Delve into the mysterious world of Gnosticism and its secret knowledge about humanity's origins. Discover the unique beliefs of the Gnostics, including their interpretations of Christ's crucifixion as an illusion. Explore how Valentinus adapted these ideas to attract followers within early Christianity. The tension between Gnostic and Valentinian theology sheds light on divergent views of salvation and the divine. Unravel the complexities of their esoteric wisdom and its lasting influence on theological development.

This is part 4 of the Early Church History class. Our focus for this episode is the collection of second-century Christian literature known as the Apostolic Fathers. In total, there are 11 authors in this collection, 9 of whom we will briefly cover today. You'll learn about the earliest Christian documents outside the New Testament, two of  which were possibly written even before the last book of the New Testament. What did Christians write about? Although the Apostolic Fathers is far from cohesive, they do give us a great window into some of the dominant threads of Christian thought in the generation after the apostles died. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyJwqv-Y87M&list=PLN9jFDsS3QV2lk3B0I7Pa77hfwKJm1SRI&index=4 —— Links —— More Restitutio resources on Christian history More classes here Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan?  Read his bio here —— Notes —— The Apostolic Fathers is a collection of Christian writings primarily from the second century. The Didache Epistle of Barnabas 1 Clement Shepherd of Hermas Epistles of Ignatius Fragments of Papias 2 Clement Epistle of Polycarp Martyrdom of Polycarp Fragment of Quadratus Epistle to Diognetus Sources for APF (Apostolic Fathers) Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org) Michael Holmes’ translation (available in English or English in parallel with Greek) Didache (60-150) Jewish-Christian document partly focused on righteous living and partly on church order (baptism, communion, fasting, hospitality, etc.) citations: Didache 9.1-3; 8.1; 2.1-2 Research Recommendation David Bercot’s A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs Epistle of Barnabas (70-132) author referred to as Psuedo-Barnabas allegorizing method of interpreting scripture, especially the Old Testament citation: Barnabas 10.11-12; 1 Clement (80-100) letter written from Roman leader to help church of Corinth resolve a dispute citations 1 Clement 59.4 Shepherd of Hermas (100-150) freed slave writing on holiness and repentance citation: Shepherd 59.5-7 Epistles of Ignatius (108-160) bishop in Antioch arrested and brought to Rome where he faced martyrdom three recensions survive: long, middle, and short Long Recension To the Ephesians To the M

This is part 3 of the Early Church History class. Today we begin to look at the second century. We’ll start by considering Jewish Christian movements, including the Nazarenes and the Ebionites. Next we’ll shift gears and explore the cultural pressure of asceticism and how it began infiltrating Christianity. We’ll briefly survey the influence of Marcion and his followers before sketching out the various christologies of second century. This episode is a hodgepodge of unrelated topics that overlap in the same time period. This will serve as a good introduction before we get into other topics in the second century. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts —— Links —— More Restitutio resources on history More classes here Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan?  Read his bio here —— Notes —— Outline Jewish Christianity Asceticism Marcion Gnostics Christologies in the 2nd c. Jewish Christianity Patricia Crone: “Originally, the bastion of law-observing Christianity was the Jerusalem church, the undisputed center of Christianity until the first Jewish war with Rome (AD 66–70). When this war broke out, the Jerusalem Christians reportedly fled to Pella (Ar. Fiḥl) in the Decapolis in Transjordan, and though some returned to the devastated city in 70, they were expelled again after the suppression of Bar Kokhba’s revolt in 135, when Hadrian forbade Jews to reside in Jerusalem. Thereafter, Jewish Christians were concentrated in the Aleppo region in northern Syria, in the Decapolis around Pella…and in the Dead Sea region, as we know from Epiphanius (d. 403) and Jerome (d. 420). They would seem also to have been present in the Golan, where excavators of an abandoned village have found lintels decorated with a combination of crosses, menorahs, and other mixed Jewish and Christian symbols, probably indicating that the building was a Jewish Christian synagogue. After Epiphanius and Jerome, however, we have no certain evidence for the existence of Jewish Christians in Greek, Latin, or Syriac sources written before the rise of Islam.”[1] For Nazarenes see Epiphanius, Panarion 29.7.1-6; 29.9.2-4 For Ebionites see Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 3.27.1-6 Asceticism ἄσκησις, askesis = exercise, training asceticism is the rigorous pursuit of discipline in avoiding bodily pleasures Examples Acts of Paul and Thecla Proto-Gospel of James Acts of John Marcion of Sinope Lived from 8

