Restitutio

Who was the original audience for the book of Genesis? Although we might be tempted to think we are, Genesis was written a long time ago in a different language and culture. Thinking through who the audience was, will help us approach the first chapter of Genesis on its own terms. In this episode, Will Barlow labors to put Genesis in its own context. He reminds us of what Israel had just been thro...

Today we're starting a new class called Scripture & Science. As a college student, studying engineering, I remember a particular day at the school library when I had the thought: "Well, I guess I'm going to have to look into scientific objections to the bible." I had been raised a Christian and believed the bible was God-inspired and infallible. However, I was now taking lots of science and en...

Have you heard of oneness theology? Also called "Jesus only," this is the idea that Jesus is all there is. Jesus is the Father; Jesus is the Holy Spirit. Jesus has manifested himself in many ways over the years, but there is only one individual or self who is God. Although not exclusive to the Pentecostal movement, most oneness believers belong to charismatic (or apostolic) groups today. This is a...

Why is Christianity awesome? Answering this question is a good exercise for us. So often we hear about why Christianity is terrible, especially in the eyes of the world. Many of these critiques are important and we should be humble enough to listen to problems, both real and perceived. However, my goal today is to focus on the positive. I'd like to spend some time just thinking about the goodness...

A couple of weeks ago I got to speak at the Church of God's annual youth camp at Manchester University in rural Indiana. The week focused on all the different passions that we too easily allow to take God's spot in our hearts. Timypaul Lupe gave the message before mine in which he urged the listeners to smash their idols, demonstrating this by taking out a sledge hammer and breaking a jar on stage...

Last Sunday, I shared this message about God's amazing grace. Instead of focusing on how gracious, merciful, and forgiving God is, I labored to explain why we don't deserve God's grace. I've observed this not only in my own journey, but also with many others who grow up in the church. We hear a thousand times how much God loves us and forgives us, but we easily overlook his wrath and holiness. God...

Last week Dale Tuggy discussed William Lane Craig's theory about the Trinity for an hour. In one sense this was a momentous occasion when two heavy-hitting philosophers got into the ring to duke it out. In another sense, the limited constraint of one hour barely gave either much time to warm up or process the other's position, much less land any serious blows. Still, it was a worthwhile exchange a...

What is the gospel? No, I’m not talking about the biographies of Jesus or catchy music. I mean, what is the message of salvation that Jesus commissioned us to preach? Pastor Victor Gluckin of Living Faith Christian Church in Rhode Island masterfully explains what the gospel is and does. The gospel is not good advice but good news that something has changed, is changing, and will change. The...

Whereas last time we examined 6 interpretations people hold for Hebrews 1.10-12, today we look at just one--the 7th. Jerry Wierwille is my guest again and in this episode he explains his take on Hebrews 1.10-12. He delves into wisdom christology to show how these verses speak of Jesus protologically as wisdom that created the heavens and the earth. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcas...

In our last episode, Dr. Jerry Wierwille led us through a contextual overview of Hebrews 1 and 2 in order to situate Hebrews 1.10-12. Today, we’ll consider seven interpretations of Hebrews 1.10-12, including: Father as referent, doxology Jesus as creator of Genesis creation Jesus as creator of figurative heaven and earth (referring to people and political institutions) Jesus as creator of fi...

Hebrews 1.10-12 is a confusing passage for many of us. It seems to say that Jesus created the heavens and the earth in the beginning. Today we are beginning a three part series in which Dr. Jerry Wierwille will address this important passage in context. Our first part is Wierwille's presentation from last year's UCA conference. In this overview, he reviews the context, extending from chapter 1 all...

Today we are addressing Progressive Christianity. To be clear, we are not talking about politics, though they often go hand in hand. Progressive Christianity is an outgrowth of liberal Christianity, which accepted the modernist ethos of the Enlightenment and merged it with Christianity. Likewise Progressive Christianity brings the assumptions and moral commitments of postmodernism to Christianity....

