Show Notes
In this episode, we welcome Dr. Paul Gutacker to discuss his book The Old Faith in a New Nation: American Protestants and the Christian Past. Given a construct of “biblicism” - the standard narrative of American evangelicalism often assumes or involves the ahistoric and anti-traditional. Yet, as Dr. Gutacker both argues and writes: “American Protestants never read, or argued over, the Bible alone.” What was the place, role, and priority of the past in the polemics of early American history? Indeed, how does the key role that history played in the arguments all throughout the period of 1780-1864 contribute to a proper understanding of the “democratization of American Christianity”? What were the sources so often studied and cited in debates among all the Christian denominations – as well as their historiographical tendencies and patterns of analysis? From many of the Founding Fathers to Baptist minister James P. Boyce and the founding of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary – to even Restorationism, or the “Christian movement” - the arguments among Christians are saturated with appeals to history, and past Christian thinkers. Indeed, “religious memory contributed to denominational competition”. Moreover, far from “biblicism” alone leading to an inevitable impasse during the crisis surrounding the Civil War, tradition was no more able to settle the debates regarding slavery and even the place of the Church, either. Listen in as we hear Dr. Gutacker take us into this, and even more regarding questions of the Great Tradition, the place of history, and even how the blind spots of the past may help us be more sensitive to the blind spots of the present.
Book: The Old Faith in a New Nation: American Protestants and the Christian Past Also check out: Brazos Fellows
The Democratization of American Christianity by Nathan O. Hatch The Civil War as a Theological Crisis by Mark Noll How To Think by Alan Jacobs Dominion by Tom Holland
Evangelicals and Tradition by D. H. Williams The Spirit of Early Christian Thought; Liberty in the Things of God by Robert Louis Wilken “General History of the Baptist Denomination” by David Benedict
More from Distinctive Christianity
In this episode, we welcome Dr. Michael Haykin to discuss his book Rooted in the Word: Wisdom from the English Particular Baptists. Who are the Baptists, and what is both their place in a broader shared orthodoxy – as well as their core distinctives? With the “first clearly identifiable Particular Baptist church was founded in London in 1638”, Dr. Haykin takes us into the debates surrounding Baptist origins – as well as why he argues for their origins being found in “the matrix of English Puritanism”. How early do we see Baptist confessionalism, and how should we best understand how the Baptist confessions interacted with Baptist polity? Though there may have been some influence from the Westminster Confession of Faith upon the text of the Second London Baptist Confession, Dr. Haykin reminds us that the First London Baptist Confession of Faith was earlier than the Westminster Assembly. Listen in as we ask Dr. Haykin about some of the historic Baptist arguments for Baptist distinctive commitments to believers’ baptism, by immersion – as well as congregational polity. We also hear some highlights about men behind two of the famous hymns written by Baptists of the this early period: “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing” (written by Robert Robinson), and “Blest Be the Tie that Binds” (written by John Fawcett). We also hear some thoughts on the life and legacy of William Carey, “the father of the modern missions movement” – and the context of his work promoting more focus on spreading the Gospel of Grace throughout the world. We end with some of Dr. Haykin’s thoughts on how Baptists should appreciate both their place in a broader Christianity, as well as their own distinctive heritage and history.
In this episode, we welcome back Dr. Ed Romine to discuss his article “Elohim v. Yahweh: Divine Complexity of the LDS Church Contra Divine Simplicity of Creedal Christianity”. What is the doctrine of Simplicity, and why does it matter? Is it biblical, is it creedal – and why have so many of the great Christian theologians affirm a robust articulation of the Triune God’s Simplicity? We then ask Ed about how this contrasts with the consistent LDS prophetic teaching of a “corporeal and complex” status of godhood – consistent with a cosmology based on eternally-existent matter and law. Comparing and contrasting the care, core commitments and articulation of one like Thomas Aquinas (in his Summa Theologica) versus LDS apostle Elder Charles Penrose (in a classic 1884 talk) – Ed takes us into what this reveals about the core differences between the doctrine of LDS authorities and those of Creedal Christianity, and why this matters. Whether God is Simple “without body, parts, or passions” – or is in part defined by the complexity of an exalted status of one’s body, parts, and passions leads to completely different definitions of what one means when they say they worship Jesus. Indeed, what one means when they say Jesus is God is at the core of the very definition of Christianity, itself.