This is part 2 of the Early Church History class. Before the great revolution of 66 in which the Jewish nation declared independence from the Roman empire, no fewer than five micro-revolution occurred between 4 BC and 58 AD. In the years that led up to the first Jewish-Roman war (66-73), incompetent Roman governors repeatedly and egregiously antagonized the Jewish populous until there was no turning back. After the war that destroyed the temple that Herod had renovated, Christians and Jews began parting ways. This episode will briefly cover the three Jewish-Roman wars and how Christians and Jews gradually began to separate. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ9ExalbABs&list=PLN9jFDsS3QV2lk3B0I7Pa77hfwKJm1SRI&index=2 —— Links —— More Restitutio resources on history More classes here Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan?  Read his bio here —— Notes —— Flavius Josephus (AD 37-100) primary source for first-century Jewish history Antiquities of the Jews The Jewish War Revolutionary Movements Athronges (4 BC) Judah the Galilean (AD 6) The Samaritan Prophet (AD 36) Theudas (AD 45) The Egyptian Prophet (AD 58). Four Types of Judaism Pharisees Sadducees Essenes Fourth Philosophy Sicarii The First Jewish-Roman War (66-73) Began in 12th year of Nero’s rule anti-taxation protests Roman governor, Gessius Florus, plundered the temple rebellion took Antonia fortress, forcing King Agrippa II and his government to retreat from the city Nero sent Vespasian with four legions In 69 Vespasian went to Rome to become emperor, leaving his son, Titus, to conquer Jerusalem Titus breached the city in 70 He plundered and burned the temple, leaving for Rome in 71 at the head of a Roman triumph The last holdouts fell at Masada in 73 Christians Fled from Jerusalem Jesus warned his followers to flee “when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies” (Luke 21.2-24) Eusebius (AD 324) and Epiphanius (AD 375) both mention the desertion of Christians from Jerusalem Exclusion of Christians from Synagogue Berkat haMinim = blessing the heretics actually a curse upon Christians whom the Jews called “Nazarenes” late first century or early second century In AD 160, Justin Martyr mentions the curse in the synagogues Rabbinic Judaism

This is part 1 of the Early Church History class. Introducing Early Church History Get answers to questions, like: Did early Christians prophecy and perform miracles? How do I research church history for myself? How did heaven replace paradise on earth? What happened to the Jewish Christians? How did the Trinity become mainstream? How did Constantine affect Christianity? Who were Dynamic Monarchians? Who were the Gnostics? And so much more... Some people believe the strand of Christianity that eventually merged with the government and became dominant is the authentic original form. Others believe Christianity got off track immediately after the first century and has not been restored until recent times. This class will put you in touch with what really happened. As it turns out, there were quite a few Christian groups that competed for adherents in the first few centuries. Some of these groups maintained key New Testament beliefs and practices while others mutated under pressure from philosophy, society, and the government. This class will cover what happened in the main Christian groups in the first five centuries of our history in Europe, Africa, and Asia. Part 1: Christianity in the First Century In this episode you'll learn why Church history matters, why primary sources are king, and how historical dating systems work. In addition to introducing this class, we'll also briefly cover the life of Christ and the early growth of the church in the Greco-Roman world. Lastly, we'll look at early persecution, including the fire that decimated Rome and the emperor Nero's viscous pogrom of the Christians in that city. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etUHkoDdevU&list=PLN9jFDsS3QV2lk3B0I7Pa77hfwKJm1SRI&index=1& —— Links —— Access the class on the historical Jesus on the web, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. Check out the church history class on the last 500 years (from Martin Luther to Joel Osteen) on the web, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube More Restitutio resources on history Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0)

