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Calling Christians Worldwide to Return to the Creed of Jesus

found 20 items matching Church History

The Great Shift away from Jewish Roots (Truth Matters)  [28:06]
by Alex Hall rated at 3.2 (12 votes so far)

Alex Hall of London, UK, describes with gusto and detail how the early Christian movement shifted away from the Hebrew mindset as it was persecuted in its native land and driven out into the Greco-Roman world. Alex bases his commentary on volume one of the German church historian Adolf Harnack's tome called History of Dogma. (Accessible online at ccel.org)

Listen in as Alex discusses the major reasons why Christianity began to shift its thinking towards Greek philosophy and how important it is that we be informed about this great shift.

The Socinian Movement  [40:30]
by Sean Finnegan rated at 4.0 (3 votes so far)

Learn about the Italian, Polish, and Hungarian unitarian groups of the 16th and 17th centuries. Find out how they started under Faustus Socinus, Peter Gonesius, and Ferenc David. Derive inspiration from their courageous stand against persecution in a tumultuous political time.

Unitarian Trailblazers  [59:50]
by Sean Finnegan rated at 4.0 (3 votes so far)

Learn about the biblical unitarian trailblazers of the 1500s, including Claude of Savoy, Adam Pastor, and Michael Servetus. Discover how they fearlessly tried to convert Martin Luther and John Calvin. Hear about their heroic lives and, in the case of Servetus, tragic death.

Debate: Unitarian vs. Trinitarian  [117:52]
by Sean Finnegan vs. Brant Bosserman rated at 3.9 (32 votes so far)

Presented by Brant Bosserman and Sean Finnegan at the One God Conference, in Seattle, WA on June 1st 2008. The debate was over whether God is a single individual (the Father of Jesus) or if he is a Trinity (three persons in one essence). The debate followed this format:

Introduction by Ken Westby and Tom Bosserman [10 min]

Sean's Opening Statement [20 min]
Brant's Opening Statement [20 min]

Sean's Rebuttal [15 min]
Brant's Rebuttal [15 min]

Sean Cross-Examine Brant [10 min]
Brant Cross-Examine Sean [10 min]

Sean's Closing Statement [5 min]
Brant's Closing Statement [5 min]

The discussion was lively and considerate and I thank Brant for his willingness to engage us on this issue. Unfortunately the recording has some microphone interference during the concluding statements but most of what was said can be understood. Sorry for the inconvenience.

The Creed of Jesus  [31:09]
by Dustin Smith rated at 2.8 (12 votes so far)

Dustin demonstrates the simple Creed of Jesus evolved into what is recanted in most churches today. The exhortation is for the followers of Jesus to return to his creed and thereby returning to his definition of who God is.

The Doctrine of God and Christ  [52:40]
by Steve Katsaras rated at 2.0 (7 votes so far)

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.

Christian Persecution in Australia  [58:07]
by Carlos Jimenez rated at 1.9 (8 votes so far)

From agnostic to Christian heretic, one person's journey to faith in the "one and only true God" (John 17.3) and subsequent rejection and persecution through the Australian theological system.

The Arian Controversy (Truth Matters)  [28:06]
by Alex Hall rated at 3.2 (12 votes so far)

Alex Hall of London tells the story of how the church vacillated between Arius and Athanasius during the fourth century. By focusing on the dueling councils during that period (a.d. 318-381) Alex paints a picture, which, although disturbing to those of us who would like to think that such matters as the deity of Christ were always clear, accurately describes how politics heavily influenced the development of theology during that time. A good deal of Alex's work was influenced by When Jesus Became God by Richard Rubenstein. If this conversation has piqued your interest in this subject I highly recommend reading Rubenstein's book as it fills out the details in a readable manner. Alex's conclusion is that we should not trust either side since both used ungodly means to achieve their goal of winning the debate, rather, we should practice the Berean exercise of searching the Scriptures to see whether these things are so (Acts 17.11).

