Today we are beginning a major new class on how we get our English Bibles. I’m so excited about sharing with you so much about what I’ve learned in doing the research for this project. We’re going to have a great time together. My goal here is to cover the transmission of manuscripts and translation process so you understand where Bibles come from. In fact, I was thinking of calling this class, “Where Bibles Come From,” but when I searched for that phrase the search engine in its infinite wisdom had auto corrected it to “Where do babies come from,” which needless to say wasn’t the target audience for this material.

Today marks part one of this class, How We Got the Bible, and our focus will be on the manuscripts that underlie the Masoretic Text. You’ll learn about the Aleppo Codex: probably the most accurate Masoretic Text on the planet. We’ll cover the Leningrad Codex which to this day dominates textual studies since it is the oldest complete Hebrew Bible. We’ll look at a handful of other important manuscripts in an effort to begin understanding where our Bibles come from.

Introduction to How We Got the Bible

1: The Masoretic Text

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This is the fifth and final part of our parenting class.  Today you’ll learn about striking the balance between oversight and independence.  Although many parents today think their children are at risk of kidnapping and other terrible crimes, our society is actually much safer than it has been in decades.  The tendency to protect our children at all times has resulted in a culture of “safteyism” that leads to ill-preparedness when children grow up and move out of the house.  On the opposite side chronic neglect or toxic stressors result in adults who are likewise unable to cope with and overcome the complexities of adult life.

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In this episode we’ll take a close look at David to see what evergreen lessons we can learn about parenting our own children today.  In the end, we want to do our best to prepare our children for the road ahead so that they can be their best for God and others.

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In part 4 of our parenting class, Ruth Finnegan tackles the issue of screen time for children.  Although technology itself is neutral, much of what our children spend their time doing with screens is self-destructive and worldly.  As parents our responsibility is to bring God and his scriptures into the family and curtail exposure to worldly entertainment.  Doing so may help prevent adolescent anxiety and depression.

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Welcome to part three of our parenting class where Dr. Mary Ann Yaconis will help us deal with episodes of anger both within ourselves and our children.  This is such an important issue because childhood anger can lead to serious characterological disorders in adulthood if not dealt with appropriately.  In this episode you’ll learn about what’s underneath anger, what prevents anger, and what provokes anger.  The goal here is to learn how to relate to our children in a godly way that incorporates both age-appropriate discipline and unconditional love.

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Mary Ann Yaconis has served Living Hope Community Church for more than a dozen years in the areas of counseling and hospitality.  She is a licensed Mental Health Counselor with her doctorate degree in pastoral counseling from Loyola University Maryland.  She maintains a full-time counseling practice ,helping scores of people over the years to work through troubling issues.

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In this the second part of our parenting seminar, we will broach the topic of disciplining children.  For many of us, this is the hardest part of parenting.  We’d rather enjoy harmony in our homes rather than having to lay down the law.  Even so, the scriptures call us to do the hard work of holding our children accountable.  In this brief but incredibly helpful episode, you’ll learn about setting proportionate consequences to disobeying, affirming children when they do what is right, taking away privileges like screen time, and the controversial topic of spanking.

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Your teachers for this session are Russell and Joelle Brown, the proud parents of two young children, Hosanna and Isaiah who at the time of this recording were five and three and a half years old.  They live in Rhode Island and serve in several ministries at Living Faith Christian Church.

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For many of us during this COVID-19 pandemic, quarantine has been difficult.  A huge number of us are working from home and those of us with children are home schooling as well.  Add to that cold and rainy spring weather, and you’ve got a perfect storm for challenging parenting.  In an effort to help out, I thought we’d spend a few weeks equipping, challenging, and encouraging parents.

Now, I realize that many of you are not parents, but you may have grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or other children in your life.  I’m sure some of you plan to have children one day as well.  This parenting class will help you both understand ways in which our culture is hurting our children and the how the scriptures can guide us in a better direction.

Our first session is called, “Preparing Our Kids for the Road.” The simple fact is that our children are going to suffer at different times in their lives.  They are going to face failure, rejection, and disappointment.  This is absolutely unavoidable for everyone.  Rather than protecting them from everything, our goal as parents is to prepare them for real life in the real world.

