Transfigured

Luke, Julian, and Sam do a debrief on the recent debate between Chris Date and Sam and Preston Sprinkle's "Theology in the Raw" podcast. Various people mentioned are Larry Hurtado, Jonathan Pageau, Alan Kreider's "The Patient Ferment of the Early Church", Jordan Peterson and his rules for good conversation, Paul Vanderklay as always, Jonathan Haidt, and Beau Branson. We discussion Biblical Unitarianism, Eastern Orthodoxy, The Jewish context of the emergence of Christianity, Monarchical Trinitarianism, and just exactly what is means for Jesus to be divine.   Link to the debate video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0a7tsC_6T80&t=1284s   Link to the podcast: https://www.prestonsprinkle.com/theology-in-the-raw/2020/3/16/783-trinitarianism-versus-unitarianism-a-conversation-with-chris-date-and-sam-adams

In this conversation we discuss linguistic confusions relating to Christology, is God eternally and necessarily a Father, Dale Tuggy and his definition of Unitarianism, Chris Date and standard American Evangelical Trinitarianism, the specifics of the Arian Controversy, is the God of the Old Testament the Father or the Son, can God be seen, Two Powers in Heaven by Alan Segal, Richard Bauckham, Justin Martyr and the Dialogue with Trypho, Philo of Alexandria, Josephus, Preston Sprinkle, Hegel, NT Wright, Michael Heiser, William Lane Craig, Neoplatonism, Origen of Alexandria, Plotinus, Is there Platonism in the book of Hebrews, did Apollos write the book of Hebrews, and finally we read the prologue of John 1, Maximus the Confessor and the 3 thickenings of the logos.  Link to our first conversation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_tuLfkp4_Y&t=5520s

Luke returns for a second conversation. This time Sam and Luke discuss Philippians 2, The Christ Hymn. Sam presents a Biblical Unitarian interpretation of the passage and Luke gives his feedback from an Eastern Orthodox Monarchical Trinitarian perspective. This video in both in response to the debate between Dale Tuggy and Christ Date and in anticipation of an upcoming debate/discussion between Sam and Chris Date. Because this is Sam and Luke they don't always stay on topic and mention Dr. Preston Sprinkle, Paul Vanderklay, Owen Barfield, Julian the Apostate, Lewis Carrol, Guy Sengstock, Jordan Peterson, Arius of Alexandria, David Bentley Hart, and Larry Hurtado.  My previous conversation with Dr. Beau Branson was mentioned multiple times: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_tuLfkp4_Y&t=2235s  Dale Tuggy and Chris Date Debate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c35_uFjEbx8

Tripp in an AI researcher at Amazon and a friend I met through the Paul Vanderklay online community. He is an expert on Aristotelianism, Thomistic theology, and the philosophy of mind with a masters in philosophy from Duke.   We talk about the doctrine of divine simplicity, how that relates to the doctrine of the trinity, Thomas Aquinas, Aristotle, Ray Kurzweil, Alvin Plantinga, the evolutionary argument against naturalism, David Hume, Thomas Bayes, the argument against miracles, Adam Friended, Michael Shermer, Alexander the Great, Tim McGrew, Douglas Murray, Christian Atheists, William Lane Craig, the cosmological argument, the Gospel of John, John the Baptist, and just why was Jesus crucified?   Here is our first conversation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvXOZj4kQGU&t=2s   Here is a link to Tripp, Esther and Adam Friended debating the resurrection: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7g9ic521c8   Tim McGrew and the argument from miracles:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSEobV4cHnc

Julian is a friend I met in the community around Paul VanderKlay. He is a Hutterite from Canada who has recently taken upon himself to learn more about the Trinity. We discuss the connection between belief and practice, trinitarian education, the historical connections between Hutterites and Unitarians, primitivism, Schleiermacher, Fred Sanders, Michael Reeves, Karl Barth, Jordan Peterson, evangelical identity, cardinal sins, Michael Polanyi, tacit belief, the difficulties of interpretation, Bart Ehrman, proper Christian cultural engagement, Neoplatonism, Alister McGrath, the Bible Project, and just who is this Jesus? The conversation ends abruptly due to connectivity issues, but we hope to resume it again soon.