In this episode, we welcome Dr. Peter Gentry to discuss the book, co-authored with Dr. Christophe Rico, The Mother of the Infant King, Isaiah 7:14: ‘alma and parthenos in the World of the Bible: A Linguistic Perspective. Isaiah 7:14, especially given the quotation in Matthew 1:23 – is considered one of the most controversial passages in the Old Testament. Translated traditionally as “virgin”, and yet in modern translations typically rendered “young woman” – what is the actual meaning of the world ‘alma and how do we know? Whether from arguments from etymology, to the argument of “duplicate use”, to the alleged counter-point in Proverbs 30:19, to even broad claims regarding Jewish tradition – Dr. Gentry takes us into each of these arguments, why they are made, and what is wrong with them. Focusing quite a bit on linguistic analysis, both of ‘alma and the Greek translation of “parthenos” – Dr. Gentry answers the question of whether or not Genesis 24:43 is a counter-point. What is the context of Isaiah 7, the textual evidence regarding Isaiah 7:14 specifically – and how does it tie into the larger context of Isaiah’s book as a whole? We then ask about whether or not the evangelist Matthew rightly reads and understands Isaiah 7:14 in his quotation in Matthew 1:23? Contrary to the modern consensus, Dr. Gentry explains to us some of why a close study of Isaiah suggests that the Prophet did actually predict a virgin birth in the distant future – and that Jesus of Nazareth does indeed fulfill that specific prophecy.
In this episode, we welcome back Dr. Vern Poythress to discuss his book Redeeming Philosophy: A God-Centered Approach to the Big Questions. Starting with the question of what is philosophy – and contrasting the commitment to “wisdom” we find contrasted between Athens and Jerusalem. Calling for a redemption of philosophy, we ask Dr. Poythress about what is a distinctively Christian approach to philosophy. Indeed, is the Bible able to truly teach man philosophy? Writing “Genesis 1-2 provides foundational instruction to guide human learning about the world,” the Bible gives man a programmatic perspective, much larger than a shallow reading may catch. Along those lines, the fall of man into sin in Genesis 3 provides a crucial perspective into the mind of man – and it’s tendency toward the lust for autonomy, which comes in many various philosophical forms. What is the Problem of “the One and the Many”, and why don’t the approaches of brilliant thinkers such as Thales, Plato and Aristotle struggle to account for the unity and the diversity of the cosmos? Indeed, how may the Trinity actually provide a basis for both the unity and diversity in a way that avoids reduction and illusion? Why should Christians avoid the false alternatives of Idealism and Empiricism, or Modernism and Postmodernism? Listen in, as Dr. Poythress takes us through this and more – including a response to, with philosophy in mind, the question of how Christ Jesus is the wisdom of God, even “the way, the Truth, and the life”.
In this episode, we welcome Dr. Andrew S. Malone to discuss his book God’s Mediators: A Biblical Theology of Priesthood. What is the Priesthood, according to the Bible? Moreover, what is a priest – and how do we understand their “two-way role”? Even in the era of Moses, how do we understand Exodus 19:6 relative to the Aaronic Priesthood being introduced later in Exodus 28? What was the Aaronic Priesthood – and how does it relate and overlap with the Levites? What was their origins – and what are some thoughts on the distinctive nature of Israelite priesthood, as well as the how we better understand the change in what we see of priestly activity across the Old Testament? Who was the High Priest, what was his relation to Moses, his distinctive attire – and his unique role and responsibility in the cult of Israel? Listen in as Dr. Malone takes us into this, and more as we hear about how we should balance the significant continuity and discontinuity across the Bible. Was Jesus of Nazareth a (High) Priest, and how should we understand that relative to his authority as presented in the New Testament? Taking us into the rich theology of the Epistle to the Hebrews, we ask Dr. Malone how to best understand the parallel and substantive connection of the relationship of the Aaronic Priest and corporate Israel – as well as Christ Jesus and the church, both aiding us in seeing the identity and work of Christ our Priest, as well as better understanding the priesthood of all believers in regard to both the church, and the world.