Restitutio

Freedom and morality are two interrelated concepts that everyone has an opinion about. From a Christian perspective, we limit our freedom based on our received moral code. We believe that the restrictions the bible provides us are for our good; They are not the result of a capricious deity's arbitrary or stifling whims. In fact, we believe that the limits God places on our freedom lead to the best human flourishing available in our fallen world. After thinking through Christian freedom, we'll delve into the much more important question of moral motivation. Most people believe in right and wrong, but many of us lack the drive to chose the good over the convenient or self-serving course of action. In this episode we'll survey some of the popular moral systems out there, including classic systems such as virtue ethics, categorical imperatives, and utilitarianism as well as religious systems, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity. Although we'll only scratch the surface, I hope you will find this approach useful when conversing with people who call into question your Christian moral commitments. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts This is part 9 of the Why Christianity class. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D8wiyxxJOw —— Links —— More podcasts about Christian ethics See other episodes of Why Christianity More episodes about defending your faith here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow us on Twitter @RestitutioSF If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here or designate Restitutio as your charity of choice for Amazon purchases Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library   —— Notes —— Jesus Explains Morality------------------------Mark 12:29-3129 Jesus answered, "The most important is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' 31 The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." 5 Biblical Reasons To Do the Right Thing----------------------------------------1. fear of God (Deuteronomy 6:1-2)2. duty (Ecclesiastes 12:13; Luke 17:10)3. personal/communal benefits/detriments (Psalm 7:14-16; Galatians 6:7-8)4. love (1 John 4:9-11)5. prophetic witness (1 Corinthians 6:1-3) Other Worldviews-----------------1. Atheisma. Virtue Ethicsb. Deontological Ethicsc. Teleological Ethics 2. Hinduisma. karma, rebirth 3. Buddhisma. life is suffering, eliminate desires 4. Islama. five pillarsb. Yawm al-Qiyamah

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts This is part 8 of the Why Christianity class. Last time we delved into the first two components of scripture's overarching story line: creation and fall.  These two explain where the world came from and what went wrong with it.  Today we'll consider the last two components: redemption and restoration.  These two tell us what God has done about the problems of our world already and what he yet plans to do in the future.  Taken together, these four elements of the Christian metanarrative provide a robust explanation that not only makes sense of the human experience, but also gives us purpose and hope. https://youtu.be/HxVEkcyeuAQ —— Links —— More podcasts with Jerry Wierwille See other episodes of Why Christianity More episodes about defending your faith here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow us on Twitter @RestitutioSF If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here or designate Restitutio as your charity of choice for Amazon purchases Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library —— Notes —— Redemption-----------Redemption – Greek apolutrōsis, meaning “to release,” connoting the deliverance effected through the death of Christ from the retributive wrath of God and the merited penalty of sin. Eph 1:17—“In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our transgressions, according to the riches of his grace” Rom 8:24—“Now in this hope we were saved, yet hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees?” Restoration-----------Restoration – Greek apokatastasis, meaning “to return to a previous good state,” connoting the restoring of what was once good but has since been altered. Acts 3:21—“Therefore, repent and turn to God, so that your sins may be erased; so that times of refreshing may come from the Lord's presence; and he may send the Messiah appointed in advance for you, that is, Jesus. He has to remain in heaven until the time comes for restoring everything, as God said long ago, when he spoke through the holy prophets.”  