Luke, a friend of Sam and member of Paul Vanderklay's online community, dives deep into the nuances of Trinitarianism and Biblical Unitarianism. They critique the evolution of creeds and discuss how these beliefs shape community dynamics and individual faith. Engaging with the historical context of theological debates, such as the Arian conflict, they underscore the importance of authentic dialogue. More than mere propositions, Luke emphasizes the transformative power of faith and connection, illuminating the delicate balance between belief and communal experience.

Dr. Beau Branson is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Brescia University with a PhD from Notre Dame. Much of his research has focused on the theology of the Trinity and the Eastern Greek Church Fathers. He has engaged with Dr. Dale Tuggy to demonstrate how a proper understanding of the Patristic doctrine of the Monarchy of the Father can solve many of the philosophical problems found in other trinity theories. The conversation ranges from Christian History, Jewish mysticism, Neoplatonism, the connection between philosophy and theology, biblical exegesis, stoeriology, and the strengths and weaknesses of Biblical Unitarianism. Dr. Branson was very generous with his time to have this conversation with me. We both share the goal of helping Christians with different perspectives engage with each other to foster meaningful conversation. He shares very interesting details of his personal story and how this is related to his current philosophical perspective.

My conversation with Paul Vanderklay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuoqGzIu5Wc&t=1s Hello and welcome my youtube channel and podcast,  "Transfigured".  I am Sam, your host. If you've been watching on youtube already, you heard correctly, there is now a podcast version available on all your favorite platforms. Transfigured has been a youtube channel for over a year with about 30 conversations posted as of right now. These will be trickling out on the podcast over the next few weeks in addition to the new conversations coming up.  I named this channel "Transfigured" because this channel is about seeing Jesus Christ for who he really is. When Peter, James and John saw Jesus transfigured on the mountain they saw Jesus in a deeper and truer way than they had before. This channel seeks to follow in their footsteps through good faith conversations and dialogue.    I was raised in a "Biblical Unitarian" church which teaches that Jesus is not God himself but rather the human Son of God and that the holy spirit is God's empowering presence in us, but not a separate member of the Godhead. But I also spent time in regular Evangelical Trinitarian churches and contexts and was exposed to both sides. You can hear more of my story if you are curious in a conversation I had on Paul Vanderklay's channel. While I still hold to Biblical Unitarianism my story given me a drive to learn more about the subject from a variety of perspectives.   I started this channel mainly for the purpose of my own curiosity and exploration so I could have a chance to talk about this subject that I personally find very interesting and learn from the feedback I receive from listeners. This channel features good faith long form discussions. While there are many debates on these topics available on the internet I felt there was a vacuum of good honest discussions. I believe that dialogue is both more interesting to listen to and also more productive at helping all sides understand each other. The trinity can certainly be a touchy subject and some people avoid talking about it for that reason, but I hope to create an honest space to explore this important subject with respect and integrity.     On "Transfigured" I might have guests that come from all manner of theological backgrounds, both Christians and non-Christians, religious folks and non-religious folks so long as I think they have something interesting to say that I can learn from and that are willing to engage in good faith. While some of my guests are experts in their respective fields some guests don't have any official credentials. The only credential that I look for is someone with something interesting to say and a willingness to engage constructively.    Whatever brought you here, thank you very much for listening. I produce this podcast with my own resources as a personal hobby. It is very low budget but hopefully high quality in the ways that count. I don't take any listener support partially just to keep things simple, but mostly because I'm not in it for that reason. If you would like to contribute all I ask is that you subscribe, leave constructive comments in the comments section, and share it with anyone you think might be interested. Thank you very much and God bless.