Gospel Simplicity Podcast

I believe the Christian doctrine of the Trinity is true. But is that the same as saying it's a "salvation issue?"

In Evangelical parlance, "salvation issues" are essentially those things you have to believe to be saved. They're similar to "dogmas" in other traditions.

In this video, I explore the question of whether or not the doctrine of the trinity fits this description. Part of exploring this question involves exploring the nature of faith, the function of dogmas, and how the doctrine of the trinity relates to salvation.

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Book a meeting: https://calendly.com/gospelsimplicity/meet-with-austin
Read my writings: https://austinsuggs.substack.com

Recommended Resources:
The Christian Doctrine of God by T. F. Torrance: https://link.amazon/B0cE7mEdd
Justification and the Churches by Gerald Hiestand: https://link.amazon/B0ewCemPD
On the Incarnation by St. Athanasius: https://link.amazon/B0hjn2O1X
Letters to Serapion by St. Athanasius: https://link.amazon/B09Cj6O90
Veritatis Splendor by Pope St. John Paul II: https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_06081993_veritatis-splendor.html

00:00 Salvation Issues
02:37 The Nature of Faith
05:06 Trust and Assent
06:16 Understanding Dogma
10:59 Trinity and Salvation
17:21 Are Only Trinitarians Saved?

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People often ask if the Bible teaches the doctrine of the Trinity OR is it a later development. But what if it's both?

In this video, I lay out a basic case for how we can find the component parts of trinitarian doctrine in Scripture while also arguing that a fully mature trinitarian theology requires development. And that's ok!

Join Me on the Camino!: https://www.gospelsimplicity.com/pilgrimage

Pre-order my novel, The Long Road to Holy Island: https://amzn.to/4sISAC9

Get access to my book club, one-on-one office hours, show notes, and more:  https://patreon.com/gospelsimplicity
Make a one-time donation: https://paypal.me/gospelsimplicity
Book a meeting: https://calendly.com/gospelsimplicity/meet-with-austin
Read my writings: https://austinsuggs.substack.com

Books Mentioned:
Putting Jesus in His Place: https://link.amazon/B00yx12Zb
Works on the Spirit: https://link.amazon/B00MDyyMe

00:00 Framework
03:22 Monotheism
04:55 The Father is God
06:48 The Son is God
17:05 The Spirit is God
22:46 Distinction of Persons
25:35 Development of Doctrine 

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In this episode, I'm joined by Dr. Matthew Bates to discuss his work on Justification, specifically the idea of salvation by allegiance alone and its implications for Protestant-Catholic debates.

Books Discussed:
Salvation by Allegiance Alone: https://link.amazon/B01RY8dSH
Beyond the Salvation Wars: https://link.amazon/B08Xp3Wu2

Pre-order my novel, The Long Road to Holy Island: https://amzn.to/4sISAC9

Get access to my book club, one-on-one office hours, show notes, and more:  https://patreon.com/gospelsimplicity
Make a one-time donation: https://paypal.me/gospelsimplicity
Book a meeting: https://calendly.com/gospelsimplicity/meet-with-austin
Read my writings: https://austinsuggs.substack.com

About the Guest: Matthew W. Bates (PhD, Notre Dame) is Professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary with expertise on the gospel and salvation. His book Why the Gospel? (Eerdmans, 2024) won the Christianity Today award in popular theology and was Outreach magazine’s “Resource of the Year” in theology and Bible. His acclaimed academic titles include Salvation by Allegiance Alone (Baker Academic, 2017) and The Birth of the Trinity (Oxford University Press, 2015). He also co-founded and co-hosts the popular OnScript podcast.

00:00 Salvation by Allegiance
04:53 What Is Faith?
14:41 Christ as King
20:48 Embodied Allegiance
28:06 Ecumenical Implications
38:23 Where Catholics Go Wrong
49:45 Baptism and Allegiance
55:41 Where Protestants Go Wrong
01:00:47 Going Deeper

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In this episode, I'm joined by Catholic apologist and repeat guest, Suan Sonna, to discuss Mary's role in the Early Church. Specifically, we're looking at some sources that I didn't bring up in my own video on the historical record for Marian doctrine and devotion in the early church. These sources include the Odes of Solomon, the Sibylline Oracles, and more. Along the way, we also talk at length about historical methodology and how history and theology intersect.

