In all the exchanges we’ve had in the debate and as a result of the debate, I’m seeing several charges being leveled against us that are (1) incomplete, (2) false, and/or (3) don’t follow logically from our points. These are all strawmen. I’m just going to list them here:
- That we mix creator and creation based on singular pronouns
- That singular pronouns can be used of multiple persons
- That we deny progressive revelation, or it nullifies our points
- No Unitarian statement appears in Scripture
- Misrepresentation concerning the New Creation of Colossians 1
I recently listened to an interesting radio show called Unbelievable in which two Jews, a Rabbi and a Messianic Christian discussed their understanding of Jesus. Since I believe Jesus is the Messiah, yet he is not God, I found myself often rooting for both sides! The one who represented Judaism was Rabbi Shmuley Boteach and the Christian was Michael Brown. Both men are high profile leaders in their respective movements and made great points. The host, Justin Brierley did a fine job of bringing out both sides of the argument. If you would like to know to what Jews are saying about Jesus listen to this show online or download it.
Presented by Brant Bosserman and Sean Finnegan at the One God Conference, Seattle WA June 1st 2008, commentary by Sean Finnegan. Click here to listen the entire 2 hour debate or click on one of the parts below.
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] listen or download
Sean’s Opening Statement [20 min] listen or download
Brant’s Opening Statement [20 min] listen or download
Sean’s Rebuttal [15 min] listen or download
Brant’s Rebuttal [15 min] listen or download
Sean Cross-Examine Brant [10 min] listen or download
Brant Cross-Examine Sean [10 min] listen or download
Frequently the word Elohim (the Hebrew word for God) is used to assert that God is plural. Naturally, this occurs because the word Elohim is plural in form. In Hebrew the “-im” ending indicates a plural like the “-s” ending in English. However, language is a tricky thing. Sometimes one will come across a word that ends in an “s” but is not plural (like “news”). The same occurs in Hebrew. Even so, rather than make the case myself (since my understanding of Hebrew is very limited), I have found a number of excellent Bible dictionary entries that make the point very well. Please note that most of these entries were written by people who believe in the Trinity, but even so, they do not use the plural form of the word Elohim to make their case.
Click here to listen to My Story: To God Be The Glory presented by Joel Hemphill, Apr 30th 2008, Atlanta Georgia. Commentary by Sean Finnegan.
Famed gospel singer, Joel Hemphill, the surprise guest of the conference, delivered a riveting message about his story with God from his initial conversion at 10 years old to his recent arrival at the biblical unitarian position from his prior oneness (Jesus only) viewpoint. He speaks with lucidity, energy, and humility and the story he tells is gripping.
He has sent out over 130,000 tracts to various pastors and church leaders around America proclaiming his new found faith in the one God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Jesus. His book, To God Be The Glory documents his research on this subject.
On November 3rd, 2007 at Park Church in Blountstown, FL, Elder Drew Ayers and Sir Anthony Buzzard debated on the Trinity. It has been up on Google video for a little while now but the words don’t match the lips (don’t you hate that?) However, I was able to make an mp3 for those of you who may want to take a listen. The entire debate runs about 132 minutes. They are both gentleman and many good points were brought up.
click here to listen.
Last Sunday I shared on “The Shema: The Creed of Jesus” (click here to listen). In preparation for this teaching I researched the various Jewish traditions surrounding the central creed of Israel. But before we go any further, do you know what “the Shema” is? The word “Shema” is the imperative form of a Hebrew word meaning “hear” or “listen” and it is the first word in Deuteronomy 6.4. Here is the section from the Bible:
I recently came across the brand new Biblical Unitarian Society of the University of Southampton. To view their website, click here. They are Biblical Unitarian (BU) Christians who believe that the God of the Bible is One Divine Person, as in the Jewish belief of God. (By contrast, the Trinitarian Christians hold that God is a Trinity, i.e. Three Divine Persons in One Essence.) Below are some excellent quotes by biblical unitarians on their site that blessed me.
Professor A. T. Hanson, the first Professor of Theology at the University of Hull (appointed in 1962):
“No responsible NT scholar would claim that the doctrine of the Trinity was taught by Jesus, or preached by the earliest Christians, or consciously held by any writer of the NT. It was in fact slowly worked out in the course of the first few centuries in an attempt to give an intelligible doctrine of God.” (The Image of the Invisible God [London: SCM 1982], p. 87)
Last Friday I was privileged to participate in a debate over the question of who God is. I took the affirmative position that the Father is the only true God (cf. Jn 17.3). My opponent, Russ Dizdar, took the traditional position that God is three persons in one essence–the Trinity. This was my first moderated debate and it went very well for both of us. 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 (please keep her in your prayers). As a result, Mr. Dizdar and I kept track of our own time and took turns presenting our cases. The format of the debate was as follows:
I was reading an excellent book (Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament by Wheaton Professor John Walton and it had a great deal of information that put together the Old Testament very well. I wanted to bring up this one part about the Mosaic law (specifically the first four commandments), and how we can see the forceful changes it makes to the status quo of the ancient peoples.
- Thou shalt have no other gods before me