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podcast 304 – The Absolute Basics of the Christian Faith

What are the “absolute basics” of the Christian faith? According to this series of videos produced by a Wesleyan ministry, these include that God is an eternal relationship of three divine Persons, and that Jesus is both human and divine, a “godman.” In this episode, I weigh the claims of these videos against history and Scripture:

  • “Who is God? God is Trinity”
  • “What is God Like”?
  • “Who is Jesus Christ?”

Topics include the idea that God must be a Trinity because “God is love,” the idea that to reconnect God and humans Jesus the savior must be both human and divine, and the Christian minority report since the Reformation that the one God is the Father, not the Trinity

Do you agree that these three videos present the basics of the Christian faith, things which all Christians have always believed? Why or why not?

Links for this episode:

The Absolute Basics of the Christian Faith: playlist with the three videos discussed here

podcast 302 – The Stages of Trinitarian Commitment

three-self Trinity theories

one-self Trinity theories

divine simplicity

What is the Trinity?

“Divine Deception and Monotheism,” Journal of Analytic Theology 2, 186-209, 2014.

Richard of St. Victor

podcast 58 – We can’t prove the Trinity by reason alone

Lebens and Tuggy, “Dormant Dispositions, Agent Value, and the Trinity

On the Possibility of a Single Perfect Person“yo

Clarifying Catholic Christologies

podcast 226 – Biblical Words for God and for his Son Part 3 – post-biblical uses of biblical words, and new words

podcast 225 – Biblical Words for God and for his Son Part 2 – Old “Lord” vs. New “Lord”

podcast 224 – Biblical Words for God and for his Son Part 1 – God and “God” in the Bible

podcast 108 – Dr. Robert M. Bowman Jr. on triadic New Testament passages – part 2

podcast 107 – Dr. Robert M. Bowman Jr. on triadic New Testament passages – part 1

podcast 12 – the Apostles’ Creed

podcast 248 – How Trinity theories conflict with the Bible

Antelm’s ontological arguments

podcast 102 – Dr. Brian Leftow on perfect being theology

podcast 227 – Who Should Christians Worship?

Is Jesus Human and Not Divine? (Essential Christian Debates)

Debate – Dr. Dale Tuggy vs. Chris Date | “Is Jesus Human and not Divine?”

podcast 277 – Was Christ tempted in every way?

podcast 197 – Noah Worcester on Atonement – Part 2

podcast 196 – Noah Worcester on Atonement – Part 1

podcast 92 – Dr. Joshua Thurow on objections to atonement theories

podcast 91 – Dr. Joshua Thurow on theories of the atonement

podcast 37 – Why did Jesus have to suffer?

podcast 145 – ‘Tis Mystery All: the Immortal dies!

The Tuggy-Brown debate: Dale’s opening statement (full debate)

podcast 189 – The unfinished business of the Reformation

10 steps towards getting less confused about the Trinity – #6 get a date – part 2

podcast 257 – A letter from the Lord Jesus: About God and Me

podcast 301 – Dr. Daniel Boyarin on John 1

Matthew 28:16-20; Romans 5:1-21; 1 John 4:7-9; Matthew 3:13-17; Matthew 6:5-15; Philippians 2:1-11; Revelation 5:1-14; Genesis 28:10-17; John 1:51; Hebrews 2:5-18; John 8:40; Deuteronomy 18:15; Acts 3:22; Matthew 1:1; Luke 18:38; Psalm 132:11.

This week’s thinking music is “Ladies, Take Me With You” by Doctor Turtle.

2 thoughts on “podcast 304 – The Absolute Basics of the Christian Faith”

  1. My goodness trinitarians complicate things. Jesus said, “Believe in God, believe also in me.” Straight forward, easy to understand. No hypostatic union, no eternal generation, no two natures. Just Jesus distinguishing himself from God and telling us to believe in them both.

  2. Seems to me that the “absolute basics of the Christian faith” can be summed up by
    Luke 23 v.40-42
    Acts 16 v.29-31

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