History of Christianity

In this episode, we explore the remarkable life of John Chrysostom, one of Christianity's greatest preachers and theologians. Born in 347 AD in […]

This episode explores the extraordinary life of Ambrose of Milan, a Roman governor turned bishop who became a pivotal figure in early […]

Among the highlights of the fourth century was a group of theologians, two brothers and a close friend. These were the Cappadocian […]

In this episode, I talk to Dr. Emily Conroy-Krutz, author of Missionary Diplomacy. In the 19th Century, the United States was expanding […]

An important part of Christian history has been the role of clergy in supporting the military in terms of both spiritual and […]

One of the greatest defenders of what would be known as orthodox Christianity was Athanasius the Great, bishop of Alexandria. He was […]

While some Christians were gathering in councils and devising creeds, others were fleeing the cities to be alone with God. These were […]

In this special Christmas episode, we look at the figure who would be the inspiration for the popular Santa Claus. While some […]

One of the most important events in Christian history is the First Council of Nicaea that took place in 325 AD. Christianity […]

The Christian church was emerging out of a time of persecution but their troubles were not over. Shifting from threats from without […]

One of the most influential people in the history of the early church was someone of unknown religious conviction. Constantine came to […]

Emperor Constantine was Great, but was he good? If you were talk to many Christians today, they might suggest that much of […]

There had been numerous persecutions on a small scale for the first three centuries but the church experienced a much more significant […]

The third century was a time of great upheaval for the Roman Empire and it was equally so for the church in […]

One of the religious movements that emerged in the third century was that of Manichaeism. This religion, founded by the Iranian prophet […]

The Christian Church existed within and was growing inside the Roman Empire. What was happening in the Roman Empire during the third […]

By the third century, the church had been growing rapidly. They were facing threats both internal and external. In this episode, we […]

Two of the brightest, most influential, and most prolific church fathers were Origen of Alexandria and Tertullian of Carthage. They were both […]

Pope Pius XII was the pope during the Second World War. There is controversy over how he responded to the crisis. Should […]

As we conclude our look at the second century, we revisit some of the people we have already talked about. These are the early apologists. By looking at the things they were responding to, we get a snapshot of what the church was experiencing in this important century. Other episodes

Since the time before Jesus, the Jews were a part of the Roman Empire. Not a willing part, but a part nonetheless. Not everyone was happy about this and there were attempts to throw off the Roman yoke. There was a war against Rome in the first century in which

It is impossible to say exactly how many people in the early church were considered apostles. We can say with certainty that it was more than twelve. The original twelve were these: These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew;

Back in episode 27, we looked at the Roman Emperors of the first century (or most of them). Now we take a look at the emperors from the last part of the first to the last part of the second centuries. This was a good time for Rome as they

One of the most important leaders in the Church today is that of the Pope. But where did the popes come from? They have been in the background all through our narrative. In this episode, we go back and look at the “popes” or bishops of Rome from the first

This episode of the podcast is brought to you by HelloFresh. Get $80 Discount ($50 – $20 – $10). Including Free Shipping on First Box! Use the code HFAFF80. Expires October 8, 2021. I have loved history for as long as I can remember. When my friends were reading superhero

Clement of Alexandria may not be the most well known of the Church Fathers but he was influential. Clement helped to develop the Alexandrian school, something that would be come even more famous (infamous?) under Clement’s student, Origen. Make sure to visit OMIO and use the code “OMIO5” before July

In this episode, we look at one of the most influential of the early church fathers: Irenaeus of Lyons. He is especially relevant when it comes to Christian apologetics. We also take a brief look at the Montanists.

Justin Martyr was an important church father and pioneering Christian apologist. He had the courage to not just write a defence of Christianity but to address it by name to the Roman Emperor. Please consider supporting this podcast through Patreon or by downloading a FREE audiobook with a FREE trial of Audible.

One of the most important movements to understand the history of Christianity, especially for the second and third centuries, is that of Gnosticism. Gnosticism is one of those things that many have heard about but few know what it really means. In this episode, we look at some of the beliefs and possible origins. For the other podcasts mentioned in this episode, go here. Recommended book: No Longer Jews Download a free audiobook with a free trial of Audible.

In this episode, I talk to Dr. Gordon Heath of McMaster Divinity College. We have an interesting chat on the nature of church history and how he got interested. If you are interested in church history, you won’t want to miss this interview. Make sure to visit Gord at his website. Resources Mentioned in this Episode: The Lost History of Christianity: The Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-and How It Died The Next... Read More Read More

How do we study Christian history? One way is to look at the sermons of the past. Sermons are more than expositions of biblical texts. They reflect both the individual…Read MoreEpisode 40 – Revived Thoughts

What do we do with the Secret Gospel of Mark? Some scholars accept it as an early Gospel, earlier even than our Synoptic Gospels. Others see it as twentieth century…Read MoreEpisode 39 – What is the Secret Gospel of Mark?

In this episode, we finish up the collection of writings known as the Apostolic Fathers. While not as well known as some of the other […]

The Gospel of Thomas is probably the extra-canonical gospel that most people have heard of but do not know anything about. In this episode, we […]

I had the opportunity to write a chapter for A Noble Company: The Canadians. I wrote about a Baptist who came from Scotland to Canada […]

We continue to look at documents of the early church with a look at the Shepherd of Hermas and the Epistle of Barnabas. These documents […]

There are two ancient Christian writings that are attributed to the Twelve Apostles, even though they unlikely wrote them. One, the Apostle’s Creed is well […]

Papias is the most important church father that you have never heard of. Even though none of his writings survive in anything beyond fragments in […]

One of the most inspiring of the Apostolic Fathers is Polycarp. At the age of 86, he became a martyr, even though he had the […]

It has been a while since the last episode but I have not given up on the podcast. I am busy with a couple of […]

We continue our look at the Apostolic Fathers with a brief look at Ignatius of Antioch. Although we don’t have much information about the early […]

Once we get out of the New Testament era, we move into the period of the Apostolic Fathers. These are some early church fathers who […]

One of the most important events in the first century for both Jews and Christians was the Jewish War (66-73 AD). This war included the […]

The book of Acts describes a church in which the members held all things in common. But how seriously should we take those passages? How […]

As important as the Jewish background is to the rise of Christianity, so is the Roman background. All of the events of the New Testament […]

Christianity emerged out of Judaism. We have already looked at the Jewish background of Christianity. While there are many ways for us to learn about […]

This is the final episode of the series on the Synoptic Gospels based on my lectures from Tyndale University College. Although there were more lectures […]

We take a short break from our regular scheduled episodes to bring you a special announcement. I have decided to start a new podcast on […]

We take a break from our series on the Synoptic Gospels for a short Christmas episode. In this episode we look at how Dec. 25 […]

In this lecture from the course Jesus and the Synoptic Gospels taught at Tyndale University College, we look at the Gospel of Luke. We look […]

One of the most popular Gospels is that of Matthew. It is in Matthew that we get the Sermon on the Mount and the classic […]