Podcasts about western christendom

Why is the world the way that it is? Is it just a result of the Fall? Or is there more than just that? Yes, there is. A spiritual war that has been raging since the dawn of time.Show Notes00:00:00 - 00:00:47* Introduction to Supernatural Beings* The episode opens with a discussion on the origins of deities, suggesting that they were real beings assigned to watch over nations but failed by directing worship to themselves instead of Yahweh.* Key Quote: "They were ones that were actually supposed to watch over these nations. And point them to Yahweh. But they failed and they started pointing the nations to themselves."00:00:47 - 00:02:09* Podcast Introduction and Banter* The hosts introduce themselves as the "two kings of the Rube Empire," describing themselves as "right-wing extremists," "supernaturalists," and "Christian bigots" in a tongue-in-cheek manner.* They welcome listeners to the Kingsplaining Podcast, emphasizing its status as the "best podcast in the world."* The hosts express excitement for the month of May and discuss the upcoming summer, with the Iron King noting his kids will soon be home from school.* Key Quote: "Kingsplaining.com, the absolute best podcast in the entire world."00:02:09 - 00:04:12* Homeschooling and Family Dynamics* The Iron King shares his experience with homeschooling, describing it as a consistent and rewarding lifestyle.* The hosts discuss the emotional rollercoaster of wanting kids to go back to school but also enjoying their presence at home.* They touch on gender dynamics, humorously noting that women are agents of change while men seek stability.* Key Quote: "Women are agents of change. Men change once during puberty and then it's just stability."00:04:12 - 00:09:43* The 100 Men vs. One Gorilla Debate* The hosts dive into a viral cultural topic: whether 100 men could defeat a single gorilla in a fight.* They argue that while a gorilla would dominate in a 1v1 scenario, 100 men, especially if organized and including physically elite individuals, would likely win due to sheer numbers and intelligence.* They reference memes and pop culture (e.g., Mel Gibson converting the gorilla, Harambe) to highlight the humorous zeitgeist surrounding the debate.* Key Quote: "100 dudes coming at one gorilla, Hundo's going to win that fight."00:09:43 - 00:12:09* Political Commentary: Absence of "Orange Man Bad"* The hosts note a shift in political discourse, observing that the intense anti-Trump rhetoric ("Orange Man Bad") has been overshadowed by lighter cultural debates like the gorilla question.* They critique the unfulfilled predictions of societal collapse under Trump's administration, now 100 days in.* They discuss Democratic complaints about Trump not lowering prices as promised, pointing out the hypocrisy given the price hikes during the Biden administration.* Key Quote: "We were promised a complete and total collapse of society. And we're 100 days into the Trump administration."00:12:09 - 00:21:41* Trump's First 100 Days: Favorite Policies* Philosopher King's Favorite: Trade War and Tariffs* The Philosopher King praises Trump's tariff policies, arguing they counteract the hollowing out of American manufacturing and support the middle class.* He acknowledges libertarian critiques (tariffs as taxes) but supports them as tactical tools to balance trade inequities with countries like China.* Key Quote: "These are weaponized tariffs. These are tactical tariffs. And I like that."* Iron King's Perspective on Tariffs* The Iron King agrees, likening tariffs to a scale that reveals economic truths, encouraging consumers to buy American-made goods.* He references the Trump-Bezos feud over Amazon showing tariff costs on receipts, viewing it as a political stunt but ultimately beneficial for transparency.* Key Quote: "I actually want you to see how much the tariff is going to cost you. Because then it's going to force you to say, maybe I should buy in America."* Additional Policy Discussion* The hosts mention proposed tax relief measures (e.g., no tax on tips, overtime, or incentives for buying American cars) and subsidies for relocating factories to the U.S.* They express skepticism about long-term subsidies but support temporary measures to boost domestic production.* Key Quote: "The more that we produce here, the easier it will be to do that."00:21:41 - 00:29:32* Trump's First 100 Days: Disappointments* Iron King's Disappointment: Border Security and Deportations* The Iron King praises the reduction in border crossings but is disappointed by the lower deportation numbers compared to Biden's first 100 days.* He criticizes judicial pushback against deportations and questions the authority of the judicial branch, advocating for stronger action.* Key Quote: "What army does the judicial branch have? What authority does the judicial branch have?"* Philosopher King's Disappointment: Anti-Semitism Crackdowns* The Philosopher King sarcastically critiques the focus on arresting people for anti-Semitism, viewing it as a pretext for censorship.* He connects this to broader issues of selective outrage and power structures.* Key Quote: "I'm not interested in this fight against anti-Semitism. Not in the way that they're doing it because it's really just censorship."* Shared Disappointment: Epstein Files* Both hosts express frustration over the lack of arrests related to the Epstein files, questioning the administration's commitment to justice.* They highlight the suspicious death of Virginia Giuffre and the lack of accountability for Ghislaine Maxwell's clients.* Key Quote: "I cannot trust your ability to dole out justice if you refuse to do something about it."* Positive Note: Resistance to War* The hosts commend Trump for resisting calls for war with Iran and Ukraine, despite pressure from neocons and foreign leaders.* Key Quote: "I like that there's pushback against going to war with Iran for no reason."00:29:32 - 01:36:36 (Truncated Section Summarized)* Supernatural and Biblical Discussion* The hosts shift to a deep exploration of biblical prophecy, focusing on Revelation 6 and 9, which describe apocalyptic events, demonic entities, and the wrath of God.* They discuss the concept of a "breakaway civilization," where elites prepare for catastrophic events by building underground bunkers, possibly in anticipation of divine judgment.* They reference Revelation 6, where the powerful hide in caves, calling for mountains to fall on them to escape God's wrath, and connect it to modern elite behavior (e.g., the Obamas' oceanfront property despite climate change warnings).* The hosts speculate on the spiritual nature of these events, suggesting that fallen angels or demonic entities (the "old gods") influence global affairs.* Key Quote: "The elites serve a different master. And it's the same masters that have been here for millennia."* Revelation 9 and Apocalyptic Imagery* They discuss Revelation 9's description of a pit opening, releasing scorpion-like entities, and draw parallels to Noah's time (150 days).* They emphasize the Bible's supernatural elements as a lens for understanding current events.* Key Quote: "We're just reading Revelation because the Bible is always true."01:36:36 - 01:44:59* Connecting to the Normies and Spiritual Warfare* The hosts urge listeners to pay attention to elite actions, not just words, citing examples like the Obamas' contradictory behavior.* They frame the world as a spiritual battlefield, with Christians as infiltrators advancing God's kingdom against demonic forces.* They argue that Jesus' authority, granted at Calvary, empowers believers to preach the gospel and resist evil.* The hosts critique modern paganism and Islam as tools of Satan, describing Islam as a force of submission that threatens Western Christendom.* Key Quote: "We are literally an infiltration. We're people of the way. What you're describing is a war, a spiritual war."* Biblical Truth as a Defense* The Iron King emphasizes that their understanding comes from scripture, not personal intelligence, which protects them from cultural deceptions (e.g., COVID, George Floyd).* They highlight a global revival, with people turning to Jesus amid increasing evil.* Key Quote: "When you cling to truth, all the lies fade. When you cling to truth, you win the victory because this is a spiritual war."01:44:59 - 01:53:58* Supernatural Elements in Scripture* The hosts list bizarre biblical phenomena to underscore the reality of the supernatural: lion men, goblins, talking donkeys, time travel (e.g., Moses and Elijah at the Transfiguration), and miracles like Jesus walking on water or Elijah calling fire from heaven.* They argue that these events challenge naturalistic worldviews and suggest that myths (e.g., vampires, werewolves, dragons) have biblical origins in corrupted flesh or demonic activity.* Key Quote: "All of the weird stuff that you are told that is not real has an origin story somewhere."* Examples of Biblical Supernatural Events* Moses' glowing face, Jesus' transfiguration, Elijah's chariot of fire, Samson's feats, and Ezekiel's vision of dry bones.* The hosts assert that God's power continues today, despite skepticism from some theologians.* Key Quote: "Our God is in complete control, and he's doing supernatural things through spiritual power."01:53:58 - 02:01:14* Final Thoughts: Sin, Not Skin* Philosopher King's Final Thoughts* He emphasizes that despite the influence of the kingdom of darkness, Jesus holds all authority, and the kingdom of God is advancing.* He encourages listeners not to fear the "breakaway civilization," as it will face divine judgment.* Key Quote: "Don't fear the breakaway civilization. It will face judgment and it will not go well for them."* Iron King's Final Thoughts: Addressing Racial Narratives* The Iron King critiques the overemphasis on racial crime statistics (e.g., 53% of violent crimes by 13% of the population) and compares it to abortion, which kills over a million babies annually.* He highlights that 64% of abortion doctors are white and 74% are male, contrasting this with the lower percentage of black abortion doctors (6%).* He argues that evil is a sin problem, not a racial one, and calls for repentance across all demographics.* Key Quote: "The issue with evil is it's a sin problem, not a skin problem."* Statistics Breakdown* Violent crime deaths: ~46,000/year (half suicides), ~10,000 attributed to African Americans.* Abortion deaths: ~1,000,000/year, with 640,000 facilitated by white doctors.* Key Quote: "White dudes kill way more babies than black dudes from the hood in violent crimes."02:01:14 - 02:03:52* Verse of the Day and Prayer* Verse: Ephesians 3:20-21* "Now to him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen."* Prayer* The Philosopher King prays for God to thwart Satan's plans, expand His kingdom, and glorify Himself.* He asks for believers to build on God's foundation with generosity, truth, and love, anticipating Christ's return.* Key Quote: "I pray that you would thwart the designs of the evil one and his agents, the old gods."02:03:52 - 02:04:19* Closing Remarks* The hosts wrap up, encouraging listeners to like, share, and subscribe to spread the podcast's message.* They reaffirm their service to Jesus, the King of Kings, and humorously reference Michelle Obama's recent gaffe.* Key Quote: "Your two kings serve the King of Kings, Christ Jesus."Key Themes* Supernatural Worldview: The hosts interpret global events through a biblical lens, emphasizing spiritual warfare and the reality of demonic influences.* Political Analysis: They critique both the successes (tariffs, border security) and failures (Epstein files, deportation pushback) of Trump's first 100 days.* Cultural Commentary: From the gorilla debate to racial crime statistics, they challenge mainstream narratives with humor and data.* Spiritual Call to Action: They urge listeners to cling to biblical truth, resist evil, and advance God's kingdom.Notable Quotes* "The Bible is always true."* "We are literally an infiltration. We're people of the way."* "The issue with evil is it's a sin problem, not a skin problem."* "Don't fear the breakaway civilization. It will face judgment."Action Items* Visit Kingsplaining.com for more content.* Share the podcast to spread its message.* Reflect on Ephesians 3:20-21 and pray for God's kingdom to advance.Next Episode: Tune in next week for more discussions from the Rube Empire! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kingsplaining.substack.com/subscribe

Martin Luther is a hero to countless Christians around the world. The birth of European Protestantism and the Lutheran Church cannot be expressed without citing the 95 theses that Martin Luther posted to the church door on Halloween 1517. A diet of worms follows.Whether you want to celebrate Fred the Wise or Pope Leo X, big changes came to Western Christendom because of Martin Luther's refusal to back down from a fight he believed in. He also believed that God wants people to suffer, so we'll take the whole thing in parts, favoring some things and not others.... We examine the Five Solae: Fidae, Scriptura, Gratia, Christus, and Deo Gloria; and how Protestantism differs from the Imperial tradition from which it was born. We also take a look at contemporary protestors, like Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin, Menno Simons, the anabaptists of Zurich, and the dramatic climax of Guy Fawkes' treasonous Gun Powder Plot.All this and more....Support us on Patreon or you can get our merch at Spreadshop. Join the Community on Discord. Learn more great religion factoids on Facebook and Instagram. 

