{"id":41109,"date":"2019-03-26T23:47:04","date_gmt":"2019-03-27T03:47:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/?p=41109"},"modified":"2025-11-26T19:40:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T01:40:11","slug":"debating-dale-starter-pack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/debating-dale-starter-pack\/","title":{"rendered":"Debating Dale Starter Pack"},"content":{"rendered":"
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(updated November 2025)<\/em> Please don’t take this personally, but in all likelihood, I’m not willing to debate you<\/strong>. I can only do so much with my time, I am always over-committed, and I’m getting my decrepit by the day. Also, I have to think you’re a worthy opponent. Most likely, though not necessarily, you will have a PhD in some relevant field and some relevant professional publications in philosophy or theology journals. So don’t get your hopes up. Still, if you were thinking about debating me, or just refuting me online, here are some things you should study<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Required reading: <\/strong>What is the Trinity?<\/strong><\/a><\/em> and “<\/strong>Trinity<\/strong><\/a>.”<\/strong> These will help you to understand why I’m going to ask you to clarify what Trinity theory you’re defending, or why I won’t allow you to smudge the difference between a Trinity theory and a claim that “Jesus is God” or that he is divine. (More on these below.) And if we are debating the Trinity, you will have to explain (at least) <\/strong>t<\/strong><\/a>hese six facts<\/a><\/strong>, facts which trinitarians who assume that Christians have always been trinitarian have heretofore not been able to account for. Probably the best place to look for why I hold that the New Testament does not teach any Trinity doctrine is my opening statement in this debate book. (See also here<\/a> and the published book chapter version<\/a>.) When it comes to biblical terminology, my thoughts on the idea of heresy, what I call the fulfillment fallacy, how any Trinity theory conflicts with the Bible<\/a>, what is essential to the New Testament gospel, relative identity Trinity theories, and how current logical treatments of identity statements can help us in reading the New Testament, the place to look is my book Monotheism, Heresy, and the Bible<\/em><\/strong>. This should, God willing, be published in early 2026 by Theophilus Press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m not going to be impressed<\/a> if you urge that John 17:1-3 doesn’t say that only<\/em> the Father is the only true God. (See also here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I will object if you argue that when a New Testament author says that Jesus fulfills some OT prophecy that was originally about Yahweh<\/strong>, this is the author’s way of saying that Jesus is Yahweh. I explain this fulfillment fallacy<\/strong> here<\/a> and here<\/a> and here<\/a>. It is a beginner’s mistake in reading the NT, not any kind of deep insight, despite being endorsed by an embarrassing number of recent evangelical scholars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are you going to hit me with Richard Bauckham’s confused and confusing neologisms about “divine identity”<\/strong>? I really wish you wouldn’t, but if you must, you’ll want to read the published critique he’s been ignoring<\/a> since before it was published, and also this<\/a> and this<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n

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You should think this is a sound argument.<\/strong><\/a> If you think a premise is false, you should have a strong reason to give for that claim, because as I explain here and in follow-up posts and podcast episodes, there are strong reasons for a Christian to agree with each premise. Evangelical apologists have been almost<\/em> to a man ignoring this argument for years now, to their shame. Don’t join their ranks! If you’re unclear what a “sound” argument is, consult standard sources, like this<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These two talks explain why I will not be impressed with the points that Jesus is referred to as “God” and as “Lord” in the NT<\/strong>. In short, those terms are ambiguous in the NT, and these usages are not at all a way of hinting that Jesus “is God.” These authors never confuse Jesus and God. Again, the best place to look is the big opening chapter of Monotheism, Heresy, and the Bible<\/em>. But earlier versions of that material are in podcasts starting here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“But Jesus is worshiped!<\/strong>” Yes, he is and he should be, but this is not a problem for biblical unitarian theology. Here’s a problem for trinitarians: justifying the speculative claim that one should only worship someone if they have the divine nature or essence. It’s neither self-evident nor is it found in the Bible. It’s only an inference from post-biblical catholic traditions. In this talk below (or in this podcast<\/a>) I explain why I worship Jesus without embarrassment, even though I don’t confuse him with God and do not think he “has a divine nature,” and why this isn’t idolatry, by NT standards. In brief: I go back to the original justification for worshiping the exalted Lord Jesus<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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