Restitutio

As many of you know, I’m not only the host of this podcast. My main job is working for Living Hope International Ministries, which is a network of churches, home fellowships, and individuals seeking to make authentic disciples of Christ. In addition to my local church responsibilities, I also travel on behalf of LHIM to visit churches within our network, help start new ones, and affiliate with existing churches that share the...

When Knieshia came to question the doctrine of the Trinity, she had to make a decision. After she did the Bible study, she knew Jesus wasn’t God. She took a step of faith and began teaching her new understanding of the human Jesus. Overnight, she lost 500 subscribers on her YouTube channel. In time that number grew to 1,000. Still, she didn’t want to teach false doctrine nor did she want to hide the truth she’d di...

Will Turner grew up in a Presbyterian Church, but when the Jehovah’s Witnesses came calling, he had to admit they made a lot of sese. They got him to question the Trinity and heaven-at-death. He almost joined, but there were a few issues that made him keep his distance. Find out what they were and how encountering Biblical Unitarians online like John Schoenheit and Dustin Smith helped Will tremendously in his journey of faith...

Are you using artificial intelligence? I bet you are. I certainly do. I find AI chatbots to be incredibly helpful. In today’s discussion with Sam Tideman, we discuss what AI chatbots are actually doing. We cover how to use them well for research and Bible study as well as some of their limitations. We also talk about the dark side of AI and what incentives have been wired into them. I hope you find this interview as thought-p...

What do you do when you’ve tried to quit something over and over and still can’t get free? My guest today is Jody Rodriguez who fell into a life of regular substance use from her teenage years onward. By the time she was nearing thirty she had been to jail and rehab but still couldn’t shake her addictions. Then after a second failed drug test, she hit rock bottom and said to herself, “If I don’t change...

Mina grew up in a poor village in South Korea in the 1950s. She faced many hardships due to her abusive alcoholic father who loaned her to another family to work as a servant. Although Mina escaped from that situation, she found herself in something much worse. She got entrapped by sex traffickers and forced to work as a prostitute. The crushing shame from these experiences followed her through life even after she escaped to Americ...

Jeremy Martin is a complicated man. Although raised in a Christian home, he chose a different path. At eighteen years old, he embraced the party lifestyle of drinking alcohol and using drugs of various kinds. Before long, he found himself sucked into a criminal lifestyle, including an eight-year stretch where he earned his living from crime. At 25 he had to flee Arizona in order to escape murder.

At this point in the story, I bet y...

Last time we learned about software engineer Alex Ticer’s terrifying health crisis and the healing he received. This set him on a quest to dedicate his life to serving God, but how? He had no idea what he was supposed to do. So, he quit his job and intensified his study of the Bible and praying. After discovering Jesus’s identity as the human Messiah (not a Godman), he embarked on a journey to find others with like prec...

Alex Ticer had It all: a degree from UCLA, a job as a software engineer, financial security, a beautiful family, a house in Texas, but something was terribly wrong. It was something he couldn’t fix with money or intelligence or grit. He had a genetic disease that would cause him to waste away no matter what he did. He cried out to God, and something miraculous happened. He saw a bright light and got a new lease on life. What ...

Are you under the impression that everyone believes in the Trinity? Most denominational creeds, seminary requirements, and church statements of faith begin with a confession that there is one God who exists in three persons. Perhaps you think that this means that American pastors believe in the Trinity and they faithfully teach it to their congregations.

If so, you would be wrong.

Today my guest is biblical studies scholar, Dr. Dus...

It’s recited in churches all around the world in many languages. It’s the standard by which all modern Christians are measured. It’s an artful and eloquent expression of doctrine. What am I talking about? Of course, it’s the Nicene Creed.

But what if I told you that this creed wasn’t from the Council of Nicea in 325 ad. You’d say, “Yeah, yeah, Sean, everyone knows the Nicene creed is really...

What is the true nature of God? How should we understand monotheism? What about heresy? In today’s interview, I ask Dr. Dale Tuggy about his new book, Monotheism, Heresy, and the Bible, published by Theophilus Press. Our discussion ranges from handling proof-texts that call Jesus “God” to the role of logic in sorting out doctrine to how and when it’s appropriate to call a belief a heresy. We also talk a...

How do you know God exists? What reasons do atheists have to doubt God’s existence? Can you arrive at certainty? These questions are among the most significant that you can ask. If God exists, there are huge implications for your daily life. If not, then you can more or less choose your own adventure, making up meaning as you go.

My guest today is Andrew Drinkard, the editor and project lead on an interesting book called Deba...

Are all your beliefs equally important? If not, how do you rank them? By what standard do you say, “This belief matters” and “This one is less important”? My guest today is Michael Hughes who has been working on these very questions. He’s written a couple of papers addressing levels of evidence. In his more recent work, he’s enumerated a nine-level rating system by which you can judge a belief.

A...

Are you looking for a biblically-grounded albeit easy-to-read introduction to theology? Well, look no further, because I’m excited to announce the publication of Pastor Will Barlow’s book, Explore What We Believe. He goes through what the Bible teaches about God, humanity, covenants, the kingdom of God, Jesus, salvation, Israel, the church, the spirit of God, the spiritual realm, death, and immortality. He also includes...

I have a new book out and I’m excited to tell you all about it. In order to do that, Anna Brown is hosting Restitutio today and putting me in the hot seat. In this interview, she asks me about Read the Bible for Yourself, a book I’ve been working on for the last three years.

In our conversation we talk about whom the book is for and how to use it most effectively. I share about the chapter you won’t want to m...

Jesus said, “Make disciples of all nations” (Mat 28:19). How are you doing on this? Are you currently mentoring someone in the faith? Are you under the impression that this work is only for pastors, those in church leadership, or those with the gift of evangelism? You may say to yourself, “I don’t have a Bible-college degree,” or “I don’t know enough to teach someone else,” or “...

To whom was God speaking in Genesis 1.26 when he said, “Let us make humanity in our image”? My guest today, Sam Mansfield of Adelaide, South Australia, has found six different answers to this question. In the following interview, I ask him about his recent presentation at the inaugural Australian Unitarian Christian Alliance conference, called “Wrought with Wisdom: How Solomon Understood Genesis 1:26, 3:22 & 1...

Many Bible-believing churches are ridged keepers of tradition. They have a statement of faith, a historic confession, or old creeds that determine what people should and should not believe. There’s very little space for people to genuinely ask questions, investigate competing doctrines, and honestly change their minds over time.

Today I’m speaking with Matt Lovegrove of New Castle, New South Wales. If you listened to th...