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This is part four of our series on original sin. Last time Kegan Chandler and Jerry Wierwille discussed their different views of original sin and the resultant human condition.  In this final part of our series, we circle back to Romans 5 one last time and both explain how they understand it.  What drives our desire to sin?  Is it our mortality, our toxic environment, or our fallen flesh?  Listen in as these two scholars discuss this important issue.

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This is part three of our series on original sin. In part one, Kegan Chandler discussed the history of Augustine’s doctrine of original sin, arguing that the whole idea is post biblical. Last time Jerry Wierwille responded to Chandler, explaining that we do have solid biblical grounding to believe in some form of inherited original sin based on Romans 5.12-21. Today, we put these two scholars in dialogue with each other.

In today’s episode we being by defining how Chandler and Wierwille understand original sin. Then Chandler lays out his case for a positive view of children in the bible, using Deuteronomy 1.39, Isaiah 7.15-16, Ezekiel 28.15, Isaiah 53.6, Matthew 18.3, Mark 10.13-16, and Romans 9.11, 4.15, 7.8. Next we consider Ephesians 2.1-3, a major text for believing all humans are fallen and sinful as a default.

Although we’ll have to wait until next week to get into Romans 5, this discussion helpfully elucidates two important views on original sin to help you think through your own position.

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In our last episode Kegan Chandler presented his case against the classic doctrine of original sin.  Today we are going to hear a critique from Jerry Wierwille of Chandler’s presentation.  Wierwille makes the case for a middle position between Augustine and Chandler on the basis of the flow of thought in Romans 5.12-21.  He agrees with Augustine that Adam’s sin corrupted human nature so that we are all born with rebelliousness in our hearts.  However, he agrees with Chandler that these impulses are resistible, especially with God’s spirit living within us.  This is part two of a four part series on Original Sin.

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Romans 5.12

Greek

Διὰ τοῦτο ὥσπερ δι᾽ ἑνὸς ἀνθρώπου ἡ ἁμαρτία εἰς τὸν κόσμον εἰσῆλθεν καὶ διὰ τῆς ἁμαρτίας ὁ θάνατος, καὶ οὕτως εἰς πάντας ἀνθρώπους ὁ θάνατος διῆλθεν, ἐφ᾽ ᾧ πάντες ἥμαρτον·

Latin

propterea sicut per unum hominem in hunc mundum peccatum intravit et per peccatum mors et ita in omnes homines mors pertransiit in quo omnes peccaverunt

ESV

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned–

Five ways to translate Romans 5.12

Romans 5.12-21

Today we are beginning a new series on original sin based on Kegan Chandler’s presentation from last year, entitled, “Origins of Sin: The New Heretics and the Metaphysics of Disobedience.”  I’m excited about this four part series for a couple of reasons.  First off, I’m glad to host a place where we can discuss genuine theological differences in a respectful and constructive way.  So often in Christianity today, there’s just not an opportunity for peer review.  Well, here on Restitutio, we are going to do just that.  Secondly, I’m excited because this is an important topic that many of us have not through.  Oftentimes until someone challenges our beliefs, we just go with the flow.  However, whether we realize it or not, that flow was determined long ago by Christians whose reasoning may or may not stand up to scrutiny today.

In what follows Chandler is going to present his case that the idea of original sin goes back to Augustine who combined bits and pieces from earlier Christians like Cyprian and the Manicheans.  Now, this is a strong position Chandler takes.  Essentially, he argues that the doctrine of original sin is not native to scripture, an innovation of the fifth century. If Chandler is right then all of us are born neutral without the stain of Adam’s sin upon us.  Furthermore, Christians need to stop making excuses for sinning and realize that we can live without sin.

Next week, I’ll air part two, which will be Jerry Wierwille’s critique of this presentation.  Then I have two more interviews where Chandler and Wierwille discuss this topic at length.

Also, I took notes on Chandler’s presentation which may help you navigate your way through this talk as well as show you the spelling for these ancient Christians in case you want to research any of them further.  (See below.)

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Augustine’s Doctrine Defined