Sir Anthony Farquhar Buzzard, 3rd Baronet, ARCM (b. 28 June 1935), is a biblical scholar, Biblical unitarian Christian

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

, author and professor on the faculty of Atlanta Bible College.

Early life

Anthony was born on 28 June 1935 in

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, the son of prominent

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officer and Director of Naval Intelligence Anthony Buzzard, and grandson of the Regius Professor of Medicine at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

Sir Edward Farquhar Buzzard. He succeeded to the title of Baronet of Munstead Grange in the Parish of Godalming, co. Surrey on the death of his father in 1972, and has a younger brother Tim and younger sister Gill.

Education

Buzzard was educated at Charterhouse, and served in the Royal Navy as a sub-lieutenant in the secretarial branch between 1954 and 1956. In 1960 he graduated in Modern Languages in French and German from the

. Anthony Buzzard was a 1963 graduate of Ambassador College, part of the Worldwide Church of God founded by Herbert W. Armstrong. Upon graduation in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...

, Buzzard then transferred to teach music at its campus in Bricket Wood, England. In the early 1970s, Buzzard left the Worldwide Church of God and published theological views refuting those of Armstrong. He became a close associate of Charles F. Hunting, an American evangelist who had been an official of the Bricket Wood campus.

Education and teaching

Buzzard gained a Diploma in

Biblical Hebrew Biblical Hebrew ( or ), also called Classical Hebrew, is an archaic form of the Hebrew language, a language in the Canaanite languages, Canaanitic branch of the Semitic languages spoken by the Israelites in the area known as the Land of Isra ...

from the University of Jerusalem in 1970. He attended the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

. He gained a Masters in Theology from Bethany Theological Seminary,

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, in 1990. Buzzard taught French and German at The American School in London and taught theology and

Biblical languages Biblical languages are any of the languages employed in the original writings of the Bible. Some debate exists as to which language is the original language of a particular passage, and about whether a term has been properly translated from an ...

for 24 years at Atlanta Bible College, McDonough, Georgia (formerly Oregon LBible College).

Restoration Fellowship

Following his break with Armstrong, in 1981 Buzzard, founded with the help of Charles F. Hunting, the Restoration Fellowship, a Christian group dedicated to missionary and teaching work all over the world. It is affiliated with the Church of God General Conference, a group founded in 1921, holding Adventist and Unitarian beliefs, similar to the Church of the Blessed Hope and

Christadelphians The Christadelphians () are a Restorationism, restorationist and Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Biblical unitarianism, (Biblical Unitarian) Christian denomination. The name means 'brothers and sisters in Christ',"The Christadelphians, or breth ...

. Buzzard publishes a monthly newsletter ''Focus on the Kingdom'', and is co-editor of ''A Journal from the Radical Reformation'', which explores continuity between the beliefs of Reformation groups - such as some Anabaptists, Socinians, early Unitarians and " Biblical Unitarian" groups today. Buzzard has been noted as one of the principal writers seeking a revival of early Unitarian beliefs.J. D. Bowers Joseph ''Priestley and English Unitarianism in America'' Pennsylvania State University Press , 2007-06-15 , - chapter The Death and Resurrection of English Unitarianism - "There are others who even hope to bring back Priestley's theology. They see Socinianism as a potentially important and shaping force in the (re)creation of a new Unitarian theology, one that returns to the old principles and teachings. Anthony Buzzard has been a leading Unitarian proponent in arguing for a return to Christian ... Buzzard has written numerous "evangelical" works (from a Unitarian standpoint), that argue for a return to a belief in Jesus as the Messiah" p251

Music

Apart from excelling in languages and biblical studies, Anthony also has a love of classical music. He studied at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, where he gained Diplomas in

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...

in 1959 and

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

in 1961.

Theological views

Buzzard shares the following beliefs, as expressed on his Restoration Fellowship website: * There is one God, the Father (1 Cor. 8:6), the one God of the creed of Israel affirmed by Jesus Christ (Mark 12:28ff). The Father is "the only true God" (John 17:3). * There is one Lord Messiah, Jesus (1 Cor. 8:6), who was supernaturally conceived as the Son of God (Luke 1:35), and foreordained from the foundation of the world (1 Pet. 1:20). * The Holy Spirit is the personal, operational presence and power of God extended through the risen Christ to believers (Ps. 51:11). * The Bible, consisting of the Hebrew canon (Luke 24:44) and the Greek New Testament Scriptures, is the inspired and authoritative revelation of God (2 Tim. 3:16). * In the atoning, substitutionary death of Jesus, his resurrection on the third day, and his ascension to the right hand of the Father (Ps. 110:1; Acts 2:34-36), where he is waiting until his enemies are subdued (Heb. 10:13). * In the future visible return of Jesus Christ to raise to life the faithful dead (1 Cor. 15:23), establish the millennial Kingdom on earth (Rev. 20:1-6, etc.) and bring about the restoration of the earth promised by the prophets (Acts 1:6; 3:21; 26:6, 7). * In the regenerating power of the Gospel message about the Kingdom (Matt. 13:19; Luke 8:12; John 6:63), enabling the believer to understand divine revelation and live a life of holiness. * In baptism by immersion upon reception of the Gospel of the Kingdom and the things concerning Jesus (Acts 8:12; Luke 24:27). * In the future resurrection of the saved of all the ages to administer the renewed earth with the Messiah in the Kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:2; 2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 2:26; 3:21; 5:10). *In the existence of supernatural, cosmic evil headed by (the) Satan (Matt. 12:26) or Devil, as distinct from and in addition to human enemies and the natural evil of the human heart. Satan is the name of a wicked spirit personality, "the god of this age" (2 Cor. 4:4; cp. Eph. 6:12). And in the existence of demons (daimonia) as non-human personalities whom Jesus addressed and they him (Luke 4:41; James 2:19). * In the freedom "under grace" and not "under law," inaugurated at the cross in the New Covenant, in contrast to and replacing the Mosaic covenant enacted at Sinai (Gal. 3 and 4; 2 Cor. 3). Issues of physical circumcision and "the whole law" (Gal. 5:3) associated with circumcision, including calendar and food laws, are concerns of the old and not the new covenant. Compare Col. 2:16-17 where the temporary shadow is contrasted with the permanence and newness of Christ. * Christians ought never to take up arms and kill their enemies and fellow believers in other nations (Matt. 26:52; John 15:19; 18:36; 1 Pet. 2:9-11; 1 Chron. 22:8).

Books

* ''The Coming Kingdom of the Messiah: A Solution to the Riddle of the New Testament'' (1988) * ''Our Fathers Who Aren’t in Heaven: The Forgotten Christianity of Jesus the Jew'' (1995) * ''The Doctrine of the Trinity: Christianity's Self-Inflicted Wound'' (1998) – original edition with Charles F. Hunting * ''The Law, the Sabbath and New Covenant Christianity'' (2005) * ''The Amazing Aims and Claims of Jesus'' (2006) * ''Jesus Was Not a Trinitarian'' (2007)

Booklets

* "Who Is Jesus? A Plea for a Return to Belief in Jesus the Messiah" (1984) * "What Happens When We Die? A Biblical View of Death and Resurrection" (1986)

References

External links

Restoration Fellowship
- details of conference with Hunting and others. {{DEFAULTSORT:Buzzard, Anthony 1935 births Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom British Unitarians English Unitarians Former Anglicans Living people Military personnel from Surrey People educated at Charterhouse School Royal Navy officers Translators of the Bible into English Christian pacifists