podcast 356 – Seminary student takes Trinity class, becomes unitarian – Part 1

Johnny Barnes earned a Master of Arts in Theological Studies from Dallas Theological Seminary. When he took the required class on the Trinity, he couldn’t help but notice that many of the texts appealed to in order to support the Trinity were problematic in various ways. And he did not see anyone in Scripture appealing to “mystery” to attempt to deal with problems of coherence.

Finding out online that there are biblical unitarian Christians, he decided to look into these issues, and he became convinced that New Testament theology is unitarian and not trinitarian, in other words, that it teaches the one God to be the Father himself, not a three-and-one or tripersonal deity which is never mentioned.

. . . if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 10:9 (NET Bible)

In this first half of our conversation we discuss Mr. Barnes’s spiritual background, his time at Dallas Theological Seminary, his experience in their required Trinity class, problems for “two-natures” theories about Jesus, how present-day seminary education virtually ignores unitarian Christianity and seems uninterested in hearing both sides of the argument, clashing evangelical views on whether or not one must believe in the Trinity to be saved, the reactions of his friends to his change of mind, the reaction of DTS to his change of mind, various unitarian people and sources he found helpful as he was deliberating, and what he is doing now.

Links for this episode:

Three recent whistleblowers

RTS Dallas

Dallas Theological Seminary

REV note on John 1:18

Kegan Chandler

Chaldler, “Unorthodox Christology in General Baptist History: The Legacy of Matthew Caffyn“

“Negative Mysterianism” about the Trinity

Eutychianism

the Council of Chalcedon

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

Debate – Dr. Dale Tuggy vs. Dr. Michael Brown