Restitutio

In the 1500s scholars in northern Italy began questioning the traditional doctrine of the Trinity. Before long the Inquisition forced these burgeoning Italian biblical unitarians to flee, resulting in the spread of their ideas to other parts of Europe. The two most significant groups that emerged were the Polish Brethren and the Unitarian Church of Transylvania. In this lecture, you’ll learn about this interesting though typically overlooked chapter of church history. This is lecture 6 of a history of Christianity class called Five Hundred: From Martin Luther to Joel Osteen. All the notes are available here as a pdf. —— Notes —— “Not only psychopannychism but also Antitrinitarianism was to find its fullest ecclesial expression in Polish Socinianism and Hungarian Unitarianism.  The leaders of these two parallel and closely interrelated movements…were Italians or palpably dependent upon Italians.”[1]   Italian Roots Marsiglio Ficino (Marsilio Ficino) (1433-1499) Subordinated Son to Father “Made bold to translate Verbum as sermo, thereby sloughing off the philosophically freighted conception of Christ as the Eternal Word (Logos, Verbum), as the Mind and Instrument of God, and substituting the idea of Christ as merely the voice of God. Although Ficino, basing his thought allegedly on Paul, wrote of approaching the preached sermo with the same reverence as the eucharistic corpus, he had started a train of thought that would equate the Word with the prophetic vox of the Old Testament, and even with rational meditation and literary scripta, and which would inevitably render philosophically difficult the received formulation of the Logos-Son as consubstantial with the Father.”[2] 1540s – Vicenza Society Vicenza is a city in Italy that had a strong unitarian church Fled and ended up all over Europe in Moravia and Switzerland Lelio Sozzini (1525-1562) Part of the Vicenza Society, a leader Visited Poland in 1551 Fausto Sozzini (1539-1604) Went to Poland and Hungary and worked with unitarians there In 17th, people started calling the Polish brethren “Socinians” Polish Brethren (1565-1658) Also called Minor Reformed Church of Poland and Socinians by outsiders, but called themselves “brethren” or “Christians” Peter Gonesius (1525?-1573) Studied at University of Padua in northern Italy and graduated with a doctorate in philosophy 1556 – Synod of Secemin: excommunicated for non-Trinitarian beliefs Became the leader of the Ecclesia Minor in Poland along with Marcin Czechowic Georg Schomann (1530-1591) Left a letter to children and grandchildren (a kind of will) “If you want to find out these things yourselves, there is my second catechism which I compiled from Holy Scripture privately for you. It explains about the Most High God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, man, only begotten Son of God our Lord, who are to be worshipped in spirit and in truth…May your understanding of God be that which we have from the prophets of Israel and not after the fashion of the Lutherans and Papists.”[3] In 1574, a little work, Confession of Faith of the Congregation Assembled in Poland (thought to be Schonmann’s work)

Is war ever justified?  If so, can Christians participate in killing?  In this episode we delve into a sensitive and controversial subject to figure out what the bible has to teach us about how we should treat our enemies.  Our aim here is not be provocative, but faithful to what our lord taught us.  Here now is the conclusion of our series on killing: off script 38: Killing in War: A Christian View of Violence —— Notes —— Four Texts in the Sermon on the Mount Clearly Show What Jesus Taught Mat 5.5 Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Mat 5.9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Mat 5.38-42 You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.  Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. Mat 5.43-48 You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Jesus’ Apostles Furthermore Continued His Teaching: 1 Thess 5.15  See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rom 12.14, 17-21 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them…Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. 1 Pet 3.8-11 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. Three Views of “Resist Not Evil” total nonresistance find exceptions to Jesus’ commands confrontational nonresistance Quotes: Hippolytus (a.d. 215) A soldier of the civil authority must be taught not to kill men and to refuse to do so if he is commanded, and to refuse to take an oath. If he is unwilling to comply, he must be rejected for baptism. A military commander or civic magistrate who wears the purple must resign or be rejected. If an applicant or a believer seeks to become a soldier, he must be rejected, for he has despised God.” [1] Origen (a.d. 248) In the next place, Celsus urges us “to help the king with all our might, and to labour with him in the maintenance of justice, to fight for him; and if he requires it, to fight under him, or lead an army along with him.”  To thi

