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642. Restoration Theology 8: Interpreting Scripture in Its Historical Context
This episode is part of the Restoration Theology class. There’s no getting around it. The Bible is a historical book. The events it describes occurred in history. What’s more, biblical history isn’t just limited to a single period of time. No, it stretches over thousands of years. As a result, it’s critical that you Read more about 642. Restoration Theology 8: Interpreting Scripture in Its Historical Context[…]
641. Restoration Theology 7: Interpreting Scripture in Its Literary Context
This episode is part of the Restoration Theology class. What’s the difference between reading the Bible and studying it? Reading the Bible is like surfing on the waves, following the general flow of thought as you go. Studying the Bible is more like swimming underwater, perhaps with scuba gear to enable you to investigate matters Read more about 641. Restoration Theology 7: Interpreting Scripture in Its Literary Context[…]
640. Restoration Theology 6: Bible Translation and Detecting Bias
This episode is part of the Restoration Theology class. Would you agree that every translation of the Bible has some sort of bias in it? Even the most literal translations have a good deal of bias baked into them. What can we do? Well, you could learn Hebrew and Greek so you can read the Read more about 640. Restoration Theology 6: Bible Translation and Detecting Bias[…]
639. Restoration Theology 5: Old Testament Manuscripts and Textual Criticism
This is part four of the Restoration Theology class. The Old Testament, also called the Hebrew Bible, is a collection of 39 books written before the time of Christ. Today you’re going to learn about the three major manuscript families of the OT: (1) the Masoretic Text, (2) the Septuagint, and (3) the Samaritan Pentateuch. Read more about 639. Restoration Theology 5: Old Testament Manuscripts and Textual Criticism[…]
638. Restoration Theology 4: New Testament Manuscripts and Textual Criticism
This is part four of the Restoration Theology class. Last time we covered the importance of using the Bible to build our beliefs. But what is the Bible? Well, it wasn’t written in American English or in the West or in recent history. The Bible is a library of books written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Read more about 638. Restoration Theology 4: New Testament Manuscripts and Textual Criticism[…]
637. Restoration Theology 3: The Primacy and Perspicuity of Scripture
This is part three of the Restoration Theology class. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about communicating with people who don’t come from my background, it’s that assumptions matter. It’s important to know what I’m assuming and what the other is assuming so we can have meaningful dialog. In our episode today, we’re talking about Read more about 637. Restoration Theology 3: The Primacy and Perspicuity of Scripture[…]
636. Restoration Theology 2: Milestones on the Road to Modern Restorationism
This is part two of the Restoration Theology class. Restorationism–the impulse to restore authentic Christianity–is not new. Before diving in to learn how to build a proper restoration theology, we owe it to those who have come before us, to remember how we got here. Although we generally take for granted our freedom to dissent Read more about 636. Restoration Theology 2: Milestones on the Road to Modern Restorationism[…]
635. Restoration Theology 1: Why Restore Authentic Christianity?
This is part one of the Restoration Theology class. How do you know what to believe? Have you ever been frustrated when hearing multiple perspective on a doctrine and weren’t sure which to believe? There are so many denominations out there, each with its own statement of faith and traditions. How can you be sure Read more about 635. Restoration Theology 1: Why Restore Authentic Christianity?[…]
634. Six Ways to Kill Your Community (Sean Finnegan)
One of the great concerns that many of us pastors have about our churches is the lack of community. So often people come, sit for a while, and leave without making any real connections with others who are present. In other cases, a self-centered, spectator mindset leads to cynicism and misery, which, in turn, degrades Read more about 634. Six Ways to Kill Your Community (Sean Finnegan)[…]
633. Baptist Pastor Finds Biblical God (Greg Cheney)
Greg Cheney grew up in Texas where he joined the Independent Fundamental Baptists. In his twenties, he felt a call to ministry, which resulted in ordination and serving in three Baptist churches. After an unpleasant five years in ministry, Cheney found himself in the corrections industry. At this point, with no remaining institutional ties, he Read more about 633. Baptist Pastor Finds Biblical God (Greg Cheney)[…]
632. New Creation in Christ (Sean Finnegan)
Is new creation here now or must we until Christ’s coming to experience it? If new creation is here now, what does that mean? How can you participate in it? Join me as we consider what it means to be in Christ today. We’ll see that not only has God created a whole new realm Read more about 632. New Creation in Christ (Sean Finnegan)[…]
631. Unto Us a Child Is Born (Sean Finnegan)
Who is the child Isaiah prophesied about in the famous line, “For unto us a child is born”? Although most Christians see this as a reference to Jesus, we should first ask what this meant to Isaiah and his original audience seven centuries before Christ. When we do, we see that this prophecy was actually Read more about 631. Unto Us a Child Is Born (Sean Finnegan)[…]
630. Australia to Host Inaugural UCA Conference
Today we’re promoting a couple of upcoming events in 2026. First up is the inaugural conference near Sydney, Australia for the Unitarian Christian Alliance. This will be a weekend of scholarly presentations as well as practical workshops. In what follows I chat with several of the organizers for the event, including Matthew Bradley, Jeff Deuble, Read more about 630. Australia to Host Inaugural UCA Conference[…]
629. Debating Al Garza: “Is Jesus Yahweh?” (Mike Temperato)
Metaphysics Mike talks about his recent debate with Al Garza over the question is Jesus Yahweh. In the four-hour ordeal, two aspects of Garza’s unusual belief system made for a confusing and frustrating discussion: (1) Garza believes that Yahweh is not a name but an attributive title asserting eternality, and (2) he thinks the Read more about 629. Debating Al Garza: “Is Jesus Yahweh?” (Mike Temperato)[…]
628. How Will God Raise the Dead? (Scott Sperling)
After graduating from Caltech with a degree in physics, Scott Sperling pursued computer science and ended up working in rocket science. He’s also been a Christian for decades and has applied his analytical mind to Bible study, especially on his website ScriptureStudies.com. In this interview I ask him about his paper, “A Hypothesis for the Read more about 628. How Will God Raise the Dead? (Scott Sperling)[…]
Does Exodus 21.22 Support Abortion?
In my morning reading, I came across this verse about an incident where a man strikes a pregnant woman. Here’s the text in the Hebrew followed by my literal translation. Exodus 21:22 וְכִֽי־יִנָּצ֣וּ אֲנָשִׁ֗ים וְנָ֨גְפ֜וּ אִשָּׁ֤ה הָרָה֙ וְיָצְא֣וּ יְלָדֶ֔יהָ וְלֹ֥א יִהְיֶ֖ה אָס֑וֹן עָנ֣וֹשׁ יֵעָנֵ֗שׁ כַּֽאֲשֶׁ֨ר יָשִׁ֤ית עָלָיו֙ בַּ֣עַל הָֽאִשָּׁ֔ה וְנָתַ֖ן בִּפְלִלִֽים When men fight and Read more about Does Exodus 21.22 Support Abortion?[…]
Restorationist Manifesto
Read the restorationist manifesto to learn about how to approach scripture and doctrine so that you can minimize deception and get as close as possible to apostolic first century Christianity.
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This book exposes six major cultural currents that are tugging at all of us, including hyper-individualism, tolerance, progress, scientism, consumerism, and patriotism. For each I illustrate the paradigm with a couple of examples from the culture before discussing the benefits and detriments. Lastly, I deconstruct the idea and show how Christianity provides a better way. Subscribe to the Restitutio email list and we’ll send you this e-book for free!