Monday, September 28, 2026

It is the 28th of September 2026. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

 

Like the late owner of the California Angels and the Singing Cowboy, I am back in the saddle- welcome to the show… thanks to Sam, as always- I really do enjoy her shows and that she knows, if nothing else, how to make fun of my teams. I wonder how we did last night? Hmm…

I will have more to say about my Reformation tour in upcoming shows- shout-outs and the like. I will tell you this- the England/Scotland trip this Spring is filling up. And, not to put a damper on anything- but these are not promised in perpetuity. If you are interested, go to GTItours.org today, let them know you are interested; the upcoming trip will include St. Andrews- that’s new.

Ok- got an email from Jim while I was away- Jim is the husband of Karen. She has written before, and she loves hockey, which is starting soon. Without giving me a location, but just a love of hockey, I’m placing you both in Moose Jaw, Canada’s “most notorious City”.

Bob and Karen went to a Unitarian funeral and realized they knew little of this group and had a few questions. Ok- there is a lot of confusion and not a single “Unitarian” group, so let’s break this down.

A “Unitarian” broadly is one in the Christian tradition, or adjacent to it, that holds to the singular deity of God. In doing so, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are not divine. So, we can go all the way back to the Arians- the first major “heresy” in the church. Their concern was to protect God as “one,” which is reasonable coming out of the starting monotheist traditions. This is not the same as your modern American Unitarian, which since the 1960s has merged with the Universalist church.

The second major “Unitarian” group comes from the 16th and 17th centuries. These are the Socinians or “anti-trinitarians” who rejected Nicene theology. These were “Primitivists” trying to find the truth of the Gospel by going back to the early church. Jesus is the messiah and a unique savior whom we learn about through the Scriptures.

By traditional Nicene standards, it is in serious error. But you’ll want to mark the difference between these old European “Unitarians” and the modern American version. The Modern American Unitarian comes out of the rationalist traditions from the 18th and 19th centuries. These usually don’t claim that revelation points to the unique Messiah but elevate reason and eschew any particularity to Christianity. It would make sense that the “rationalist” traditions would then merge in the great mergers of the last century when “united” groups became common. It was in the 60s that the modern American rationalist Unitarian merged with the Universalist church to make the modern Unitarian Universalist. This is not the same as the Arian or Socinian.

Let me note this- it is the policy of the CHA podcast not to make judgments on the salvation of individual souls and believers. It is neither safe nor wise. I will say that the CHA podcast believes that Jesus, God of very God, is the way to the truth and the life. Both the radical traditions (Arians and Socinians) and the Rationalists (modern Universalist/Unitarians) are beyond the boundaries of Nicene Christianity (to which they might say, that’s ok… we don’t really dig that Nicene stuff). But the radicals are trying to strip away tradition and perhaps philosophy to find the truth about the one we call Jesus, the Messiah. The modern rationalists are more likely to act more like a post-Christian organization, uninterested in distinct theologies and more concerned with an earthly vision of service and justice. But that is an organizational view from above… all kinds of people in those bodies have distinct views. It gets tricky. But it’s also a good reminder to look at individuals rather than organizations when it comes to individual salvation. I should also note, whether radical or rationalist- I would rather spend time debating who Jesus is and why he matters than some of the secondary issues that often keep us from getting to the big question: “Whom do you say that I am?”

Thanks, Jim, for the question, and I'm glad we could distinguish radical from rationalist Unitarians throughout church history.

Hey- send me your questions- Danv@1517.org. The trivia show had such a remarkable response we will be playing with that format… that really tickled me… thanks so much.

 

The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and Paul in Philippians 1:

3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. X 8 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 28th of September 2026 brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who is certainly radical… but like… in the good way. Like, pegs on your BMX bike style… He is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who has never been so invested in only losing 99 games in a season- I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.