Although sometimes lumped in with enlightenment rationalism, the biblical unitarian movement came to prominence right from the start of the Reformation.  Essentially, as soon as bible translations started getting into the hands of regular people, a great many Catholic doctrines came under scrutiny.  In this episode you’ll learn about three major biblical unitarian trailblazers of the sixteenth century, including Claude of Savoy, Adam Pastor, and Michael Servetus.  These men did not give definitive shape to the larger groups that soon emerged, but they tread along the path, preparing the way for those who would come after. This is lecture 5 of a history of Christianity class called Five Hundred: From Martin Luther to Joel Osteen. All the notes are available here as a pdf. —— Notes —— Claude of Savoy (Claudius Aliodus) (1500?-1560?) Itinerant preacher 1534 – exiled from Basel and Bern 1534 – Henry Bullinger (1504-1575), Zwingli’s successor in Zurich, wrote a defense of the dual natures’ doctrine to refute Claude’s teachings. Claude’s confession of faith: “’The Lord thy God is one.’ Whence then are there two others? particularly since it is written [Rom. 11:34]: “Who hath been his counselor?” That man alone, whom Mary conceived and brought forth, is called Jesus, which is proved [by Luke 1:31 -32]: “Behold thou wilt conceive and bring forth a son and thou shalt call his name Jesus; and he will be called great and the Son of the Most High.” Who therefore is so holy, so great, who is called the Son of God, but he who was conceived in the womb of the Virgin and born? Therefore a Christian should acknowledge none other to be the Son of God than him whom Scripture so declares. Behold, the same man, the first born of Mary, is called the Savior and not some divinity of Christ.  He is declared to have saved us by his blood, not by his divinity. For this reason he himself says of himself [John 6:54]: “who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life.” He does not say. “who eats my deity.” Therefore I am not held to eat the deity of Christ but rather his flesh and to drink his blood. They blaspheme therefore who say of the Virgin that she is the Mother of God, for she did not bear God but Christ. If heaven and earth cannot contain God, how much the less the womb of a woman? In any case, if Jesus were thus divided into God and Man, the Virgin would not be the Mother of Christ, but only of a part of him. Observe also the expression “this day” [I have begotten thee: Ps. 2:7; Acts 13:33; Heb. 1:5; 5:5], which indicates a definite time. He was not, therefore, begotten eternally of the Father, as they [the orthodox] falsely imagine. But when came the fullness of time he sent his Son made of woman. Therefore he is precisely called the Son of God, who is made of woman. The Father gives testimony concerning him [cf. Matt. 3:17]: “This is my Son with whom I am well pleased.” Concerning whom is this said, unless it be about him who had been baptized? For surely the divinity of Christ is not said to have been baptized, but only the man was shown forth.  Again [John 1:29]: “Behold the Lamb who taketh away the sins of the world.” In that he is said to be a Lamb, nothing of deity is included, but exactly what is appropriate for sacrifice. It is also sufficiently shown, by the declaration [Heb. 2:16]: “he took not on him (assumpsit) the nature of angels, but he took on the seed of Abraham” that the Father, wishing to reconcile the world to himself, willed to do this by a creature and by blood, and not by any divinity. But the Father was in him through the plenitude of the Spirit reconciling himself to the

Determining the validity of capital punishment is a complex task, especially when approached from a Christian perspective.  To arrive at a biblically informed decision we need to consider both the Old and New Testaments, giving special attention to the nuanced understanding the Apostle Paul gave in Romans 13.  Furthermore, in America we have quite a few other issues we need to balance out such as the exorbitant cost of sustaining convicts on death row and the handful of cases where an executed person turns out to be innocent on the one hand, and  capital punishment’s ability to deter crime and mete out justice on the other. —— Links —— Check out the other episodes in the series on Killing Intro music: “Protofunk” by Kevin MacLeod.  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

