Episodes
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673. Building Churches to Last in Kenya (Maurice Chahilu)
Maurice Chahilu serves as a bishop in western Kenya. He coordinates a network of around two dozen churches who are part of Kingdom Life Abrahamic Faith Ministries (KLAFM). In this interview I ask him what that is like and what problems he faces. He talks at length about the importance of vetting...
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672. New LHIM Churches in Kenya (Andrew Ondari)
As many of you know, I’m not only the host of this podcast. My main job is working for Living Hope International Ministries, which is a network of churches, home fellowships, and individuals seeking to make authentic disciples of Christ. In addition to my local church responsibilities, I also...
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671. Lost 1k Subs When I Quit Teaching the Deity of Christ, Then God Showed Up (Knieshia)
When Knieshia came to question the doctrine of the Trinity, she had to make a decision. After she did the Bible study, she knew Jesus wasn’t God. She took a step of faith and began teaching her new understanding of the human Jesus. Overnight, she lost 500 subscribers on her YouTube channel. In…
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670. I Almost Became a Jehovah’s Witness… Then I Found Biblical Unitarians (Will Turner)
Will Turner grew up in a Presbyterian Church, but when the Jehovah’s Witnesses came calling, he had to admit they made a lot of sese. They got him to question the Trinity and heaven-at-death. He almost joined, but there were a few issues that made him keep his distance. Find out what they were…
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669. How Should Christians Use AI? (Sam Tideman)
Are you using artificial intelligence? I bet you are. I certainly do. I find AI chatbots to be incredibly helpful. In today’s discussion with Sam Tideman, we discuss what AI chatbots are actually doing. We cover how to use them well for research and Bible study as well as some of their…
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668. How I Got Clean from Heroin and Found God (Jody Rodriguez)
What do you do when you’ve tried to quit something over and over and still can’t get free? My guest today is Jody Rodriguez who fell into a life of regular substance use from her teenage years onward. By the time she was nearing thirty she had been to jail and rehab but still couldn’t Read more...
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667. How God Healed Me from the Shame of Prostitution (Mina Hacker)
Mina grew up in a poor village in South Korea in the 1950s. She faced many hardships due to her abusive alcoholic father who loaned her to another family to work as a servant. Although Mina escaped from that situation, she found herself in something much worse. She got entrapped by sex…
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666. I Quit Weed and Video Games to Serve God (Jeremy Martin)
Jeremy Martin is a complicated man. Although raised in a Christian home, he chose a different path. At eighteen years old, he embraced the party lifestyle of drinking alcohol and using drugs of various kinds. Before long, he found himself sucked into a criminal lifestyle, including an eight-year...
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665. Why I’m Starting a Church in Texas (Alex Ticer)
Last time we learned about software engineer Alex Ticer’s terrifying health crisis and the healing he received. This set him on a quest to dedicate his life to serving God, but how? He had no idea what he was supposed to do. So, he quit his job and intensified his study of the Bible and Read more...
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664. Engineer Risked Everything to Find the One God
Alex Ticer had It all: a degree from UCLA, a job as a software engineer, financial security, a beautiful family, a house in Texas, but something was terribly wrong. It was something he couldn’t fix with money or intelligence or grit. He had a genetic disease that would cause him to waste away no...
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663. The Trinity Now a Minority Belief in America (Dustin Smith)
Are you under the impression that everyone believes in the Trinity? Most denominational creeds, seminary requirements, and church statements of faith begin with a confession that there is one God who exists in three persons. Perhaps you think that this means that American pastors believe in the...
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662. The Nicene Creed Is a Forgery (Sam Tideman)
It’s recited in churches all around the world in many languages. It’s the standard by which all modern Christians are measured. It’s an artful and eloquent expression of doctrine. What am I talking about? Of course, it’s the Nicene Creed. But what if I told you that this creed wasn’t from the...
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661. Monotheism, Heresy, and the Bible (Dale Tuggy)
What is the true nature of God? How should we understand monotheism? What about heresy? In today’s interview, I ask Dr. Dale Tuggy about his new book, Monotheism, Heresy, and the Bible, published by Theophilus Press. Our discussion ranges from handling proof-texts that call Jesus “God” to the…
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660. Debating God’s Existence (Andrew Drinkard)
How do you know God exists? What reasons do atheists have to doubt God’s existence? Can you arrive at certainty? These questions are among the most significant that you can ask. If God exists, there are huge implications for your daily life. If not, then you can more or less choose your own...
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659. How Important Is That Doctrine? (Michael Hughes)
Are all your beliefs equally important? If not, how do you rank them? By what standard do you say, “This belief matters” and “This one is less important”? My guest today is Michael Hughes who has been working on these very questions. He’s written a couple of papers addressing levels of evidence.…
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658. Explore What We Believe (Will Barlow)
Are you looking for a biblically-grounded albeit easy-to-read introduction to theology? Well, look no further, because I’m excited to announce the publication of Pastor Will Barlow’s book, Explore What We Believe. He goes through what the Bible teaches about God, humanity, covenants, the kingdom…
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657. Read the Bible for Yourself (Sean Finnegan)
I have a new book out and I’m excited to tell you all about it. In order to do that, Anna Brown is hosting Restitutio today and putting me in the hot seat. In this interview, she asks me about Read the Bible for Yourself, a book I’ve been working on for the last three years. Read more about 657....
