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Beyond the tinsel and the presents and the turkey and the mistletoe; beyond the wisemen and the Shepherds, the manger and Bethlehem; there lies a richer, deeper, and more mysterious message of Christmas. The Bible does not simply paint a picture of the first Christmas being for people then and now; book for the whole cosmic and natural world .

Incarnation lies as one of the great mysteries and profound truths of scripture. CS Lewis defined it as the, “central miracle” of scripture, while Dutch theologian Herman Bavinck referred to it as the “Central fact” in all revelation.

This week the Curious team go back before the manger, in an attempt to open up the cosmic and eternal reality of the Christmas story. Grappling with the profound nature of Colossians 1:15–20, defining Jesus as “the first born of all creation”, who was “before all things”; to the majestic Philippians 2 of Christ humbling and emptying himself, the team reflect on the cosmic ripple of Christmas

Join them this week as they reflect on the eternal and timeless value of the Christmas story
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Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….we’ve included a couple of articles that compliment this episode….

The Christmas Miracle of the Incarnation of the Omnipresent Word - DesiringGod.org

The Miracle of Christmas - AnneGrahamLotz.org

What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve browsed related to this episode…enjoy!

Timothy Keller — Hidden Christmas

Adam Hamilton — Incarnation: Rediscovering the Significance of Christmas

Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com

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Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!

Christian orthodoxy has insisted that it is a monotheistic faith. It believes in one God. And yet it speaks and holds to this one God as being three! If God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, then how can Christians continue to insist He is but one God? Why is it that no other world religion adheres to such an understanding of God—even the traditionally monotheistic religions of Islam and Judaism! Where did this understanding of God come from? After all, we find no where in the Bible where the word “trinity” is mentioned; so how do we know it’s a Bible based truth? Has the church always believed this? What did the early church say about it?

In this weeks episode, the curious team dig in to what is meant by the “threeness” of God. Looking back into the earliest accounts of the church fathers, and the understandings of the various church councils over the centuries, and the Bibles own presentation of God and His salvific purposes; the team seek to define what is meant by a three in one God. Along the way, they touch on historical attempts to define this triune being, (modalism, subordinationism and tritheism) that ultimately proved to be faulty and were collectively rejected. They also explore the concepts of diversity, unity and perichoresis!

Join the team this week as they dig deep into this historically significant bedrock of Christian orthodoxy

Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….we’ve included a few articles that compliment this episode….

The Holy Trinity - Christianity.com

Can We Explain the Trinity? - DesiringGod.org

Alister McGrath: Thinking About the Trinity - Christinity.org

What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve browsed related to this episode…(including Michael Gaitley’s from within a more Roman Catholic framework)…enjoy!

Robert Letham — The Holy Trinity

Edited by John Thompson — Modern Trinitarian Perspectives

Michael Gaitley — The One Thing Is Three: How the Most Holy Trinity Explains Everything

Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com

Support us on Instagram @theologyforthecurious
Find us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious

Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!

Can God really be pleased with me even if I don’t believe? If I live with good intentions, and perform good deeds, will it draw the favour of God to me? Does the Bible infer that one’s behaviour can draw the attention of heaven? What about Cornelius in Acts 10? Wasn’t he brought to God‘s attention through his good works? Is the goodness of God contingent on the level of acceptability he offers to individuals? How do we understand common grace in the broader context of the goodness and justice of God? Think about Matthew 25, the sheep and the goats. Doesn’t it teach us about the power of good actions? Can good works in of themselves create a space in which God reveals himself to people who may not explicitly believe? How does justice and mercy work together?

God’s salvific relations to faith and our good works is a complicated and complex issue that gives rise to multiple questions. This week the curious team examine the difficult and at times contentious place our behaviour and deeds take in the overall salvific purposes of God. Was James in his epistle, truly offering an alternative to Paul or merely addressing a balance? How important is what we do in connection to what we believe? These difficult issues and more, the team dig into. Join us this week in what promises to be a rather interesting conversation.

Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….we’ve included a few articles that compliment this episode….

How Are Faith and Works Related When it Comes to Salvation? - EPM.org

Faith and Works - TheGospelCoalition.org

Is My Salvation an Event or a Process - DesiringGod.org

What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve browsed related to this episode…enjoy!

Thomas H. McCall, Caleb T. Friedeman & Matt T. Friedeman — The Doctrine of Good Works

Thomas R. Schreiner — Faith Alone: The Doctrine of Justification

Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com

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Find us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious