The Biblical Unitarian Podcast

This week's episode explores the logical fallacy of begging the question. This fallacy occurs when the premise is assumed in the conclusion, without offering any evidence or data to prove the conclusion. We examine common instances of begging the question in the culture and debates about Christology. Finally, we provide several tips to avoid falling prey to this fallacious form of argumentation. V...

This week's episode examines the Anecdotal fallacy, which occurs when someone draws on personal experience or an isolated piece of evidence while neglecting the larger body of data on a subject. We discuss examples of this fallacy being committed, both in common practice and in discussions about God, Christ, and the history of the Trinity. Lastly, we offer several concrete ways to avoid using anec...

This week's episode examines the "No True Scotsman" fallacy, which commonly occurs in debates about christology, the deity of Christ, and the Trinity. We define the fallacy, show examples of it regularly appearing in biblical debates, and demonstrate why it is fallacious. Finally, we offer five tips to help our listeners avoid committing this logical fallacy, thereby improving the consistency of a...

The logical fallacy "Appeal to Authority" occurs when someone points to the opinion of an expert, scholar, or institution without considering the merits of their argument. This week's episode helps readers identify when this fallacy takes place, especially in arguments about God, Christology, and the origins of the Trinity. We also discuss the difference between this fallacy and the consensus arri...

This episode explores the Bandwagon Fallacy, which occurs when someone points to the popularity of a belief, issue, or person to the exclusion of evidence, reason, or logical arguments. We point to some of the most common expressions of the Bandwagon Fallacy, especially those used to argue for the Trinity. We also differentiate between the fallacy and a scholarly consensus, discussing why the two...

In debates and discussions about the Trinity and the identity of God, the fallacy of special pleading (or "moving the goalposts") often occurs. This fallacy takes place when one person changes the conditions or definition of their original argument when a counter-argument has met the original conditions, resulting in the original claim being moved farther away in order to avoid admitting the stren...

This week's episode begins a new series that examines common logical fallacies used in debates about God and Christ. The Straw Man fallacy occurs when one misrepresents, either intentionally or unintentionally, the argument of their opponent in a manner that makes it easier to knock down. This results in the actual argument getting ignored and the discussion stalling. We discuss common straw man f...

Having given sufficient attention to the Jewish Principle of Agency in the previous seven episodes, we can now turn and examine the role of agent that John the Baptist played in the four New Testament gospel accounts. This episode explores the many ways in which John the Baptist functioned as an authoritative agent of the God of Israel, including the fulfillment of scripture, offering forgiveness...

As we bring our study of the Jewish Principle of Agency to a close, we take the opportunity to examine the sixth and final tenet, a commissioned agent can authorize his or her own agents. After looking at the Jewish context and some examples of this tenet, we turn to the Gospel of John to better understand why Jesus, the agent of God, commissioned forth further agents. These agents include the ori...

According to the Jewish Principle of Agency, upon completion of his or her mission, the agent needed to return to the sender. This episode explores how Jesus functions as the agent of God in light of the context of this particular tenet, especially as it relates to the bodily ascension of Jesus. We consider why the Gospel of John has the most references to the ascension of Jesus, while also examin...

As we examine the fourth tenet of the Jewish Principle of Agency, we discover that the relationship between the principal and the agent requires an obedient posture. The one who is sent must obey the will of the sender, honoring the mission at the expense of his own interests. After situating this tenet in its Jewish context, we turn to the Gospel of John to witness several ways in which Jesus wil...

This week's episode explores the tenet in the Jewish Principle of Agency that recognizes the subordinate status of the agent (shaliach) of the sender (principal). We discuss the different agents that the true God uses in Scripture and their qualifications, and we even talk about who the most qualified agents were known to be. Lastly, we examine the Gospel of John's portrayal of Jesus as the human...

As we continue our series on the Jewish Principle of Agency, we explore in this episode the ways in which the commissioned agent carried out the judicial roles and responsibilities of his sender. We look closely at how human judges function as agents of God, to the point where they are even called "God." Then, we dive into the Old Testament and New Testament to survey how human agents share in God...

