Interviews

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 thoughtful presentation Read more about 608. Six Quick Points on the Genuine Jesus (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 more about 607. Did Jesus Really Sit on God’s Throne? (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 heaven. Therefore Read more about 606. Did Jesus Really Do What Only God Can Do? (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 605. Does the Bible Really Give Jesus Divine Titles? (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 on Read more about 604. Did Jesus Really Have All the Divine Attributes? (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 several weeks we’re going deep into Read more about 603. Did Jesus Really Receive Divine Honors? (Brandon Duke)[…]

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 people who Read more about 602. Abused, Kidnapped, and Suicidal—Finding Hope After a Lifetime of Trauma (Sheila Kalpakidis)[…]

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 that was Read more about 583 Not Alone Anymore (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 about the state Read more about 582 Kiwi Farmer Pursues Biblical Truth (Vaughn Madsen)[…]

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 man–have found Read more about 575 A More Beautiful Life Collective (Cayce Fletcher)[…]

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 about evil spirits and pornography Read more about 571 Give God a Shot (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 own journey of faith from Catholicism Read more about 570 My Journey into Healing Ministry (Bob Carden)[…]

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 Christians held to these extra-biblical speculations about multiple Read more about 569 The Cost of Truth (Seneca Harbin)[…]

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 Sheol or Hades. However they disagree Read more about 568 The Witch of Endor and the Rich Man and Lazarus Parable (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 unconscious and unaware of the passage of time. Read more about 567 Are the Dead Conscious? (Dustin Smith, Sam Tideman)[…]

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 assisted in planning and in recording Read more about 561 United Kingdom UCA Conference Review (Daisy Jones, Mark Cain)[…]

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 antagonism. Smith shares how he matured while continuing to Read more about 559 Youth Ministry Matters (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 there, he began questioning Read more about 558 Courageous Baptist Seeks Biblical Truth (Joshua Michael Smith)[…]

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 Testaments, which covers four major periods, including Read more about 557 Bridging the Testaments (George Athas)[…]

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, and historical evidence for their position. Our focus today is on the Read more about 556 Recruiting Ancients for the Creation Debate (Andrew Brown)[…]

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 inscriptions, coins, and material remains of several key Read more about 555 Was Paul Really Subverting Caesar? (Clint Burnett)[…]

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 a conference Read more about 554 Biblical Unitarian Christians in New Zealand (Zach Mayo)[…]

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 Read more about 553 Pro Golfer Turned Christologist Tells All (Kermit Zarley)[…]

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 finally get to the bottom of it. She was Read more about 552 Seminary Convinced Me the Trinity Is Wrong (Susanne Lakin)[…]

As the dust continues to settle from last week’s debate between Dale Tuggy and James White, reviewers are coalescing on a rather exciting conclusion. Tuggy handedly won the debate! Rumor has it that James White has even requested a rematch! We’ll have to wait and see if anything happens on that front, but requesting a Read more about 540 Dustin Smith’s Take on the Tuggy-White Debate[…]

We’re taking a break this week from our class on Reading the Bible for Yourself. By the way, did you know that there’s a separate podcast just for classes without any interruptions like this? You can find it if you search your podcast app for Restitutio Classes. Anyhow, I had an opportunity to speak with Read more about 539 Dale Tuggy’s Thoughts on the James White Debate: Is Jesus Yahweh?[…]

I’ve been putting out podcast episodes on Restitutio since 2015. I’ve interviewed many authors in that time. However, I’ve never been interviewed as an author. That changed a couple of days ago when Sam Tideman of Transfigured had me on his show to talk about my new book, Kingdom Journey. We discussed the biblical idea Read more about 535 Kingdom Journey Interview (Sam Tideman)[…]

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 Dynamic Monarchians, including Ebionites Read more about 528 Dynamic Monarchianism: The Earliest Christology (Thomas Gaston)[…]

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts Should Christians celebrate the birth of Christ? If so, where should we draw the line with respect to ancient pagan customs like bringing an evergreen tree into our houses or  giving presents to each other? How much pagan practice is too much? My guest today is Read more about 527 Should Christians Celebrate Christmas? (Dale Tuggy)[…]

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts It’s the holidays and many of us are seeing family members and coworkers and neighbors at parties. Sometimes the topic of Christianity comes up, and you may be having conversations about your beliefs. You may find yourself defending your belief in Jesus in general or even Read more about 526: The Role of Assumptions in Bible Conversations (Jeff Deuble)[…]

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts Do the Gospels give you the impression that the kingdom of God is about to arrive? My guest today is Troy Salinger who wrote an interesting article called, “The Postponement of the Kingdom – A Response to Preterists and Anti-Missionary Rabbis.” His idea is that the Read more about 524 Kingdom Postponed (Troy Sallinger)[…]

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts For centuries heresy hunters have labeled those who deny the pre-existence of Jesus “adoptionists.” This ancient category was based on the idea some Christian groups denied the virgin birth, thinking instead that Jesus became the son of God at his baptism when God adopted him. Modern Read more about 523 Rethinking Adoptionism (Jeremiah Coogan)[…]

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts Ignatius of Antioch lived in the first generation of Christians after the apostles died during the late first and early second century. Modern day apologists regularly point to Ignatius’ letters to prove the antiquity of the deity of Christ and one-bishop church governance (monarchical episcopate). But Read more about 522 Problematizing Ignatius of Antioch’s Middle Recension (Nathan Massie)[…]

