Restitutio

Determining the validity of capital punishment is a complex task, especially when approached from a Christian perspective.  To arrive at a biblically informed decision we need to consider both the Old and New Testaments, giving special attention to the nuanced understanding the Apostle Paul gave in Romans 13.  Furthermore, in America we have quite a few other issues we need to balance out such as...

In this lecture you’ll learn about the Anabaptist movement and their distinctive beliefs.  We’ll consider the life of Michael Sattler, an important leader of the Anabaptists, and see how he stood firm in his faith even when his life was at risk.  Next, you’ll find out about Melchior Hoffman and how his followers took over the city of Münster, eventually resulting in chaos, immora...

Is it ever right to end someone’s life early? If so, under what conditions? In this episode we turn to the bible to sort out a Christian position on euthanasia.  Drawing on the inherent dignity God has invested in each person by making us in his image and the fact that God claims sovereignty over life and death, we conclude that physician assisted suicide is a sin.  In difficult cases of ext...

Learn about the Swiss Reformation, spearheaded by Ulrich Zwingli in Zurich as well as the formation of the sect of Anabaptists known as the Swiss Brethren, including Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, and George Blaurock. Key events covered in this episode include: 1519 Ulrich Zwingli begins Reformation in Zurich 1529 Zwingli and Luther part ways over communion 1523 Conrad Grebel broke with Zwingli 1525 F...

On average, 121 people commit suicide per day in America. It is now the tenth leading cause of death in this country.  In this episode we discuss this phenomenon and seek to understand what the bible can teach us about this subject.  In addition, we wrestle with a number of hard questions about suicide such as: Is suicide a sin? Will suicide bar someone from eternal life? How do we explain God str...

In this episode, you’ll get a brief introduction to the contributions of Martin Luther and John Calvin to the initiation and spread of the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century, including these events: 1505 Martin Luther becomes a monk 1517 Martin Luther nails 95 Theses on Wittenberg church door 1524-5 Peasants War 1536 John Calvin publishes Institutes of the Christian Religion 1541 Joh...

Today we are beginning a new series on life and death, in which we’ll consider abortion, suicide, euthanasia, and capital punishment.  Our goal is to address each topic from a biblical framework in order to arrive at a Christian position.  At the outset, I’ll admit that we don’t know everything and could be wrong, so we appreciate your engagement in helping us arrive at a godly p...

500 years ago, there was only one Christian denomination throughout most of the world. 500 years ago, the church and the government killed those who resisted tradition. 500 years ago, no one could read the bible in their own language. How did we get from there to here? Discover the wild and exciting story of Christianity for the last 500 years, so you can understand how the world ended up the way...

Have you ever read about the time Uzzah touched the ark and God struck him down? When’s the last time you heard a sermon preached on this text? Anytime I’ve reflected on this passage, I’m so focused on trying to explain how God could be just in carrying out this judgment that I’ve missed the point for my own life. In this rousing sermon, Victor Gluckin argues that we often...

Divorce is a painful and complicated subject to talk about in America today where about half of all marriages end in divorce. Our laws have changed to accept “no-fault” divorce and many of us are unaware of what the bible teaches on this critical subject. To figure out the biblical perspective on divorce and remarriage, we will consider three scriptures from the Old Testament (Mal 2.13...

Stanley Chee of the Christian Disciples Church in Toronto, Canada shares a brief overview of how the doctrine of the trinity developed in the first four centuries.  Pulling on the work of Eric Chang, Bentley Chan, Hans Kung, and Richard Rubenstein, Chee explains four major factors that played a role in this process: The church’s gradual separation from its Jewish roots The subtle exaltation...

We all get beaten down in life. Whether it’s catastrophes like hurricanes, shootings, or economic meltdowns, or just dealing with the day to day demands and responsibilities of life, we all go through periods of dryness, feeling like we aren’t making a difference. This is where Elijah’s example is particularly pertinent. Having reached the peak of his influence and achieved a mig...

