see unitarian Christians carry ourselves with confidence, knowing that our faith is firmly rooted in the scriptures. —— Links —— Contact Mark Cain: [email protected] or by calling 615-581-1158 and leaving a messageCheck out the UCA podcast webpage or subscribe on SpotifyMore about Cain's church: Church of the Open Bible in Bedford, OHMore about Cain's denomination: Church of God General ConferenceIf you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here.Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or commentsIntro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio

Sam who asked me not to use his last name for fear that he will get kicked out of his current church, tells his story of navigating evangelical Christianity as a biblical unitarian. He shares two sad stories of excommunication from a college ministry and a local church. As you might suspect, this harsh treatment drove Sam to question his non-trinitarian beliefs. Even though he had every reason to abandon his unorthodox convictions, his research into bible, theology, and history strengthened his faith that the Father of Jesus is the only true God. Now he has a YouTube channel where he interviews theologians and recently he debated Chris Date on Preston Sprinkle's Theology in the Raw podcast. —— Links —— Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments Check out Sam's YouTube Channel "Transfigured" Listen to Sam's debate against Chris Date If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here. Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio

Pastor Jeff Deuble of the Churches of Christ in Sydney, Australia shares his journey to uncover the genuine Jesus from scripture alone. After his brother Greg challenged him to understand Christ from a Jewish perspective, Jeff set out on a quest, reading through all of scripture to see what it really said about the Messiah. What he found upended his life, bringing both delight at his clearer understanding of Christ and heartbreak over losing the church he planted and pastored for 19 years. This is his story. Here are some of the questions that caused Deuble to doubt the "traditional" understanding of Christ taught in the creeds: How can you have a singular God who is also plural? How can you explain three “persons”, who constitute one “being”?How can Jesus be both “fully human” and “fully God”? How does that work?How can Jesus be eternal, yet “begotten” by God? The Bible says that “God cannot be tempted” but Jesus was tempted – in fact “in every way, just as we are” (Hebrews 4 says)We know “God alone is immortal” and therefore unable to die (Rom 1:23; 1Tim 6:16) yet Jesus was died, and was raised to life again by the Father. We read that “no one has seen, or can see” God (1Tim 6:16) - that “no one has ever seen God” (Jn 1:18; 1Jn 4:12) yet Jesus was seen.God “knows everything” (1 Jn 3:26) yet Jesus himself admitted there were things that his Father knew that he himself did not (Mt 24:36; Mk 13:32).Why would “all authority in heaven and on earth” have to be given to him (Mt 28:18)? Wouldn’t this already be his by virtue of him being God?If Jesus is God, how can he have a God over him (Which Paul clearly states is the case on many occasions, especially in 1 Cor 15) —— Links —— Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or commentsGet in touch with Jeff Deuble via email: [email protected] out the interview with Greg Deuble (Jeff's brother) They Never Told Me This in ChurchMore interviews with those who studied their way out of the TrinityIf you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here.Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio

This is the second part of a conversation where Jerry Wierwille challenges Brandon Duke's soul-making theodicy. In particular, Wierwille raises the following questions: Why is hiddenness and epistemic distance considered a necessity for moral development considering the biblical examples where people experienced God and still retained their ability to make real moral choices either to obey or reject him?How can the four Ds (death, decay, deprivation, and damage) be considered good when scripture calls death itself God's enemy?Considering that evil and suffering are not 100% effective in bringing about moral development and are in some cases even deleterious to that end, how can soul-making work as a thoroughgoing theodicy? —— Links —— Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or commentsGet in touch with Brandon Duke on his website: TruthBornSee other episodes with Jerry WierwilleGet in touch with Wierwille at his websiteMore episodes and posts about the problem of evil and sufferingIf you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here.Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio