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts Philippians 2.6-11 has generated an immense amount of scholarly literature such as journal articles and monographs not to mention blog posts, video lectures, and podcasts. What does the enigmatic phrase “in the form of God” mean? Did Paul intend us to think Jesus refused to grasp Read more about 520 In the Form of a God (Andrew Perriman)[…]

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts My guest today is Dr. Andrew Perriman of London who will discuss his recent book In the Form of a God, which is part of the Studies in Early Christology series. (Read Perriman’s helpful summary of the book here.) The focus for our conversation is looking Read more about 519 No Pre-Existence in Paul? (Andrew Perriman)[…]

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts We’ve all heard plenty of stories of Trinitarians who begin questioning their received teaching and eventually become Unitarian. However, today, we’re bringing you a story that’s a little different. My guest is Rick Naviello who held a biblical unitarian view of Jesus for decades before attending Read more about 518 Tried to Believe in the Trinity (Rick Naviello)[…]

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts Have you ever read miracle stories in the bible and asked yourself, “I wonder if this happens today?” My guests today are Josh and Daisy Jones of the UK who share their testimonies of God intervening in and through their lives. Hear about Josh’s miraculous healing Read more about 517 Walking with God (Josh and Daisy Jones)[…]

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts Recently Tom Huszti interviewed me for his YouTube channel, the Unitarian Anabaptist. We talked about the importance of geography, archeology, and Greco-Roman history for interpreting the bible, especially the New Testament. Next we delved into early church history, starting with the earliest forms of Jewish Christianity Read more about 516 Sean Finnegan on Restoring Authentic Christianity (Tom Huszti)[…]

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts I’m so delighted to present you with an interview I did with Professor Nancy Pearcey, an author whose books have significantly helped me understand and live out my faith better. Today we’re talking about masculinity. Have you noticed the critical and uncharitable tone in our culture Read more about 515 The Toxic War on Masculinity (Nancy Pearcey)[…]

Although he’s one of the lesser known Christian authors of the fourth century, Aphrahat is extremely important for our understanding of early Persian Christianity prior to the advent of Islam in the region. Amazingly a full-length book of his survives, called The Demonstrations. In today’s interview I ask about Aphrahat’s beliefs in general and his Read more about 514 Aphrahat and Early Persian Christianity (Sam Tideman)[…]

Have you heard of the quests for the historical Jesus? This has been going on for two and a half centuries. It has produced a massive amount of literature and occupied the minds of some of the most impressive biblical scholars over the years. What’s all this about? Why do we need to search for Read more about 513 The Historical Jesus and the Gospel of John (Craig Blomberg)[…]

We continue in our conversation on the topic of healing from bullying. This episode applies not only to those who suffered in school, but also should prove helpful to any who have suffered abuse later in life as well. Jon Nessle taps into Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount to gain practical advice on what to Read more about 512 Healing from Bullying – 2 (Jon Nessle)[…]

Were you bullied in school? How did you deal with it? Do you still harbor feelings of bitterness and vengefulness in your heart towards those who mistreated and abused you? Today my guest is Jon Nessle who faced ruthless ridicule and physical abuse from kindergarten to the tenth grade. He shares seven points to help Read more about 511 Healing from Bullying – 1 (Jon Nessle)[…]

Today we are continuing where we left off with part 2 of my interview with Kegan Chandler. In our last episode we spent most of our time talking about UAPs and the evidence that has come to light for their existence as well as non-human origin. Today, we are shifting gears to focus on the Read more about 509 Theological Options for Understanding Non-Human Intelligence (Kegan Chandler)[…]

Last month, the US Congress held a hearing with three whistle-blowers who provided testimony about UFOs. Yes, I just said UFOs. No, I haven’t lost my mind or started subscribing to the tabloids. This is a topic that has moved from the fringes of conspiracy land right into serious public hearings in the US government. Read more about 508 Are UFOs Real? (Kegan Chandler)[…]

Today we are picking up where we left off with Dr. Steven Nemes. We’ve been talking about communion (also called the eucharist or the Lord’s supper). He’s been presenting a case for memorialism. Today we begin with the words of institution, which Jesus gave at the last supper. What did he mean when he said, Read more about 507 Eating Christ’s Flesh – 2 (Steven Nemes)[…]

What do you think happens during communion? In my interview today, Dr. Steven Nemes provides a biblical, historical, and theological defense for memorialism–the idea that the eucharist memorializes what Christ has done (and will do) for us rather than actually becoming Christ in some metaphysical sense. Thus, the bread and wine signify or represent Christ’s Read more about 506 Eating Christ’s Flesh – 1 (Steven Nemes)[…]

This is part two of a two part series refuting the opening statement of a debate on the question “Is Jesus Yahweh?” This week Brand Duke and I are going to critique Samuel Nesan’s opening statement in his recent debate over the question, “Is Jesus Yahweh?” Nesan has a Master of Christian Studies at Seminari Read more about 492 Refuting Samuel Nesan’s Case That Jesus Is Yahweh[…]

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts This is part one of a two part series refuting the opening statement of a debate on the question “Is Jesus Yahweh?” This week and next week we are taking a little break from our Early Church History class to do discuss a recent debate about Read more about 491 Refuting Kyle Essary’s Case That Jesus Is Yahweh[…]

How do you engage with culture? Are you aware of how culture is shaping your sensibilities about meaning, power, morality, religion, and aesthetics? Do you blindly reject everything in the culture so that you can remain separate from the world or do you blindly accept everything so that you remain relevant? My guest today is Read more about 480 Interpreting Your World (Justin Bailey)[…]