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656. Follow the Way of Jesus (Victor Gluckin)
Jesus said, “Make disciples of all nations” (Mat 28:19). How are you doing on this? Are you currently mentoring someone in the faith? Are you under the impression that this work is only for pastors, those in church leadership, or those with the gift of evangelism? You may say to yourself, “I…
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655. God Spoke to Himself in Genesis 1.26 (Sam Mansfield)
To whom was God speaking in Genesis 1.26 when he said, “Let us make humanity in our image”? My guest today, Sam Mansfield of Adelaide, South Australia, has found six different answers to this question. In the following interview, I ask him about his recent presentation at the inaugural Australian...
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654. The Plight of a Restorationist (Matt Lovegrove)
Many Bible-believing churches are ridged keepers of tradition. They have a statement of faith, a historic confession, or old creeds that determine what people should and should not believe. There’s very little space for people to genuinely ask questions, investigate competing doctrines, and...
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653. Why I’m Convinced That Jesus Is the Human Messiah (Paul Robson)
Paul Robson was an upstanding Christian leader in a Bible-believing church when his friend upended his world by revealing that he no longer believed the Trinity was biblically true. Although Robson initially reacted negatively to such a departure from the norm, he eventually came to change his…
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608. Six Quick Points on the Genuine Jesus (Brandon Duke)
This is a follow up to our 5-part response series on The Incarnate Christ and His Critics. Have you ever found yourself in a conversation with a coworker, acquaintance, or family member trying to explain who Jesus is? Every wish there was a simple acrostic that could guide you through a brief yet...
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607. Did Jesus Really Sit on God’s Throne? (Brandon Duke)
This is part 5 of our response series on The Incarnate Christ and His Critics. Today in our fifth episode in this series critiquing the book, The Incarnate Christ and His Critics, we broach the topic of thrones. If Jesus sits on God’s throne, does that make him God too? If so, isn’t that two Read...
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606. Did Jesus Really Do What Only God Can Do? (Brandon Duke)
This is part 4 of our response series on The Incarnate Christ and His Critics. Only God has power over nature. Jesus walked on water. Therefore Jesus must be God. Right? Does that line of reasoning convince you? How about this one. Only God has power over nature. Elijah called down fire from...
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605. Does the Bible Really Give Jesus Divine Titles? (Brandon Duke)
This is part 3 of our response series on The Incarnate Christ and His Critics. Today we get to the heart of the case for the deity of Christ to see if it holds up to scrutiny. In addition to considering whether the name “Jesus” and the title “son of God” implies divinity, we look Read more about...
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604. Did Jesus Really Have All the Divine Attributes? (Brandon Duke)
This is part 2 of our response series on The Incarnate Christ and His Critics. Most of us understand of what deity means. Generally we think to be God is to be eternal, uncaused, and indestructible. This gets at the word aseity, which is a fancy philosophical term for a being that doesn’t depend…
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603. Did Jesus Really Receive Divine Honors? (Brandon Duke)
This is part 1 of our response series on The Incarnate Christ and His Critics. Today we’re shifting gears. We’ve had an eighteen-episode class delving into biblical and contextual study of 1 Corinthians. Then last time we had an interview with someone struggling with mental health. For the next...
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602. Abused, Kidnapped, and Suicidal—Finding Hope After a Lifetime of Trauma (Sheila Kalpakidis)
Suicide is such a sad part of our world today. The latest stats from the CDC indicate someone dies of suicide every eleven minutes in the United States. 30 times more people attempt suicide than die from it annually. And a staggering 12.8 million seriously think about it. Sheila is one of these...
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583 Not Alone Anymore (Vaughn Madsen)
As we left things last time, Vaughn Madsen of New Zealand had been on a quest for biblical truth that resulted in repeated rejection from churches and Bible studies. Apart from his kids, Vaughn was alone. He met a couple of random people in street evangelism who agreed with him about Jesus, but...
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582 Kiwi Farmer Pursues Biblical Truth (Vaughn Madsen)
Vaughn Madsen was a simple kiwi farmer who subscribed to evangelical Christianity in New Zealand. No, he wasn’t farming kiwis. A kiwi is what you call someone from New Zealand. Anyhow, like I said, he was a devout member of his local church when he came across a presentation by Warren Prestige...
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575 A More Beautiful Life Collective (Cayce Fletcher)
Cayce Fletcher is the host of A More Beautiful Life Collective, a blog, a YouTube channel, and a podcast. She releases a new show each week on making theology practical and developing a more beautiful life. As a wife, mother, and homemaker she appeals more to women than men, but I personally–as a...