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts This is part 7 of the Why Christianity class. So far in this class we have stuck to classic apologetics topics like reasons for God’s existence, the historicity of the resurrection, and the rationality of Christian epistemology.  Now we are going to shift gears and do some work on worldview.  One of the reasons Christianity appeals to someone is how it “works.”  In other words, from inside a Christian worldview life makes sense.  We understand where the world came from, how it got corrupted, what God has already done to remedy the situation, and what he still plans to do in the future.  This four stage metanarrative provides us with a framework to understand not only history, but also our place in the world.  Today we’ll focus on just the first half of the biblical metanarrative (creation and fall) and next time we’ll cover the second half (redemption and restoration). —— Links —— More podcasts with Daniel Fitzsimmons See other episodes of Why Christianity More episodes about defending your faith here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow us on Twitter @RestitutioSF If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here or designate Restitutio as your charity of choice for Amazon purchases Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library —— Notes —— What Are Metanarratives? ————————- An overarching story or storyline that gives context, meaning, and purpose to all of life; a worldview   Examples of metanarratives, or the “-isms” —————————————— • Marxism, capitalism, nihilism, atheism, agnosticism, enlightenment & scientism • Religions: Christianity, Buddhism, Islam etc…   Why are metanarratives useful? —————————— • Give structure to our existence • Give meaning and purpose to our lives • Help explain why things are the way they are, provide a lens through which to view and interpret the world • Metanarratives are comforting and allow us to think about other things besides the ostensible mystery of our existence   What is the Christian metanarrative? ————————————- • God created the world and all that is within it • God’s original design was that we be together in paradise, living in harmony with Him, the land and the animals • Through original sin – the fall – both man and earth became corrupted • The consequences of sin endure to this day and created the need for redemption

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts This is part 6 of the Why Christianity class. The Bible is such a strange thing. On the one hand, it looks like a big book, on the other hand, it’s a library of books. It’s loaded with very different kinds of literature from poetry and wisdom to history and prophecy. Dozens of people were involved in it’s production over centuries…and most important of all, it claims that the creator God inspired it all! In this presentation, Jerry Wierwille briefly covers what the Bible is, how Christians decided which books belong in it, how we transmitted it over the eons, and why other collections of books like the Apocrypha, Psuedepigrapha, and Gnostic Gospels didn’t pass muster. —— Links —— See other episodes of Why Christianity More episodes about defending your faith here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow us on Twitter @RestitutioSF If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here or designate Restitutio as your charity of choice for Amazon purchases Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library —— Notes —— How We Got the Bible ——————— Bible – from Greek biblia, meaning “books,” and then from the Latin biblia, meaning “book.” The Bible refers to the collection of sacred writings of the Christian Faith. Canon – from Greek kanōn, meaning “a rule or standard.” A canon refers to an authoritative list of books accepted as Holy Scripture. Criteria for Canonicity 1) Apostolicity 2) Orthodoxy 3) Catholicity Inspiration – from Greek theopneustos, meaning “God-breathed.” It refers to the origin and character of a writing as being authored by and produced according to God’s will. Supposed “Lost Books” of the Bible ———————————– Apocrypha – from Greek apokryphos meaning “hidden, concealed, obscure.” It refers to a body of writings that are considered noncanonical. Pseudepigrapha – writings with anonymous authorship that are falsely attributed to other individuals.

  Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts This is part 5 of the Why Christianity class. How would you go about convincing someone that the resurrection of Jesus actually happened?  Now, what if that person didn't recognize the scriptures as inspired by God.  How would you go about making a case for Jesus' resurrection in that kind of scenario?  In this presentation, you learn four key pieces of historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus, including (1) the honorable burial, (2) the empty tomb, (3) appearances, and (4) resurrection belief.  You'll also become familiar with competing theories and how to respond to them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uax_VwrUS94 —— Links —— See other episodes of Why Christianity More episodes about defending your faith here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow us on Twitter @RestitutioSF If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here or designate Restitutio as your charity of choice for Amazon purchases Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library —— Notes —— Honorable Burial-----------------1. multiple, early, independent sources say he was buried in a known marked tomb (1 Cor. 15.4, Mark 15.46, John 19.42) 2. Joseph of Arimathea is unlikely to be a Christian invention since he is not one of the disciples, but a member of the Sanhedrin, the very body that condemned Jesus3. no competing burial story exists (even enemies never claimed a common grave or that Joseph’s grave was inaccurate) Empty Tomb-----------1. several independent sources attest to empty tomb (Mark 16.6, Luke 24.5/Acts 13.29-31, John 20.2)2. a movement founded on Jesus’ resurrection could not get far if his body was still in a known tomb…otherwise early opponents could just bring Jesus’ corpse out disproving resurrection3. that women first discovered the empty tomb is unlikely a Christian invention since Josephus tells us women weren’t even allowed to serve as legal witnesses in a court of law4. the Gospels lack marks of legendary development and theologizing in the resurrection narratives (cp. to Gospel of Peter)5. the earliest Jewish polemic, “His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep” (Matthew 28.13) presupposes an empty tomb Appearances-----------1. the early creed of 1 Cor. 15.3-7 contains a list of eyewitnesses2. the Gospel appearance narratives contain earmarks of eyewitness testimony and their divergences exclude the possibility of collusion3. that the disciples failed to anticipate or believe in Jesus’ resurrection even after they found out about the empty tomb is unlikely to be a Christian invention4. James & Paul both did not believe in Jesus as Messiah, but became leaders in the church after they claimed they saw him Resurrection Belief--------------------1. belief that God raised Jesus from the dead is unlikely to be a Chr