Power and kindness rarely go together. I don't know about you, but I'm so thankful the most powerful being in the universe is also exceedingly compassionate! In fact, when he revealed himself to Moses, compassion was the first attribute he declared about himself. We see the outworking of God's compassion in the laws he provided Israel in the Torah, especially the provisions he made for those who w...

Have you heard of historiography? Your historiography is the method you employ in doing history. This is especially relevant when the scholars who make the rules for doing history decide to exclude any supernatural events from their historiography. Today, my guest, Aaron Shelenberger, continues his rebuttal to Ehrman’s three main objections to the historicity of the resurrection of Jesus. We...

Today my guest, Aaron Shelenberger, and I are tackling a second scholarly objection of Bart Ehrman against the resurrection of Jesus. We're taking a deep dive into the historian's use of probability to establish whether a particular event happened. Are miracles by definition improbable? Does the rarity of miracles preclude the historian from talking about them? Like last week, Shelenberger will gu...

Aaron Shelenberger who studied under Mike Licona at Southern Evangelical Seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina, shares about his research on the historicity of the resurrection. In particular, his thesis tackled three main objections brought forth by popular author and anti-Christian Bart Ehrman. Now, I realize this episode and the next two that follow are a tad technical, so if that's not your ja...

Last time Pastor Daniel Calcagno spoke to us about the older generations. Today we'll get into discussing Generation X, Millennials, and Generation Z. We explore pivotal events in each of these younger generations as well as how Christianity uniquely appeals to them. Hopefully this conversation will spur some thoughts for you, regardless of your age, and how you can reach people for Christ in your...

Daniel Calcagno serves as the pastor of Glad Tidings Church of God in Fonthill, Ontario (just west of Niagara Falls). He is the owner of MessianicNiagra.com along with the associated YouTube channel, which has several thousand subscribers and a video with over 400,000 views. Today he’s talking to me about generations based on a sermon series he preached at his home church. This week we&#8217...

Tribalism is a major problem in our society today. If we're honest, tribalism is a major problem in Christianity today. If I'm really honest, I have to admit that tribalism is a major problem in me today. Do you feel it too? Are you tempted to blow your ideological, theological, or political enemies out of the water when they say something ignorant or obviously wrong? Are you tempted to lump peopl...

Eric Miller begins by covering Alexander and Thomas Campbell's beliefs about the Trinity. Then he talks about his own experience as a non-Trinitarian in the Independent Christian Churches community. He explains how the Christian Churches have become stricter on this issue in recent years. We discuss the possibility of reforming his church to be more in line with the tolerance expressed by Campbell...

Have you heard of the Restoration Movement? In today’s interview Eric Miller recounts the history of Barton Stone and Alexander Campbell as they initiated the movement to get back to the Bible over against denominational divisions. He explains the differences between the Disciples of Christ, the A Capella Churches of Christ, and the Independent Christian Churches. He also explores why the In...

The Trinity remains a massively popular theory to understand God in Christianity today as it has since the fourth century. Some go so far as to condemn any attempt to understand the concept while others are content to allow their faith to seek understanding (fides quarens intelectum ). Nevertheless, most Christians have never honestly assessed this doctrine in light of scripture, reason, and histo...

Are you in a high control group? How would you even know? Lori Jane shares her story of waking up after attending Kingdom Halls for thirty years as a Jehovah's Witness (JW). Although the Watch Tower organization claimed they were the one true church, Lori discovered in Pioneer School the many "corrections" that had been handed down, which indicated they didn't have a monopoly on truth. In today's...

In a world where self-identifying as a Christ-follower draws criticism, exclusion, and persecution, it's important for us to remember the words of our Lord. He said we are salt and we are light. But, what does it mean to be salty and shining? In this message, my hope is that you'll be challenged to stick with Jesus even when others pressure you to conform to new ways of thinking and living. Today...

Have you heard of the Integrity Syndicate ? No, not a crime syndicate, the Integrity Syndicate--the online ministry of Theophilus Josiah, my guest today. Abused and neglected by his parents and raised in a California orphanage, Josiah met God in his youth resulting in a new course for his life. Through a series of providential events, he went to college and became a mechanical engineer. His career...