A day in the life of rural Hungary.By FinalStand. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels.'Here be Dragons' wasn't always a tourist gimmick."I didn't say you could have a drink," the Vizsla commented."Oh, my apologies," I shrugged. I put the stein on a nearby table and waited."Have a seat," she directed. I came up to her table and examined the three empty chairs. I held back until she pointed to the chair opposite her. I sat down, but didn't make eye contact. Instead, I examined the various paintings and photographs on the walls. It was an old place."You killed Matthias, even though you knew he worked for me," she uttered."I can confirm that information to be correct," I looked her way. That, wasn't what she expected."Why?""Why what?" I countered. There was a method to my madness; this was going to be a lesson in competence, and what happens when you don't respect it."Why did you kill Matthias?""I needed a reason?" I tried to look pensive. "Maybe I didn't like the cut of his facial hair?""Do you think this is a joke?" she replied dryly. "The Black Hand always avenge our own.""Damn," I looked perplexed. "No one told me that when I arrived. Can we call Matthias's extermination a 50/50 bad call, both ways?""Matthias was my cousin," the Vizsla continued."My condolences," I sighed. "The next Black Hand douche-bag the Amazons waste, I'll have them ask if he's related to you first. How's that?""You are so not likely to have that opportunity," she pointed out."Oh," I laughed, "you are so wrong about that.""You are far stupider than I had been informed," the Vizsla's eyes narrowed."Nope. You and your cast of 'Dumb and Dumber' have been treating us like idiots since we touched down at Ferenc Liszt International, so I'm pretending to be that simpleton sock-puppet just for you, Vizsla. You've added to that by heaping disrespect and derision on my people," I grinned."You tried to have me and my entourage murdered and Matthias paid the price for that. Everyone knows I'm here. And after your bungled attempt to have me killed, no one is going to believe you did anything but murder me, if I don't show up eventually. Now do you prefer the stupid me, or the brighter than normal me?""If you think acting like a smart-ass is somehow endearing, you are mistaken," she let me know."Whatever," I shrugged. "You called this meeting. What do you want?""Beyond killing one of my lieutenants, I wanted to know what you are doing here?" she studied me."I would like to leave now. I'm wasting my time here," I responded."I want answers," she pressed."You have been given the answers to both your talking points, Matthias died because of your orders and I am here looking for three lost Amazon bloodlines," I replied."That seems bizarre," the Vizsla expressed her doubts."Bizarre? You are talking to the sole male Amazon House Head in three thousand years," I reminded her. "Besides, you only just now finished telling me how the Black Hand look after their own. The Amazons are the same way; we have lost kin who need to be made aware of their background.""What do we do about Matthias?" the Vizsla asked."In all honesty, had he not personally threatened to stab a member of my team, I would have settled for kicking the crap out of him. He put a knife to Ms. Martin's throat. That assured his death sentence. I think the Host will be willing to accept my hypothesis that Matthias was acting on his own initiative, which should settle the matter."And just like that, the expediency of the Black Hand shown forth. The truth of the matter was that he had acted on the Vizsla's orders. Unfortunately, that would have meant my side would have come after the Vizsla and she would have had to avenge his death, lots of needless bloodshed. So Matthias posthumously became a rabid dog gone rogue and one who ended up crossing the wrong people. No vengeance required by anyone. We could get back to business."That is settled. So, what do you want from your new allies?" the Vizsla inquired. A certain level of cold-blooded ruthlessness had been required to achieve her spot in the Black Hand. Likewise, honesty was the best policy when dealing with casually lethal people. They didn't like self-important asses wasting their time."I need to find an individual named 'Branko'. He has kidnapped a young lady who is one of our lost Amazons. We don't require any aid, but if you could leave Selena with us, it would be appreciated," I requested."What are you going to do when you catch up with this 'Branko'?" she questioned."I'd like to say I am going to buy her back, but I think we both know that is a pipe-dream. He's not going to like me interfering in his business, so I'm going to kill him, and any other bastards who are in close proximity," I confessed. She studied me for over a minute."Do you wish a piece of advice?" the Vizsla said."Of course," I nodded. It cost me nothing to acknowledge her vastly superior experience."Take a step back," she advised. Seeing that I didn't understand, "If you recall every single death by your hand, you will go mad. You don't possess the detachment of a true killer, Cáel. Not every member of the Black Hand is an assassin.Your driver, Josef, is from a long line of Black Hand members. He doesn't have what it takes to get close and personal in order to kill a human being, so he drives and provides security. He still matters and serves a necessary function." That was almost nice of her. The advice was based on her decision to keep me around as a useful tool. Going nuts would derail that."There is the life we wish to lead, and the life we must lead, Vizsla," I recalled. There was so much there, whirling around in my skull, it took me all this time to find the link I was looking for. Recall every single death by my hand, "On January 26th, 1847, the Black Hand Chapter House of the Wolf in Verona was wiped out, there were no survivors.""If you say so," she regarded me oddly."Yeah, look into it. Then come back to me when you have the right questions," I stood up. "And 'Branko'?""I will relay information on this individual to Selena. We should have something by the time you get back to Buda," she got out before one of the bodyguards came running our way.He had his H and K MP5 out and was in deep conversation with his ear piece."Our two spotters failed to respond correctly," he told the Vizsla in Hungarian. She gave me another quick once over."My people?" I rose slowly.The Vizsla gave the man a subtle hand gesture. Seconds later, pushing Alkonyka ahead of them, Pamela, Selena and Josef came running through the door. Pamela and Selena had our duffels. Two more Black Hand materialized from a back room.The Black Hand was actually a small outfit. Each Chapter had two or three houses, each with four or five true assassins and maybe six times that in support personnel/recruits in each location. That meant the entire Black Hand organization numbered less than 1000. They had several thousand peripheral contacts across their sphere of Europe and they could purchase some sort of private security given time. But their best protection was their hidden nature and small size. That also meant what we had was what we had. There was no Black Hand SWAT team on the way.Working with hand gestures alone, the Vizsla was directing us to a trap door behind the bar. Josef's phone rang. He hesitantly answered."It is for you," he offered it to our host. She took it. Halfway through the caller's diatribe, she shot me a suspicious look."Why don't you ask him?" she stated, then handed me the phone."Hello Nyilas. Do you know who this is?" the man on the other end stated, in Mycenean Greek."Yes, I do. What do you want? I'm kind of busy here?" I grinned. It was laughing at death all over again."I can relieve you of your pressing schedule. You and the other Amazon step outside and I'll make it quick.""No can-do Studly," I smirked. "If I go out there, it is going to take a while.""I sincerely doubt that.""Don't sell yourself short," I jibed. "I figure clipping off those bull-sized testicles of yours is going to take some work. But I do promise that after I make you a eunuch, I'll use a condom when I bend you over and make you my bitch too. Was there anything else you wanted to know?""No. I think we have a mutual understanding," he laughed. "I'll be seeing you soon." He hung up."Who was that?" Vizsla inquired. She wasn't alone in her curiosity."Ajax," I beamed confidence. I was confident my tenure on this Earth was ending real soon."I think we should be leaving," Vizsla suggested."Selena, help Alkonyka get her sister back," I requested. "I'll catch up when I can. Pamela, you do what you feel you need to do. Vizsla, they are after me, so I'm going to keep them busy while you get away," I explained.No useless 'you don't have to do this' nonsense. She knew the score, I wasn't a member of her outfit and she wanted to live. She did do me one favor. She gave another hand movement. Selena slit Josef's throat in a surprise motion.He didn't die right away. Selena's slash made bleeding out inevitable, but he'd be a while in dying. Odds were, that only Vizsla and Josef knew in advance where we were meeting. Whatever payoff the Condottieri had put in his bank account wasn't going to do him any good. Selena bent over his still-thrashing body and removed his pistol."I will bring you Angyalka Lovasz," Selena pledged. Pamela and I were gearing up. Ajax and his buddies were going to be coming for me any second now. Alkonyka gave me one more worried look before she vanished into the secret basement. "Don't be late," was the last thing Selena said before going down into the darkness. Pamela made sure the trap door was covered up.Lust and Bullets"We've used Butch and Sundance," Pamela checked her L42 Enfield Sniper Rifle. It was the weapon Pamela had trained with and used for longer than I'd been alive, old yet very effective even today."Heat?" I offered up. "You can be De Niro and I can be Kilmer.""Nice. Michael Mann really had a way of killing people," Pamela grinned, then pumped her eyebrows. "Too bad I end up dead in this one.""We'll avoid airports, you should be safe," I joked. Three explosions rocked the building, shooting glass throughout the place. Fortunately, Pamela and I were hiding behind the bar."Let's go," she whispered over the din. Charging out the front door seemed pretty suicidal to me, but Pamela's copious battle lore was something I had the utmost faith in. I respected her judgment and followed along. There was a method to her madness. Two 40 mm grenades had taken out the two cars parked in front. A third launched grenade had blown open the door.The petrol in the cars equated to flaming wreckage and a huge smoke screen. It was broad daylight, no night vision goggles. The flames made IR useless and the smoke temporarily obscured regular vision. The machineguns going off around us scared the crap out of me. It was my old buddy, suppression fire: they weren't shooting directly at us.Metaphysically, Ishara was dueling with Ares. There was a low stone wall, a little over a meter high, that separated an adjacent field from the inn's gravel parking lot. Right as we got to our side of it, three of Ajax's boys came up on the other. Pamela and I remained perfectly still, crouching tightly against our shelter.Two knelt and fired several bursts from their H and K HK416 (Wow! Germany's newest killing machine, they looked slick) into the closest open windows while the third one fired a grenade in. Again, we remained perfectly still. We were about two meters from those three. The drab color of our hastily donned dusters, the congested air and our stillness combined to save us from their notice.The second after that grenade went off, the three vaulted the wall and rushed the building. From the cacophony of the battle, they were storming the building from several directions at once."Quick, go find that guy with the machinegun," Pamela whispered over a feral grin. How was I going to do that?The old fashioned way, I leapt over the wall and ran away from all the flames, explosions and the continuous widespread fusillade of assault weapons fire. I was partially bent over as I ran. I'm still a big guy though. The machine gunner was in a shallow dip in the meadow 30 meters away, on the edge of the woods.He saw me, shifted his MG4 (fuck Ajax and his crew for having the best Bang-Bangs) minutely and unleashed hell my way. In hindsight, the 1st round flattened against my duster as it impacted my upper left thigh. Round #2 hit the duster again, coming below my vest, but hitting my belt (every bit of leather helps).The #3 556 mm slug hit my vest due south of my belly button (Fuck!), # 4 landed a few centimeters up and to the right, taking in both the duster and my ballistic vest. The #5 round clipped my lower side of my right ribcage. The resulting force sent me spinning back and to my right.Honestly, as I landed hard on my back (no rolling with the blow this time), I thought a midget mule team had kicked me in the guts. Apparently, I made a convincing mortally wounded human being. He stopped shooting and Pamela got pissed.I learned a few things at that moment: you do not get used to being shot; you can never appreciate the value of good body amour enough; you can never understand the true value of a sniper until your life is totally in their hands; and damn, Pamela was exceptional. Pamela put a bullet through his nasal cavity in that split second between him exposing himself with his muzzle flashes and deciding to put a few more bullets into my prone form.Pain dictated that I lie where I was. Survival instincts overrode that. I went to my side, pushed up and resumed my crouched stance. Then I was running once more until I could throw myself beside his corpse. I was stunningly calm. Machineguns, snipers, I had to cover Pamela's run across the meadow. I didn't stay by the dead gunner.I grabbed his weapon, some spare ammo and quick-stepped it to the wood line. I rapidly assessed the best spot that could provide cover from each flank. That was where I went down, cradled the device and started shooting at any muzzle flash I could see. The moment I opened fire, Pamela began her own sprint.Unlike my mad dash, Pamela took evasive maneuvers, serpentine, which worked out well when one sniper figured out she wasn't one of them. He/she had two shots at her before she dove past me. Her mien was one of intense, emptiness? She gave me a quick pat-down to make sure I wasn't gushing blood, took a deep breath and then smirked."Come on, Dummy!" she laughed. "We still have a shot at a sequel.""Shot, sequel, you are a laugh riot," I wheezed as I stood, abandoned the MG4 and joined her as we both ran deeper into the woods. A few shots zinged past us before Ajax's crew realized we were in full-on flight mode. They weren't going to waste the bullets.This was the point where archaic and modern warfare diverged. In the olden (pre-Pamela, ow! How did she know what I was thinking?) days, when your enemy broke and ran, it was relatively easy to run them down and slaughter them in their panic. If a few men tried to stem the tide, they would be quickly overwhelmed.After the invention of rapid-fire rifles, that changed. Suddenly, headlong pursuit could be incredibly costly. All it took was a small, resolute band to find some sort of hard cover and they could buy minutes, or even hours, for their retreating brethren. Sure, if you were willing to pay the butcher's bill, you could storm their position.But you had to understand, each defender could fire and work the bolt action in under three seconds. You reloaded your magazine with a prepared clip ~ maybe five more seconds. Ten men could put 150 bullets down range per minute as long as their ammo held out. Sending men into that kind of firepower was murder; very few troops could sustain their attack under those conditions.Ajax's resurrected Mycenaean's were tough enough to do it. Ajax's problem was their finite number. Despite catching Ajax off-guard with Pamela's mad plan, her ungodly skills and a great deal of my pain, we had only managed to kill one so far. The great unknowns were terrain (we didn't know where we were,) and my luck.As Pamela and I ran through the forest at a good clip, we began to make out a specific background noise. It was a river. Not a creek, stream, waterfall, or dam, a river."Did you pack your jet ski?" Pamela snorted."I left it in the car. You said it was so '1990's'," I panted back. A few more footsteps and,

"The striking phrase, 'God is dead,' is the poetical expression of modern unbelief", writes Eugene (Fr. Seraphim) Rose in his short but piercing analysis of the modern world and its apostasy. Christianity in the West fell long ago and its departure from the True Church, Holy Orthodoxy, is more and more evident. See the links below for more from Fr. Seraphim on this issue.

In the 9th century AD, two years after the Holy Roman Empire was established in Western Christendom, another world-shaking empire was rising in the east, more powerful even than that of Charlemagne and far wealthier. Born in what is today Northern Cambodia but long before the horrors of the Khmer Rouge, the mighty Khmer empire dominated most of mainland Southeast Asia, stretching as far north as southern China, and far outsizing the Byzantine empire and its peak. In 802 a mighty warrior king, Jayavarman II, united the warring clans, made dynastic alliances and conquered his way to supremacy. His descendants would become God Kings…Meanwhile, in the famed city of Angkor, the divine kings of the Khmers built a temple of such epic proportions and complexity, such beauty, that its fame - like the temple itself - would endure across the ages: Angkor Wat. But what is the truth of Angkor Wat's origins? And how much does it owe to the example of India? Join William and Anita as they discuss the extraordinary Khmer empire and the divine kings who raised her, illuminating as they do, one of the greatest lost history's in all the world. To fill out the survey: survey.empirepoduk.com To buy William's book: https://coles-books.co.uk/the-golden-road-by-william-dalrymple-signed-edition Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: empirepoduk@gmail.com Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Aleksander Pluskowski of the University of Reading joins Jana Byars to talk about his new book, The Teutonic Knights: Rise and Fall of a Religious Corporation, out 2024 with Reaktion Books. A gripping account of the rise and fall of the last great medieval military order. This book provides a concise and incisive introduction to the knights of the Teutonic Order, the last of the great military orders established in the twelfth century.  The book traces the Order's evolution from a crusader field hospital into a major territorial ruler in northeastern Europe. Notably, the knights constructed distinctive fortified convents, including their headquarters in Western Christendom's largest castle. The narrative concludes with the Order's fifteenth-century decline due to the combined effects of a devastating war with Poland-Lithuania and the Protestant Reformation. The result is an accessible overview of this pivotal corporation in European history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Aleksander Pluskowski of the University of Reading joins Jana Byars to talk about his new book, The Teutonic Knights: Rise and Fall of a Religious Corporation, out 2024 with Reaktion Books. A gripping account of the rise and fall of the last great medieval military order. This book provides a concise and incisive introduction to the knights of the Teutonic Order, the last of the great military orders established in the twelfth century.  The book traces the Order's evolution from a crusader field hospital into a major territorial ruler in northeastern Europe. Notably, the knights constructed distinctive fortified convents, including their headquarters in Western Christendom's largest castle. The narrative concludes with the Order's fifteenth-century decline due to the combined effects of a devastating war with Poland-Lithuania and the Protestant Reformation. The result is an accessible overview of this pivotal corporation in European history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

Aleksander Pluskowski of the University of Reading joins Jana Byars to talk about his new book, The Teutonic Knights: Rise and Fall of a Religious Corporation, out 2024 with Reaktion Books. A gripping account of the rise and fall of the last great medieval military order. This book provides a concise and incisive introduction to the knights of the Teutonic Order, the last of the great military orders established in the twelfth century.  The book traces the Order's evolution from a crusader field hospital into a major territorial ruler in northeastern Europe. Notably, the knights constructed distinctive fortified convents, including their headquarters in Western Christendom's largest castle. The narrative concludes with the Order's fifteenth-century decline due to the combined effects of a devastating war with Poland-Lithuania and the Protestant Reformation. The result is an accessible overview of this pivotal corporation in European history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/military-history

Aleksander Pluskowski of the University of Reading joins Jana Byars to talk about his new book, The Teutonic Knights: Rise and Fall of a Religious Corporation, out 2024 with Reaktion Books. A gripping account of the rise and fall of the last great medieval military order. This book provides a concise and incisive introduction to the knights of the Teutonic Order, the last of the great military orders established in the twelfth century.  The book traces the Order's evolution from a crusader field hospital into a major territorial ruler in northeastern Europe. Notably, the knights constructed distinctive fortified convents, including their headquarters in Western Christendom's largest castle. The narrative concludes with the Order's fifteenth-century decline due to the combined effects of a devastating war with Poland-Lithuania and the Protestant Reformation. The result is an accessible overview of this pivotal corporation in European history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/german-studies

Aleksander Pluskowski of the University of Reading joins Jana Byars to talk about his new book, The Teutonic Knights: Rise and Fall of a Religious Corporation, out 2024 with Reaktion Books. A gripping account of the rise and fall of the last great medieval military order. This book provides a concise and incisive introduction to the knights of the Teutonic Order, the last of the great military orders established in the twelfth century.  The book traces the Order's evolution from a crusader field hospital into a major territorial ruler in northeastern Europe. Notably, the knights constructed distinctive fortified convents, including their headquarters in Western Christendom's largest castle. The narrative concludes with the Order's fifteenth-century decline due to the combined effects of a devastating war with Poland-Lithuania and the Protestant Reformation. The result is an accessible overview of this pivotal corporation in European history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aleksander Pluskowski of the University of Reading joins Jana Byars to talk about his new book, The Teutonic Knights: Rise and Fall of a Religious Corporation, out 2024 with Reaktion Books. A gripping account of the rise and fall of the last great medieval military order. This book provides a concise and incisive introduction to the knights of the Teutonic Order, the last of the great military orders established in the twelfth century.  The book traces the Order's evolution from a crusader field hospital into a major territorial ruler in northeastern Europe. Notably, the knights constructed distinctive fortified convents, including their headquarters in Western Christendom's largest castle. The narrative concludes with the Order's fifteenth-century decline due to the combined effects of a devastating war with Poland-Lithuania and the Protestant Reformation. The result is an accessible overview of this pivotal corporation in European history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/eastern-european-studies

Aleksander Pluskowski of the University of Reading joins Jana Byars to talk about his new book, The Teutonic Knights: Rise and Fall of a Religious Corporation, out 2024 with Reaktion Books. A gripping account of the rise and fall of the last great medieval military order. This book provides a concise and incisive introduction to the knights of the Teutonic Order, the last of the great military orders established in the twelfth century.  The book traces the Order's evolution from a crusader field hospital into a major territorial ruler in northeastern Europe. Notably, the knights constructed distinctive fortified convents, including their headquarters in Western Christendom's largest castle. The narrative concludes with the Order's fifteenth-century decline due to the combined effects of a devastating war with Poland-Lithuania and the Protestant Reformation. The result is an accessible overview of this pivotal corporation in European history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aleksander Pluskowski of the University of Reading joins Jana Byars to talk about his new book, The Teutonic Knights: Rise and Fall of a Religious Corporation, out 2024 with Reaktion Books. A gripping account of the rise and fall of the last great medieval military order. This book provides a concise and incisive introduction to the knights of the Teutonic Order, the last of the great military orders established in the twelfth century.  The book traces the Order's evolution from a crusader field hospital into a major territorial ruler in northeastern Europe. Notably, the knights constructed distinctive fortified convents, including their headquarters in Western Christendom's largest castle. The narrative concludes with the Order's fifteenth-century decline due to the combined effects of a devastating war with Poland-Lithuania and the Protestant Reformation. The result is an accessible overview of this pivotal corporation in European history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aleksander Pluskowski of the University of Reading joins Jana Byars to talk about his new book, The Teutonic Knights: Rise and Fall of a Religious Corporation, out 2024 with Reaktion Books. A gripping account of the rise and fall of the last great medieval military order. This book provides a concise and incisive introduction to the knights of the Teutonic Order, the last of the great military orders established in the twelfth century.  The book traces the Order's evolution from a crusader field hospital into a major territorial ruler in northeastern Europe. Notably, the knights constructed distinctive fortified convents, including their headquarters in Western Christendom's largest castle. The narrative concludes with the Order's fifteenth-century decline due to the combined effects of a devastating war with Poland-Lithuania and the Protestant Reformation. The result is an accessible overview of this pivotal corporation in European history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aleksander Pluskowski of the University of Reading joins Jana Byars to talk about his new book, The Teutonic Knights: Rise and Fall of a Religious Corporation, out 2024 with Reaktion Books. A gripping account of the rise and fall of the last great medieval military order. This book provides a concise and incisive introduction to the knights of the Teutonic Order, the last of the great military orders established in the twelfth century.  The book traces the Order's evolution from a crusader field hospital into a major territorial ruler in northeastern Europe. Notably, the knights constructed distinctive fortified convents, including their headquarters in Western Christendom's largest castle. The narrative concludes with the Order's fifteenth-century decline due to the combined effects of a devastating war with Poland-Lithuania and the Protestant Reformation. The result is an accessible overview of this pivotal corporation in European history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/christian-studies

