In this episode of Transfigured, biblical scholar Dr. Dustin Smith joins the show to discuss his new book, A Systematic Theology of the Early Church. The conversation explores a "filterless" approach to the Bible, examining how the earliest Christians understood the nature of God, the agency of Jesus, and the role of the Holy Spirit. Dr. Smith challenges traditional creedal assumptions by rooting his systematic theology strictly in first-century historical and scriptural contexts.Dustin's Channel -  @BiblicalUnitarianPodcast  Amazon Book Link - https://www.amazon.com/Systematic-Theology-Early-Church-ebook/dp/B0FVG68CDD

Responding to Wes Huff ( ⁨@WesHuff⁩ ) and Mike Winger ( ⁨@MikeWinger⁩ ) discussing the council of Nicaea. Talking with Metaphysics Mike ( ⁨@metaphysicsmike⁩ ). This also appeared in ( ⁨@UnitarianChristianAlliance⁩ ).

We talk about evolution, religion, philosophy, theology and the origins of the human instinct to share, to give, to be grateful and ultimately to worship.

Tim's Unherd article - https://unherd.com/2025/11/can-evolution-explain-worship/Tim's book, The Grateful Beast - https://www.amazon.com/Grateful-Beast-evolution-tell-worship/dp/0999277642

This episode argues for a eucharistic reading of "the word became flesh" challenging the common belief that John 1:14 is about Jesus's birth, arguing instead that it establishes the New Covenant's two central rituals: Baptism (New Birth) and the Eucharist (Sustenance). By adopting the Greek translation that the Word "tabernacled in us," we find a shared sacred practice that can be a new center of unity for Christians struggling with theological fracturing.Bill Schegel's video (  @billschlegel1  ) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A87VcXKCWBM&t=1053sMy prologue presentation at the UCA (  @UnitarianChristianAlliance  ) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TL7vQIPGQ14&t=2110sMy extended prologue presentation - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqTlnT-J6rk&t=5337sSean Finnegan on Corinthians - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiNXMo2KMxk&t=103sSean Finnegan Corinthians (  @restitutio8765  ,  @livinghopelatham  ) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lht8tLge3iUDustin Smith Theme of Misunderstanding (  @BiblicalUnitarianPodcast  ) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUNLO9Zm83o&t=230sFr. John Behr on Origen - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4S4BZJcqF0&t=341sFrancis Chan on Gavin Ortlund (  @TruthUnites  ) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNhqyRiIi9U&t=1669sI mention John MacArthur, Francis Chan, Fr. John Behr, Emperor Justinian I, Bill Schlegel, Sam Tideman, Huldrych Zwingli, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Michael Servetus, Sean Finnegan, Brett Salkeld, Origen of Alexandria, Nicodemus, John the Baptist, Paul, Moses, Mary, Pliny the Younger, Emperor Trajan, Thomas (Apostle), Philip, Nathanael, Jacob (Ancestor), Abraham (Ancestor), Irenaeus of Lyon, Justin Martyr, Raymond Brown and more.

This episode features Dr. David Bentley Hart discussing his book, The Light of Tabor: Notes Towards a Monist Christology. Hart explains his theological project as deconstructing centuries of Christological debate to move past dualistic tensions that separate the divine and human. He argues for a "radically monistic" understanding of the Incarnation, where Christ's perfect human identity is wholly and eternally transparent to the Logos.DBH's youtube channel :  @leavesinthewind7441  DBH's substack - https://substack.com/@davidbentleyhart We mention Jordan Daniel Wood, Arius, Eunomius, Paul the Apostle, John the Apostle, Gregory of Nyssa, Augustine of Hippo, Philip the Chancellor, John of St. Palmus, Aristotle, Carl Bart, Meister Eckhart, Sergei Bulgakov, Vladimir Solovyov, Sarah O'Rean, Yakob Boehme, Martin Heidegger, John Milbank, Cyril of Alexandria, Pope Leo I, Gregory of Nazianzus, John Behr and more.