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571 Give God a Shot (Bob Carden)
This is part two of my conversation with Bob Carden who served as the lead pastor of Grace Christian Fellowship for decades before retiring. (The church is now called Align Ministries, led by Garrett Bova.) Continuing on the topic of healing and deliverance from last week, we begin by talking…
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570 My Journey into Healing Ministry (Bob Carden)
People need the touch of God in their lives. People are broken, wounded, and sick. Jesus Christ has already come and made available deliverance from sin and its consequences. He did this throughout his ministry and continues to bring healing through his church today. Bob Carden shares about his…
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569 The Cost of Truth (Seneca Harbin)
Seneca Harbin became a Christian later in life through reading the Bible. However, when he was attending a megachurch in Indianapolis, he starting hearing the pastor preach about Christ in a way that seemed bizarre and unbiblical. To his surprise Seneca discovered that the vast majority of...
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568 The Witch of Endor and the Rich Man and Lazarus Parable (Dustin Smith, Sam Tideman)
Last week Dustin Smith and Sam Tideman discussed the intermediate state–what happens after death but before resurrection on the last day. Although most Christians affirm the folk idea of going immediately to heaven or hell at death, Smith and Tideman argue that the Bible teaches the dead are in...
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567 Are the Dead Conscious? (Dustin Smith, Sam Tideman)
Dustin Smith and Sam Tideman discuss whether people are conscious in the intermediate state (between death and resurrection). Interestingly, neither of them think the deceased are currently in heaven or hell. Smith affirms the sleep of the dead, seeing all the dead, whether good or bad, as...
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561 United Kingdom UCA Conference Review (Daisy Jones, Mark Cain)
Last month the Unitarian Christian Alliance put on the first conference in Europe. A mixture of British and American speakers presented on various aspects of unitarian Christianity. In today’s episode I speak with Daisy Jones, one of the main coordinators of the event as well as Mark Cain who...
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559 Youth Ministry Matters (Joshua Michael Smith)
Last week Joshua Michael Smith began sharing his testimony from childhood to his college years when he changed his mind about Jesus’s identity. In part two he talks about cage stage unitarianism–where one seeks to confront everyone about this important truth regardless of their interested or...
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558 Courageous Baptist Seeks Biblical Truth (Joshua Michael Smith)
Joshua Michael Smith grew up in northern Florida in a Baptist church. In this interview he shares his journey of faith, including how came to Christ as well as how he ended up in ministry training at Word of Life before earning a bachelors at Tennessee Temple University in Chattanooga. While…
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557 Bridging the Testaments (George Athas)
Many believe there is 400 years of silence between the Old and New Testament. My guest today is Professor George Athas, director of research and senior lecturer in Hebrew, Old Testament, and Early Church History at Moore Theological College in Sydney, Australia. He’s the author of Bridging the...
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556 Recruiting Ancients for the Creation Debate (Andrew Brown)
Christians have approached the first chapter of Genesis differently over the centuries. There are those who hold to young earth creationism, day-age theory, gap theory, and progressive creationism, just to name a few. Oftentimes defenders of a particular view will provide biblical, scientific…
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555 Was Paul Really Subverting Caesar? (Clint Burnett)
Scholars and pastors regularly point to specialized “technical” language in Paul’s epistles to make the case that Paul was intentionally subverting Roman power by applying to Jesus terms that the ancients commonly applied to the Caesars. My guest today has done the hard work of analyzing the...
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554 Biblical Unitarian Christians in New Zealand (Zach Mayo)
Something is going on in New Zealand…and I’m excited to tell you about it. In today’s interview I speak with Zach Mayo who along with his wife, Kayla, were serving as youth pastors at an evangelical church when they came to change their minds on the doctrine of the Trinity. Now they’re organizing…
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553 Pro Golfer Turned Christologist Tells All (Kermit Zarley)
Kermit Zarley was a professional golfer who had an interest in studying the Bible about the end times when he came across a disturbing verse. Reading Jesus’s words in the Olivet Discourse, he noticed that only the Father knew the day and hour of the end. Neither the angels nor the son of God were...
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552 Seminary Convinced Me the Trinity Is Wrong (Susanne Lakin)
From her childhood in a Jewish family to a 7-year stint with the Jehovah’s Witnesses to attending evangelical churches, Susanne Lakin never felt comfortable with the doctrine of the Trinity. She signed up to attend Phoenix Seminary, a conservative evangelical school, thinking they would help her...
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540 Dustin Smith’s Take on the Tuggy-White Debate
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...
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539 Dale Tuggy’s Thoughts on the James White Debate: Is Jesus Yahweh?
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...
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535 Kingdom Journey Interview (Sam Tideman)
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...
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528 Dynamic Monarchianism: The Earliest Christology (Thomas Gaston)
Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts Today my guest is Thomas Gaston who’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...
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527 Should Christians Celebrate Christmas? (Dale Tuggy)
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...
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