The Trinity Defined and Refuted  [73:25]
by Sean Finnegan rated at 3.5 (16 votes so far)

Sean Finnegan describes and refutes the belief of three persons in one godhead including a systematic brief treatment of their co-equal, co-eternal, co-essential nature, and the hypostatic union. Does the Trinity make sense? Is the dogma biblical? Join this tour de force through early Church history and the relevant theological constructs of Christianity's most controversial doctrine.

Basic Background of the Trinity  [6 pages]
by Ray Faircloth rated at 1.6 (7 votes so far)

With remarkable brevity and thoroughness Ray Faircloth outlines the major theological positions of early Christianity regarding God and Christ and capably delineates the corresponding modern positions of as well.

Debate: Is God One or Three in One?  [143:07]
by Sean Finnegan vs. Russ Dizdar rated at 3.3 (18 votes so far)

Sean Finnegan and Russ Dizdar participate in a debate over the question of who God is. Mr. Finnegan took the affirmative position that the Father is the only true God (cf. Jn 17.3) and Mr. Dizdar, took the traditional position that God is three persons in one essence--the Trinity. The tone was very civil and both sides were able to present their positions.

Unfortunately, the moderator, GeorgeAnn Hughes (founder of The Byte Show) was not able to participate very much because she was having some trouble with her voice. As a result, the participants had to keep track of their own time and took turns presenting their cases. The format of the debate was as follows:

Opening Statements
20 minutes -- Sean Finnegan
20 minutes -- Russ Dizdar

Rebuttals
15 minutes -- Sean Finnegan
15 minutes -- Russ Dizdar

Direct Question and Answers
approximately an hour

If you would like to get in on the discussion visit this blog entry.

Origins of the 'Jesus Only' Movement (also called Oneness)  [59:34]
by Alex Hall rated at 2.2 (8 votes so far)

What is the 'Jesus Only' movement? Listen to a masterful historical sketch of how this ancient understanding of God arose.

The Radical Deformation: What Happened in the Second Century  [64:04]
by Alex Hall rated at 2.2 (8 votes so far)

Alex Hall documents via his research into Adolf Harnack's the History of Dogma, Volume I, how the second century church shifted from believing that Jesus was a miraculously begotten human being to thinking that he was a pre-existent being who became human.

The Nature of Preexistence in the New Testament  [12 pages]
by Anthony Buzzard rated at 2.0 (7 votes so far)

The so-called "preexistence" of Jesus in John refers to his "existence" in the Plan of God. The church has been plagued by the introduction of non-biblical language. There is a perfectly good word for "real" preexistence in the Greek language (pro-uparchon). It is very significant that it appears nowhere in Scripture, but it does in the writings of Greek church fathers of the second century. These Greek commentators on Scripture failed to understand the Hebrew categories of thought in which the New Testament is written.

Search for the Origins of the Trinity  [51:52]
by Steve Katsaras rated at 2.0 (7 votes so far)

Steve Katsaras explains the history and development of the Trinity.

Who Is John Biddle?  [29:37]
by Sean Kelly rated at 2.0 (7 votes so far)

Sean Kelly shares about John Biddle, a courageous and indefatigable British unitarian who suffered greatly for the faith.

The Early Shift from Historical Jesus to Pre-existence  [1 page]
by Friedrich Loofs rated at 1.0 (5 votes so far)

The Hidden Flaw in Traditional Christianity: A Perversion of Monotheism. A short quotation from Friedrich Loofs, church historian, who lived from 1858-1928.

A Deafening Silence  [2 pages]
by David Maas rated at 1.0 (5 votes so far)

Why is there no evidence in the New Testament of Jewish objections to the doctrines of the Trinity, the deity of Christ or the Incarnation? The New Testament records objections to a crucified messiah as well as disputes over circumcision, Sabbath keeping, dietary regulations and eating food offered to idols. Moreover, ideas like the Trinity and God “becoming man” are so unique and difficult to comprehend that one would expect a thoroughgoing teacher like the Apostle Paul to address them constantly, yet nowhere in his epistles is there an example of him attempting to explain the inexplicable to his congregations. Nowhere does Paul discuss how the one God can be “three persons in one” or teach how in Christ Jesus “God became a man.” Such lessons would have required constant repetition.