Aleksander Pluskowski of the University of Reading joins Jana Byars to talk about his new book, The Teutonic Knights: Rise and Fall of a Religious Corporation, out 2024 with Reaktion Books. A gripping account of the rise and fall of the last great medieval military order. This book provides a concise and incisive introduction to the knights of the Teutonic Order, the last of the great military orders established in the twelfth century.  The book traces the Order's evolution from a crusader field hospital into a major territorial ruler in northeastern Europe. Notably, the knights constructed distinctive fortified convents, including their headquarters in Western Christendom's largest castle. The narrative concludes with the Order's fifteenth-century decline due to the combined effects of a devastating war with Poland-Lithuania and the Protestant Reformation. The result is an accessible overview of this pivotal corporation in European history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/book-of-the-day

Want to reach out to us? Want to leave a comment or review? Want to give us a suggestion or berate Anthony? Send us a text by clicking this link!We kick off this episode with a riveting blend of humor and horror as Anthony recounts his workday stories, using them as a springboard to tackle broader societal issues. Our discussion meanders through workplace mishaps, gender stereotypes in tech and driving, and the heated debate over gender segregation in sports.Dare to question traditional views on gender roles in athletics? We do, diving headfirst into the complexities of mixed-gender competition and its impact on young athletes. We traverse history, from ancient gladiator games to controlled medieval sports, using these as lenses to scrutinize modern-day controversies. We debate the appropriateness of different sports for women and men, not shying away from hot topics like self-defense training and the immodesty concerns in dance. Our nuanced perspectives challenge the status quo, making you rethink everything you thought you knew about sports and morality.As we pivot to matters of faith, we ponder the potential end of Western Christendom under the influence of Pope Francis. We dissect his controversial support of figures such as Father James Martin and explore the broader implications for Catholic moral theology. From immigration crises to family incentives and the future of the Catholic Church, our conversation is as wide-ranging as it is thought-provoking. Personal anecdotes bring these weighty topics down to earth, whether we're discussing marriage therapy or the quirks of married life from a New York Italian perspective. Tune in for a candid, often humorous look at the intersection of faith, family, and modern societal shifts.Support the Show.********************************************************https://www.avoidingbabylon.comMerchandise: https://shop.avoidingbabylon.comLocals Community: https://avoidingbabylon.locals.comRSS Feed for Podcast Apps: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/1987412.rssSpiritusTV: https://spiritustv.com/@avoidingbabylonOdysee: https://odysee.com/@AvoidingBabylon

We live in the ruins of Western Christendom. The walls of once great Christian nations and civilizations have been breached by new pagan hordes. But God in His kindness has done something remarkable here locally in Moscow. He has given us a mind to the work of rebuilding the walls of Christendom. And He has done this in such a way as to cause a spotlight to be shone on this work. People have noticed us building. So what are we to think of all this? And what we are to do? The simple answer and exhortation is to remain faithful at your stations. Keep your mind to the work. 

Happy Feast of St. Benedict coming up on July 11!I'm excited to have had Fr. Robert Nixon back on the show as a repeat guest! What a wonderful priest and sharp intellect! Enjoy the conversation on St. Benedict!SummaryIn this episode, Father Robert Nixon, O.S.B. discusses the cross and medal of Saint Benedict, its origins, meaning, and power. He explains that the medal is a devotional object that can serve as a reminder of God's plan and a powerful protection against evil. Father Nixon also highlights the importance of understanding the significance of devotional objects and the role of faith in their efficacy. He emphasizes the influence of Saint Benedict and the Benedictine order in spreading Western Christendom and preserving knowledge throughout history.Takeaways* The cross and medal of Saint Benedict is a devotional object that serves as a reminder of God's plan and a powerful protection against evil.* Understanding the significance of devotional objects and having faith in their efficacy is important.* The Benedictine order played a significant role in spreading Western Christendom and preserving knowledge throughout history.* Monasteries were centers of learning and contributed to the preservation of manuscripts and the spread of education.The spiritual wisdom of Saint Benedict has endured for centuries and quite literally shaped Western culture from its inception. Tenets of the order, like its motto and Saint Benedict's Rule, are just as influential for lay people as they are for the Benedictine monks and nuns. The cross and medal of St. Benedict is also among the gifts bestowed by the Benedictine Order. For centuries, it has been a conduit for God's power against malicious spirits.The history of this cross and medal—how it first came about, how it was used, miracles attributed to its use—was not easily apparent, nor readily accessible. However, this book successfully delineates the history, theology, and potency of the cross and medal of St. Benedict. Drawing from a number of ancient and reliable sources, Fr. Robert Nixon has compiled, translated, and edited a most powerful book on the cross and medal of St. Benedict. With this book, you'll learn from various saints and holy men as the history of St. Benedict's cross and medal unfolds. In doing so, you will learn about the life and legend of St. Benedict, the Father of Western Monasticism, who established the most ancient religious order. Sancte Benedicte, ora pro nobis!Buy the book from TAN Books today! Thanks for listening to Good Distinctions! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.gooddistinctions.com

We conclude Pope Gregory VII's first year, a man Peter Damian called “the Holy Satan” – a deceiver within the holiest halls of Western Christendom — for how he manipulated and orchestrated his way to the top of the Catholic Church. Members-Only Series on Patreon: For only a dollar per month, you can hear multiple varying stories and storylines so far through the 11th century. Every dime donated will be put directly back into the show, so I hope you consider becoming a Patreon member!  Just follow this link to our Patreon page to peruse the right “subscription” for you: https://www.patreon.com/FortunesWheelPodcast.  Social Media: YouTube Page: Fortune's Wheel Podcast Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/fortunes.wheel.3  Twitter Page: https://twitter.com/WheelPodcast  Music: Music for this episode is called “Cutting Edge” from the talented artist Hemlock!Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/hemlock/cutting-edge License code: Y0ZLEPLIZYV2RTMJ

Brian McLaren, a prominent author, theologian, and church leader, has played a pivotal role in shaping the landscape of the "emerging church" movement. Renowned for his influential books incl. "A New Kind of Christian" and "A Generous Orthodoxy," McLaren stood at the forefront of a theological paradigm shift within Christianity. The emerging church movement, of which McLaren is a key figure, is often characterized as "post-evangelical" and "post-modern." The movement which rose to popularity about 10 years ago, sought to re-examine scripture without the cultural baggage that it believes Western Christendom has historically imposed. The theology of the emerging church has faced much criticism from figures like James White of Alpha and Omega ministries in Arizona. White perceives this movement as a departure from orthodoxy, viewing it as an attempt to reshape the Gospel and the concept of God to align with modern sensibilities. They discuss post-modernity, Rob Bell's theology, interacting with other faiths, the atonement, sin and the cross. (This show originally aired in April 2011) Find out more: • Subscribe to the Unbelievable? podcast: https://pod.link/267142101 • More shows, free eBook & newsletter: https://premierunbelievable.com • For live events: http://www.unbelievable.live • For online learning: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/courses • Support us in the USA: http://www.premierinsight.org/unbelievableshow • Support us in the rest of the world: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/donate

Nicholas Morton's The Crusader States and their Neighbours: A Military History, 1099-1187 (Oxford UP, 2020) explores the military history of the medieval Near East, piecing together the fault-lines of conflict which entangled this much-contested region. This was an area where ethnic, religious, dynastic, and commercial interests collided and the causes of war could be numerous. Conflicts persisted for decades and were fought out between many groups including Kurds, Turks, Armenians, Arabs, and the Crusaders themselves. Nic Morton recreates this world, exploring how each faction sought to advance its own interests by any means possible, adapting its warcraft to better respond to the threats posed by their rivals. Strategies and tactics employed by the pastoral societies of the Central Asian steppe were pitted against the armies of the agricultural societies of Western Christendom, Byzantium, and the Islamic World, galvanising commanders to adapt their practices in response to their foes.  In this episode, Nic joins me again to discuss histories of nomadic peoples fighting with and against the Crusader armies; what military history can tell us about the economic, social, and cultural history of the medieval Near East; and why Crusader history is still relevant to us today. Maggie Freeman is a PhD candidate in the School of Architecture at MIT. She researches uses of architecture by nomadic peoples and historical interactions of nomads and empires, with a focus on the modern Middle East. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Nicholas Morton's The Crusader States and their Neighbours: A Military History, 1099-1187 (Oxford UP, 2020) explores the military history of the medieval Near East, piecing together the fault-lines of conflict which entangled this much-contested region. This was an area where ethnic, religious, dynastic, and commercial interests collided and the causes of war could be numerous. Conflicts persisted for decades and were fought out between many groups including Kurds, Turks, Armenians, Arabs, and the Crusaders themselves. Nic Morton recreates this world, exploring how each faction sought to advance its own interests by any means possible, adapting its warcraft to better respond to the threats posed by their rivals. Strategies and tactics employed by the pastoral societies of the Central Asian steppe were pitted against the armies of the agricultural societies of Western Christendom, Byzantium, and the Islamic World, galvanising commanders to adapt their practices in response to their foes.  In this episode, Nic joins me again to discuss histories of nomadic peoples fighting with and against the Crusader armies; what military history can tell us about the economic, social, and cultural history of the medieval Near East; and why Crusader history is still relevant to us today. Maggie Freeman is a PhD candidate in the School of Architecture at MIT. She researches uses of architecture by nomadic peoples and historical interactions of nomads and empires, with a focus on the modern Middle East. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

Nicholas Morton's The Crusader States and their Neighbours: A Military History, 1099-1187 (Oxford UP, 2020) explores the military history of the medieval Near East, piecing together the fault-lines of conflict which entangled this much-contested region. This was an area where ethnic, religious, dynastic, and commercial interests collided and the causes of war could be numerous. Conflicts persisted for decades and were fought out between many groups including Kurds, Turks, Armenians, Arabs, and the Crusaders themselves. Nic Morton recreates this world, exploring how each faction sought to advance its own interests by any means possible, adapting its warcraft to better respond to the threats posed by their rivals. Strategies and tactics employed by the pastoral societies of the Central Asian steppe were pitted against the armies of the agricultural societies of Western Christendom, Byzantium, and the Islamic World, galvanising commanders to adapt their practices in response to their foes.  In this episode, Nic joins me again to discuss histories of nomadic peoples fighting with and against the Crusader armies; what military history can tell us about the economic, social, and cultural history of the medieval Near East; and why Crusader history is still relevant to us today. Maggie Freeman is a PhD candidate in the School of Architecture at MIT. She researches uses of architecture by nomadic peoples and historical interactions of nomads and empires, with a focus on the modern Middle East. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/military-history

Nicholas Morton's The Crusader States and their Neighbours: A Military History, 1099-1187 (Oxford UP, 2020) explores the military history of the medieval Near East, piecing together the fault-lines of conflict which entangled this much-contested region. This was an area where ethnic, religious, dynastic, and commercial interests collided and the causes of war could be numerous. Conflicts persisted for decades and were fought out between many groups including Kurds, Turks, Armenians, Arabs, and the Crusaders themselves. Nic Morton recreates this world, exploring how each faction sought to advance its own interests by any means possible, adapting its warcraft to better respond to the threats posed by their rivals. Strategies and tactics employed by the pastoral societies of the Central Asian steppe were pitted against the armies of the agricultural societies of Western Christendom, Byzantium, and the Islamic World, galvanising commanders to adapt their practices in response to their foes.  In this episode, Nic joins me again to discuss histories of nomadic peoples fighting with and against the Crusader armies; what military history can tell us about the economic, social, and cultural history of the medieval Near East; and why Crusader history is still relevant to us today. Maggie Freeman is a PhD candidate in the School of Architecture at MIT. She researches uses of architecture by nomadic peoples and historical interactions of nomads and empires, with a focus on the modern Middle East. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/islamic-studies

Nicholas Morton's The Crusader States and their Neighbours: A Military History, 1099-1187 (Oxford UP, 2020) explores the military history of the medieval Near East, piecing together the fault-lines of conflict which entangled this much-contested region. This was an area where ethnic, religious, dynastic, and commercial interests collided and the causes of war could be numerous. Conflicts persisted for decades and were fought out between many groups including Kurds, Turks, Armenians, Arabs, and the Crusaders themselves. Nic Morton recreates this world, exploring how each faction sought to advance its own interests by any means possible, adapting its warcraft to better respond to the threats posed by their rivals. Strategies and tactics employed by the pastoral societies of the Central Asian steppe were pitted against the armies of the agricultural societies of Western Christendom, Byzantium, and the Islamic World, galvanising commanders to adapt their practices in response to their foes.  In this episode, Nic joins me again to discuss histories of nomadic peoples fighting with and against the Crusader armies; what military history can tell us about the economic, social, and cultural history of the medieval Near East; and why Crusader history is still relevant to us today. Maggie Freeman is a PhD candidate in the School of Architecture at MIT. She researches uses of architecture by nomadic peoples and historical interactions of nomads and empires, with a focus on the modern Middle East. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nicholas Morton's The Crusader States and their Neighbours: A Military History, 1099-1187 (Oxford UP, 2020) explores the military history of the medieval Near East, piecing together the fault-lines of conflict which entangled this much-contested region. This was an area where ethnic, religious, dynastic, and commercial interests collided and the causes of war could be numerous. Conflicts persisted for decades and were fought out between many groups including Kurds, Turks, Armenians, Arabs, and the Crusaders themselves. Nic Morton recreates this world, exploring how each faction sought to advance its own interests by any means possible, adapting its warcraft to better respond to the threats posed by their rivals. Strategies and tactics employed by the pastoral societies of the Central Asian steppe were pitted against the armies of the agricultural societies of Western Christendom, Byzantium, and the Islamic World, galvanising commanders to adapt their practices in response to their foes.  In this episode, Nic joins me again to discuss histories of nomadic peoples fighting with and against the Crusader armies; what military history can tell us about the economic, social, and cultural history of the medieval Near East; and why Crusader history is still relevant to us today. Maggie Freeman is a PhD candidate in the School of Architecture at MIT. She researches uses of architecture by nomadic peoples and historical interactions of nomads and empires, with a focus on the modern Middle East. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/middle-eastern-studies

Nicholas Morton's The Crusader States and their Neighbours: A Military History, 1099-1187 (Oxford UP, 2020) explores the military history of the medieval Near East, piecing together the fault-lines of conflict which entangled this much-contested region. This was an area where ethnic, religious, dynastic, and commercial interests collided and the causes of war could be numerous. Conflicts persisted for decades and were fought out between many groups including Kurds, Turks, Armenians, Arabs, and the Crusaders themselves. Nic Morton recreates this world, exploring how each faction sought to advance its own interests by any means possible, adapting its warcraft to better respond to the threats posed by their rivals. Strategies and tactics employed by the pastoral societies of the Central Asian steppe were pitted against the armies of the agricultural societies of Western Christendom, Byzantium, and the Islamic World, galvanising commanders to adapt their practices in response to their foes.  In this episode, Nic joins me again to discuss histories of nomadic peoples fighting with and against the Crusader armies; what military history can tell us about the economic, social, and cultural history of the medieval Near East; and why Crusader history is still relevant to us today. Maggie Freeman is a PhD candidate in the School of Architecture at MIT. She researches uses of architecture by nomadic peoples and historical interactions of nomads and empires, with a focus on the modern Middle East. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nicholas Morton's The Crusader States and their Neighbours: A Military History, 1099-1187 (Oxford UP, 2020) explores the military history of the medieval Near East, piecing together the fault-lines of conflict which entangled this much-contested region. This was an area where ethnic, religious, dynastic, and commercial interests collided and the causes of war could be numerous. Conflicts persisted for decades and were fought out between many groups including Kurds, Turks, Armenians, Arabs, and the Crusaders themselves. Nic Morton recreates this world, exploring how each faction sought to advance its own interests by any means possible, adapting its warcraft to better respond to the threats posed by their rivals. Strategies and tactics employed by the pastoral societies of the Central Asian steppe were pitted against the armies of the agricultural societies of Western Christendom, Byzantium, and the Islamic World, galvanising commanders to adapt their practices in response to their foes.  In this episode, Nic joins me again to discuss histories of nomadic peoples fighting with and against the Crusader armies; what military history can tell us about the economic, social, and cultural history of the medieval Near East; and why Crusader history is still relevant to us today. Maggie Freeman is a PhD candidate in the School of Architecture at MIT. She researches uses of architecture by nomadic peoples and historical interactions of nomads and empires, with a focus on the modern Middle East. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nicholas Morton's The Crusader States and their Neighbours: A Military History, 1099-1187 (Oxford UP, 2020) explores the military history of the medieval Near East, piecing together the fault-lines of conflict which entangled this much-contested region. This was an area where ethnic, religious, dynastic, and commercial interests collided and the causes of war could be numerous. Conflicts persisted for decades and were fought out between many groups including Kurds, Turks, Armenians, Arabs, and the Crusaders themselves. Nic Morton recreates this world, exploring how each faction sought to advance its own interests by any means possible, adapting its warcraft to better respond to the threats posed by their rivals. Strategies and tactics employed by the pastoral societies of the Central Asian steppe were pitted against the armies of the agricultural societies of Western Christendom, Byzantium, and the Islamic World, galvanising commanders to adapt their practices in response to their foes.  In this episode, Nic joins me again to discuss histories of nomadic peoples fighting with and against the Crusader armies; what military history can tell us about the economic, social, and cultural history of the medieval Near East; and why Crusader history is still relevant to us today. Maggie Freeman is a PhD candidate in the School of Architecture at MIT. She researches uses of architecture by nomadic peoples and historical interactions of nomads and empires, with a focus on the modern Middle East. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/christian-studies