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts This is part 4 of the Why Christianity class. Is Christianity irrational?  Is believing in God intellectually vacuous?  Jerry Wierwille will address the criticism of skeptics that Christian belief is arrogant, unjustified, and irrational.  Next, he'll describe the popular secular belief in scientism before exposing its deleterious effects. —— Links —— See other episodes of Why Christianity More episodes about defending your faith here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow us on Twitter @RestitutioSF If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library —— Notes —— Arrogant, Unjustified, & Irrational?-------------------------------------Justified – a belief is justified if after careful reflection and investigation of a matter, including objections and counter-arguments, it is still found to be strongly compelling.Rational – a belief is rational if it is produced by cognitive faculties that are functioning properly and successfully aimed at discovering what is true.Warrant – a belief is warranted if it is produced by cognitive faculties that are functioning properly in an appropriate framework of knowledge according to a design plan successfully aimed at discovering what is true.Science & Scientism---------------------Science – the investigation and study of the structure and behavior of the physical world through observation and experimentation.Scientism – the belief that science alone has the intellectual authority to give us knowledge of reality.

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts This is part 3 of the Why Christianity class. How do you know God is real?  What sorts of evidence would you marshal to make a case for God’s existence?  It won’t do to tell skeptics you believe in God because you’ve always believed in him, because you were raised to believe in him, or because the Bible says so.  In this episode you’ll learn six main lines of evidence for God’s existence to equip you to have meaningful conversations with your secular friends, coworkers, and relatives. —— Links —— See other episodes of Why Christianity More episodes about defending your faith here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow us on Twitter @RestitutioSF If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library —— Notes —— Objective: to provide six reasons to believe in God and marvel at that God’s attributes. 1 The Beginning of the Universe ——————————– 1. everything that has a beginning has cause of its beginning 2. the universe has a beginning 3. therefore, the universe has an external cause of its beginning 2 Fine-Tuning for Life ———————– 1. our universe is finely-tuned for the existence of complex life 2. fine-tuning is not the result of physical laws 3. therefore, a super-natural fine-tuner exists 3 DNA Code ———– 1. all languages come from a mind not natural processes 2. DNA is a language 3. all biological life requires DNA to exist 4. therefore, a non-biological DNA designer exists 4 Moral Absolutes —————– 1. moral absolutes exist (i.e. torturing children for the fun of it is always wrong) 2. nature, society, and individuals do not supply moral absolutes 3. therefore, a supernatural source for moral absolutes exists 5 Miracles ———- 1. miracles are events in which the laws of nature are interrupted by an agent outside of the natural realm 2. documented miracles have happened 3. therefore, a miracle causer exists 6 Personal Experience ———————- 1. I’ve experienced God 2. therefore, God exists

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts This is part 2 of the Why Christianity class. It’s so easy to universalize our own local context.  For example, I (Sean) live in a secular, post-Catholic part of New York state.  It would be easy for me to think that most of the state or country or world is just like my area.  However, this ethnocentric perspective will not do justice to the data we have about Christians in the world today.  Sociologists have long held to the “secularization thesis”–the idea that world religions die out as societies improved education, technology, and health-care.  Is this what we see happening globally?  Join me in this episode as we explore the data from a number of sources to get a lay of the land.  How popular is Christianity today? —— Links —— See other episodes of Why Christianity More episodes about defending your faith here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow us on Twitter @RestitutioSF If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library —— Notes —— Objective: to understand the local and global religious landscapes in light of Christianity’s popularity and its claims about Christ’s universal supremacy. Secularization Thesis “The seminal social thinkers of the nineteenth century—Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer, Émile Durkheim, Max Weber, Karl Marx, and Sigmund Freud—all believed that religion would gradually fade in importance and cease to be significant with the advent of industrial society.” -Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart, Sacred and Secular, p. 3. Future Projections Religion, especially Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism, is expected to either keep pace with population growth or surpass it while non-religious ideologies are predicted to fall 3% by 2050. Universal Claims about Christ Scriptures that make big claims about Christ’s cosmic importance: – Colossians 1:19​-20; 2:1-3 – Ephesians 1:9-10 – Philippians 2:9-11 Christianity’s geographic distribution testifies to its transnational, transracial, transcultural appeal.

