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Key Concepts

Before diving into the passages, it helps to understand the concepts and frameworks that shape the debate. These walkthroughs give you the tools to evaluate the arguments for yourself. For quick definitions, see the glossary.

Jewish Agency

Background

"A man's agent is as himself." How God acts through authorised representatives who bear his name and authority.

The Shema & Jewish Monotheism

Background

What did "one God" actually mean in the world of the NT authors?

Second Temple Monotheism: What It Permitted

Background

What could a first-century Jew say about a figure alongside God? Exalted angels, personified Wisdom, and the two-powers debate.

"Son of God" in Jewish Context

Terminology

A royal title, not a statement of ontological deity — unless the NT changed its meaning.

"Son of Man" — From Daniel to Jesus

Terminology

A human being, a representative of Israel, and the one who receives God's kingdom.

Kyrios: Lord or YHWH?

Terminology

The most common title for Jesus, and the most ambiguous.

Theophanies and the Angel of the LORD

Background

Who appeared to Abraham, Moses and Joshua? The christophany tradition, and the New Testament's own commentary on it.

Pre-existence vs. Foreknowledge

Hermeneutics

Did Jesus exist before Bethlehem? And what kind of existence counts?

The "Two Natures" Framework

Hermeneutics

The 5th-century lens through which most Christians read the 1st-century texts.

Worship and Proskyneō

Terminology

Did early Christians worship Jesus as God? Depends what you mean by "worship."

The Holy Spirit

Terminology

A third divine person, or the presence and power of the one God? The grammar argument that leading Trinitarians have abandoned.

Prayer: Father, Son, and Spirit

Devotion

Who does the New Testament teach Christians to pray to — and how do Jesus and the Spirit fit?

Is This a Salvation Issue?

Devotion

Does getting Christology wrong cost you your salvation? The damnatory clauses, and what the New Testament actually names as saving belief.

The 4th-Century Councils

History

The 56 years between Nicaea and Constantinople — when anti-Nicene positions dominated the church.

How Trinitarian Arguments Have Changed

History

From Platonist metaphors to social theory — why the doctrine keeps being re-argued.

The History of Unitarianism

History

Not fringe. Not modern. From Paul of Samosata to Isaac Newton — a tradition that was suppressed, not refuted.

Meet the scholars behind these ideas. Continue to Authors →