In this lecture you’ll learn about the Anabaptist movement and their distinctive beliefs.  We’ll consider the life of Michael Sattler, an important leader of the Anabaptists, and see how he stood firm in his faith even when his life was at risk.  Next, you’ll find out about Melchior Hoffman and how his followers took over the city of Münster, eventually resulting in chaos, immorality, and significant loss of life.  Sadly, European governments tended to lump all radicals together so that peaceful Anabaptists and violent apocalypticists got painted with the same brush.  Lastly, we’ll look at Menno Simons who became so influential among the Anabaptists that a sizeable group took his name, becoming the Mennonites.  Significant events in this lecture include: 1527 Schleitheim Confession 1527 Michael Sattler burned at the stake 1535 Münster captured 1537 Menno Simons becomes an Anabaptist 1544 Anabaptists in Netherlands called Mennonites 1569 Dirk Willems rescues pursuer This is lecture 4 of a history of Christianity class called Five Hundred: From Martin Luther to Joel Osteen. All the notes are available here as a pdf. —— Notes —— Anabaptist Distinctives Bible as the standard, not tradition or church hierarchy Discipleship & love (literal obedience to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount) Separation from the world (especially government) Home fellowships (voluntary church, no infant baptism) Congregational polity   Michael Sattler (1495-1527) 1525 -left Benedictine monastery, married a nun named Margaretha, expelled from Zurich 1526 – became Anabaptist 1527 – major leader in writing Schleitheim Confession[1] Baptism for those who repent only The ban practiced according to Matthew 18.15-17 Communion for baptized only Separation from the world (including government, Catholics, & Protestants) Pastors supported and given authority The sword not to be used Oaths are not to be taken May 21, 1527 – burned at the stake   Articles or Charges against Michael Sattler[2] First, that he and his adherents have acted contrary to the mandate of the Emperor. Secondly, he has taught, held, and believed that the body and blood of Christ are not present in the sacrament. Thirdly, he has taught and believed that infant baptism does not conduce to salvation. Fourthly, they have rejected the sacrament of extreme unction. Fifthly, they have despised and condemned the mother of God and the saints. Sixthly, he has declared that men are not to swear before the authorities. Seventhly, he has commenced a new and unheard of custom in regard to the Lord’s Supper, placing the bread and wine on a plate, and eating and drinking the same. Eighthly, he has left the order and married a wife. Ninthly, he has said that if the Turks should invade the country, no resistance ought to be offered them; and if it were right to wage war, he would rather take the field against the Christians than against the Turks; and it is certainly a great matter, to set the greatest enemies of our holy faith against us. Thereupon Michael Sattler requested permission to confer with his brethren and sisters, which was granted him. Having conferred with them for a little while, he began and undauntedly answered thus: “In regard to the article

Is it ever right to end someone’s life early? If so, under what conditions? In this episode we turn to the bible to sort out a Christian position on euthanasia.  Drawing on the inherent dignity God has invested in each person by making us in his image and the fact that God claims sovereignty over life and death, we conclude that physician assisted suicide is a sin.  In difficult cases of extreme and continuous suffering, Christians have pioneered palliative care in the hospice movement as a compassionate alternative to euthanasia. —— Links —— Check out the other episodes in the series on Killing Watch a short testimony of Joni Eareckson Tada Read more about Cicely Saunders, the founder of hospice Intro music: “Protofunk” by Kevin MacLeod.  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

Learn about the Swiss Reformation, spearheaded by Ulrich Zwingli in Zurich as well as the formation of the sect of Anabaptists known as the Swiss Brethren, including Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, and George Blaurock. Key events covered in this episode include: 1519 Ulrich Zwingli begins Reformation in Zurich 1529 Zwingli and Luther part ways over communion 1523 Conrad Grebel broke with Zwingli 1525 Founding of first Anabaptist house church 1527 Felix Manz martyred by Protestants 1529 George Blaurock burned at the stake This is lecture 3 of a history of Christianity class called Five Hundred: From Martin Luther to Joel Osteen. All the notes are available here as a pdf. —— Notes —— Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531) “Zwingli’s reputation for biblical preaching led to his nomination for the post of people’s priest at the Great Minster in Zurich in 1518. Detractors raised the issue of Zwingli’s womanizing.  Zinwgli responded to the rumor that he had seduced the daughter of an influential citizen by admitting his struggle with sexual temptations but denying both the woman’s ‘purity’ and her father’s influence. ‘Some three years ago I firmly resolved not to touch a woman;…I succeeded poorly in this, however.  In Glarus I kept my resolution about six months, in Einsiedeln about a year,…That girl was a ‘virgin’ during the day and a ‘woman’ at night.  She was such a ‘day’ virgin, however, that everyone in Einsiedeln knew exactly her role…She had had affairs with many men, finally with me.  Or let me say it better: she seduced me with more than flattering words.’ The charge of immorality was finally ineffective since the other priest vying for the post lived openly in concubinage and had six children. In light of this specific example and the generally widespread practice of priestly concubinage in the late Middle Ages, it is not surprising that one of the first reforms initiated in the Swiss Reformation was the right of the clergy to marry.  …[Only months after the ‘Affair of the Sausages,’ Zwingli, then living with the widow Anna Reinhart, led ten other Swiss priests in a petition to the bishop of Constance To Allow Priests to Marry, or at Least Wink at their Marriages (July 1522).  The priests signing this petition declared that chastity is a rare gift of God, and that they hadn’t received it.  Zwingli married Anna in a public ceremony in 1524 shortly before the birth of their child.  In 1525 the Zurich magistrates instituted a marriage ordinance mandating clergy living in concubinage either to end the relationship or to marry.”[1] The following happened in 1519 Zwingli became leading priest in Zurich He preached from his own text rather than the church’s calendar He instituted Bible study groups He decided everything should be judged by Scripture He ministered during the plague 1522 – “Affair of the Sausages” 1523 – public disputation (Zwingli vs. Catholic Representative) 1525 – marriage required for priests/monks w/ concubines 1529 – Marburg Colloquy 1531 – died in battle   The Swiss Brethren Conrad Grebel (1498-1526), a scholarly aristocrat 1521 – came to Zurich and studied under Zwingli 1522 – experienced conversion 1523 – broke with Zwingli over the Mass issue “He [Zwingli] continued to defend the principle of the sole authority of Scripture; in practice he followed the wishes of the council, thus virtually committing the