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts This is part 1 of the Why Christianity class. In a culture where biblical Christianity is falling more and more out of fashion, it’s increasingly important to have confidence in your faith. Today we are beginning a class called Why Christianity, in which we will lay out a few of the ways that our faith makes sense and works best. In this first session, Jerry Wierwille will introduce our class premise, describe the cultural tension, and speak on the value of taking this class. Although this is an apologetics class, it is significantly different from the previous class we aired starting with Podcast 50 (back in 2016) though there will be some overlap. Our end goal for this class is that it would build your confidence and encourage you to share your faith with others. —— Links —— More episodes about defending your faith here Check out these other podcasts with Jerry Wierwille For more about Wierwille, see his site: JerryWierwille.com Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow us on Twitter @RestitutioSF If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library —— Notes —— Class Premise Worldview: A worldview is a set of beliefs about fundamental aspects of reality that ground and influence all of a person’s perceptions, thoughts, knowledge, and behavior. Correspondence Theory of Truth: The view that what is “true” is that which corresponds to, or with, reality (i.e., “what is”). Worldviews are not equal, e.g., religion, science, philosophy Cultural Tension Cultural Polarization: The differences in how people think, especially when two views emerge that drive people apart. Religious Privatization: When people no longer feel comfortable or accepted to discuss or express religious attitudes or behaviors in public. Purpose and Value of This Class Gain a better understanding of the coherence and validity of the Christian worldview. Become more confident and bolder about your faith and the reasons why Christianity is awesome.

What do you do when everything is stripped away?  You find out who you really are. In this sermon you'll see what happened in ancient Judah when the Babylonians besieged Jerusalem, ultimately resulting in utter destruction, humiliating shame, and forcible deportation. Although our times today can't really compare to the level of suffering these people went through, their experience has much to teach us about hope in dark times. I pray that as you consider this traumatic episode in biblical history that you too would learn to say when you go through suffering, "God is enough."   —— Links —— More episodes about suffering here. If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here. Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library —— Notes —— Jehoiachin - reigned 3 months- did evil before God- surrendered to Neb. after siege- thousands deported 2Ki 24.13-14 13 He carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD, just as the LORD had said. 14 Then he led away into exile all Jerusalem and all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths. None remained except the poorest people of the land. Zedekiah - reigned 11 years- did evil before God- rebelled against Babylon- city besieged again- as Babylonians swept through countryside on way to Jerusalem, - lodging would become difficult- surround city w/ army 2Ki 25.1 Now in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, camped against it and built a siege wall all around it. - Jerusalem was fortunate- fuel to cook food- disease Lam 5.9-10 9 We get our bread at the risk of our lives Because of the sword in the wilderness. 10 Our skin has become as hot as an oven, Because of the burning heat of famine. - food Lam 1.11 All her people groan seeking bread; They have given their precious things for food To restore their lives themselves. "See, O LORD, and look, For I am despised." Lam 2.11-12 11 My eyes fail because of tears, My spirit is greatly troubled; My heart is poured out on the earth Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people, When little ones and infants faint In the streets of the city. 12 They say to their mothers, "Where is grain and wine?" As they faint like a wounded man In the streets of the city, As their life is poured out On their mothers' bosom. - corpses- 18 months! 2Ki 25.1-3 1 Now in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, camped against it and built a siege wall all around it. 2 So the city was under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 3 On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. Lam 4.8-10 8 Their appearance is blacker than soot, They are not recognized in the streets; Their skin is shriveled on their bones, It is withered, it has become like wood. 9 Better are those slain with the sword Than t