How do you engage with culture? Are you aware of how culture is shaping your sensibilities about meaning, power, morality, religion, and aesthetics? Do you blindly reject everything in the culture so that you can remain separate from the world or do you blindly accept everything so that you remain relevant? My guest today is Dr. Justin Bailey of Dordt University in Iowa. Today we’re talking about his book Interpreting Your World. Rather than accepting or rejecting culture, professor Bailey advocates exegeting the culture and evaluating it in light of the gospel and the Christian worldview. Then we can better understand our own hearts as well as reach unbelievers with the gospel. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts —— Links —— More about Dr. Justin Bailey on his website pjustin.com See these posts about culture or apologetics Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan?  Read his bio here —— Questions—— To begin, could you tell us a little about yourself and your work? You seem like the kind of person who straddles the fence between theology and praxis. Is that a fair characterization? You’ve written a book about culture. It’s called Interpreting Your World: Five Lenses for Engaging Theology and Culture, published by Baker Academic. Why did you write this book? I’ve been in pastoral ministry for 17 years so far. During that time, I’ve seen two extremes. On the one hand, you’ve got the people who fully embrace separation from the world and for the sake of holiness, disengage from the culture as much as possible. On the other hand, you’ve got the people who so inhabit the culture that they are super relatable to unbelievers, but they also indulge in the sinful behaviors of the world to such a degree that they lose their witness. Have you seen that too? (How can your book help people figure out a good balance on this?) Let’s talk about your concept of Christianity as a virus. What do want to get across with that analogy? (Little awkward writing this during COVID, eh?) You structure the book around five main dimensions of culture. If it’s alright with you, I’d like to go through each–if time permits. Let’s begin with meaning. What does our culture say about meaning? What does the bible say about meaning? What about power? It seems like we’ve fully entered the Nietzschean age when everyone is obsessed with power. It’s the lens through which we judge each other. What’s going on? What does the bible say about power? Can you briefly explain the other three lenses? morality, religion, aesthetics Dr. Justin Bailey, thanks for joining me today. Once again the book is called, Interpreting Your World. How can people learn more

What do we do when the science in the bible seems wrong by today's standards, but typical for their world? For example, those who believe in a flat earth often point to scripture as evidence for their belief. Indeed the bible arguably does contain some texts that imply a flat earth. But, if the Hebrew people believed in a flat earth, does that mean we should today? Should we posit an elaborate conspiracy that Google, SpaceX, and NASA are trying to hide the truth of a flat earth? In addition to tackling scientific inaccuracies, Will Barlow will also cover many scientific accuracies that point to divine inspiration in scripture. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBPmdNyROgQ&list=PLN9jFDsS3QV1Etu1jXO3jbUQ6CFI-2k6W&index=16 See below for notes. —— Links —— We are doing follow-up discussions to these episodes on YouTube. Check them out! See other episodes in this Scripture and Science Class Check out Barlow’s previous podcast episodes Learn more about and support the church Barlow and his team are starting in Louisville, KY, called Compass Christian Church Find more articles and audios by Barlow on his website: Study Driven Faith Support Restitutio by donating here Designate Restitutio as your charity of choice for Amazon purchases Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan?  Read his bio here —— Notes —— Science in the Bible • Cases when the science is “wrong”• Cases when the science is “right”• Overview and concluding thoughts Cases when the science is “wrong” • Flat Earth• Dome over the Earth• Unmovable Earth• Foundations of the Earth• Thinking with your intestines Flat Earth Isaiah 40:22   It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in; Daniel 4:10-11   The visions of my head as I lay in bed were these: I saw, and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great. The tree grew and became strong, and its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth. Matthew 4:8   Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. Dome over the Earth Job 37:18   Can you, like him, spread out the skies, hard as a cast metal mirror? This question by Elihu assumes a hard dome ove

When COVID first broke out many endeavored to put their extra time to good use. Tom Huszti began listening to podcasts. He was intensely curious about theology. Huszti came to question several key beliefs he had imbibed as a lifelong Anabaptist, living in rural Ohio. Eventually he saw that the church's God and the bible's God were at odds with each other. Huszti embraced unitarianism and faced significant troubles because of this change. He is now launching a new ministry on YouTube called "The Unitarian Anabaptist" in which he intends to share his insights about Christ's identity with others. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vKDRJOklzU —— Links —— Check out Tom Huszti's website unitariananabaptist.com as well as his YouTube channel Listen to Mark Cain's interview with Huszti on the UCA Podcast Support Restitutio by donating here Designate Restitutio as your charity of choice for Amazon purchases Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan?  Read his bio here