Finish Faithful - https://finishfaithful.org/ @finishfaithful7807  In this episode, my father, Jeff Tideman, and I discuss our spiritual journeys and the complex world of Christian eschatology. We explore Jeff's religious history, including his experience with The Way International, the early church's premillennial beliefs, and the fascinating history of how the doctrine of the "rapture" developed later in the 19th century. The conversation ultimately centers on the nature of the Kingdom of God—whether it is a purely spiritual reality "within you" or a future, literal, geopolitical restoration of Israel and the earth, and why understanding this is crucial for believers today.We mention The Way International, Dr. Victor Paul Wierwille, John Nelson Darby, Dr. E. W. Bullinger, Cyrus Ingerson Scofield, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus of Lyon, Papias of Hierapolis, Hippolytus of Rome, Tertullian, Origen of Alexandria, Clement of Alexandria, Eusebius of Caesarea, Athanasius of Alexandria, Julian the Apostate, Chuck Lamatina, Sir Anthony Buzzard, Sean Finnegan. @restitutio8765  , Dr. Beau Branson, Will Barlow. @compasschurchlou  , Antichrist, Eschatology, Kingdom of God, Dispensationalism, Covenant Theology, Premillennialism, Amillennialism, Preterism, Chiliasm, Supersessionism, The Rapture, Pre-Tribulation Rapture, Pre-Wrath Rapture, Zionism and more.

Philosopher and cultural apologist Annie Crawford joins the channel to discuss the unavoidable problem of purpose (teleology) in evolutionary biology. We explore why the modern scientific attempt to reduce life to mindless, mechanistic processes ultimately fails, forcing biologists to use the language of agency and design to describe what they observe. The conversation delves into the history of science, the philosophy of language, and whether life requires a "ghost in the machine" to make sense.

Annie Crawford on twitter - https://x.com/annielcrawford

People & Concepts Discussed:

Annie Crawford, John Vervaeke ( @johnvervaeke ), C.S. Lewis, Owen Barfield, Charles Darwin, Aristotle, Plato, Spinoza, Thomas Aquinas, Michael Levin, Brett Weinstein, Teleology, Vitalism, Teleonomy, Philosophy of Language, Abiogenesis, Information Theory and more.

