May 12, 2022
After Yahweh, the Hebrew word elohim is the most common noun in the Hebrew Bible. This episode explores the word elohim in its relation to the one true God of Israel. We examine the meaning of the plural form and ask what this means when referencing the Israelite God regularly defined as a single person. We also explore the grammatical concept called the "plural of majesty" and look at how it pertains to the plural noun elohim. Lastly, we take note of the noun elohim being used to portray individual authorized human agents of God and draw conclusions from this important data.
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To view the notes from this episode please click the link below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/16F8nxTakxpX8ePvqnHF__INjus3BPdaxi9couwLqZU8/edit?usp=sharing
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April 28, 2022
In this final episode dealing with the instances of misunderstanding in the Fourth Gospel, we see Jesus telling his disciples about the forthcoming time of grief when he will be taken away followed by a time of joy. Some of the disciples deliberate as to what Jesus means with this cryptic saying. This results in Jesus clarifying the misunderstanding in a manner that redirects readers forward into the narrative, towards the death and resurrection. Lastly, we summarize our findings from this series on the theme of misunderstandings in the Gospel of John.
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To view the notes from this episode please click the link below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yvEydf6pb30B_WYeYnDoplX-3jZazHKeU-DADEbrBRY/edit?usp=sharing
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April 14, 2022
In this episode, we explore the misunderstanding that arises when Jesus speaks about the way to the Father. Thomas, a well-known doubter, fails to grasp that Jesus is speaking about himself as the way. When Jesus clarifies the misunderstanding of Thomas, he claims to be the definitive way to the Father, following with an equal claim of being the truth and the life. We explore what these characteristics mean for the Christology of the Gospel of John and the manner in which they are deliberately drawn from the poetry about God's personified wisdom in Proverbs.
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To view the notes from this episode please click the link below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/14r3Jbuc4RBtkVReHTouRNiCXW9S4qhOL6Djh9PkZJ48/edit?usp=sharing
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March 10, 2022
In the final instance of misunderstanding in John 8, Jesus speaks about Abraham rejoicing to see the day of Messiah. The Jews mishear Jesus and accuse him of claiming to be old enough to have seen Abraham. In Jesus' clarification to the misunderstanding, we come to the disputed text where Jesus states that "I am he" who was before Abraham was born. This episode explores the theme of misunderstanding and how it helps us better understand Jesus' clarification in John 8:58. We also look at the topic of Jewish preeexistence and note two distinct ways it was conveyed in Jewish literature.
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To view the notes from this episode please click the link below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PW5DOYMZwH0KPdl6a7z7zJ7_dhYjA2AgBJlMP5MgIlo/edit?usp=sharing
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January 27, 2022
As we continue to explore the theme of misunderstanding in the Fourth Gospel, we come upon Jesus speaking about the need to eat his flesh. The grumbling Jews misunderstand Jesus by taking his words literally to the point of absurdity. However, Jesus was speaking about the feasting that takes place in the Eucharist meal where those who commune with the Son of Man are able to receive eternal life from the bread of life. In other words, Jesus' intended meaning has much to say about his own self-understanding of Christology and the sacrament of communion.
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To view the notes from this episode please click the link below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1alwY3XuzUEriTms_y5KbZKq-ZYL8c-AI22KkKNZhIKo/edit?usp=sharing
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December 9, 2021
In the Greek New Testament, there are many ways in which the true God is portrayed as a single person. While it is common to point to verses stressing God’s oneness and the Shema, there are other ways in which the Greek expresses this important truth. This week’s episode will begin to explore how independent pronouns–both reflective and intensive–are used to highlight the clear fact that God is only one person. We will also look at Greek verbs where God is the subject and the verb is used in the middle voice–indicating that God is doing the action himself–thus further stressing the fact that he is a single person.
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To view the notes from this episode please click the link below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1a4nThc22bZXjp1LP8Whb-paDgAgQOM7nW5PpiOpN9So/edit?usp=sharing
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October 14, 2021
The latter part of Hebrew chapter 2 is one of the Bible's most persuasive and extended arguments for Jesus' humanity. The passage cites two quotations from the Old Testament in order to demonstrate that Jesus has human brothers and sisters. It argues that Jesus was likened to human beings in all things, including mortality, ability to be tempted, and possessing a faithful relationship with God. We also discuss translation issues with a passage that led many medieval interpreters to think that Jesus preexisted as the Son of God and eventually took upon himself human nature--a reading that has been completely abandoned by modern scholars.
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To view the notes from this episode please click the link below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MBq9UWKCdYZOx4JMaqfSnBdAPCFT7Dwvx2oaAXKmG44/edit?usp=sharing
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September 30, 2021
Although Psalm 8 is cited and alluded to frequently in the New Testament, Biblical Unitarians have only seldom used it in their portrayals of Jesus. This episode looks at Hebrews chapter 2 and its use of Psalm 8 in order to better understand its Christological impact. We discuss the differences between the Hebrew version and the Greek version of Psalm 8, the meaning of the phrase "He made him lower," the importance of God sharing his attributes with a human creature, and the implications of all things being subjected under the human Jesus' feet.
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To view the notes from this episode please click the link below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1G13L2b06FtmBtCsF2l0wjBuDX4YIS7QYVXZSDyGbxpg/edit?usp=sharing
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September 23, 2021
Hebrews 1:10-12 is one of the most difficult passages for Biblical Unitarians, especially in light of its apparent designation of Jesus as the creator of the heavens and the earth. This episode offers a few suggestions on ways in which the text probably was intended to be understood by the author of Hebrews, focusing specifically on the precise wording of the citation from Psalm 102, the ongoing argument involving Jesus' greatness in comparison with the heavenly angels, Wisdom Christology, and various theological points that are to come up later in the Book of Hebrews.
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To view the notes from this episode please click the link below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oLArUII7YSD9PQQqHf35tsjgHw8plZCMgx6Vx7gLJJg/edit?usp=sharing
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September 16, 2021
Hebrews 1:6 presents some interesting interpretive issues for such a lesser-known passage. We discuss the meaning of the "world" where God led Jesus (and whether this was the first time or the second time this has occurred). We also explore the meaning of "firstborn" in the current argument between Jesus' status and that of the heavenly angels. We also look into how the heavenly realm is framed in terms of the inheritance associated with the age to come in the theology of Hebrews. Lastly, we attempt to find the original source of the quotation cited and understand the significance of angels offering worship to Jesus when they formerly worshipped God.
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To view the notes from this episode please click the link below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JAFRwS2XoL8zUo2kFpCBtEPh9ToY4ofqwAp3rb_zY4k/edit?usp=sharing
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July 15, 2021
The New Testament authors felt comfortable using Yahweh texts from the Hebrew Bible for the human Jesus. Some scholars have concluded that this data indicates that the NT authors identified Jesus as Yahweh, but this is problematic for many reasons. This episode will introduce the concept of OT Yahweh passages used in the NT for Jesus, looking at some examples as well as some helpful parallels in second temple Judaism. We conclude by using Mark 1:3--which cites Isaiah 40:3 for Jesus--as a test case suggesting that Jesus is the authorized and empowered agent of Yahweh.
Please consider supporting this Podcast and future projects by donating at:
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To view the notes from this episode please click the link below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1s7Mm0AKD9dTkqSGu3wrmmnCkpqIcvNyopGSl_io69eg/edit?usp=sharing
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June 17, 2021
In this episode, we continue exploring how early Christians understood Jesus functioning within sacrificial terminology that was reserved for God alone. The Book of Hebrews has a lot to say about Jesus as a high priest and as one who sacrificially offered himself to the one God. We also look at Paul's theology of the death of Jesus to see how the cross is understood in terms of a sin offering. Lastly, we explore the Lord's Supper--the Eucharist--to better understand how this meal was practiced in terms of remembering and even participating in Jesus' sacrifice to God.
Please consider supporting this Podcast and future projects by donating at:
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To view the notes from this episode please click the link below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/15GoI-0DWbTZga7bf_Yzd_eHbUlYJViadtGArfI9h5A0/edit?usp=sharing
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June 10, 2021
In this episode, we explore the function of sacrifices in the Ancient Near East, particularly in the ways they were differentiated from acts of worship and bowing down. Since the gods were understood to be the intended object of the offering of sacrifices and burnt offerings, we are able to examine early Christian "sacrificial" language to see whom they regarded as the true object. We note in our survey that God alone is the object of Christian "sacrifice" language, never Jesus Christ, while Jesus is sometimes the agent through whom sacrifices are made to the one God.
Please consider supporting this Podcast and future projects by donating at:
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To view the notes from this episode please click the link below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CAoPPx0skTINJtqutW2bQ-lf54YnmdlYJUrsftJpZd0/edit?usp=sharing
Check out some of my videos on YouTube at:
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