The first verse of John’s Gospel reads: “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.” Typically, Christians understand the Word to refer to the Son and God to refer to the Father. However, as John Schoenheit explains, this reading owes more to later trinitarian theology than the native biblical context. Instead of assuming the Word just is the...

This world is not my home I’m just a passing through My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue The angels beckon me from heaven’s open door And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore Oh lord you know I have no friend like you If heaven’s not my home then lord what will I do The angels beckon me from heaven’s open door And I can’t feel at home in thi...

John McCave has faithfully served God as a minister for 36 years.  In this interview he shares his story of how God brought him from a hardened tough guy to a humble servant, motivated by love.  McCave also shares key insights he’s gained along the way, especially with regard to his wife, Mary without whose support he could never have succeeded.  Although this interview is chock-full of fasc...

Sid Hatch, a former Baptist minister and graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary explains his reasons for questioning the Trinity.  Ultimately he concluded the bible does not teach that Jesus is “God the Son” but that he is “the Son of God.”  In this presentation, he discusses various key texts including John 1.1 and Philippians 2.1-9 among others.   Notes: Watch the v...

Why are there so many divergent beliefs about what the bible teaches?  Partially, this results from mistakes we make when reading scripture.  In this interview, Dr. Jerry Wierwille enumerates seven typical fallacies that bible students commit when reading: Root Fallacy Time-Frame Fallacy Misusing Parallels Fallacy Single Meaning Fallacy Word-Concept Fallacy Disjunctive Fallacy Lexical Fallacy Avoi...

Are you a missionary? Although we typically think of missionaries as those who travel to foreign lands to share the gospel with people, the simple fact is that we are all called to the work of sharing the gospel.  Furthermore, as HeartCry Missionary Society points out, indigenous missionaries have huge advantages over foreign missionaries since they are more plenteous, less expensive, culturally l...

What do you know about the book of Proverbs?  It can be quite difficult to understand what’s going on without some knowledge of how Hebrew poetry works.  In this episode Jerry Wierwille, serves as our guide to get a better grip on what Proverbs is all about.  He explains the poetic structures, general approach, and theological content of this incredibly important book so you can get more out...

Service is an important part of Christian living.  We are not spectators waiting to be entertained, but participants looking for ways to help out.  In this sermon, John Cortright shows what Jesus taught us about service at the last supper as well as what sort of attitude we should have.  So often we either critique from the sidelines or remain oblivious to the needs around us.  Instead, we can tak...

What is faith?  To some it is believing in something without evidence.  To others it is a means by which to attain God’s blessings like prosperity and health.  John Schoenheit explains how neither of these definitions best encapsulates the biblical understanding.  Instead, he shows how faith is really just trust in what God says, whether in scripture or by revelation.  In this fascinating in...

Find out what the most commonly misunderstood texts about the kingdom are as well as how to interpret them within their own contexts.  In this final session of the kingdom of God class, we’ll look at these important verses: Matthew 16.28 “Some…will not taste death until they see…the kingdom” Luke 17.21 “The kingdom of God is in your midst” Matthew 24.34 &#...

Sean Holbrook was attending a typical evangelical church when he heard a series of sermons teaching the Trinity.  Ironically, these very messages, designed to bolster faith in the doctrine, ended up inspiring Holbrook to question the age old dogma.  As a result, he set out to study the topic more and watched James White debates and read his book The Forgotten Trinity .  Once again,...

We’ve looked at how and why Christianity lost the kingdom message; in this episode you’ll learn how we got it back.  Over the last five hundred years, three different movements have made significant strides in recovering the kingdom: the Anabaptists (16th century), the Adventists (19th century), and liberal scholars (20th century).  In this lecture you’ll get a brief overview of...

We all have resources, whether money, time, talents, or skills.  How should we steward these resources?  In this episode, we conclude our series on stewardship by talking about work, debt, contentment, retirement, volunteering, industriousness, and laziness.  We conclude that as with all areas of life, we need to seek God’s glory with our resources. Links: Check out the other episodes in the...