This two-part video series provides a deep historical analysis of Moralistic Therapeutic Deism (MTD), tracing its ingredients from 19th-century New England intellectual and social revolutions to its status as America's de facto civic religion. We argue that MTD collapsed when the sexual and moral revolutions forced a devastating fracture between its Christian heritage and its core principles of self-actualization and benevolence, leading to the polarized political landscape of today.Moralist Therapeutic Deism Part 1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eHYMzanOvs&t=4679s @triggerpod   @InterestingTimesNYT   @JonathanPageau   @PaulVanderKlay 00:00:00 - Introduction and Recap00:10:07 - MTD, Chicago, and Obama00:13:00 - Cornell as Microcosm00:25:15 - Tim Keller on programatic secularism00:35:55 - Mainline Christianity00:37:45 - Wokeness and MTD00:47:05 - MTD and Partisanship00:49:20 - Arena vs Agent00:51:00 - Donald Trump 00:56:15 - Nationalism vs Globalism01:03:40 - Who killed MTD?01:05:55 - Competing Arenas01:08:25 - The future of Christian NationalismIn this video I mention:Aaron Renn, Abraham Lincoln, Albert Baker, Alfred, Allen C. Guelzo, Amos, Andrew Jackson Davis, Ann Lee, Anagarika Dharmapala, Arthur Conan Doyle, Athanasius, Barack Obama, Benjamin Franklin, Billy Graham, Black Lives Matter, Bud, Buddha, Calvin, Cathleen Falsani, Catherine Fox, Charles B. Rosna, Charles Carroll Bonney, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Charlie Kirk, Christian Smith, Christopher Pearse Cranch, Clement of Alexandria, Conrad Grebel, Constantine, David Bentley Hart, Deepak Chopra, Donahoe, Donald Trump, Eddie Lincoln, Eleanor Roosevelt, Elijah Muhammad, Eliott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Elizabeth Keckley, Ellen Todd, Emilie Todd Helm, Emanuel Swedenborg, Epictetus, Erica Kirk, Ernst Troeltsch, Ezra Klein, Fanny Hayes Platt, Faustus Socinus, Finney, Fox Sisters, Franz Anton Mesmer, Fred Shuttlesworth, Frederick the Wise, Friedrich Nietzsche, Galen, George Barna, George Fox, George W. Bush, Gregory of Nyssa, Henry Clay, Henry David Thoreau, Henry James, H. P. Blavatsky, H. Richard Niebuhr, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Harold Ockenga, Harry Emerson Fosdick, Helen Schucman, Hosea Ballou, J. Gresham Machen, Jacob Blake, James, James Comey, James Lindsay, James Russell Lowell, Jared Sparks, Jean H. Baker, Jenkin Lloyd Jones, Jesus Christ, Jim Lindsay, John, John Adams, John Bunyan, John D. Rockefeller, John Henry Barrows, John Locke, John Milton, John Murray, John Stott, Jonathan Edwards, Jordan Peterson, Joseph Priestly, Joseph Smith, Judith Skutch, Julius Dresser, Kant, Karl Menninger, Karlstadt, Kate Fox, Kenneth Minkema, Koot Hoomi, Kyle Rittenhouse, Lelio Socinus, Leonard Zusne, Lou Malnatis, Luke Thompson (  @WhiteStoneName  ), Lyman Beecher, Madame Blavatsky, Margaretta Fox, Marianne Williamson, Mark Parker (  @MarkDParker  ) , Mark Twain, Mary Baker Eddy, Mary Todd Lincoln, Matt Herman, Meister Eckhart, Melinda Lundquist Denton, Mesmer, Micah, Michael Bronky, Michael Servetus, Monophysite, Morya, Moses, Nancy Pelosi, Napoleon Bonaparte, Nettie Colburn Maynard, Newton, Niccolò Machiavelli, Nicholas of Cusa, Norman Vincent Peale, Oprah, Origen, Paul, Paul Tillich, Paul Vanderlay, Phineas Parkhurst Quimby, Plotinus, Proclus, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Ramakrishna, Rick Warren, Robert Schuller, Robin D'Angelo, Rod Dreher, Ronald Reagan, Ross Douthat, Rowan Williams, Rudolf Steiner, Samuel Johnson, Septimus J. Hanna, Shailer Mathews, Shakers, Shadrach, Socrates, Soyen Shaku, Swami Vivekananda, Tad Lincoln, Tertullian, Thomas Aquinas, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Starr King, Tracy Herman, Virchand Gandhi, Victoria Woodhull, Warren Felt Evans, William Ellery Channing, William James, William Lloyd Garrison, William Newton Clarke, Willie Lincoln, Winthrop, Zwingli.

DescriptionMoralistic Therapeutic Deism (MTD) didn’t just appear out of nowhere—it’s the product of centuries of American religious and cultural development. In this video, we trace its roots from Puritanism through Unitarianism, Transcendentalism, therapeutic spirituality, and beyond.In this video I mention…Paul Vanderlay, Christian Smith, John Winthrop, Jonathan Edwards, Michael Servetus, John Calvin, Joseph Priestley, William Ellery Channing, John Locke, Isaac Newton, John Milton, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, John Muir, Mary Baker Eddy, Phineas Quimby, The Fox Sisters, Helena Blavatsky, Rudolf Steiner, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Helen Schucman, Marianne Williamson, Oprah Winfrey, Gregory of Nyssa, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Parker, Abraham Lincoln, Christopher Columbus, and more.

Sam and Hank discuss Gregory of Nyssa's "On Not Three Gods". We mention Gregory of Nyssa, Basil the Great, Thomas Jefferson, Constantine, Ablabius, Peter, James, John, Zeus, Hera, Athena, John the Baptist, Lazarus, Judas, Pontius Pilate, Caiaphas, Origen, Athanasius, Hillary, Trip, Theodosius, Paul and more. Gregory of Nyssa's "Life of Moses" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YmcS-f9CjA&t=5sGregory of Nyssa's "Human Image of God" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8KYHPgsSJM&t=255s0:00:00 - Intro and Midwestuary Recap00:02:18 - Gregory of Nyssa's Biography and Context00:07:33 - The Defense of the Trinity00:17:59 - Gregory's Arguments for One God00:42:03 - Objections and Unanswered Questions00:52:52 - Conclusion and Future Episodes