A Journey to Monotheism (Truth Matters) [28:06]
by Nathan Crowder rated at 2.0 (7 votes so far)
Nathan Crowder of Schenectady, NY, has bachelor degrees from the University of Florida in Political Science and Zion Bible Institute in Theology and Pastoral Ministry. Throughout his Christian life he has diligently searched to discover biblical truth. This quest began when he discovered that the Bible taught that the destination of the redeemed was the kingdom of God on earth in fulfillment of the promises made by God to Abraham and David. He was surprised to learn while at Bible College that they did not teach this simple truth but instead ascribed to the mythological view that at death righteous souls escape the body to go to heaven. This first discovery prompted more investigation and more skepticism in regard to other teachings commonly accepted in mainstream Christianity.
As time went on, Nathan came to see that the phrase "Son of God" in the Bible did not in any way imply deity, but rather this was a title for the Messiah. He learned that the Hebrew concept of Messiah was that a human being would be divinely empowered by God to rule the world on his behalf. As time went on he increasingly came to question the traditional doctrine of the Trinity and found himself reading books by biblical unitarians like Anthony Buzzard, which made more sense of the biblical data. Listen in to this show to hear Nathan's journey of faith.
Also, if you would like to listen to or read his paper entitled Christ the Firstborn Head of the Universe, stop by www.christianmonotheism.com where it can be downloaded for free.
books
These books, written by people from diverse backgrounds, express the simple truth that God is one. Some of them are more scholary while others are more autobiographical. In addition, a few of them are available to read online. If you would like more in depth treatment of christian monotheism, these books are the next step to take. Note: if you know of other books, not listed here, please leave us feedback.
featured item
The Doctrine of God and Christ
by Steve Katsaras [52:40]
rated at 2 (out of 7 votes)
Citing more than 60 verses, Steve Katsaras of Australia thoroughly explains the biblical doctrines of God and Christ before telling the story of how these truths were corrupted in the ecumenical counsels of the fourth and fifth centuries.
Yahweh is one, not two or three, and there is no God besides him. The Bible uses singular pronouns in reference to God thousands upon thousands of time, a fact that clearly teaches God is a singular individual. This one God is the eternal, omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent creator of heaven and earth.
Jesus is the human mediator who called God his Father. Jesus had a beginning in time and is the miraculously born son of God. Jesus recognized his Father as the only true God who was his superior. Jesus admitted to possessing limited knowledge; he was a mortal man who experienced temptation, hunger, thirst, weariness, suffering, death, and resurrection.
The doctrines of God and Christ mutated over time and continued to develop in new and unbiblical ways after the New Testament was written. Steve talks about the first four ecumenical counsels (Nicea in a.d. 325, Constantinople in a.d. 381, Ephesus in a.d. 431, and Chalcedon in a.d. 451) to demonstrate how these doctrines evolved over time.