In our last two episodes, Brandon Duke laid out his way of answering the question of why God allows so much suffering in our world. He did so by putting forward a modified version of the late John Hick's soul-making theodicy. In this episode, Jerry Wierwille pushes back on a few issues with soul-making, preferring instead a classic free will theodicy. First we'll see how Duke's version of soul-making differs from John Hick's then we'll examine how soul-making lines up with the four major elements of the biblical meta-narrative: creation, fall, redemption, and restoration. Lastly we'll discuss whether moral improvement necessitates suffering. —— Links —— Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or commentsMichael Murray vs. Phil Harper on Unbelievable, discussing "Animal Suffering and God"Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on John HickSee Sean Finnegan's atonement research, outlining seven major views Christians have taken over the centuriesGet in touch with Brandon Duke on his website: TruthBornSee other episodes with Jerry Wierwille Get in touch with Wierwille at his websiteMore episodes and posts about the problem of evil and sufferingIf you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here.Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio

In part one, Brandon Duke laid out some of the important groundwork for thinking about how a good and powerful God might have a world capable of experiencing immense amounts of evil and suffering. In our conversation today, we'll delve further into the idea of soul-making to explain why suffering like death, damage, decay, and deprivation along with the limitation of God's hiddenness are necessary conditions for a world where authentic moral decisions occur and human development becomes possible. —— Books—— God and the Problem of Evil: Five Views by Chad Meister, James Dew Jr.Divine Foreknowledge: Four Views by Gregory Boyd, David Hunt, William Craig, Paul HelmThe Triumph of God over Evil by William HaskerFour Views on Divine Providence by Paul Helseth, William Craig, Ron Highfield, Gregory BoydDivine Hiddenness: New Essays by Daniel Howard-Snyder, Paul Moser —— Links —— Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or commentsGet in touch with Brandon Duke on his website: TruthBornCheck out Duke’s videos at the Unitarian Christian Alliance YouTube ChannelWatch Duke’s Trinity debateAlso check out this six part series on various theories of divine foreknowledge, including Calvinism, Arminianism, and Open Theism.More episodes and posts about the problem of evil and sufferingIf you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here.Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

If God is so good and powerful, why is there so much evil in our world? Although you might retort, "It's because humanity fell into sin and we are all suffering the consequences." Such an answer merely pushes the question back one step, since God is the one who determined just how fallen our world would become once sin entered the picture. Why doesn't he allow more suffering or less? What are his aims in having the world be how it actually is? Why doesn't he intervene more to stop harm? Brandon Duke has wrestled with this question extensively and today he'll provide a lay of the land to help you think through the issue. He breaks up the problem into three categories (1) human evil, (2) natural suffering, and (3) God's hiddenness. Today he'll cover a number of presuppositions about God's knowledge that play into how we approach evil as well as what God's objectives are that he ultimately will bring to pass. Here is the full John Hick quote that Duke paraphrased in this episode: "We can imagine a paradise in which no one can ever come to any harm. Instead of having its own fixed structure, the world would be plastic to human wishes. Or perhaps the world would have a fixed structure, and hence the possibility of damage and pain, but a structure that is whenever necessary suspended or adjusted by special divine action to avoid human pain. Thus, for example, in such a miraculously pain-free world, one who falls accidentally from a high building would presumably float unharmed to the ground; bullets would become insubstantial when fired at a human body; poison would cease to be poison; water to drown, and so on. We can at least begin to imagine such a world, but... a world in which there can be no pain or suffering would also be one without moral choices and hence no possibility of moral growth and development. For in a situation in which no one can ever suffer injury or be liable to pain or suffering, no distinction would exist between right and wrong action. No action would be morally wrong, because no actions could ever have harmful consequences; likewise, no action would be morally right in contrast to wrong. Whatever the values of such a world, its structure would not serve the purpose of allowing its inhabitants to develop from self regarding animality to self giving love." —— Books—— God and the Problem of Evil: Five Views by Chad Meister, James Dew Jr.Divine Foreknowledge: Four Views by Gregory Boyd, David Hunt, William Craig, Paul HelmThe Triumph of God over Evil by William HaskerFour Views on Divine Providence by Paul Helseth, William Craig, Ron Highfield, Gregory BoydDivine Hiddenness: New Essays by Daniel Howard-Snyder, Paul Moser —— Links —— Get in touch with Brandon Duke on his website: TruthBornCheck out Duke's videos at the Unitarian Christian Alliance YouTube ChannelWatch Duke's Trinity debate Also check out this six part series on various theories of divine foreknowledge, including Calvinism, Arminianism, and Open Theism.More episodes and posts about the problem of evil and sufferingIf you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here.Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3