Nicholas Morton's The Crusader States and their Neighbours: A Military History, 1099-1187 (Oxford UP, 2020) explores the military history of the medieval Near East, piecing together the fault-lines of conflict which entangled this much-contested region. This was an area where ethnic, religious, dynastic, and commercial interests collided and the causes of war could be numerous. Conflicts persisted for decades and were fought out between many groups including Kurds, Turks, Armenians, Arabs, and the Crusaders themselves. Nic Morton recreates this world, exploring how each faction sought to advance its own interests by any means possible, adapting its warcraft to better respond to the threats posed by their rivals. Strategies and tactics employed by the pastoral societies of the Central Asian steppe were pitted against the armies of the agricultural societies of Western Christendom, Byzantium, and the Islamic World, galvanising commanders to adapt their practices in response to their foes.  In this episode, Nic joins me again to discuss histories of nomadic peoples fighting with and against the Crusader armies; what military history can tell us about the economic, social, and cultural history of the medieval Near East; and why Crusader history is still relevant to us today. Maggie Freeman is a PhD candidate in the School of Architecture at MIT. She researches uses of architecture by nomadic peoples and historical interactions of nomads and empires, with a focus on the modern Middle East.

This is Part 7 of the overarching series on Christian History. The podcast covers Augustine and his contributions to Western Christendom and Western CivilizationsI primarily used "Classic Christian Thinkers, an Introduction." by Kenneth Samples to bring you this episode.Feel free to email me at soulanchorpodcast@yahoo.com if you have any questions.

Endre Sashalmi's book Russian Notions of Power and State in a European Perspective, 1462-1725: Assessing the Significance of Peter's Reign (Academic Studies Press, 2022) highlights the main features and trends of Russian “political” thought in an era when sovereignty, state, and politics, as understood in Western Christendom, were non-existent in Russia, or were only beginning to be articulated. It concentrates on enigmatic authors and sources that shaped official perception of rulership, or marked certain changes of importance of this perception. Special emphasis is given to those written and visual sources that point towards depersonalization and secularization of rulership in Russia. A comparison with Western Christendom frames the argument throughout the book, both in terms of ideas and the practical aspects of state-building, allowing the reader to ponder Russia's differentia specifica. Endre Sashalmi is a professor of history at the Department of Medieval and Early Modern History at the University of Pécs (Hungary), and is a doctor of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. His main fields of academic interest and research are comparisons of Western and Russian political thought and political iconography from the 15th to the 18th century, as well as the issue of state formation in Russia and in early modern Europe. Steven Usitalo is a specialist in Russian and Soviet history, modern genocide studies, and the history of film. He is the recipient of several research grants. He co-edited an anthology on Russian history and published a monograph on the Russian polymath Mikhail Lomonosov. Dr. Usitalo is finishing a substantially revised Russian translation of his book on Mikhail Lomonosov. His research focuses on two areas: Russian/Soviet and Armenian film, and the history of the Roma in Imperial Russia and the Soviet Union. When time allows, he is at work on a study of the genocide of the Roma peoples on Soviet territory during World War II. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Endre Sashalmi's book Russian Notions of Power and State in a European Perspective, 1462-1725: Assessing the Significance of Peter's Reign (Academic Studies Press, 2022) highlights the main features and trends of Russian “political” thought in an era when sovereignty, state, and politics, as understood in Western Christendom, were non-existent in Russia, or were only beginning to be articulated. It concentrates on enigmatic authors and sources that shaped official perception of rulership, or marked certain changes of importance of this perception. Special emphasis is given to those written and visual sources that point towards depersonalization and secularization of rulership in Russia. A comparison with Western Christendom frames the argument throughout the book, both in terms of ideas and the practical aspects of state-building, allowing the reader to ponder Russia's differentia specifica. Endre Sashalmi is a professor of history at the Department of Medieval and Early Modern History at the University of Pécs (Hungary), and is a doctor of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. His main fields of academic interest and research are comparisons of Western and Russian political thought and political iconography from the 15th to the 18th century, as well as the issue of state formation in Russia and in early modern Europe. Steven Usitalo is a specialist in Russian and Soviet history, modern genocide studies, and the history of film. He is the recipient of several research grants. He co-edited an anthology on Russian history and published a monograph on the Russian polymath Mikhail Lomonosov. Dr. Usitalo is finishing a substantially revised Russian translation of his book on Mikhail Lomonosov. His research focuses on two areas: Russian/Soviet and Armenian film, and the history of the Roma in Imperial Russia and the Soviet Union. When time allows, he is at work on a study of the genocide of the Roma peoples on Soviet territory during World War II. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

Endre Sashalmi's book Russian Notions of Power and State in a European Perspective, 1462-1725: Assessing the Significance of Peter's Reign (Academic Studies Press, 2022) highlights the main features and trends of Russian “political” thought in an era when sovereignty, state, and politics, as understood in Western Christendom, were non-existent in Russia, or were only beginning to be articulated. It concentrates on enigmatic authors and sources that shaped official perception of rulership, or marked certain changes of importance of this perception. Special emphasis is given to those written and visual sources that point towards depersonalization and secularization of rulership in Russia. A comparison with Western Christendom frames the argument throughout the book, both in terms of ideas and the practical aspects of state-building, allowing the reader to ponder Russia's differentia specifica. Endre Sashalmi is a professor of history at the Department of Medieval and Early Modern History at the University of Pécs (Hungary), and is a doctor of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. His main fields of academic interest and research are comparisons of Western and Russian political thought and political iconography from the 15th to the 18th century, as well as the issue of state formation in Russia and in early modern Europe. Steven Usitalo is a specialist in Russian and Soviet history, modern genocide studies, and the history of film. He is the recipient of several research grants. He co-edited an anthology on Russian history and published a monograph on the Russian polymath Mikhail Lomonosov. Dr. Usitalo is finishing a substantially revised Russian translation of his book on Mikhail Lomonosov. His research focuses on two areas: Russian/Soviet and Armenian film, and the history of the Roma in Imperial Russia and the Soviet Union. When time allows, he is at work on a study of the genocide of the Roma peoples on Soviet territory during World War II. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/russian-studies

Endre Sashalmi's book Russian Notions of Power and State in a European Perspective, 1462-1725: Assessing the Significance of Peter's Reign (Academic Studies Press, 2022) highlights the main features and trends of Russian “political” thought in an era when sovereignty, state, and politics, as understood in Western Christendom, were non-existent in Russia, or were only beginning to be articulated. It concentrates on enigmatic authors and sources that shaped official perception of rulership, or marked certain changes of importance of this perception. Special emphasis is given to those written and visual sources that point towards depersonalization and secularization of rulership in Russia. A comparison with Western Christendom frames the argument throughout the book, both in terms of ideas and the practical aspects of state-building, allowing the reader to ponder Russia's differentia specifica. Endre Sashalmi is a professor of history at the Department of Medieval and Early Modern History at the University of Pécs (Hungary), and is a doctor of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. His main fields of academic interest and research are comparisons of Western and Russian political thought and political iconography from the 15th to the 18th century, as well as the issue of state formation in Russia and in early modern Europe. Steven Usitalo is a specialist in Russian and Soviet history, modern genocide studies, and the history of film. He is the recipient of several research grants. He co-edited an anthology on Russian history and published a monograph on the Russian polymath Mikhail Lomonosov. Dr. Usitalo is finishing a substantially revised Russian translation of his book on Mikhail Lomonosov. His research focuses on two areas: Russian/Soviet and Armenian film, and the history of the Roma in Imperial Russia and the Soviet Union. When time allows, he is at work on a study of the genocide of the Roma peoples on Soviet territory during World War II. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history

Endre Sashalmi's book Russian Notions of Power and State in a European Perspective, 1462-1725: Assessing the Significance of Peter's Reign (Academic Studies Press, 2022) highlights the main features and trends of Russian “political” thought in an era when sovereignty, state, and politics, as understood in Western Christendom, were non-existent in Russia, or were only beginning to be articulated. It concentrates on enigmatic authors and sources that shaped official perception of rulership, or marked certain changes of importance of this perception. Special emphasis is given to those written and visual sources that point towards depersonalization and secularization of rulership in Russia. A comparison with Western Christendom frames the argument throughout the book, both in terms of ideas and the practical aspects of state-building, allowing the reader to ponder Russia's differentia specifica. Endre Sashalmi is a professor of history at the Department of Medieval and Early Modern History at the University of Pécs (Hungary), and is a doctor of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. His main fields of academic interest and research are comparisons of Western and Russian political thought and political iconography from the 15th to the 18th century, as well as the issue of state formation in Russia and in early modern Europe. Steven Usitalo is a specialist in Russian and Soviet history, modern genocide studies, and the history of film. He is the recipient of several research grants. He co-edited an anthology on Russian history and published a monograph on the Russian polymath Mikhail Lomonosov. Dr. Usitalo is finishing a substantially revised Russian translation of his book on Mikhail Lomonosov. His research focuses on two areas: Russian/Soviet and Armenian film, and the history of the Roma in Imperial Russia and the Soviet Union. When time allows, he is at work on a study of the genocide of the Roma peoples on Soviet territory during World War II. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Endre Sashalmi's book Russian Notions of Power and State in a European Perspective, 1462-1725: Assessing the Significance of Peter's Reign (Academic Studies Press, 2022) highlights the main features and trends of Russian “political” thought in an era when sovereignty, state, and politics, as understood in Western Christendom, were non-existent in Russia, or were only beginning to be articulated. It concentrates on enigmatic authors and sources that shaped official perception of rulership, or marked certain changes of importance of this perception. Special emphasis is given to those written and visual sources that point towards depersonalization and secularization of rulership in Russia. A comparison with Western Christendom frames the argument throughout the book, both in terms of ideas and the practical aspects of state-building, allowing the reader to ponder Russia's differentia specifica. Endre Sashalmi is a professor of history at the Department of Medieval and Early Modern History at the University of Pécs (Hungary), and is a doctor of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. His main fields of academic interest and research are comparisons of Western and Russian political thought and political iconography from the 15th to the 18th century, as well as the issue of state formation in Russia and in early modern Europe. Steven Usitalo is a specialist in Russian and Soviet history, modern genocide studies, and the history of film. He is the recipient of several research grants. He co-edited an anthology on Russian history and published a monograph on the Russian polymath Mikhail Lomonosov. Dr. Usitalo is finishing a substantially revised Russian translation of his book on Mikhail Lomonosov. His research focuses on two areas: Russian/Soviet and Armenian film, and the history of the Roma in Imperial Russia and the Soviet Union. When time allows, he is at work on a study of the genocide of the Roma peoples on Soviet territory during World War II. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/eastern-european-studies

In this stream I am joined by Bishop Maximus to discuss the unique dimensions of Orthodox theology, its participatory relationship to God, and how this differs so much from Western Christendom's focus on rational propositions . Make sure to check it out and let me know what you think. God bless Contact Bishop Maximus Here: romiosini@aol.com Intro Music Follow Keynan Here! https://linktr.ee/keynanrwils b-dibe's Bandcamp: https://b-dibe.bandcamp.com/ b-dibe's Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/b-dibe Superchat Here https://streamlabs.com/churchoftheeternallogos Rokfin: https://rokfin.com/dpharry Website: http://www.davidpatrickharry.com GAB: https://gab.com/dpharry Support COTEL with Crypto! Bitcoin: 3QNWpM2qLGfaZ2nUXNDRnwV21UUiaBKVsy Ethereum: 0x0b87E0494117C0adbC45F9F2c099489079d6F7Da Litecoin: MKATh5kwTdiZnPE5Ehr88Yg4KW99Zf7k8d If you enjoy this production, feel compelled, or appreciate my other videos, please support me through my website memberships (www.davidpatrickharry.com) or donate directly by PayPal or crypto! Any contribution would be greatly appreciated. Thank you Logos Subscription Membership: http://davidpatrickharry.com/register/ Venmo: @cotel - https://account.venmo.com/u/cotel PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/eternallogos Donations: http://www.davidpatrickharry.com/donate/ PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/eternallogos Website: http://www.davidpatrickharry.com Rokfin: https://rokfin.com/dpharry Rumble: https://rumble.com/user/COTEL Odysee: https://odysee.com/@ChurchoftheEternalLogos:d GAB: https://gab.com/dpharry Telegram: https://t.me/eternallogos Minds: https://www.minds.com/Dpharry Bitchute: https://www.bitchute.com/channel/W10R... DLive: https://dlive.tv/The_Eternal_Logos Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dpharry/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/eternal_logos

Malo rané kresťanstvo niektoré jedinečné črty? Ako s týmto rastom súvisia zázraky? Akým tempom rástlo a aké to má dôsledky? ----more---- Súvisiace dávky PD#270 Dejú sa dnes zázraky? http://bit.ly/davka270   PD#246 Ježiš a zmŕtvychvstanie, http://bit.ly/davka246   PD#234 Hume a zázraky, https://bit.ly/davka234 PD#220 S Davidom Cielontkom o Ježišovi, http://bit.ly/davka220 PD#174 Ako vznikala Biblia? http://bit.ly/davka174   Použitá a odporúčaná literatúra  Brown, The Rise of Western Christendom, 2013. Ehrman, The Triumph of Christianity, 2018. MacMullen, Christianizing the Roman Empire, 1986. Moss, The Myth of Persecution, 2013. Nock, Conversion, 1998. Stark, The Rise of Christianity, 1997. Wilken, The Christians as the Romans Saw Them, 1984. *** Baví ťa s nami rozmýšľať? ❤️ Podpor našu tvorbu ľubovoľným darom, https://bit.ly/PDdar, alebo cez Patreon, https://bit.ly/PDtreon