On average, 121 people commit suicide per day in America. It is now the tenth leading cause of death in this country.  In this episode we discuss this phenomenon and seek to understand what the bible can teach us about this subject.  In addition, we wrestle with a number of hard questions about suicide such as: Is suicide a sin? Will suicide bar someone from eternal life? How do we explain God strengthening Samson to commit suicide at the end of his life? How can we show compassion and love to those with suicidal thoughts? Lastly, we consider how the bible provides hope for when we go through the darkest of times. —— Links —— Check out the other episodes in the series on Killing For more on Wendy Savage and her interlocutor, Hayood Robinson, check out this Unbelievable episode Intro music: “Protofunk” by Kevin MacLeod.  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

In this episode, you’ll get a brief introduction to the contributions of Martin Luther and John Calvin to the initiation and spread of the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century, including these events: 1505 Martin Luther becomes a monk 1517 Martin Luther nails 95 Theses on Wittenberg church door 1524-5 Peasants War 1536 John Calvin publishes Institutes of the Christian Religion 1541 John Calvin returns to Geneva as leader This is lecture 2 of a history of Christianity class called Five Hundred: From Martin Luther to Joel Osteen. All the notes are available here as a pdf. —— Notes —— Martin Luther (1483-1546) An Augustinian Monk (1505) Professor of Bible at Wittenberg (1512) 95 Theses (October 31, 1517)[1] Debate with Johann Eck at Leipzig (1519) “On 4 July Luther came into the debate. Eck prodded him with charges of being a ‘Hussite’ and a ‘Bohemian.’  This was tantamount to being labeled a communist in the 1950s, because this area still recalled the numbers of Germans expelled from Bohemia during the Hussite revolt.  Luther protested Eck’s charges but finally went to the library and looked up Hus’s teachings.  When he returned, he stated that many of the condemned Hussite articles were truly Christian and evangelical, and ought not to be condemned by the church.  After a moment of shocked silence, there was uproar.  Eck pressed on and got Luther to state that both the papacy and councils may err.  This was an immediate triumph for Eck.  After this, Karlstadt returned to take up the debate again, but Duke George was anxious to bring the whole thing to a close.” (Lindberg, pp. 86-7) Three admissions Officially excommunicated (1521) Diet of Worms (April 16, 1521) “My conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe.  God, help me.” Translated New Testament into German at Wartburg Castle (1522) Marriage to Katharina von Bora (1523) Peasants’ War (1524-1525) Against the Murderous, Thieving Hordes of Peasants: “The peasants have taken upon themselves the burden of three terrible sins against God and man; by this they have merited death in body and soul… they have sworn to be true and faithful, submissive and obedient, to their rulers… now deliberately and violently breaking this oath… they are starting a rebellion, and are violently robbing and plundering monasteries and castles which are not theirs… they have doubly deserved death in body and soul as highwaymen and murderers… they cloak this terrible and horrible sin with the gospel… thus they become the worst blasphemers of God and slanderers of his holy name.” Finished translating Old Testament so complete Bible was in German (1534) Believed in the sleep of the dead John Calvin (1509-1564) Child prodigy (employed by bishop as clerk by age 12) Conversion experience (1533) “God by a sudden conversion subdued and brought my mind to a teachable frame, which was more hardened in such matters than might have been expected from one at my early period of life. Having thus received some taste and knowledge of true godliness, I was immediately inflamed with so intense a desire to make progress therein, that although I did not altogether leave off other studies, yet I pursued them with less ardour.”[2] Published I

Today we are beginning a new series on life and death, in which we’ll consider abortion, suicide, euthanasia, and capital punishment.  Our goal is to address each topic from a biblical framework in order to arrive at a Christian position.  At the outset, I’ll admit that we don’t know everything and could be wrong, so we appreciate your engagement in helping us arrive at a godly position. Today we’ll focus on abortion and consider whether it’s ever right for a Christian to have an abortion.  We’ll cover the scriptures that relate to this topic, the track record of early Christianity, and how this relates to our own time.  We discuss the major objections and consider the toughest cases like rape, incest, and when the mothers’ life is in danger. Please note that some of what we discuss here is probably inappropriate for children. —— Links —— Check out the other episodes in the series on Killing For more on Wendy Savage and her interlocutor, Hayood Robinson, check out this Unbelievable episode Intro music: “Protofunk” by Kevin MacLeod.  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.