This video is from our 2022 Spring lecture series Deconstruction & Reconstruction. Watch here: https://youtu.be/vhAZRHqP2T0
Note: This video has been slightly edited for length and clarity.
Timestamps
0:00 Disclaimer
0:23 Introduction + Veritas Forum: tx.ag/Veritas22
1:43 What is “deconstruction”?
6:40 What is “Pentecostalism”?
12:03 Baby Zach
12:45 Round 1: Does me speaking in tongues prove Christianity?
15:13 Round 2: Could I be faking my tongues?
23:01 Round 3: Does tongues+interpretation prove Christianity?
29:30 Round 4: Is there evidence tongues+interpretation is non-divine?
32:55 Why didn’t I spiral into atheism?
40:37 The Road Out + Recommended Resources
44:10 Q&A: “Is your current church boring compared to the UPCI?”
46:57 Q&A: “Did you get rebaptized?”
48:05 Q&A: “What is the difference between Presbyterian and Reformed Baptist?”
49:04 Q&A: “What’s the deal with baptizing babies?”
50:30 Q&A: “Why didn’t you leave the UPCI as soon as you thought your tongues were fake?”
52:21 Q&A: “Did you have a rift with your family?”
53:00 Jesus loves all his children and will draw them home to him in time (John 6:44).
Recommended Resources
Oneness Pentecostalism
- “What Are Oneness Pentecostals?” (Ready to Harvest): https://youtu.be/3HHKwl9ZoL0
- “Oneness Pentecostals and the Trinity” by Greg Boyd: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0801010195
- “Oneness of God” by David K. Bernard: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00307SA0W/
Grounding Your Faith in the Essentials
- “Warranted Christian Belief” by Alvin Plantinga: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0059EQ4DY
- “Reasonable Faith” by William Lane Craig: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G5M1BFK
- “The Resurrection of Jesus” by Michael Licona: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005LUJDNE
Knowing the Landscape of Secondary Issues
- “A Flexible Faith” by Bonnie Kristian: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075CT7ZP7
- “Across the Spectrum” ed. Greg Boyd & Paul Eddy: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008BLTV28
- “Evangelical Faith and the Challenge of Historical Criticism” ed. Chris Hays & Chris Ansberry: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0801049385
Additional Commentary from Zach
If you are currently Oneness or former Oneness or questioning Oneness, please leave a comment with your story or reach out to me privately at zacharytlawson+pentecostal [at] gmail [dot] com.
Like I said at 6:18, my goal was not to provide a decisive refutation of Oneness theology. Rather the purpose was to retrace my steps in the first part of an ongoing spiritual journey. The arguments that persuaded me back then are not going to be persuasive to everyone nor are they the strongest arguments against Oneness doctrines. In particular, introspecting on my experience speaking in tongues is a necessarily subjective process that bears no evidential weight for anyone other than me. Some Pentecostals have the opposite experience, desperately trying to speak in tongues but never succeeding.
Per request, one of the strongest lines of argument against Oneness, in my current estimation, is the evidence of divine plurality in the Hebrew Bible (aka Old Testament) that culminated in the “Two Powers in Heaven” controversy during the Second Temple period. Classic Biblical texts include the “second YHWH” of Genesis 19:24, the “Son of Man” of Daniel 7, and the equation of Jesus with the Angel of YHWH who delivered the Hebrews from Egypt (Judges 2:1-4 // Jude 5). Recent research into so-called “Jewish Binitarianism” has revealed strains of Jewish theology as early as 200 B.C./B.C.E. that interpreted these (and other) Biblical texts to be distinct persons of the one God YHWH; moreover, that this “binitarian” view may have been the dominant theology of Jesus’s time (c.f. “Two Powers in Heaven” (1977) by Segal, “Border Lines” (2006) by Boyarin). This is a strong refutation of the common retort from Oneness apologists “why didn’t the Jews think of the Trinity?”. Such a retort is predicated on equating “Judaism” with Rabbinic theology that wasn’t developed until well into the 400s A.D./C.E, centuries after the “Two Powers” language was appropriated by Christians to identify Jesus as the “second YHWH”. While this does not, on its own, demonstrate the truth of Nicene orthodoxy, it is powerful Biblical evidence against modalism. For more on this, see below
“Three Persons, Two Powers, One God” – Zachary Lawson: https://youtu.be/j3fZWNUrN20?t=1678
“Two Powers of the Godhead” – Michael Heiser: https://youtu.be/CUkhWBKCuXc
DISCLAIMER
Think Theism lectures are supported by Ratio Christi @ Texas A&M, but the opinions represented herein do not necessarily reflect the beliefs or values of Ratio Christi, Inc. nor Texas A&M University. This content is presented to encourage discussion and critical thought about challenging questions.
