podcast 115 – the aborted council at Serdica in 343
The eastern emperor and the western emperor agreed: there needed to be a new ecumenical council to somehow solve the theological disagreements festering from the controversy over Arius in 324-5.
Christology
podcast 109 – Dr. Keith Ward on Christ and the Cosmos – Part 1
Dr. Keith Ward is a prolific and influential theologian, philosopher, and scholar of religions. He’s also an Anglican priest. In this first of two interviews on his 2015 book Christ and the Cosmos: A Reformulation of Trinitarian Doctrine, we discuss his christology, how to understand what is unique about the man Jesus.
podcast 108 – Dr. Robert M. Bowman Jr. on triadic New Testament passages – part 2
In this episode Dr. Bowman and I continue our discussion from last week, about some of the New Testament passages he discusses in his “Triadic New Testament Passages and the Doctrine of the Trinity.”
podcast 107 – Dr. Robert M. Bowman Jr. on triadic New Testament passages – part 1
At the end of the gospel according to Matthew, Jesus is portrayed as saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…”
The One Who Sends Is Greater than the One Who Is Sent
At his blog our friend Kermit Zarley, aka the Moon Man, has an excellent post on Jesus and God in the gospel according to John. The One Who Sends Is Greater than the One Who Is Sent. In part, Most Christians think the primary message of the Gospel of John is that Jesus is God. I think that is a misunderstanding of this gospel and… Read More »The One Who Sends Is Greater than the One Who Is Sent
a conversation about the differences between God and Jesus
Here, at the Stand to Reason blog. In response to a short video in which a preacher suggests that several shared titles imply “that Jesus is Jehovah” (and he means by this that they are the same self, so numerically one). To the contrary, I point out some ways in which Jesus differs from God, in the portrayals of the New Testament: …only Jesus has… Read More »a conversation about the differences between God and Jesus
von Harnack on logos theories and mystery
Here’s one reason why some theologians love to appeal to “mystery.” Regarding the second half of the second Christian century, the great church history von Harnack observes, …an urgent impulse necessarily made itself felt to define the contents and value of the Redeemer’s life and work, not, primarily, from the point of view of the proclamation of the Gospel, and the hopes of a future state,… Read More »von Harnack on logos theories and mystery
On a Rebuttal to my “How Trinity theories conflict with the New Testament” – Part 5
Finally, the last part of this long, five-part series. Our friend Annoyed Pinnoy continues, Now there are varieties of gifts, but the SAME Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the SAME Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the SAME God who empowers them all in everyone.- 1 Cor. 12:4-6 Notice how Paul uses the word “SAME” three times. Once… Read More »On a Rebuttal to my “How Trinity theories conflict with the New Testament” – Part 5
On a Rebuttal to my “How Trinity theories conflict with the New Testament” – Part 3
Continuing to work through this critique of my post (part 1, part 2) – our friend Annoyed Pinoy writes, Yet, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are repeatedly associated with Yahweh/Jehovah. See, for example, my blog: Identifying Jesus with Yahweh/Jehovah Associated, sure, and in various ways. This is a common equivocation, I find, with theologians. We say “identify with” to mean “associate (in some way) with”.… Read More »On a Rebuttal to my “How Trinity theories conflict with the New Testament” – Part 3
On a Rebuttal to my “How Trinity theories conflict with the New Testament” – Part 1
The rebuttal is to this blog post of mine, and it is by a Blogger user named “Annoyed Pinoy,” with whom I briefly discussed these things in the comments here. I take it that he is an evangelical Christian who is interested in theology – that’s all I know about him, other than that he is a Filipino in Illinois who is smart, curious, and… Read More »On a Rebuttal to my “How Trinity theories conflict with the New Testament” – Part 1
podcast 98 – Dr. Michael Heiser on Old Testament binitarianism
According to Dr. Michael S. Heiser, we see “two Yahweh figures” in the Old Testament: Yahweh and the “angel of the Lord”. He holds that the Jewish idea of “two powers in heaven” arose from reading these texts, which sort of set the stage for the more radical idea of God becoming incarnate, becoming a man, which he sees in the New Testament.
10 steps towards getting less confused about the Trinity – #6 get a date – part 2
In thinking about the Trinity, 380 and 381 are perhaps the most important dates to remember.
podcast 93 – review of Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus – Part 1
The gripping story of Nabeel Qureshi’s journey from Islam to Christianity.
The Orthodox Formulas 1: The Council of Nicea (325)
Most conservative (and even, many not-too conservative) Christians belong to churches and/or denominations which affirm traditional language about the Trinity. In this series, I’m going to just put all this on the table, as the fact is, many Christians, especially those from less “confessional” traditions, aren’t very familiar with these traditional formulas. I’m not going to go too much into the history for now. The… Read More »The Orthodox Formulas 1: The Council of Nicea (325)
podcast 92 – Dr. Joshua Thurow on objections to atonement theories
In the first portion of this episode Dr. Thurow offers objections to subjective theories, and to penal substitution, ransom, and christus victor theories of atonement. Dr. Thurow then sketches his own, original approach to understanding atonement, which focuses on the collective sin of the human race.
Where did Jesus claim to be God?
At the Stand to Reason blog (this is the apologetics ministry founded by the inimitable Greg Koukl) I’ve been interacting with a few people on the question: Where Did Jesus Claim to Be God? In the current evangelical style, the poster Melinda Penner seems to understand this as equivalent to claiming to be God himself, to saying “I am God.” Never mind whether or not… Read More »Where did Jesus claim to be God?
podcast 87 – Kermit Zarley on the deity and preexistence of Jesus
In this second conversation, Mr. Kermit Zarley and I discuss a number of themes from his book The Restitution of Jesus Christ, including
the evangelical tradition of saying that “Jesus is God” or “Jesus is divine,” the biblical phrases “Son of God” and “the Son of God,” the texts commonly read as teaching that Jesus existed before his conception in Mary.
podcast 86 – Kermit Zarley on distinguishing Jesus and God
Mr. Kermit Zarley is a retired professional golfer and Christian author, having written books on christology and eschatology. In this episode he describes being born again as a teen, his evangelical identity, and his discovery that in the New Testament, Jesus and God are two, namely the human Son of God (Jesus) and the one true God, Yahweh (aka the Father).
the LORD says to my lord
At his blog Theology and Justice, Roman effectively dismantles Nabeel Qureshi’s appeal to Psalm 110:1 in his recent debate as showing (or suggesting? hinting?) that Jesus is God, or equal to God, or a member of the Trinity, or that there is plurality of personhood in God… or something trinitarian. I would only add that I don’t think that Mr. Qureshi is being dishonest; I only think… Read More »the LORD says to my lord
Qureshi vs. Ally – Trinity vs. Tawhid
This should be interesting. Mr. Qureshi (a PhD student in theology) is the author of the fascinating book Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus (kindle). He’s a convert from Ahmadiyya Islam to evangelical Christianity. He is bold, smart, and clear. Dr. Ally is an erudite and well-spoken Islamic apologist and an experienced debater. In the press release for this live-streamed, April 8, 2015 debate, Mr. Qureshi says that My goal… Read More »Qureshi vs. Ally – Trinity vs. Tawhid