The first tenet of the Jewish Principle of Agency is that the agent fully represents the sender. This episode examines the evidence for this concept within the Hebrew Bible, the Mishnah, the Babylonian Talmud, and the New Testament. We also explore some of the most noteworthy agents of Yahweh in the Bible, including heavenly angels, prophets, kings, judges, and Jesus himself. Visit Amazon to buy y...

Scholars have long noted the similarities between the regular depiction of God sending prophets, messengers, and even the Messiah, with the Jewish principle of agency. This episode introduces the Jewish principle of agency and offers an overview of its six major tenets. Over the next six episodes, we will examine evidence for each of the tenets of Jewish understandings of agency within the biblica...

My book, Wisdom Christology in the Gospel of John, is now available. In this week's episode, I talk about why I wrote it, how I organized the material, and what you can expect in each chapter. If you are on the fence about buying it, or if you want to know more about how I organized the material, then this episode is for you. Visit Amazon to buy your copy of my new book Wisdom Christology in the G...

As we continue working through Alan Segal's arguments in favor of early Christian views of the Two Powers in Heaven heresy, we come to the Gospel of John. We explore the texts that Segal points to as evidence for the belief in Two Powers. In doing so, we interact with his arguments, weigh them for persuasiveness, and consider some of the much-needed evidence concerning monotheism that Segal conven...

Did the Apostle Paul teach something resembling the heresy of Two Powers in Heaven that the later Jewish rabbis rejected? This episode interacts with Alan Segal's interpretation of three key Pauline texts where Paul may (or may not) be guilty of promoting Jesus as the second power in heaven. After dialoguing with Segal's reading of Paul, we offer a summary of what Paul did in fact teach about God'...

Did Philo, the first-century Jew, believe and teach that there were actually two Gods in heaven? What does Philo mean when he talks about the "two powers" of God? This week's episode explores the complex theology of this prolific first-century theologian in order to better understand how Jewish monotheism was conveyed through the lens of a Middle Platonist. We interact with Alan Segal's book Two P...

The seminal work by Alan Segal, Two Powers in Heaven, has made a demonstrable impact on how interpreters understand Jewish monotheism and early Christian views of the exalted Jesus. This episode introduces the topic of the Two Powers heresy. We examine three passages from rabbinical literature in order to better understand this peculiar heresy, who might have been promoting it, and what sort of pa...

This episode interacts with a recently published article in the journal Novum Testamentum 66 (2024) entitled "Jesus’s Solidarity with Human Mortality and Perfection of Sonship in the Epistle to the Hebrews." The author draws attention to an overlooked argument in Hebrews, specifically in the manner in which the mortality of Jesus--the son of God--is set in parallel to the mortality of the original...

Deuteronomy 18:22 indicates that a presumptuous prophet is not to be feared. How does the theme of fear relate to those who hear Jesus’ prophetic preaching in the Gospel of John? Is Jesus feared, and if not, who is feared, and for what reason? Instead of ignoring Jesus as a presumably false prophet, why do some criticize him and his hometown anyway? And how are those who call for Jesus to be put t...

If Deut. 18:21-22 gives a litmus test to determine the legitimacy of a prophet's status, how does the Gospel of John frame the portrayal of Jesus in a manner that both anticipates this test and answers it? This week's episode demonstrates how Jesus' status as the prophet like Moses in whom Yahweh has placed his words is true. By examining the testimony of John the Baptist, the emphasis on the fulf...

Although the Gospel of John paints a thorough picture of Jesus as the prophet like Moses (Deut. 18:15-19), many of those who rejected Jesus regarded him as a false prophet who spoke presumptuously in the name of Yahweh (Deut. 18:20). This episode traces the many ways in which the narrative of the Gospel of John is framed around the warning in Deut 18:20, focusing specifically on what Jesus said th...

In our ongoing series that seeks to understand how Deut. 18:15-22 has shaped the depiction of Jesus in the Gospel of John, we focus this week on 18:19. This passage threatens the judgment of God upon those who do not heed the prophet in whom Yahweh has placed his authoritative words and commands. We demonstrate three ways in which those who refuse to listen to the prophet Jesus are called to accou...