How should the church engage the challenges of our present moment in the West? What is the place of narrative, history, and missiology? This episode explores these question as Andrew Perriman and Michael Cooper discuss the frameworks of narrative-historical and missiological perspectives.  Dr. Andrew Perriman presents his work at the P.OST website. He has lived in various parts of the world over the last 30 years: the Far East, Africa, the Middle East, the Netherlands, and now London. He has combined theological studies and writing with pastoral and missional work in a wide range of contexts. He has a degree in English Language and Literature from Oxford and an MPhil and PhD from the London School of Theology, of which I am an Associate Research Fellow. His overriding theological interest at the moment is in how we retell the biblical story as we negotiate the difficult transition from the center to the margins of our culture following the collapse of Western Christendom. In addition to some articles in academic journals, he has written Speaking of Women: Interpreting Paul (IVP, 1998); Faith, Health and Prosperity: A Report on “Word of Faith” and “Positive Confession” Theologies (Paternoster, 2003); The Coming of the Son of Man: New Testament Eschatology for an Emerging Church (Paternoster, 2005; reprinted by Wipf & Stock); Re: Mission: A Vision of Hope for a Post-Eschatological Church (Paternoster, 2008); The Future of the People of God: Reading Romans Before and After Western Christendom (Wipf & Stock, 2010); and End of Story: Same-Sex Relationships and the Narratives of Evangelical Mission (Wipf & Stock, 2019). He also published a collection of blog posts on hell and heaven called Hell and Heaven in Narrative Perspective (2012). Dr. Michael Cooper works with Ephesiology, a missions agency, training national leaders in evangelism, discipleship, leadership development, and church planting. He is the former president and CEO of an international NGO. In 2010, he founded a Business as Mission initiative that focused on helping alleviate spiritual and economic poverty in the developing world. For a decade he equipped undergraduate and graduate students at Trinity International University with skills to engage culture. He has thirty years of ministry and missions experience, ten years as a pioneer church planter in Romania after the fall of communism. He holds a MA in Missions from Columbia International University and a PhD in Intercultural Studies from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Throughout his career, Michael has focused on creative ways to engage difficult-to-reach people with the gospel. Michael has contributed numerous academic articles in Nova Religio, Pomegranate, Journal of Nature, Religion and Culture, Sacred Tribes Journal, Common Ground Journal, Missiology, Evangelical Missions Quarterly and he has presented academic papers at the University of Utah, London School of Economics, University of Bordeaux, University of Craiova and others. Michael is the author of Ephesiology: The Study of the Ephesian Movement (William Carey Publishers, 2020), Unwrapping the First Christmas (Ephesiology Press, 2019), Contemporary Druidry: A Historical and Ethnographic Study (Sacred Tribes Press, 2010) and co-editor of Social Injustice (The Timothy Center Press, 2011) and The Peaceable Christian (The Timothy Center Press, 2011) and Perspectives on Post-Christendom Spiritualities (Morling Press, 2010).  P.OST: https://www.postost.net/  Ephesiology: https://ephesiology.com/ Re: Mission: Biblical Mission for a Post-Biblical Church (Faith in an Emerging Culture) by Andrew Perriman https://www.amazon.com/Re-Mission-Biblical-Post-Biblical-Emerging/dp/1842275453/ Ephesiology: A Study of the Christian Movement by Michael T. Cooper https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0857GN1L3/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i0 You can listen to Multifaith Matters on your favorite podcast platform, including Podbean, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and iHeart Radio. Learn more about our work at https://www.multifaithmatters.org.  Support this work: One-time donation: https://multifaithmatters.org/donate  Become my patron: https://patron.podbean.com/johnwmorehead #MichaelTCooper #AndrewPerriman #missiology #theology #narrative-historical

In this episode, we continue to speak to the fact that most of Western Christendom is toxic to your humanity, for it has departed from the word of God and the life of the Spirit in favor of man-made religious systems and philosophies. But we also begin to apply the solution for this dire crisis. That solution is the recovery of the voice of the Spirit within the text of Scripture. It is not enough to simply prescribe, -Read your Bible,- for most Christians are not taught how to do so. The result is they become subject to an alternative gospel that robs them of the voice of their Shepherd. In this episode we talk about reecovering the context of the gospel, and by it, the joy of knowing the voice of the Spirit in your life.

While excellent newsletters on specific themes within public policy already exist, this thought letter is about frameworks, mental models, and key ideas that will hopefully help you think about any public policy problem in imaginative ways.Audio narration by Ad-Auris.  Global Policy Watch: Global Order - Where Will It Come From? Bringing an Indian perspective to burning global issues- RSJA couple of recent events made me wonder about the state of global affairs these days and an excuse to write about Hedley Bull and his famous book, The Anarchical Society – A Study of Order in World Politics (1977). Take the incredible story of Belarus forcing down a Ryanair flight while it was in its airspace to arrest Roman Protasevich, a dissident who runs a popular Telegram channel widely used to protest against the regime of the dictator Alexander Lukashenko. A MiG 29 fighter jet was used to force the flight carrying 170 passengers to make a u-turn and land at the Minsk airport. This was a state sponsored hijacking with overt support from President Putin of Russia. The EU condemned the incident and banned any carriers from flying over the Belarusian airspace. But barring strong press statements and warnings there wasn’t much teeth in the response from the West. Meanwhile, Russia and Belarus upped the ante. On Thursday, Russia refused to let planes land in Moscow that were planning to bypass Belarus. The EU plans to apply sanctions on Belarus who is a signatory to the 1944 Chicago convention that established common rules of aviation safety. But Belarus could hardly be bothered. It was their airspace, their perception of threat to their sovereignty and they are going to apply their laws. And they have Russia backing them. Who are you to ask questions? That’s their dare to the NATO and EU. The other story that broke in the middle of last week is of Whatsapp suing the government of India over the Information Technology (Guidelines for Intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 which came into effect in May 26. Now there are reasons why the Government wants to regulate social media platforms. We have often spoken about radically networked societies (RNS) here and how difficult it is for a hierarchical setup to counter the speed with which RNS mobilise themselves. This speed or the virality of the social media platform can pose real danger to society when used to spread rumours, hate speech and abusive content. So, regulations are welcome if they address this problem. There are two points of contention in the Intermediary rules though for Whatsaspp. The first is the demand for the traceability as written in Rule 4(2) of the guidelines. It requires a messaging platform to enable the identification of the first originator of information when demanded through a judicial order or an order passed by a competent authority as per IT Rules, 2009. This is a problem for Whatsapp (or any end-to-end encryption messaging service). They can only know the first originator if they start tagging each message with a unique identifier and create a metadata for tracking and marking every message on its platform. This is non-trivial technical problem to solve but more pertinently this will mean the ability of the platform to trace every message and know its details. This violation of privacy of every user of the platform to know the details of a select few doesn’t pass the test of proportionality. So, this should be unacceptable to any end-to-end encrypted messaging platform.The second issue here is the very broad nature of what can constitute grounds for seeking this information. Like most laws this involves messages that are specifically criminal in nature like child pornography, sexual abuse etc. But like the definition of free speech in the Indian Constitution, they also include subjective grounds like threatening sovereignty and security of India or creating law and order problems. These subjective interpretation could be abused to seek information about anyone. Any rule should be drafted with a view on how it could be used for wrong ends by anyone in the future. The current reassurance given in the law that there will be no requirement of disclosure of the message or the sender has no meaning when the demand for the originator is made based on the message itself. There are three arguments being made against Whatsapp on this case that merits discussion. One, Facebook (that owns Whatsapp) has built a business model by collating all kinds of data about its users (with or without consent). So, irony kills itself when Facebook claims to be a champion of privacy. This is true except for one important point. Facebook isn’t a state. It abuses data for its commercials gains. You can call it an exemplar of the surveillance economy. But a state having access to that kind of data is different. The state has the monopoly of violence over its subjects. No company has that. A surveillance state is a completely different ball game than a surveillance driven business model. Two, Whatsapp cannot wash its hands off any responsibility for the messages that flow through its platform. This is correct and Whatsapp should be asked to provide mechanisms through which messages that are flagged by its users, a judicial or a competent authority as abusive or illegal can be restricted from being passed along any further. This must be asked of all social media platforms. Asking for the originator of a message, however, opens up a Pandora’s box that directly impinges on individual liberty. Three, there’s an interesting argument made that Whatsapp cannot go against the law of the land. This is a bit troubling. Whatsapp has been in India for many years following the law of the land. It disagrees with a particular clause in a new set of rules and it is contesting that in the court of law. This is usual judicial procedure. This isn’t an MNC challenging the sovereignty of India as it is being made out. Those making these arguments either want to use the easiest crutch of nationalism to obfuscate the principle of privacy on which Whatsapp is making the argument or have their own vested interests in ‘digital nationalism’. In any case, there isn’t a final privacy law that has been debated and passed by the parliament. So, the point of challenging the law of the land on this topic is itself moot. Enforcing Global OrderThere is a broader point I want to discuss based on these incidents. Is there any legitimate global authority left that can enforce any kind of global order any more? Who will stand up for basic human rights like the freedom to dissent, to question the powerful or the right to privacy? Is there a need for a global policeman, a competent and empowered multilateral institution or a rules based order, that will question a nation-state about its actions? Or, will nations justify all their acts under the cover of sovereignty? We talk about international relations quite often here. Pranay uses Matsyanyaya (big fish eating small fish) as the principle that guides relations between nation-states. This is what’s termed as the realist view. Nations act in their self-interest and they form alliances or take positions that furthers it in the long term. A cynical view of this would be to think of nation-states in a Hobbesian ‘state of nature’. Of course, the reality isn’t exactly this. Nations help other nations, agree mutually on a common set of rules to guide their behaviour and set up multilateral organisations to follow a code of conduct in global affairs. Yet the realist will say these sound great on paper but cannot be enforced unless there is a real possibility of a more powerful nation or nations threatening real harm to another nation which isn’t toeing the line. Stripped of all niceties, multilateral organisations depend on a global power to maintain world order. It is matsyanyaya after all.After the fall of USSR, the overwhelming consensus was the liberal, democratic global order will have a long, uninterrupted reign. Nations will recognise this to be the ultimate political and social end and they will strive to be co-opted into this order. History, in that sense, had ended. But that was not to be. There were two reasons for that. One was philosophical: an ideology without a counter loses it raison d'etre. The nature of the political rests on the Schmittian ‘friend’ versus ‘enemy’ divide like we often say here. It will splinter from within over time and find its own enemies. That’s what happened eventually to the liberal, democratic hegemony as the extremes on both left and right pared it away. The second reason or a set of reasons was rooted in specific events and it was more substantive. The Iraq War based on fake reports of weapons of mass destruction possessed by the regime, the global financial crisis (GFC) and the policy response that led to delegitimisation of globalisation among the masses, and the spectacular rise of China that benefitted from global trade but didn’t turn into a liberal, democracy as was expected - all of these events fanned populist movements across democracies and turned them insular. The liberal democratic world order lost its bearings. It was the light that failed.So, here we are. Notwithstanding the recent moves of the Biden administration to undo the Trumpean ‘America First’ stand, it is evident the US remains reluctant to lead a world order to promote liberal democratic values in the way it did during the Cold War. Then we have Xi Jinping advocating a ‘community of common destiny’ that conveniently sidesteps any values that are inconvenient to China. And global MNCs and tech giants with user base larger than most countries aren’t interested in taking a stand on liberal internationalism. That has dissolved any hopes many had on globalisation countering great power rivalries, trumping rules of non-intervention in matters of sovereign states and promoting an order based on commercial interests. That old Friedman chestnut about no two nations that both had McDonald’s will ever fight a war against each other is well and truly buried. So, what kind of a world order should we hope for in a future?Bull And Neo-MedievalismStrangely, that’s what brings me to Hedley Bull’s The Anarchical Society. Bull accepts the idea of Matsyanyaaya but argues for an international society that’s built on anarchy with some kinds of overlapping natural checks and balances. Bull argued any kind of hegemonic world order like what the liberal democratic order aspired for post Cold War or the dreams of some kind of universal government are bound to end in disappointment. Instead, he suggested the society could move towards what he termed ‘neo-medievalism’, a system that would:“avoid the classic dangers of the system of sovereign states by a structure of overlapping structures and cross-cutting loyalties that hold all peoples together in a universal society while at the same time avoiding the concentration inherent in a world government" He used neo-medievalism from the order that was prevalent in western Christendom in the middle ages:“It is also conceivable that sovereign states might disappear and be replaced not by a world government but by a modern and secular equivalent of the kind of universal political organisation that existed in Western Christendom in the Middle Ages. In that system no ruler or state was sovereign in the sense of being supreme over a given territory and a given segment of the Christian population; each had to share authority with vassals beneath, and with the Pope and (in Germany and Italy) the Holy Roman Emperor above. The universal political order of Western Christendom represents an alternative to the system of states which does not yet embody universal government.” It appears to me we are in this kind of a nether space today. In the foreword to the 2012 edition of Bull’s book, Andrew Hurrell wrote perceptively about why Bull remains relevant in this age:“And yet, it remains plausible to argue that alternative global frameworks for order are either pluralistic and contested (for example transnational civil society) or efficient but highly unstable (as in case of markets and the global economy). Yes, the past 35 years have seen an intensification of economic and social globalisation , but the inequalities and discontent of globalisation have generated increased political strains both internationally and within many states, and have undermined the notion that globalisation will lead easily or unproblematically to shared values, resilient institutions, or to a meaningful global moral community. Yes, the density of the norms, rules and institutions of international society has increased tremendously, often pushing in liberal direction. And yet Bull’s scepticism may still be merited: whose solidarist or liberal order? What kind of liberal and liberalising order is it that seeks to promote democracy but ignores distributive justice and brushes aside calls for the democratisation of global decision making? How stable and how legitimate can a liberal order be when it depends so heavily on the hegemony of the single superpower whose history is so exceptionalist and whose attitude to international law and institutions has been so ambivalent? How will international society confront its current triple challenge - a power transition driven by rise of new emerging powers; a structural transition in the scope of cooperation as governments have to face a series of complex and often inter-connected global challenges; and a cultural transition as both state power and the dynamics of the global economy move beyond the West.” In a world still fighting a pandemic where the absence of global order was felt in our uncoordinated response and our inability still to inoculate the world together, Bull’s warning about premature celebration of global solidarity rings true. A reimagining of the world order is necessary. But no one knows where it will come from. PolicyWTF: Ek Machchar…This section looks at egregious public policies. Policies that make you go: WTF, Did that really happen?- RSJThere’s that old joke about Roger Federer (RF) and his Indian Fan (IF). IF: Do you know Indians buy the maximum number of tennis balls and racquets in the world?RF: Oh! Must mean a lot of Indian kids playing tennis then.IF: No. We play cricket with tennis balls.RF: Then what do you do with the racquets?IF: We use them to kill mosquitoes.The mosquito killing electronic racquets are ubiquitous in India. You will find them at homes, at shops and with anyone who works outdoors in the evenings (watchmen especially). There are reasons, of course. First, the excessive use of DDT and then liquid mosquito repellents have meant mosquitoes that have mutated to resist them. Two, liquid mosquito repellents are expensive with a refill costing Rs. 50-70 that are needed almost every two weeks. Three, liquid repellents need constant supply of electricity and are useless outdoors.I don’t want to go into the familiar lament of the state not being able to provide safe air and a mosquito-free environment to its citizens in 70 years. In fact, things have gotten worse. Almost no one who grew up in 70s-90s remembers dengue or chikungunya being the kind of epidemic they have turned out to be in the last two decades. The electronic mosquito-killing racquet was therefore a lovely little contraption. Priced between Rs 200-300, these could last a few months and once charged could be used for a few days uninterrupted. Importantly, they could be used outdoors which made it popular among those who worked outdoors in the evenings. Indian traders mostly imported these racquets (at likely import price below Rs 120) and incurred the import duties, costs of storing and distributing these racquets far and wide. Now read this. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) in a notification dated April 26 has prohibited the import of “mosquito killer racquet” (their words) if the C.I.F. (cost, insurance and freight) value is below Rs. 121 per racquet. Of course, the process that led to the threshold being precisely Rs. 121 is something I want to study when I grow up. Anyway, the general idea appears to be to become Aatmanirbhar in making these racquets and not allow cheap imports dumped in India.We have elaborated on the unintended consequences of such steps in umpteen editions. But we are never tired of repeating them. Here’s what will happen:Jugaad will set in quickly. Traders will ask importers to increase the prices of their racquets above Rs. 120 and overinvoice them. The same racquets will now cost more.Once this jugaad is noticed, we might prohibit any import. There will then be a short term shortage in supply of racquets as we won’t be able to up our domestic production capacity to meet demand. The price of racquets will go up.In the absence of imports, there won’t be an incentive for domestic manufacturers to compete with the best. This could lead to poor quality of racquets and a permanent higher prices for them in future. In any case, there is a price floor set now of Rs. 121. We have seen this film play out all through the 60s-80s across sectors.Unfortunately, the poor will suffer the most. The short term supply shortage will hurt and then the elevated prices will bite (apart from the mosquitoes whose karma is to bite)There’s a lot that ‘mosquito killer racquets’ and their import prohibition tells about our public policy over the past seven decades. But I will let Nana Patekar do the talking.India Policy Watch: The Wicked Problem of the Shrinking Women’s WorkforceInsights on burning policy issues in India— Pranay KotasthaneIndia’s continually declining female labour force participation rate from 30 per cent in 1990 to nearly 20 per cent in 2019 is a cause of much concern. Despite a rise in education levels and a drop in fertility rates, a greater proportion of women are unable to secure paid jobs. Thanks to a robust research community that has developed over the last decade or so, we know a lot more about this worrying trend. To crudely summarise their work, it seems that this wicked problem is not just a government failure but also an enduring social failure. Take the social failure. Ambedkar had written that the caste system is not merely a division of labour but an unnatural division of labourers into watertight compartments. This description partly applies to social norms regarding female employment as well. A false notion that women are better suited for domestic work — both household chores and child care — while men are suited only for outside work has created an unnatural division of workers. This is not merely a division of work as there is no evidence to show that men have an innate comparative advantage over women in doing outside work or that women have an edge over men in doing domestic work. Solutions for addressing this social problem by the government include familiar ideas such as reducing income tax for women, family leave policies and mandating childcare facilities at workplaces. But such solutions are likely to make no dents on female unemployment in an overwhelmingly informal economy. Instead, there is still one underrated measure where governments can help. By enabling economic growth. The last decade has been one of missed opportunities, regulations that make it difficult for companies to hire people, and falling economic pace. Consequently, the economy has not been able to absorb India’s growing working age cohort, both male and female. Unless the overall supply of non-agricultural jobs increases, the problem of falling women’s labour force participation cannot be addressed in any meaningful way. As far as the social failure is concerned, it requires solutions far beyond the government. In my view, the fantastic research and storytelling in this area is our best bet at creating what Cass Sunstein calls ‘norm entrepreneurs’. Social norms are more fragile than they are thought to be. Entrepreneurs who challenge existing norms can create fast-paced norm cascades. On that note, I want to plug a Puliyabaazi conversation with Mahima Vashisht, creator of the Womaning in India newsletter. I increasingly feel that this is perhaps the most important topic that we have ever discussed on the podcast. Do listen.A Framework a Week: 8 Things to Unlearn before Learning Public PolicyTools for thinking public policy— Pranay KotasthaneLast week, we made a short video on things to unlearn before learning public policy. It’s based on edition #6 of this newsletter. The aim is to clear some cobwebs in our heads before thinking about public policy. HomeWorkReading and listening recommendations on public policy matters[Video] "World on the Edge": the crisis of the western liberal order: An LSE discussion between Professor G. John Ikenberry, Professor Beate Jahn and Professor John J. Mearsheimer with Professor Michael Cox in the Chair. [Book] ‘Why Loiter?’, by Shilpa Phadke, Sameera Khan, and Shilpa Ranade, on the absence of women from public spaces in Mumbai.[Podcast] Alice Evans and Shruti Rajagopalan on the Great Gender Divergence, Ideas of India Podcast.[Article] How Did East Asia Overtake South Asia?, by Alice Evans.[Report] ‘Working or Not: What Determines Women’s Labour Force Participation in India?’ gives a good overview of the literature on female workforce participation in India. Get on the email list at publicpolicy.substack.com

