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Culture
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Ten theologically rich movies you can teach from

1. The Prestige (2006): deals with the essence of personhood 2. The Matrix (1999) : speaks to the nature of reality 3. Inception (2010): speaks to the complexities of...

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Arminianism
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The Ultimate Balanced Guide to Arminianism (from a Calvinist)

Definition of Arminianism Arminianism is a theological system developed by the Dutch theologian Jacobus Arminius (1560-1609). It is a form of Protestant Christianity that...

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Christian Life
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Modern Screwtape Letters #3 — Biblical Jeopardy in Hell

Wormwood, So, you say your subject has been reading a lot. Not only is he reading a lot, but he’s also reading a lot of the Enemy’s books. I have had this situation...

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Apologetics
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Ten Reasons to Trust the Old Testament

1. Archaeological evidence supports the events, people, and places described in the Old Testament.   2. Numerous ancient documents and manuscripts support the Old...

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Doubt
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Reasons You May Be Doubting Your Faith

Here are many reasons that I have seen that can cause us to doubt our faith. Notice, that just about all of these (if not all of them) are emotional struggles, not...

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Apologetics
17Comments

10 Absurdities of Atheism

1. Atheism lacks a moral foundation. Atheism is silent when it comes to offering a basis for moral values and principles, leaving individuals to create their own personal...

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Apologetics
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10 Reasons to Give Your Life to Christ Right Now

Ten Reasons to Believe in the Existence of God: 1. Personal Experience – Many people claim to have had a personal experience that has convinced them of the existence of god....

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Christian Life
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Modern Screwtape Letter #2 — The “Stubbed Toe Factor”

My dear Wormwood, Must I remind you again of the big picture goal? You learned this on your first day in pragmatic anthropology. Our goal is to make your subject lose their...

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Christian Life
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Modern Screwtape Letter #1

My dear Wormwood, I am concerned about your worry. You wrote and said that your subject has been engaging in so-called “Christian apologetic” and rational studies. I know I...

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Theology Unplugged

Theology Unplugged
Theology Unplugged

Get your weekly dose of one of the longest-running theology podcasts there is.

86. Through Theology in a Year: Biblical Docetism
byC. Michael Patton

In this episode, Michael introduces a new term for an old interpretive problem: Biblical Docetism. Borrowing from the ancient Christological heresy of Docetism—which denied the true humanity of Christ while affirming His deity—Michael argues that many Christians approach the Bible in a remarkably similar way. They affirm the divine origin of Scripture but neglect its genuinely human character, treating the Bible as though it simply dropped from heaven rather than being written through real authors in real historical contexts.

Michael explores how this tendency manifests itself in everyday Bible study. Whether it is randomly opening the Bible to see what God has to say, assuming every verse applies directly to us, searching for hidden meanings and secret codes, neglecting the personalities of the biblical writers, or ignoring literary genre and historical context, these approaches often bypass the human element of Scripture altogether. The result is a view of the Bible that functions more like a magical object than a divine-human book.

Along the way, Michael examines a variety of common hermeneutical mistakes that arise from this perspective, including over-literalization, misunderstanding progressive revelation, treating chapter and verse divisions as inspired, and assuming that everything recorded in Scripture is therefore endorsed by Scripture. He argues that many of these errors stem from the same underlying problem: an inability to appreciate the role of the human authors in the process of inspiration.

Ultimately, Michael contends that a faithful doctrine of Scripture must mirror a faithful doctrine of Christ. Just as Christ is fully God and fully man, Scripture is both divine and human. To neglect either dimension is to distort the nature of God’s revelation. Understanding this balance not only protects us from interpretive errors but also helps us hear more clearly what God intended to communicate through the human authors He inspired.

Get involved:
Michael’s public blog: https://credohouse.org
Courses and Manuscript Reproductions from Michael and other scholars: https://credocourses.com
Join us as we go through the great Fathers of the Faith in a year: https://throughthechurchfathers.com
Support me and get A LOT more stuff from C. Michael Patton: https://patreon.com/cmichaelpatton

86. Through Theology in a Year: Biblical Docetism
86. Through Theology in a Year: Biblical Docetism
2026-06-16
C. Michael Patton
85. Through Theology in a Year: Can Scripture Mean More Than Its Author Intended?
2026-06-11
C. Michael Patton
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  • 86. Through Theology in a Year: Biblical Docetism 2026-06-16
    In this episode, Michael introduces a new term for an old interpretive problem: Biblical Docetism. Borrowing from the ancient Christological heresy of Docetism—which denied the true humanity of Christ while affirming His deity—Michael argues that many Christians approach the Bible in a remarkably similar way. They affirm the divine origin of Scripture but neglect its […]
  • 85. Through Theology in a Year: Can Scripture Mean More Than Its Author Intended? 2026-06-11
    In this episode, Michael explores one of the most fascinating questions in biblical interpretation: Can Scripture mean more than its human author intended? If God is the ultimate Author of Scripture, is it possible for Him to communicate truths that transcend the conscious awareness of the biblical writers while remaining faithful to their intended meaning? […]

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