Dr. Steven Nemes is an analytic philosopher and theologian who uses a phenomenological approach to reading scripture and constructing theology. In this interview I ask him about his unique approach to evaluating doctrine, especially the Trinity, from a phenomenological perspective. We also discuss restorationism as a common ground and delve into Church history extensively. In the end Nemes argues for freedom rather than dogma when evaluating various doctrines related to the Trinity. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts —— Links —— Check out Nemes’ personal website, blog on substack, and YouTube channel Here is his interview with Dale Tuggy from three months ago Follow Nemes on Twitter @snemes2 Support Restitutio by donating here Designate Restitutio as your charity of choice for Amazon purchases Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan?  Read his bio here —— Questions for Interview —— 1. Most people know what systematic theology is–simply the categorizing of doctrines or beliefs–but most don’t know what phenomenology is. Can you offer a brief explanation? 2. A lot of your work focuses on reading scripture. Why did you decide to focus on the phenomenology of reading the bible? 3. Let’s talk about the Trinity. When I listened to your interview with Dale Tuggy in September you listed off a whole series of problems with the Trinity. Then he asked you, “Well, why do you still believe in it?” You replied because it’s hard to disprove one ousia in 3 subsistences. Now, however, you no longer identify as a trinitarian. What changed? 4. You mentioned Mark Edwards’ book, Catholicity and Heresy that what the Gnostics did–hypostatizing attributes of God like wisdom, spirit, mind, etc.–influenced Nicene reasoning. Could you talk more about that? 5. You’ve recently been making a public case for unitarian theology and christology, what has prompted that? 6. It seems like you’re a fan of the Polish Brethren and specifically, their book The Racovian Catechism. What drew you to this work? Would you identify as a Socinian? 7. Tell me about your book, Orthodoxy and Heresy. What’s the main idea. 8. As you probably know unitarians have been excluded, deplatformed, persecuted, and even martyred for centuries. Have you faced any opposition? 9. What advice would you give to unitarian Christians to help us grow as a movement?

What happened in Egypt during the ten plagues? Approaching the matter from a scientific perspective, our teacher, Will Barlow, brings to light some interesting connections. Probably most of us think God's miracles are akin to magical interventions where he breaks the laws of nature to perform a supernatural feat. As we saw last time, the bible doesn't require that view nor does it shy away from offering details occasionally about how God achieved the miraculous. Drawing on the work of Colin Humphreys, Barlow takes a close look at the events surrounding Israel's exit from Egypt, including the timing of the event, the number of people involved, the ten plagues, and the location of Mount Sinai. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7QRFotwkkw See below for notes. —— Links —— We are doing follow-up discussions to these episodes on YouTube. Check them out! See other episodes in this Scripture and Science Class Check out Barlow’s previous podcast episodes Learn more about and support the church Barlow and his team are starting in Louisville, KY, called Compass Christian Church Find more articles and audios by Barlow on his website: Study Driven Faith Support Restitutio by donating here Designate Restitutio as your charity of choice for Amazon purchases Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan?  Read his bio here —— Notes —— The Miracles of Exodus • Background• The Ten Plagues of Egypt• A Possible Route Background Colin Humphreys received a Ph.D. in physics from Cambridge University. He is also an expert in chemistry, astronomy, and geology. He has spent a great deal of time and effort researching ways to reconcile Scripture and science. Dating the Exodus • If we take the evidence from Exodus 1:11, the Hebrews built the city of Rameses (1300 BC)• But 1 Kings 6:1 seems to indicate that the Exodus occurred 480 years before the Temple (1446 BC) Humphreys prefers the later date because it is easier to reconcile historically. How then can we understand the 480 years of 1 Kings 6:1? The Septuagint says 440 years, and this is a great clue. Really, 480 years could be an approximation based on the numbers of generations since the prior events. Humphreys actually goes much further than this. He demonstrates that there are 14 high priests starting from Aaron and ending at Azariah, the high priest at the time of the construction of the Temple of Solomon. But Aaron is 2 generations old (age