When Joshua Anderson left home and attended a secular college, the environment bombarded him with skepticism and criticism of Christianity. He internalized the general attitude manifested on campus from professors, students, and text books to such a degree that he began doubting his faith. He fell into a two year period of existential despair as he desperately read book after book trying to find satisfying answers to his nagging anxieties about Christianity. In this episode he shares how he was able to escape his dark night of the soul and reclaim his walk with God. If you've ever struggled with your own doubts about God's existence or the bible's veracity, or the Christian worldview, this episode will help you understand the mental forces at work as well as the limits of absolute certainty. —— Links —— More Joshua Anderson podcastsSee Anderson's 5 part evangelism class, called "Announcing the Kingdom"Visit Anderson’s website Pascal’s JacketMore episodes about doubtIf you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here.Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

I love hearing people's stories--especially people of faith. In this episode you'll get to know Bob Jones, a professor at the Atlanta Bible College. He's equally adept teaching chemistry or physics as he is Old Testament or Systematic Theology. Now in his seventies, Jones looks back on his life to see how God led him through it all, even in the darkest of times. —— Links —— To get in touch with Bob Jones, you can email him at [email protected] out his distance learning classes at the Atlanta Bible CollegeIf you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here.Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

Although powerful preaching, serving the poor, and missionary work often take the lime light in Christian ministry, the truth is that home groups, churches, and especially denominations will fall to pieces without competent and consistent administrators. The job isn't glitzy or glamorous and it is often beset with equal parts of tedium, stress, and failure, but without it nothing gets done--or at least not for long. Meet David Krogh, a faithful servant who who has found himself in roles ranging from pastor to executive director in a denomination to academic dean of a bible college. Over more than five decades of ministry, Krogh has been involved with countless decisions that have made the Church of God General Conference what it is today. —— Links —— More about David Krogh on the staff page for the Atlanta Bible CollegeSee also the main website of the Church of God General ConferenceLearn more about the missions organization: Lord's Harvest InternationalIf you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here.Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

We’re delving into a topic rife with controversy, polarization, and intense emotion.  We’re asking the question, how should bible-based Christians respond to the Black Lives Matter movement.  No doubt, some of you will answer that we should all be out marching in full support while others think BLM is itself racist and should be resisted.  Of course, between these two extremes are many more options for responding to this.  In order to navigate our way through the choppy seas of this issue, I’ve invited on Russell Brown who offers an interesting perspective, since he finds himself at the intersection of all three camps. —— Links —— More podcasts from Russell Brown Check out Brown’s parenting teaching, “Disciplining Children“ More YouTube videos featuring Russell Brown If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here. Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

Last December the Coronavirus pandemic began spreading from Wuhan, China across the world. As of today, globally we know of approximately 30 million cases across 188 countries and territories resulting in 941,000 deaths and 20.3 million who have recovered. The United States has the most cases with 6.7 million infected (roughly 2% of the population) and nearly 200,000 deaths (a mortality rate of almost 3%). In this interview, I'm bringing on Russell Brown (my brother-in-law) to share about his own COVID-19 experience, including his symptoms and recovery. He is a passionate Christian who can bring a faith-based perspective to this situation. —— Links —— Watch Russell and Joelle Brown's video retelling their experience, "Trusting through Storms"More podcasts from Russell BrownCheck out Brown's parenting teaching, "Disciplining Children"More YouTube videos featuring Russell BrownIf you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here.Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