Critique of the Historical Godhead  [48 pages]
by K. Michael Errington rated at 1.0 (5 votes so far)

Many consider the configuration of the Trinity to have occurred in the Apostolic Age despite the word having never occurred inside the scriptures, much less any basic outline articulated by any of its authors. What is compelling is that any church historian with an ounce of integrity will recognize the basic configuration of the Central Doctrine to have developed over the course of centuries through ecumenical councils. More profound is the idea that eternal salvation rests on belief in this mysterious formula. The aim here is reduce the mysteriousness of the Central Doctrine’s development by uncovering decisions made by these ecumenical councils. History has a story to tell and if we look close enough more wonder should follow. There were 178 ecumenical councils between 263 and 431 A.D., yet the Catholic Church recognizes only 3 of these. The intention of this paper is to identify the historical development of the Central Doctrine and pinpoint the work that was overlooked at the Reformation.



<< back to the options
difficult texts (118) 
Who is Jesus? (73) 
Trinity (57) 
Who is God? (41) 
unitarian texts (35) 
Jesus is Human (25) 
pre-existence (22) 
What is the Holy Spirit? (21) 
three persons (21) 
debates (20) 
Church History (20) 
The Shema (19) 
Old Testament God (19) 
incarnation (18) 
Creed of Jesus (15) 
Jesus is God (15) 
New Testament God (14) 
Jesus as Messiah (13) 
co-eternality (13) 
Jesus is God's Agent (13) 
Nicene Creed (12) 
Jesus' Birth (12) 
Eternal Generation (11) 
Dual Natures (11) 
Elohim (11) 
Jesus had a Beginning (11) 
Faith Story (10) 
Jesus Died (10) 
co-equality (9) 
Singular Pronouns (9) 
Son of God (9) 
Worship (9) 
Echad (9) 
God the Son (8) 
The Word (8) 
Importance of this Truth (8) 
Adoni (7) 
oneness (7) 
Chacedonian Creed (7) 
Idolatry (7) 
Heretics (7) 
Form of God (7) 
Jesus has a God (7) 
Jesus was Tempted (7) 
Creator (7) 
Adam Christology (6) 
Representational Deity (6) 
My Lord and My God (5) 
mistranslation (5) 
atonement (4) 
Apostles' Creed (4) 
Son of Man (4) 
I AM (4) 
Salvation (4) 
Let Us Make Man (4) 
Jesus Only (4) 
Persecution (4) 
Constantinopolitan Creed (4) 
Granville Sharp (4) 
Jesus' Sacrifice for Sin (3) 
The Gospel (3) 
Kenosis (3) 
Paraklete (3) 
Jesus was Worshiped (3) 
Mediator (3) 
Ante Nicene Fathers (3) 
Jewish Roots (3) 
Immanuel (3) 
History of the Trinity (3) 
Resurrection of Jesus (2) 
Wisdom of God (2) 
Angel of the LORD (2) 
Alpha and Omega (2) 
Only Begotten God (2) 
circular logic (2) 
Praying to Jesus (2) 
Open Theism (1) 
Faith of Jesus (1) 
No One Has Seen God (1) 
Jehovah's Witnesses (1) 
Cult (1) 
Agency (1) 
God with Us (1) 
Theos (1) 
Michael Servetus (1) 
Talking to Jesus (1) 
Jesus Forgave Sins (1) 
Jesus Raised the Dead (1) 
Shared Titles (1) 
King of Kings (1) 
translation bias (1) 
Adam Pastor (1) 
Claude of Savoy (1) 
Faustus Socinus (1) 
Laelius Socinus (1) 
Fausto Sozzini (1) 
Lelio Sozzini (1) 
Peter Gonesius (1) 
Georg Schomann (1) 
Racovian Academy (1) 
Racovian Catechism (1) 
Ferenc David (1) 
Andreas Wissowatius (1) 
Socinians (1) 



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.

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