Pre-order my novel, The Long Road to Holy Island: https://amzn.to/4sISAC9

Get access to my book club, one-on-one office hours, show notes, and more:  https://patreon.com/gospelsimplicity
Make a one-time donation: https://paypal.me/gospelsimplicity
Book a meeting: https://calendly.com/gospelsimplicity/meet-with-austin
Read my writings: https://austinsuggs.substack.com


00:00 The Backstory
01:54 Ascension of Isaiah
06:08 History vs. Dogma
16:30 Odes of Solomon
26:00 "Gnosticism"?
35:13 Irenaeus
45:52 Sibylline Oracles
01:05:48 Gregory Thaumaturgus?



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In this episode, I'm joined by the Rev. Dr. Matthew Olver and the Rev. Dr. Nathan Jennings to discuss their book, Turning Points in Prayer Book History which traces the development of the Book of Common Prayer over the centuries. 

Pre-order my novel, The Long Road to Holy Island: https://amzn.to/4sISAC9

Get access to my book club, one-on-one office hours, show notes, and more:  https://patreon.com/gospelsimplicity
Make a one-time donation: https://paypal.me/gospelsimplicity
Book a meeting: https://calendly.com/gospelsimplicity/meet-with-austin
Read my writings: https://austinsuggs.substack.com

Read the Book: https://link.amazon/B025gMLW8

00:00 What Would Cranmer Think?
10:14 Elizabethan Compromise
16:03 Via Media Theology
22:46 The Importance of Rubrics
32:54 Optionality in Liturgy
44:57 English vs. Scottish BCP
56:00 What's Next?

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In this episode, I'm joined by two repeat guests, Dr. Matthew Thomas and Dr. Barnabas Aspray. I've had the pleasure of getting to know both of these men over the last few years, and for almost the entirety of that time, they've insisted that I read one book: The Spirit and Forms of Protestantism by Fr. Louis Bouyer.

Finally, after much delay, I've read the book, and the three of us sat down to discuss not only this book, but also two main ideas:
1. Nominalism is at the root of the negative aspects of the Reformation.
2. All the positive aspects of the Reformation can be found within the Catholic Church.

Pre-order my novel, The Long Road to Holy Island: https://amzn.to/4sISAC9

Get access to my book club, one-on-one office hours, show notes, and more:  https://patreon.com/gospelsimplicity
Make a one-time donation: https://paypal.me/gospelsimplicity
Book a meeting: https://calendly.com/gospelsimplicity/meet-with-austin
Read my writings: https://austinsuggs.substack.com

Read the Book: https://link.amazon/B09FL1iyu

Guest Links:
Barney's Podcast:  @FaithattheFrontiers 
About Barney: https://stmarys.edu/staff/dr-barnabas-aspray/
About Matt: https://dspt.edu/matthew-thomas/


00:00 The Backstory
11:50 Bouyer's Main Idea
19:47 Reformation Nominalism?
31:25 Still Nominalist?
39:26 What is Nominalism?
46:27 Anglican Exception?
01:07:29 My Reservations



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In this episode, I'm joined by the Rev. Dr. Michael Niebauer to discuss his new book, From Word to Worship, which is all about learning to read the Bible in accord with the lectionary, noticing the way it connects Scripture and presents it as a unified story with Christ at the center.

Over the course of the conversation, we cover things like hermeneutics, preaching advice, the history of the lectionary, and much more.

Pre-order my novel, The Long Road to Holy Island: https://amzn.to/4sISAC9

Get access to my book club, one-on-one office hours, show notes, and more:  https://patreon.com/gospelsimplicity
Make a one-time donation: https://paypal.me/gospelsimplicity
Book a meeting: https://calendly.com/gospelsimplicity/meet-with-austin
Read my writings: https://austinsuggs.substack.com

Guest Links:
Read the book: https://link.amazon/B0j1PA3cV
Substack: https://substack.com/@michaelniebauer

00:00 What is a Lectionary?
08:59 How are Readings Selected?
14:34 The Church Calendar
21:01 Three Year vs. One Year
26:50 Don't Just Preach the Gospel Text
30:20 Doctrine and Exegesis
36:41 The Church's Book
45:50 Examples
50:45 Living the Text
58:30 Preaching Advice

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In this episode, I'm joined by Bonnie Kristian to discuss her new book, In Defense of Evangelicalism: A Response to its Cultured Despisers. Over the course of the interview, we discuss what makes Evangelicalism unique, why its become a punching bag in American discourse, its entanglement with politics, and much more.