Martin Luther is one of the most extraordinary and consequential men of the last 500 years but was also a man keenly aware of his image and went to considerable efforts to craft how the world saw him. This affected how he was viewed both in his own life and centuries later in ours. Dan is joined by Oxford University's Regius Professor of History Lyndal Roper; she is one of the world's foremost experts on Luther and has recently published Living I Was Your Plague: Martin Luther's World and Legacy which explores this aspect of the man who shook Western Christendom to its very core. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Martin Luther is one of the most extraordinary and consequential men of the last 500 years but was also a man keenly aware of his image and went to considerable efforts to craft how the world saw him. This affected how he was viewed both in his own life and centuries later in ours. Dan is joined by Oxford University's Regius Professor of History Lyndal Roper; she is one of the world's foremost experts on Luther and has recently published Living I Was Your Plague: Martin Luther's World and Legacy which explores this aspect of the man who shook Western Christendom to its very core. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

"Historians have noted that the shift from oral to written scripture often results in strident, misplaced certainty. Reading gives people the impression that they have an immediate grasp of their scripture; they are not compelled by a teacher to appreciate its complexity. Without the aesthetic and ethical disciplines of ritual, they can approach a text in a purely cerebral fashion, missing the emotive and therapeutic aspects of its stories and instructions.” -Karen Armstrong “On the elite level, laymen became more erudite than churchmen; grammar and philology challenged the reign of theology; Greek and Hebrew studies forced their way into the schools. On the popular level, ordinary men and women began to know their scripture as well as most parish priests; markets for vernacular catechisms and prayer books expanded; church Latin no longer served as a sacred language which unified all of Western Christendom...The two-pronged attack was mounted from one and the same location— that is, from the newly established printer's workshop.” -Elizabeth Eisenstein Sources: https://old.reddit.com/r/DilettanteryPodcast/comments/neeh52/117_elizabeth_eisenstein_part_3_christianity_the/?

One of the most fiercely contested issues in the history of Anglicanism is the nature of Cranmer's mature view of Holy Communion. As the first Protestant Archbishop of Canterbury, he was the architect of the first two Church of England prayer books, and these liturgies, in one form or another, shaped Anglican worship well into the twentieth century. Although everyone must agree that ultimately the remembrance of our Lord's death with bread and wine is a mystery, Western Christendom has divided into various rival camps over their competing understandings of how it works, and even what to call it. Is it properly the Mass, the Lord's Supper, Holy Communion or the Eucharist (i.e., Thanksgiving)? Naturally, generations of scholars and church people have parsed the words of Cranmer's services to see where Anglicanism stands amidst these divisions. Copyright 2021 John Ashley Null; all rights reserved; used by permission for educational purposes

Episode 2 of Season four again sets the foundation for the Modernist movement, looking at the two superb poetic craftsman, Thomas Hardy and A.E. Housman. What is noteworthy about the two, besides their aesthetic excellence, is the way they capture a fin-de-siecle cultural despair and express its pervasive sense of alienation. While the First World War will devastate much of Western Christendom, it is important to note that the dissonant notes to the leitmotif of social progress are already being sounded by these two important poets.

We begin this episode of CSG with a “What’s New” segment with our special guests Joshua “Jimmy” Davidson and Joshua Sherman! After some brief introduction’s of the guy’s, we jump right into Joshua S’ topic of the night, “Deconstruction and Apostasy in the Church”. This episode was picked by Joshua as part of our CSG Round-table Appreciation Night and we all know people, who use to profess Jesus Christ in the past but, for sometimes even famous people, walk away from the faith and what can we, as the Church, do about it? The group the addresses the problem of lack of discipleship within the Church that is very deconstructing to every believer in Christ. Jesus taught us to go forth, AND MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS (Matthew 28:19). We therefore address the two key characteristic’s of Christ that all believer’s in Christ should be aiming for, humility and submissiveness. The conversation then takes a turn into the difference between “Christianity” and “Christendom” as we talk about the decline of Christianity in the West as well as the EXPLOSION of Christianity in the East and Middle East! It seems anyway, comparing Eastern and Western Christendom, that where in one culture, persecution is on the rise therefore we see a decline, the exact same thing is happening in other cultures and Christendom is exploding rapidly! Why is this? We then move into the practical when the question comes up “What if I have been hurt by a local Church”?Jesus is a real Person and a real Savior, therefore do not let anyone interfere in your relationship with our God and Savior Christ Jesus! This episode is definitely on my top 10 and am extremely grateful for Jimmy and Joshua and what they contributed to this episode! Much more content packed into this so please, if you or someone you know has experienced Deconstruction or even Apostasy in your journey, take a listen and if you would like to further this discussion one on one, shoot us an email at completesinner@gmail.com and we would love to help you in any problems that you may be experiencing right now. God bless and thank you all for listening! Key Points to Take Away: • It is the Believer’s job to be loving. • It is the Church’s job to disciple. • There are numerous reason’s once professing Christian’s fall away. • There is a difference between “professing Christian’s” and “regenerated Christian’s”. • Don’t let anyone interfere with your relationship with Jesus. • Be accountable. • Be transparent. • Live like Jesus.

In this episode the "father of humanism," Francesco Petrarch, broods over his sense of guilt and despair, seeking a new path for Western Christendom known as the saeculum, or "secular."

Welcome to lecture one of the series A Very Brief History of the Crusades, 1095-1291! This episode is taught by Dr. Andrew Latham and he carefully and thoroughly guides us through the background of the Crusades and how Holy War and Crusading was created in the Medieval World in "Western Christendom." We begin with the Plague of Justinian and the stagnation of the Byzantine and Persian Empire which allowed the Arabian Armies of Islam to burst out and expand across the Middle East, into Africa and Europe. We explore the creation and concept of Crusading and Holy War in "Latin Christendom," and the complexity and nature of these terms. We see the evolution of the idea of Crusading and Holy War as it changed and adapts to be used within Christendom itself when dealing with various heresies and heretical groups and we use the term heretic very much in a historical context rather than a modern view. We also see the concept expand to cover missionary expansion in the Baltic's but what is even more interesting is how we see how different these Crusades were by region and how they differed from each other whether it was in Northern / Eastern Europe, Iberia, the Middle East and Southern France. I loved this and I hope you all enjoy it as well. Support Dr. Latham and his work by checking out the links below and if possible support him with your patronage and purchase one or more of his books! Academia : https://macalester.academia.edu/AndrewLatham Website: https://andrewlatham.academia.edu/ His career: https://andrewlatham.academia.edu/cv Get his books here! The Holy Lance: https://www.amazon.com/Andrew-Latham-ebook/dp/B07DZ4TGR2 Theorizing Medieval Geopolitics: War and World Order in the Age of the Crusades (Routledge Research in Medieval Studies) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007JL1RS2 --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/antiquity-middlages/support

Ignored by much of Western Christendom, these letters give us insight into how the very early Church viewed the role of the bishop as well as the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

To wrap up season 2 of Queen of the Sciences, not to mention wrapping up an exceptionally fraught election year (at least for those of you in the U.S.), we tackle St. Augustine's magnum opus, The City of God against the Pagans. Turns out there isn't actually very much about the two cities at all, but we range with Augustine across a wide assortment of issues: theodicy, providence, human community, the uses of history, and the nature of evil. Fun fact: the Roman empire never actually fell, and certainly not due to barbarian invasions. It just sort of petered out due to its own stupid infighting. Food for thought, eh? By the way, we had a technical glitch, so my audio track is pretty muffled, but Dad's is fine, and fortunately he did more of the talking on this one anyway. Support us on Patreon! Notes: 1. I quote from Dyson's translation of The City of God; this is the abridged one Dad mentioned; you may want to check out newer translations by New City Press; and this is the audiobook version I listened to, which was pretty well narrated except for the occasional pronunciation error, as in "the tropical interpretation of Scripture." Pretty sure he meant "tropological." 2. For a mind-blowing take on what really happened to the Roman empire under Christianity, check out Peter Brown's The Rise of Western Christendom. 3. Dad discusses the nature of evil in his Beloved Community, pp. 783–790. See also his forthcoming Joshua commentary on the nature of human community. 4. The accounts of evil that aim not only to harm the body but to destroy the soul that I mention toward the end of the episode are Endo's Silence, Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago, and Orwell's 1984. 5. Earlier in 2020 I did an issue of Theology & a Recipe on Augustine, called "Late Have I Loved Thee," imagining a late-in-life encounter between Augustine and his concubine. I didn't realize at the time John Updike had already done this; if I may so, I think my version is a lot more faithful to the principals and ultimately the more compelling. Judge for yourself, and then sign up for Theology & a Recipe on my website! More about us on sarahhinlickywilson.com and paulhinlicky.com!

Full Text of ReadingsFriday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 477All podcast readings are produced by the USCCB and are from the Catholic Lectionary, based on the New American Bible and approved for use in the United States _______________________________________The Saint of the day is St. John of CapistranoOn Oct. 23, the Catholic Church celebrates the life of Saint John of Capistrano, a Franciscan priest whose life included a political career, extensive missionary journeys, efforts to reunite separated Eastern Christians with Rome and a historically important turn at military leadership.Invoked as a patron of military chaplains, St. John of Capistrano was praised by St. John Paul II in a 2002 general audience for his glorious evangelical witness, as a priest who gave himself with great generosity for the salvation of souls.Born in Italy during 1385, John lost his father a French or possibly German knight who had settled in Capistrano at a young age. Johns mother took care to have him educated, and after learning Latin he went to study both civil law and Church law in Perugia. An outstanding student, he soon became a prominent public figure and was appointed governor of the city at age 26.John showed high standards of integrity in his civic career, and in 1416 he labored to end a war that had erupted between Perugia and the prominent House of Malatesta. But when the nobles had John imprisoned, he began to question his lifes direction. Encountering Saint Francis of Assisi in a dream, he resolved to embrace poverty, chastity, and obedience with the Franciscans.Abandoning his possessions and social status, John joined the religious order in October 1416. He found a mentor in Saint Bernardine of Siena, known for his bold preaching and his method of prayer focused on the invocation of the name of Jesus. Taking after his teacher in these respects, John began preaching as a deacon in 1420, and was ordained a priest in 1425.John successfully defended his mentor from a charge of heresy made against his way of devotion, though he found less success in his efforts to resolve internal controversy among the followers of St. Francis. A succession of popes entrusted important matters to John, including the effort to reunite Eastern and Western Christendom at the Ecumenical Council of Florence.Drawing immense crowds in his missionary travels throughout Italy, John also found success as a preacher in Central Europe, where he opposed the Hussites error regarding the nature and administration of the Eucharist. After Constantinople fell to Turkish invaders in 1453, Pope Nicholas V sent John on a mission to rally other European leaders in defense of their lands.Nicholas successor Pope Callixtus III was even more eager to see the Christian world defend itself against the invading forces. When the Sultan Mehmet II sought to extend his territorial gains into Serbia and Hungary, John joined the celebrated general Janos Hunyadi in his defense of Belgrade. The priest personally led a section of the army in its historic victory on Aug. 6, 1456.Neither John nor the general, however, would survive long past the battle.Weakened by the campaign against the Turks, Hunyadi became sick and died soon after the victory at Belgrade. John survived to preach Janos Hunyadis funeral sermon; but his own extraordinary life came to an end after a painful illness, on Oct. 23, 1456. St. John of Capistrano was canonized in 1724. Saint of the Day Copyright CNA, Catholic News Agency

Author, blogger, Catholic convert, and passionate sedeprivationist (we'll explain what that means) Giuseppe Filotto, better known online as The Kurgan, joins James for a live discussion on the journey to faith, doctrinal conviction, and the future of Western Christendom. http://therationalrise.com

This is Part 8 of the overarching series on Christian History. The podcast covers Augustine and his contributions to Western Christendom and Western CivilizationsI primarily used "Classic Christian Thinkers, an Introduction." by Kenneth Samples to bring you this episode.

What were the forces that led to one of history's most protracted and legendary periods of conflict? How did they affect the three great civilizations that participated in them? And, ultimately, why did they end and what did they accomplish? In these 36 lectures, you'll look at the "big picture" of the Crusades as an ongoing period of conflict involving Western Christendom (we would now call it Western Europe), the Byzantine Empire, and the Muslim world. From this perspective, you'll study the complex but absorbing causes of the Crusades, which include the many political, cultural, and economic changes in Western Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire. You'll examine the Crusades in terms of the specific military campaigns-the eight "canonical" Crusades that took place from 1095-1291-proclaimed to retake Jerusalem and the Holy Land from Muslim hands and return them to Christendom. You'll consider the immediate circumstances-the leaders, purposes, key battles, and degrees of success or failure-surrounding these often-monumental expeditions. You'll also explore a wide variety of misperceptions and long-debated questions about the Crusades: Did the popes preach the Crusades as a way to increase their personal power and authority? Why did the members of the Fourth Crusade decide to sack Constantinople, turning the Crusades from Christian against "infidel" to Christian against Christian? Taken together, these historically rich lectures are an opportunity to appreciate fully how Western Civilization changed in many profound ways during the Crusading era.

What were the forces that led to one of history's most protracted and legendary periods of conflict? How did they affect the three great civilizations that participated in them? And, ultimately, why did they end and what did they accomplish? In these 36 lectures, you'll look at the "big picture" of the Crusades as an ongoing period of conflict involving Western Christendom (we would now call it Western Europe), the Byzantine Empire, and the Muslim world. From this perspective, you'll study the complex but absorbing causes of the Crusades, which include the many political, cultural, and economic changes in Western Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire. You'll examine the Crusades in terms of the specific military campaigns-the eight "canonical" Crusades that took place from 1095-1291-proclaimed to retake Jerusalem and the Holy Land from Muslim hands and return them to Christendom. You'll consider the immediate circumstances-the leaders, purposes, key battles, and degrees of success or failure-surrounding these often-monumental expeditions. You'll also explore a wide variety of misperceptions and long-debated questions about the Crusades: Did the popes preach the Crusades as a way to increase their personal power and authority? Why did the members of the Fourth Crusade decide to sack Constantinople, turning the Crusades from Christian against "infidel" to Christian against Christian? Taken together, these historically rich lectures are an opportunity to appreciate fully how Western Civilization changed in many profound ways during the Crusading era.

We’re finally talking about the Ottomans! But first, we set the scene for the rulers with a rundown of the rise of the Ottoman Empire. It changed the course of history, but it wasn’t an overnight rise. We walk through the early years and the rising threat to Byzantium and Western Christendom, before the triumphant capture of Constantinople by Mehmed II.

