Thursday, May 18, 2023

Matthew A. Paulson Claiming Christadelphians and The Way International are "Arian" in their Christology

In his book, Breaking the Mormon Code, Matthew A. Paulson wrote that:

 

Unitarianism is the belief that God exists in one person, not three. It is a denial of the doctrine of the Trinity as well as the full divinity of Jesus. Therefore, it is not Christian. There are several Arian groups that fall under this umbrella: Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christadelphianism, The Way International, etc. (Matthew A. Paulson, Breaking the Mormon Code: A Critique of Mormon Scholarship Regarding Classical Christian Theology and the Book of Mormon [Livermore, Calif.: WingSpan Press, 2006, 2009], 199, emphasis added)

 

This only shows how clueless Paulson truly is. The Christology of the Christadelphians (a group I have studied in great depth) and The Way International are not Arian; it is Socinian. Both groups do not believe Jesus personally preexisted at all; instead, they believe he came into existence at conception.

 

This might seem like a nitpick, but as Paulson likes to nitpick at the works of LDS scholars and apologists, including Daniel C. Peterson and Stephen D. Ricks, this should be highlighted; also, it reveals a (frankly) piss poor grasp of theology.


Further Reading:


Listing of articles responding to "Breaking the Mormon Code"