Pre-order my novel, The Long Road to Holy Island: https://amzn.to/4sISAC9

Get access to my book club, one-on-one office hours, show notes, and more:  https://patreon.com/gospelsimplicity
Make a one-time donation: https://paypal.me/gospelsimplicity
Book a meeting: https://calendly.com/gospelsimplicity/meet-with-austin
Read my writings: https://austinsuggs.substack.com

Guest Links:
Read the book:https://amzn.to/3VfDtEw
Find Bonnie on Substack: https://substack.com/@bonniekristian

00:00 Why Now?
03:30 What is Evangelicalism?
18:43 Cultural Criticism of Evangelicals
24:14 Evangelical Self-Criticism
27:27 Evangelical Egalitarians
33:30 Tackiness
40:49 Global vs. American Evangelicalism
45:00 Evangelical Politics
51:29 One Thing to Know about Evangelicals

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In this episode, I'm joined by the Rev. Dr. Thomas Plant to discuss his new book, King Oswald's Heirs, which is a meditation on the 1662 BCP Catechism applied to the questions of re-enchantment and Christianity in a modern/post-modern world. It's a fascinating combination and well-worth reading.

In this discussion, Fr. Thomas discusses the importance of embracing the traditions we've been given, whether the Reformation caused secularism, and much more.

Pre-order my novel, The Long Road to Holy Island: https://amzn.to/4sISAC9

Get access to my book club, one-on-one office hours, show notes, and more:  https://patreon.com/gospelsimplicity
Make a one-time donation: https://paypal.me/gospelsimplicity
Book a meeting: https://calendly.com/gospelsimplicity/meet-with-austin
Read my writings: https://austinsuggs.substack.com

Guest Links:
Read the book: https://amzn.to/4x16Esi

00:00 The Reformation and Modernity
11:00 Post-Christianity
22:00 The Saints
27:00 Particular and Universal
47:30 Identity

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In this episode, I'm joined by Dr. Brendan Case to discuss his new book, Doubting Thomas (UND Press), which covers a host of debates between St. Thomas Aquinas and his Franciscan counterparts, especially St. Bonaventure. In this discussion, Dr. Case shares a few instances where he thinks Bonaventure got the better of Thomas. Moreover, he shares why these debates matter and how they might better help us understand the place of Thomas in modern theology.

Pre-order my novel, The Long Road to Holy Island: https://amzn.to/4sISAC9

Get access to my book club, one-on-one office hours, show notes, and more:  https://patreon.com/gospelsimplicity
Make a one-time donation: https://paypal.me/gospelsimplicity
Book a meeting: https://calendly.com/gospelsimplicity/meet-with-austin
Read my writings: https://austinsuggs.substack.com

About the Guest: Brendan W. Case, Th.D., serves as the Associate Director for Research at the Harvard Human Flourishing Program. A Christian theologian by training, Case’s work brings theology and philosophy into conversation with the empirical social sciences to understand the nature, distribution, and determinants of a good life. Dr. Case is the author or co-author of five books: The Gentleness of Wisdom: A Christian Ethics of Charity, Anger, and Enmity (Routledge, 2026); Doubting Thomas: Early Franciscan Disputes with Aquinas (University of Notre Dame Press, 2026); The Justification of the Sinless: Supralapsarian Christology and the Goodness of the Incarnation (Baker Academic, 2026); The Accountable Animal: Justice, Justification, and Judgment (T&T Clark, 2021), and (with William Glass) Least of the Apostles: Paul and His Legacies in Earliest Christianity (Pickwick Press, 2022).

Guest Links:
Read the book: https://amzn.to/3UnrxQQ
The Justification of the Sinless: https://amzn.to/4ccbZFP
Learn more: https://hfh.fas.harvard.edu/team/brendan-case

Chapters
00:00 The Place of St. Thomas in Theology
04:46 St. Bonaventure's Approach
10:01 Reception of Thomas in his time
20:04 The Trinity and divine relations
25:12 The Ontological Argument
30:07 Implications of different theological emphases
35:05 Bonaventure today
39:55 Beyond the Summa
45:13 Mystical theology in Bonaventure
49:48 Historical and contemporary views on Thomas and Bonaventure
54:57 The future of theological study

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