This week look on in shock as Mike and Danny lift up the robes of Augustine only to find Plato lurking beneath whistling nonchalantly as the great Saint smuggles him into Western Christendom. How good a wing man would the early Augustine have been? Does our background explain who we are or dismiss who we are? Have you watched Jim Jarmusch’s “Night on Earth” and if not why are you listening to this cast?? Go on watch the film immediately! Go on, go… shoo!!! Join Our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/454227078353259/ Follow us on Twitter: @PhilosophyWtf Contact us: philosophywtf@gmail.com

Frank interviews the acclaimed biographer of the bestselling Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy and Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery, Eric Metaxas about his new book on Martin Luther where he paints a startling portrait of the wild figure whose adamantine faith cracked the edifice of Western Christendom and dragged medieval Europe into the future. Learn more about Eric Metaxas and his new book here: http://ericmetaxas.com/ Previews Episode w/ Eric titled "The Death of God Is Greatly Exaggerated: http://bit.ly/2zkQdi2

Frank interviews the acclaimed biographer of the bestselling Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy and Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery, Eric Metaxas about his new book on Martin Luther where he paints a startling portrait of the wild figure whose adamantine faith cracked the edifice of Western Christendom and dragged […] The post Martin Luther: The Man Who Rediscovered God and Changed the World with Eric Metaxas appeared first on Cross Examined - Christian Apologetic Ministry | Frank Turek | Christian Apologetics | Christian Apologetics Speakers.

In this episode Father John describes some of the most noteworthy effects of the Protestant Reformation on Western Christendom, emphasizing the decline of a sacramental basis for civilization and the rise of a primarily moral one.

On May 7, 2017 Sandbox Cooperative welcomed Drew G. I. Hart to the Sandbox stage.Drew is a professor at Messiah College with ten years of pastoral experience. He studied Biblical Studies at Messiah College, he attained his MDiv with an urban concentration from Biblical Seminary, and he recently received his PhD in theology and ethics from Lutheran Theological Seminary-Philadelphia. His work has included pastoring in Harrisburg and Philadelphia, working for an inner-city afterschool program, leading anti-racism workshops, adjunct teaching, and doing public theology. His dissertation explored the overlaps of white supremacy and Western Christendom and how Black theology and Anabaptism aid us in untangling our lives from these realities.His book, Trouble I’ve Seen: Changing the Way the Church Views Racism, utilizes everyday stories, Jesus-shaped theological ethics, and anti-racism frameworks to transform the church’s understanding and witness. Hart’s blog is hosted at The Christian Centu…

On May 7, 2017 Sandbox Cooperative welcomed Drew G. I. Hart to the Sandbox stage. This podcast contains the Q&A portion of the evening event.Drew is a professor at Messiah College with ten years of pastoral experience. He studied Biblical Studies at Messiah College, he attained his MDiv with an urban concentration from Biblical Seminary, and he recently received his PhD in theology and ethics from Lutheran Theological Seminary-Philadelphia. His work has included pastoring in Harrisburg and Philadelphia, working for an inner-city afterschool program, leading anti-racism workshops, adjunct teaching, and doing public theology. His dissertation explored the overlaps of white supremacy and Western Christendom and how Black theology and Anabaptism aid us in untangling our lives from these realities.His book, Trouble I’ve Seen: Changing the Way the Church Views Racism, utilizes everyday stories, Jesus-shaped theological ethics, and anti-racism frameworks to transform the church’s und…

In this episode Father John concludes his reflection on the critical state of western Christendom on the eve of modern times, exploring how the Reformation tried to resolve the issue of anthropological pessimism but ironically served to intensify it.

In this episode, Father John continues his discussion of developments that led to the Protestant Reformation, emphasizing doctrines and practices related to human salvation.

In this latest episode on the impending Protestant Reformation, Fr. John discusses ways in which the long legacy of pessimism about the human condition and the world in general undermined western Christendom at one of her most critical moments.

In this episode, Fr. John discusses ways in which papal supremacy led to the growing sense of crisis that preceded the Protestant Reformation.

Returning after a long absence from the podcast, Fr. John in this episode introduces a new reflection on the crisis of western Christendom prior to the Reformation by discussing the penitential context of Martin Luther's famous Ninety-Five Theses.

In this episode, Fr. John discusses Muscovite Russia's encounter with the West in the face of Uniatism, military invasion, and theological "captivity," all of which contributed to the decline of eastern Christendom.

Church History: Chapter 18 – St. Benedictine and Early Monasticism The secularization of the church had many effects, both good and bad. As the first Christian emperor, Constantine passed significant laws demonstrating a Christian influence on the state. But against this background of faith came lives of sin and disregard for the holy, which led to the rise of monasticism Among many of the monastics and the movements associated with them, we see them living in self-denial moved by a spirit of humility and love. This is particularly true of St. Benedict. Benedict was born around 480 in Nursia (modern Norcia, Italy, north of Rome). And although he was born into a family of wealthy nobility he never esteemed the world’s goods. Benedict is attributed with a creating a “Rule” to govern the monastic life in ways that make constructive Christian growth in community life. These rules governed not only the monasteries for Benedict, but they also became the core rules for many monastic communities in Western Christendom even today. Key Words St. Benedictine, Constantine, secularization, “Eremitical monasticism,” “Cenobitism,” or a cloistered life. St. Pachomius. Paul the Simple, Isodore of Pelusium, Macarius the Egyptian, Simeon the Stylite, Macarius the Younger, Gregory, Gregory’s Dialogue, Enfide, Monte Cassino, Rule of St. Benedict

Brian McLaren is an author, theologian and church leader. He is at the forefront of the "emerging church" and his books such as "A new Kind of Christian" and "A Generous Orthodoxy" have been influential in the moevement's theology Some describe the emerging church as "post-evangelical" and "post-modern" as it seeks to re-read scripture without the cultural baggage that it believes Western Christendom has often imposed. James White of Alpha and Omega ministries in Arizona sees the theology of the "emerging church" as a departure from orthodoxy, and an attempt to reshape the Gospel and God to fit modern sensibilities. They discuss post-modernity, Rob Bell's theology, interacting with other faiths, the atonement, sin and the cross. For Brian McLaren see http://www.brianmclaren.net/ For his latest book "Naked Spirituality" http://www.amazon.com/Naked-Spirituality-Life-Simple-Words/dp/0061854018 To watch the Rob Bell debate on Heaven, Hell & Universalsim http://www.premier.tv/lovewins/ For more theological debate visit http://www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable or get the MP3 podcast http://ondemand.premier.org.uk/unbelievable/AudioFeed.aspx or Via Itunes If you enjoyed this programme you may also enjoy: Unbelievable? 22 mar 2008 - Easter & the Atonement - does it make sense? Unbelievable? 15 Nov 2008 - Does the Trinity lead to polytheism? James White of Alpha & Omega ministries debates Abdullah Al Andalusi Join the discussion at the Premier Community http://www.premiercommunity.org.uk/group/unbelievable and via Facebook and Twitter

This episode is titled Point – Counter Point and details The Catholic Reformation.We've spent the last several episodes considering the Protestant Reformation of the 16th C. The tendency is to assume the Roman Church just dug in its heels in obdurate opposition to the Protestants. While the 17th C will indeed see much blood shed between the religious factions of Europe, it would be wrong to assume the Roman Church of the early decades of the Reformation was immediately adversarial. Don't forget that all the early Reformers were members of and usually priests in the Roman Church. And reform was something many had called for a long time prior to Luther's break. The Conciliar Movement we talked about some episodes back was an attempt at reform, at least of the hierarchy of the church, if not some of its doctrine. Spain was a center of the call for Reform within the church. But Luther's rift with Rome, and the floodgate it opened put the Roman Church on the defensive and caused it to respond aggressively. That response was what's called the Catholic Counter-Reformation. But that title can be misleading if one assumes the Catholic Church became only more hide-bound in reaction to the Protestants. Several important reforms were made in the way the Church was run. And Protestant theology urged Catholic theologians to tighten up some of theirs.I like the way one historian describes the 16th C in Europe. If the 16th C was likened to a football game, with every 25 years representing a quarter, by the end of the 1st quarter, the Protestants were winning 7 to 0.By halftime, it was Protestants 35, Roman Catholics 7By the end of the 3rd quarter its 42-35 in favor of the Protestants.But by the end of the game, it's 42 to 45 in favor of the Catholics.I apologize to our European listeners who find American Football a mystery. Don't worry, many Americans do as well.The point is—Protestants had some quick gains, but by the end of the 16th C, largely because of the Jesuits, the Roman Church had recouped many of its losses and had gone on to a revitalized church and faith.When Rome realized the seriousness of the Protestant challenge, it mobilized its spiritual warriors = The Society of Jesus, better knowns as the Jesuits. They convened a new and militant council and reformed the machinery of Church Hierarchy. Faced with the rebellion of half of Europe, Catholicism rolled back the tide of Protestantism until by the end of the 16th C it was limited to the northern third of Europe.Well before Luther posted his theses on Wittenberg's castle-church door, an aristocratic group at Rome had formed a pious brotherhood called the Oratory of Divine Love. They had a vision for reformation of both Church and Society but one that began within the individual soul.The Oratory was never larger than fifty members, yet had huge influence. It provoked reform in the old monastic orders and contributed leaders to the Church of Rome as it laid plans for a general council to deal with internal reform and the emerging Protestant movement. Among the members of the Oratory who later emerged as significant figures were Sadoleto, who debated with Calvin; Reginald Pole, who tried under Bloody Mary to turn England back to Rome; and Pietro Caraffa, who became Pope Paul IV.But throughout the 1520s and 30s, when the Protestants were making their most rapid advancements, the Catholic Church took no real steps toward reform. The reason was political. The changes that needed to be made had to be settled in a Council and Emperor Charles V and popes fought a running battle over the calling of that Council. The feud lasted twenty years. They couldn't agree on where it was to be held, who would be invited, nor what the agenda would be. All these had far-reaching consequence. So the Council was never called; and the reforms it might have adopted were delayed.There were all kinds of other intrigues between the Emperor and Popes as Charles waged war with what were supposed to be Catholic kings and rulers beholden to the Pope. At one point, Charles ordered his troops to march on Rome. In May 1527, when their commanders were killed, Spanish and German mercenaries stormed Rome and pillaged, plundered, and murdered for weeks. The pope took refuge in the Castle of St. Angelo, but finally had to surrender and endure half a year of imprisonment. Many saw this sack of Rome as evidence of how out of hand things had gotten. They took it as a manifestation of divine judgment, enhancing the need and call for reform.Reform came with the arrival of Pope Paul III in 1534. He was a most unlikely candidate for spiritual leadership. He had four children. But the sack of Rome sobered him. He realized time had come for reform to begin in the House of God. He started where he felt a change of heart was most urgently needed, in the College of Cardinals. He appointed a number of advocates for reform. Among them, leaders of the Oratory of Divine Love. Pope Paul then appointed nine of the new cardinals to a commission on reform. The head of the commission promoted an agenda that included reconciliation with the Protestants and a return to the faith of the Apostles; radical ideas indeed!In 1537, after a wide-ranging study of conditions in the Church of Rome, the commission issued its official report. Titled, Advice … Concerning the Reform of the Church, it said disorder in the Church could be traced directly to the need for reform. The papal office was far too worldly. Both popes and cardinals needed to give more attention to spiritual matters and stop dabbling in secular pursuits. Bribery in high places, abuses of indulgences, evasion of church law, prostitution in Rome, these and other offenses must cease.Pope Paul took action on several of the recommendations in the report, but his most significant response was a call for a General Council of the Church. After intense negotiations he agreed with Emperor Charles V on a location for the assembly, a town in northern Italy under imperial control called Trent.Even then, however, no Council assembled for years, because King Francis I of France did everything he could to prevent it. In his lust for control of Europe, Francis feared a council would strengthen Charles's hand. He even incited the Turks against the Emperor. Two wars between Francis and Charles delayed the opening of a Council until 1545, almost three decades after Luther's hammer sounded on Wittenberg's door.By 1545, reform at Rome was on the rise. Pope Paul's new rigor was apparent in the institution of the Roman Inquisition and an official Index of Prohibited Books—works that any Catholic risked eternal damnation by reading. All the books of the Reformers were listed, as well as Protestant Bibles. For many years in Spain, merely possessing one of the banned books was punishable by death. The Index was kept up to date until 1959 and was finally abolished by Pope Paul VI.In Catholic Spain, reform preceded the arrival of Martin Luther in Germany. The euphoria at evicting the Muslims in the Reconquista, coupled with devotion to medieval piety and mysticism fueled reform. When Queen Isabella began her rule in 1474, she brought a heart to reform Spanish Catholicism and quickly gained papal approval for her plan. Cardinal Francisco Jimenez, archbishop of Toledo, was Isabella's main supporter in reorganizingthe Church. Jimenez and Isabella embarked on a campaign to cleanse corruption and immorality from the monasteries and convents of Spain. They required renewal of monastic vows, enforced poverty among clergy, and emphasized the necessity of an educated priesthood.Believing the key to effective leadership was high standards for scholarship, they founded the University of Alcala, outside Madrid, which became a center of Spanish religious and literary life. The University was instrumental in publishing a new multilingual edition of the Bible, which included Hebrew, Greek, and the Latin Vulgate—in parallel columns.The Spanish Reformation, like the Protestants who formed break away groups all over Europe during the 16th C, knew little of the idea we enjoy today of religious toleration.  We'll talk more about his in an upcoming episode as we look at the European Wars of Religion. The Pope gave Isabella and her husband, King Ferdinand, authority to use the Inquisition to enforce compliance with church doctrine and practices. The Jews were special victims of Spanish intolerance. In 1492, the Spanish crown decreed all Jews must either accept Christian baptism or leave Spanish territories. Over 200,000 Jews fled Spain as a result, losing land, possessions, and in some cases, lives. The crown passed similar laws aimed at Muslim Moors. Jimenez, now the Grand Inquisitor, ruthlessly pursued their forced conversion.In 1521, the year Luther stood before the Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Worms, a Spanish nobleman was fighting in the Emperor's army against the French. A cannon-ball shattered one of his legs. During a long and painful recovery, bored to tears, he picked up a couple inspirational books popular at the time. One was on the lives of the saints and the other a life of Christ. The long process toward his conversion had begun.Weary of the army, he entered the Benedictine abbey of Montserrat, where he exchanged his nobleman's clothes for a simple pilgrim's smock and turned in his sword and dagger. For nearly a year, in the little town of Manresa, thirty miles north of Barcelona, he gave himself to an austere life of begging door to door, wearing a barbed girdle, and fasting for days at a time. A dark depression settled over his soul. He considered suicide. Then he had what many a mystic has known—a spiritual breakthrough so intense it felt like an incandescent illumination. A wave of ecstasy engulfed him and Ignatius Loyola, became, in his own words, “another man.”In an attempt to hang on to what he'd gained, Loyola produced a plan for spiritual discipline, a kind of spiritual military manual for Christian storm-troopers dedicated to the Pope. The result was the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits, the greatest force in Catholicism's campaign to recapture the territory, both literal and spiritual, lost to the Protestants.It was the reforming Pope Paul III, who approved Loyola's new Society of Jesus. The daring soldiers of Christ promised the Pope they'd go wherever he sent them; whether that was to the Turks, the New World, or the Lutherans.While a youth, Ignatius left his home in the castle of Loyola near the Pyrenees and entered the court of a noble family friend. There he grew into something of a “playboy” who spent his days playing military games, reading popular romances, and his nights pursuing the local girls. Then he went off to war, and everything changed.After his recovery and time at Manresa, Ignatius came to a very different conclusion about man's spiritual condition to that arrived at by Martin Luther. Luther was convinced the human will is enslaved; man cannot save himself. Only God can deliver him. Loyola came to the belief man has the power to choose between God and satan. By the disciplined use of his imagination man can strengthen his will to choose God and his ways. That strengthening comes through the spiritual disciplines Loyola devised.One of his spiritual exercises aimed to make the horrors of hell real. Loyola wrote - “Hear in your imagination the shrieks and groans and blasphemous shouts against Christ our Lord and all the saints. Smell the fumes of sulfur and the stench of filth and corruption. Taste all the bitterness of tears and melancholy and growing conscience. Feel the heat of the flames that play on and burn the souls.” The same technique, of course, could be used to represent the beauties of the Nativity or the glories of heaven. By proper discipline, Ignatius said, the imagination could strengthen the will and teach it to cooperate with God's grace.Ignatius concluded that fully surrendering to God meant more education. He entered a school in Barcelona to sit with students half his age to study Latin, then threw himself into a year of courses at the University of Alcala. Out of it came his conviction learning must be organized to be useful. The idea eventually grew into the Jesuits' famed plan of studies, which measured out heavy but manageable doses of the classics, humanities, and sciences.Ignatius became such a fervent advocate for his views, the Inquisition examined him more than once about his theology. Disturbed they'd question his devotion, he left for Paris, where he spent seven years at the university, and became “Master Ignatius.” He gathered around him the first of his companions: including the young Spanish nobleman, Francis Xavier; not the leader of the X-Men. This guy was a lot older and not a mutant.Ignatius shared with these men his program for sainthood, called the Spiritual Exercises. A review of his religious experiences following his conversion, the Exercises prescribe several periods or phases of intense meditation on various aspects of Faith and Practice.Ignatius charted a path to spiritual perfection that included,Rigorous examination of the consciencePenance, andA rejection of guilt once God's forgiveness was given. The Exercises became the basis of every Jesuit's spirituality. Later popes prescribed them for candidates for ordination, and Catholic retreats applied them to lay groups.In 1540, Pope Paul III approved the, at-that-time, small Society of Jesus as a new religious order. Following Ignatius' metaphor, they were chivalrous spiritual soldiers of Jesus. Adopting the military theme, they were mobile, versatile, ready to go anywhere and perform any task the Pope assigned. As a recognized order, they added to their earlier vows of poverty and chastity the traditional vow of obedience to their superiors and a fourth vow of special loyalty to the pope. They were governed by a Superior General elected for life. Their choice for the first General was of course, Ignatius.The aim of the order was simple: To restore the Roman Catholic Church to the position of spiritual power and influence it had held three centuries before under Innocent III. Everything was subordinated to the Church of Rome because Ignatius believed firmly that the living Christ resided in the institutional church exclusively.One of the most fascinating feature of the Jesuits was their attempt to live in the world without being of it. Loyola wanted them to be all things to all men. They almost succeeded.That first generation under Loyola's leadership rode at a full gallop into their new assignments which were to convert the heathen and re-convert Protestants. Francis Xavier went to India, then Southeast Asia, and all the way to Japan. More than any others, the Society of Jesus stemmed, and at times reversed, the tide of Protestantism in Europe. When Ignatius died in 1556, his order was a thousand strong and had dispatched its apostles to four continents. By anyone's reckoning, that's an amazing feat.No mission of that first generation of Jesuits proved more decisive than the part they played in the Council of Trent from 1545 to 63. Only thirty-one council fathers led by three papal legates were present for the opening ceremonies of the council. None of them could have guessed their modest beginning would lead to the most important Council between Nicea in 325 and Vatican II in 1962. Under the influence of two Jesuits, Trent developed into a powerful weapon of the Counter-Reformation.The council fathers met in three main sessions.The 1st was from 1545–47,The 2nd from 1551–52, andThe last from 1562–63. During the second series of sessions several Protestants were present, but nothing came of it. From start to finish the Council reflected the new militant stance of Rome.While there are points of agreement between Catholic and Protestant theology on many issues, the distinctive doctrines of the Protestant Reformation, things like sola scriptura and sola fide were vigorously rejected at Trent.While the Reformers stressed salvation by grace alone; the Council of Trent emphasized grace AND human cooperation with God to avoid, in Loyola's terms, “the poison that destroys freedom.” Ignatius advised, “Pray as though everything depended on God alone but act as though it depended on you alone whether you will be saved.”Protestants taught the religious authority of Scripture alone. Trent insisted on the supreme teaching office of the Roman popes and bishops, as essential-interpreters of the Bible and sole-arbiters on what constitute Biblical Orthodoxy.Trent guaranteed Roman Catholicism would be governed by a collaboration between God and man. The Pope remained, seven sacraments were retained, and the doctrine of transubstantiation was affirmed. Saints, confessions, and indulgences all stayed.After four centuries, we look back to the Reformation Era and see the unity of Western Christendom was permanently shattered. Men and women in Loyola's lifetime did not see that truth. The fact dawned on Europe slowly. It would paint the Continent red in the following Century.