Today, we've got three more texts to look at in our selection of unitarian Bible translations. Unlike last time where we focused on Christologically interesting passages, today, we'll examine Luke 23.43, John 7.53-8.11, and 1 Thessalonians 1.3 to look at a punctuation issue, a textual issue, and a grammatical issue. By the end of this episode we hope you'll have a firmer grasp on the differences between these translations. Of course, we could go on to compare many more verses, but we're going to draw this to an end here and this episode will round out this series on unitarian Bible translations. —— Links —— Read Wierwille's research paper on John 7.53-8.11, "My Favorite Fake Bible Passage"354 Unitarian Bible Translations 1 (Jerry Wierwille)355 Unitarian Bible Translations 2 (Jerry Wierwille)Check out these other episodes with Jerry WierwilleFor my class on How We Got the Bible, half of which covered translation issues, follow this link.If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here.Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

Last time we reviewed six unitarian Bible translations, covering some basic information about where each came from and their overall strategy for translation. Today, we're going to analyze how they translate three key texts, including Philippians 2.6, John 1.1-3, and John 8.58. Our goal is to measure these translations against what the Greek says as well as noting significant variations from mainstream translations and each other. —— Links —— Check out these other episodes with Jerry WierwilleFor previous episodes that cover these verses in greater detail see God’s Form or God’s Nature (Translating Philippians 2.6-7) and Did Jesus Claim to Be the I AM? (Translating John 8.58)For John 1, see Dale Tuggy's "Trinities" podcast episode 290: Is the “Socinian” interpretation of John 1 correct?For my class on How We Got the Bible, half of which covered translation issues, follow this link.If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here.Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

In our last episode, I recommended some mainstream Christian Bible translations, but I would remiss if I didn’t also review some important unitarian Bible translations. Although often overlooked, these versions are important because they have the opposite bias when it comes to passages commonly offered as proof texts for the Trinity. Also, I asked Dr. Jerry Wierwille to join me today, since he is Bible translator, currently working on a unitarian bible translation. In today’s episode we’ll review the following: Emphatic Diaglott by Benjamin Wilson (1864) New European Version by Duncan Heaster (2013) New World Translation by Jehovah’s Witnesses (2013) Kingdom of God Version by Raymond Faircloth (2018) The One God, the Father, One Man Messiah Translation by Anthony Buzzard (2020) The Revised English Version by Spirit and Truth (ongoing) In this episode, we’ll offer some background on each of these versions and in our next episode we’ll compare them and see how they handle a number of interesting texts. —— Links —— Check out these other episodes with Jerry Wierwille Episodes mentioned in this podcast: Evaluating the Message Bible and the Passion Translation, Evaluating the King James Version, Reconstructing the New Testament, and New Testament Textual Criticism If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here. Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

