Close readings for Biblical Unitarian theology.
The Biblical Unitarian Podcast treats doctrine as a close-reading exercise. Dustin Smith works through biblical passages, Targums, and early Christian texts to argue that the Father alone is the one true God and that Jesus is the human Messiah.
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The Biblical Unitarian Podcast is a disciplined Christian theology show centered on the identity of God and the status of Jesus. It is not casual conversation. Dustin Smith presents extended arguments that move through biblical texts, early Christian writings, and ancient interpretive traditions with a teacher's patience and a debater's persistence. Recent episodes show the range clearly. One installment studies the Memra in the Jewish Targums, treating the Aramaic term as a way of speaking about God's own activity rather than a separate person. Another asks whether the Acts of Paul and Thecla teaches Trinitarian theology. The answer is built through prayers, titles, and distinctions between the Father and the Son. Other episodes return to familiar proof texts. John 10:30 becomes a question about what kind of oneness Jesus describes. 2 Peter 1:1 becomes a test case in grammar, context, and the limits of the Granville Sharpe rule. The show also reaches into Philippians 2:5-11, where Jesus is presented as the Messiah and king who serves. It studies Irenaeus of Lyon with similar care, paying attention to his language about the Father's hands, the Son, the Spirit, Word, and Wisdom. There are book-adjacent moments too, including a chapter preview from A Systematic Theology of the Early Church. The style is measured and explicitly organized. Questions are stated, objections are anticipated, and claims are repeated in slightly different forms until the structure of the argument is unmistakable. The show has a clear theological commitment. It repeatedly argues that the Father is the only true God and that Jesus is God's human son, Christ, Messiah, and Lord. That conviction shapes the selection of passages and the interpretation of historical sources. The result is specialized listening for people who want doctrine handled through close reading rather than atmosphere, testimony, or broad church commentary.
Made for: For Christians and theology students interested in scripture, early Christian texts, and arguments about the Father, Jesus, and Trinitarian proof texts. It especially fits listeners who prefer slow, structured teaching over conversational religious commentary.
What sets it apart: Its strength is the sustained method: disputed verses, ancient sources, grammar, and historical theology are worked through line by line from an explicitly Biblical Unitarian position. The show stays focused on one doctrinal question set instead of ranging broadly across church life.
A weekly podcast examining what the Bible says about the oneness and unity of God and about the humanity of Jesus Christ.
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Dustin Smith makes the textual case for Biblical Unitarian theology through close readings of scripture, manuscripts, and early Christian writings.
Dustin Smith builds each episode around a tightly framed theological question, then works through biblical language, manuscript evidence, or early Christian writings point by point.
A Greek article goes on trial before you let it settle what 2 Peter calls Jesus.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A careful study of how the Targums use Memora to describe God's activity while avoiding human-form depictions of God.
The Memora in the Targums follows Dustin Smith into the Aramaic translations and paraphrases of the Hebrew Bible, where he tracks a term he defines as word, command, or spoken speech.
A focused reading of Acts of Paul and Thecla tests how early Christians spoke about God, Jesus, and the Father.
Dustin Smith follows a tightly framed question: whether the second-century Acts of Paul and Thecla offers an early explicit Trinitarian teacher.
A focused reading of 2 Peter 1:1 weighs one disputed phrase against the wider language of 2 Peter.
Dustin Smith builds this episode around an ambiguous reading of 2 Peter 1:1, using it to argue against letting difficult verses settle theology on their own.
A careful look at Irenaeus, the Father's two hands, and early Trinitarian language.
The episode treats Irenaeus not as a label to settle quickly, but as a test case in how early Christian writers spoke about God, the Son, and the Spirit before later categories hardened.
A focused study of how one Greek reading adds Christ to the title of Jesus.
The Biblical Unitarian Podcast's episode 407, "Changes to Christology in the New Greek New Testament," looks at how textual decisions can shape Christological reading.
A concentrated chapter preview traces how Elohim's plural form is read as singular when used for Yahweh.
Episode 405 frames a book release as a compact chapter preview, with Dustin Smith reading from A Systematic Theology of the Early Church. The focus is the chapter "The Only True God," which centers on Elohim as a common Old Testament designation translated as "God." The reading…
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Dustin Smith hosts episode 407 of the Biblical Unitarian Podcast, examining changes in the new UBS 6 Greek New Testament.
Dustin Smith argues against collapsing God and Jesus into a single being based on the title Alpha and Omega in Revelation.
Dustin Smith examines whether Melito of Sardis was a Trinitarian in this episode of the Biblical Unitarian Podcast.
Dustin Smith and Dale Tuggy discuss six reasons why Smith won a debate against James White on the Trinity, with plans to release the debate video soon.
Dustin Smith unpacks Mark 12:28-34 to argue that the passage supports Unitarian theology, emphasizing the oneness of God and the humanity of Jesus.
Dustin Smith frames episode 405 around chapter two of A Systematic Theology of the Early Church, titled The Only True God, and opens with John 17:3 and Philippians 2:11.
Dustin Smith’s episode 429 of The Biblical Unitarian Podcast argues that the Targumic Memora is a circumlocution for God, not a separate person, Son, or Messiah.
Dustin Smith argues that the Acts of Paul and Thecla, written between 160 and 190 AD, is not Trinitarian because its original text never names the Holy Spirit and repeatedly distinguishes the Father from Jesus.
Dustin Smith discusses the flexibility of the term 'God' in the New Testament and questions whether asking 'Is Jesus God?' is a valid litmus test for authentic Christianity.
A sermon-like podcast exploring Philippians 2:5-11, using the analogy of children's growing responsibilities to illustrate Jesus' humility as a king who served.
Dustin Smith examines the meaning of 'one' in John 10:30, arguing that grammatical gender in Greek shows Jesus and the Father are one in purpose, not essence.
2 Peter 1:2 already distinguishes "God" from "Jesus Christ our Lord."
Dustin Smith frames Episode 423 of The Biblical Unitarian Podcast around the question "Was Irenaeus a Trinitarian?" and reads Irenaeus's own quotes from Against Heresies and Demonstrations.
Dustin Smith previews his new book 'A Systematic Theology of the Early Church' by reading its second chapter, 'The Only True God,' discussing the oneness of God and the humanity of Jesus.