This is now our last episode in this 24 part class on How We Got the Bible. Today after a quick review and an appeal to learn the biblical languages, I’ll recommend a number of Bible translations. Although I’m hesitant to do this, so many have written in asking for it that I would be negligent to avoid making some recommendations in this last episode. Additionally, we’ll cover a list of 7 verses you can use to check translations accuracy (see below). —— Verses to Check for Translation Accuracy —— Genesis 4.8 Cain says “Let’s go into the field” (SP, LXX, Syriac, Vulgate) Isaiah 53.11 “he shall see light” not “he shall see it” (DSS, LXX) 1 Samuel 14.41 does it say “Urim?” (LXX) Psalm 145.13 is it 2 sentences or just 1? (DSS, LXX, Syriac) Honesty about Mark 16.9-20 and John 7.53-8.11 Revelation 22.19 “tree of life” not “book of life” Matthew 2.2 “pay homage” not “worship” —— Recommended Translations —— Jewish Publication Society Tanakh (JPS): dynamic equivalence from Jewish perspective English Standard Version (ESV): formal equivalence from evangelical perspective New English Translation (NET): dynamic equivalence from evangelical perspective New American Bible (NAB): dynamic equivalence from Roman Catholic perspective New Revised Standard Version (NRSV): formal equivalence from a mainline/liberal perspective —— Biased Translations to Avoid —— Message Bible (MSG): extreme dynamic equivalence Passion Translation (PT): extreme dynamic equivalence New Living Translation (NLT): dynamic equivalence —— Outdated Translations —— 1769 King James Version (KJV): formal equivalence 1982 New King James Version (NKJV): formal equivalence 1995 New American Standard Bible (NASB): formal equivalence any versions not taking into account the Dead Sea Scrolls (see verses above to check) —— Links —— Check out all the lectures in How We Got the Bible See what other classes are available here or on the Restitutio Classes podcast (subscribe in Apple, Spotify, RSS feed) If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here. Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

This is our fifth and final example of bias in translation. After this episode, we’ll have one more to conclude our class on How We Got the Bible. Today our focus is God’s spirit. Should it have an uppercase ‘S’ or a lowercase ‘s?’ Should pronouns referring back to spirit be masculine (like “he”) or neuter (like “it”)? Is the spirit a “who” or a “which?” In this episode we’ll get into the grammar of holy spirit in an attempt to show how translation bias steers unsuspecting readers in the direction of the traditional teaching about the personality of the spirit. —— Books & Papers —— Truth in Translation by Jason David BeDuhn Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics by Daniel Wallace “Greek Grammar and the Personality of the Holy Spirit” by Daniel Wallace “The Holy Spirit and Translation Bias: A Smoking Gun of Trinity Mischief (1)” by Sean Finnegan “The Holy Spirit and Translation Bias: A Smoking Gun of Trinity Mischief (2)” by Sean Finnegan —— Links —— Watch “The Holy Spirit” video by the Bible Project (note the lack of personhood) Listen to podcast Theology 14 — The Holy Spirit to hear a biblical theology of the spirit and five biblical reasons why the spirit is not a person apart from either the Father or Jesus Listen to podcast Theology 15 — Challenging the Holy Spirit to hear sound biblical explanations of misunderstood verses that defenders of the spirit’s personality point to as evidence of their position More posts and podcasts about the holy spirit Check out all the lectures in How We Got the Bible See what other classes are available here or on the Restitutio Classes podcast (subscribe in Apple, Spotify, RSS feed) If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here. Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

Did Jesus claim to be “The Great I AM” in John 8.58? If not, what was he saying? In this episode we examine the alleged parallel passage in Exodus where God reveals his name to Moses at the burning bush. Next, we’ll explore texts with the same Greek construction that Jesus used in an effort to sniff out bias. In the end we’ll see there are three viable possibilities for translating John 8.58, the least likely of which is what we find in most translations. —— Books —— The First Testament by John Goldingay The Hebrew Bible by Robert Alter The Schocken Bible by Everett Fox A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd Edition (BDAG) Greek Grammar by Herbert Weir Smyth (see rule 1885) A Greek Grammar of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature by F. Blass, A. Debrunner, and Robert Funk (see rule 322, note the typo John 5.58 should be John 8.58) Truth in Translation by Jason David BeDuhn —— Links —— Did Jesus Claim to be the “I Am” in John 8.58? by Victor Gluckin (audio sermon) Explanation of John 8.58 by John Schoenheit (from One God & One Lord) John 8.58 by Steve Katsaras (audio sermon) Debate: Patrick Navas vs. James White on Chris Date’s Theopologetics Podcast (part 2 addresses the “I am” statements in John) Check out all the lectures in How We Got the Bible See what other classes are available here or on the Restitutio Classes podcast (subscribe in Apple, Spotify, RSS feed) If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here. Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library