The title of this episode is “What a Mess!”As is often the case, we start by backing up & reviewing material we've already covered so we can launch into the next leg of our journey in Church History.Anglo-Saxon missionaries to Germany had received the support of Charles Martel, a founder of the Carolin­gian dynasty. Martel supported these missions because of his desire to expand his rule eastwards into Bavaria. The Pope was grateful for his sup­port, and for Charles' victory over the Muslims at the Battle of Tours. But Martel fell afoul of papal favor when he confiscated Church lands. At first, the Church consented to his seizing of property to produce income to stave off the Muslim threat. But once that threat was dealt with, he refused to return the lands. Adding insult to injury, Martel ignored the Pope's request for help against the Lombards taking control of a good chunk of Italy. Martel denied assistance because at that time the Lombards were his allies. But a new era began with the reign of Martel's heir, Pippin or as he's better known, Pepin III.Pepin was raised in the monastery of St. Denis near Paris. He & his brother were helped by the church leader Boniface to carry out a major reform of the Frank church. These reforms of the clergy and church organization brought about a renewal of religious and intellectual life and made possible the educational revival associated with the greatest of the Carolingian rulers, Charlemagne & his Renaissance.In 751, Pepin persuaded Pope Zachary to allow Boniface to anoint him, King of the Franks, supplanting the Merovingian dynasty. Then, another milestone in church-state relations passed with Pope Stephen II appealing to Pepin for aid against the Lombards. The pope placed Rome under the protection of Pepin and recognized him and his sons as “Protectors of the Romans.”As we've recently seen, all of this Church-State alliance came to a focal point with the crowning of Charlemagne as Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire in AD 800. For some time the Popes in Rome had been looking for a way to loosen their ties to the Eastern Empire & Constantinople. Religious developments in the East provided the Popes an opportunity to finally break free. The Iconoclastic Controversy dominating Eastern affairs gave the Popes one more thing to express their disaffection with. We'll take a closer look at the controversy later. For now, it's enough to say the Eastern Emperor Leo III banned the use of icons as images of religious devotion in AD 726. The supporters of icons ultimately prevailed but only after a century of bitter and at times violent dispute. Pope Gregory II rejected Leo's edict banning icons and flaunted his disrespect for the Emperor's authority. Gregory's pompous and scathing letter to the Emperor was long on bluff but a dramatic state­ment of his rejection of secular rulers' meddling in Church affairs. Pope Gregory wrote: “Listen! Dogmas are not the business of emperors but of pontiffs.”The reign of what was regarded by the West as a heretical dynasty in the East gave the Pope the excuse he needed to separate from the East and find a new, devoted and orthodox protector. The alliance between the papacy and the Carolingians represents the culmination of that quest, and opened a new and momentous chapter in the history of European medieval Christianity.In response to Pope Stephen's appeal for help against the Lombards, Pepin recovered the Church's territories in Italy and gave them to the pope, an action known as the 'Donation of Pepin'. This confirmed the legal status of the Papal States.At about the same time, the Pope's claim to the rule of Italy and independence from the Eastern Roman Empire was reinforced by the appearance of one of the great forgeries of the Middle Ages, the Donation of Constantine. This spurious document claimed Constantine the Great had given Rome and the western part of the Empire to the bishop of Rome when he moved the capital of the empire to the East. The Donation was not exposed as a forgery until the 15th Century.The concluding act in the popes' attempt to free themselves from Constantinople came on Christmas Day 800 when Pope Leo III revived the Empire in the West by crowning Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor. It's rather humorous, as one wag put it – the Holy Roman Empire was neither Holy, nor Roman, and can scarcely be called an Empire.Charlemagne's chief scholar was the British-born Alcuin who'd been master of the cathedral school in York. He was courted by Charlemagne to make his capital at Aachen on the border between France & Germany, Europe's new center of education & scholarship. Alcuin did just that. If the school at Aachen didn't plant the seeds that would later flower in the Renaissance it certainly prepared the soil for them.Alcuin profoundly influenced the intellectual, cultural and religious direction of the Carolingian Empire, as the 300-some extant let­ters he wrote reveal. His influence is best seen in the manuscripts of the school at Tours where he later became abbot. His influence is also demonstrated in his educational writings, revision of the Biblical text, commentaries and the completion of his version of Church liturgy. He standardized spelling and writing, reformed missionary practice, and contributed to the organizing of church regulations. Alcuin was the leading theologian in the struggle against the heresy of Adoptionism. Adoptionists said Jesus was simply a human being who God adopted & MADE a Son. Alcuin was a staunch defender of Christian orthodoxy and the authority of the Church, the pre-eminence of the Roman Bishop and of Charlemagne's sacred position as Emperor. He died in 804.The time at which Alcuin lived certainly needed the reforms he brought & he was the perfect agent to bring them. From the palace school at Aachen, a generation of his students went out to head monas­tic and cathedral schools through­out the land. Even though Charlemagne's Empire barely outlived its founder, the revival of education and religion associated with he and Alcuin brightened European culture throughout the bleak and chaotic period that followed. This Carolingian Renaissance turned to classical antiquity and early Christianity for its models. The problem is, there was only one Western scholar who still knew Greek, the Irishman John Scotus Erigena. Still, the manuscripts produced during this era form the base from which modern historians gain a picture of the past. It was these classical texts, translated from Greek into Latin that fueled the later European Renaissance.The intellectual vigor stimulated by the Carolingian Renaissance and the political dynamism of the revived Empire stimulated new theologi­cal activity. There was discussion about the continuing Iconoclastic problem in the East. Political antagonism between the Eastern and the Carolingian emperors led to an attack by theologians in the West on the practices and beliefs of the Orthodox Church in the East. These controversial works on the 'Errors of the Greeks' flourished during the 9th C as a result of the Photian Schism.In 858, Byzantine Emperor Michael III deposed the Patriarch Ignatius I of Constantinople, replacing him with a lay scholar named Photius I, AKA Photius the Great. The now deposed Ignatius appealed to Pope Nicholas I to restore him while Photius asked the Pope to recognize his appointment. The Pope ordered the restoration of Ignatius & relations between East & West sunk further. The issue ended in 867 when Pope Nicholas died & Photius was deposed.Latin theologians also criticized the Eastern church for its different method of deciding the date of Easter, the difference in the way clergy cut their hair, and the celibacy of priests. The Eastern Church allowed priests to marry while requiring monks to be celibate, whereas the Western Church required celibacy of both.Another major doctrinal debate was the Filioque [Filly-o-quay] Controversy we briefly touched on in an earlier episode. Now, before I get a barrage of emails, there's debate among scholars over the pronunciation of Filioque. Some say “Filly-oak” others “Filly-o-quay.” Take your pick.The point is, the Controversy dealt with the wording of the Nicene Creed as related to the Holy Spirit. The original Creed said the Holy Spirit proceeded from the Father. A bit later, the Western Church altered the wording a bit so as to affirm the equality of the Son of God with the Father. So they said the Spirit proceeded from both Father & Son. Filioque is Latin for “and the Son” thus giving the name of the controversy. The Eastern Church saw this addition as dangerous tampering with the Creed and refused to accept it while the Filioque clause became a standard part of what was considered normative doctrine in the West.Another major discussion arose over the question of predestina­tion. A Carolingian monk named Gottschalk, who studied Augustine's theology carefully, was the first to teach 'double predestination'; the belief that some people are predestined to salvation, while others are predestined to damnation. He was tried and condemned for his views by 2 synods and finally imprisoned by the Archbishop of Rheims. Gottschalk died 20 years later, holding his views to the end.The other major theological issue of the Carolingian era concerned the Lord's Supper. The influential Abbot of Corbie wrote a treatise titled On the Body and Blood of the Lord. This was the first clear statement of a doctrine of the 'real presence' of Christ's body and blood in the Communion elements, later called the doctrine of “transubstantiation,” an issue that will become a heated point in the debate between the Roman Church & Reformers.The reforms of King Pepin and Pope Boniface focused attention on priests. It was clear to all that clergy ought to lead lives beyond reproach. That synod after synod during the 6th, 7th, & 8th Cs had to make such a major issue of this demonstrated the need for reform. Among the violations warned against were the rejection of celibacy, gluttony, drunkenness, tawdry relationships with women, hunting, carry­ing arms & frequenting taverns.Monastic developments at this time were significant. The emphasis was on standardiza­tion and centralization. Between 813 and 17 a revised Benedictine rule was adopted for the whole of the Carolingian Empire. Another Benedict, a monk from Burgundy, was respon­sible for an ultra-strict regimen. Charlemagne's successor, Louis the Pious, appointed Benedict the overseer of all monasteries in the realm, and a few years later his revised Benedictine rule was made obligatory for all monasteries. Sadly, with little long-term effect.When Louis suc­ceeded Charlemagne, the Pope was able to regain his independ­ence, following a long domination by the Emperor. The imperial theocracy of Charlemagne's reign would have yielded a 'state church' as already existed in the East. But the papacy stressed the superiority of spiritual power over the secular. This was reinforced by the forged Donation of Constantine with its emphasis on papal pre-eminence in the governing of the Empire, not just the Church.In the middle of the 9th C, priests at Rheims produced another remarkable forgery, the False Decretals. Accomplished with great inventiveness, the Decretals were designed to provide a basis in law which protected the rights of bishops. They included the bogus Donation of Constantine and became a central part of the canon of medieval law. It shored up papal claims to supremacy in church affairs over secular authority. The first Pope to make use of the False Decretals was Nicholas I. He recognized the danger of a Church dominated by civil rulers and was deter­mined to avert this by stressing that the church's govern­ment was centered on Rome, not Constantinople, and certainly not in some lesser city like Milan or Ravenna.From the late 9th until the mid-11th C, Western Christendom was beset by a host of major challenges that left the region vulnerable. The Carolingian Empire frag­mented, leaving no major military power to defend Western Europe. Con­tinued attacks by Muslims in the S, a fresh wave of attacks by the Magyars in the E, and incessant raids by the Norsemen all over the Empire, turned the shards of the empire into splinters. One contemporary lamented, “Once we had a king, now we have kinglets!” For many Western Europeans, it seemed the end of the world was at hand.The popes no longer had Carolingian rulers as protectors. So the papacy became increasingly involved in the power struggles among the nobility for the rule of Italy. Popes became partisans of one political faction or another; sometimes willingly, other times coerced. But the cumulative result was spiritual and moral decline. For instance, Pope Stephen VI took vengeance on the preceding pope by having his body disinterred and brought before a synod, where it was propped up in a chair for trial. Following conviction, the body was thrown into the Tiber River. Then, within a year Stephen himself was overthrown. He was strangled while in prison.There was a near-complete col­lapse of civil order in Europe during the 10th C. Church property was ransacked by invaders or fell into the hands of the nobility. Noble­men treated churches and monas­teries as their private property to dispose of as they wished. The clergy became indifferent to duty. Their illiteracy & immorality grew.The 10th C was a genuine dark age, at least as far as the condition of the Church was concerned. Without imperial protection, popes became helpless playthings for the nobility, who fought to gain control by appointing relatives and political favorites. A chroni­cle by the German bishop of Cremona paints a graphic picture of sexual debauchery in the Church.Though there were incompet­ent & immoral popes during this time, they continued to be respected throughout the West. Bishoprics and abbeys were founded by laymen after they obtained the appro­val of the papal court. Pilgrimages to Rome hardly slackened during this age, as Christians visited the sacred sites of the West; that is, the tombs of Peter and Paul, as well as a host of other relics venerated in there.At the lowest ebb of the 10th C, during the reign of Pope John XII, from 955-64, a major change in Italian politics affected the papacy. An independent & capable German monarchy emerged. This Saxon dynasty began with the election of Henry I and continued with his son, Otto I, AKA Otto the Great .Otto developed a close relationship with the Church in Germany. Bishops and abbots were given the rights and honor of high nobility.  The church received huge tracts of land. Thru this alliance with the Church, Otto aimed to forestall the rebellious nobles of his kingdom.But the new spiritual aristocracy created by Otto wasn't hereditary. Bishops & abbots couldn't “pass on” their privileges to their successors. Favor was granted by the King to whomever he chose. Thus, their loyalty could be counted on more readily. In fact, the German bishops contributed money and arms to help the German kings expand into Italy, what is now the regions of East Germany & Poland.Otto helped raise the papacy out of the quagmire of Italian politics. His entrance into Italian affairs was a fateful deci­sion. He marched south into Italy to marry Adelaide of Burgundy and declare him­self king of the Lombards. Ten years later, he again marched south at the invitation of Pope John XII. In February of 962, the Pope tried a renewal of the Holy Roman Empire by crowning Otto and Adelaide in St Peter's. But the price paid by the pope for Otto's support was another round of interference in Church affairs.For the next 300 years, each new German monarch followed up his election by making a march to Rome to be crowned as Emperor. But at this point, it wasn't so much Popes who made Emperors as it was Emperors who made Popes. And when a pope ran afoul of the ruler, he was conveniently labeled ‘anti-pope' & deposed, to be replaced by the next guy. It was the age of musical chairs in Rome; whoever grabs the papal chair when the music stops gets to sit. But when the Emperor instructs the band to play again, whoever's in the chair has to stand and the game starts all over again. Lest you think I'm overstating the case, in 963 Otto returned to Rome, convened a synod which found Pope John guilty of a list of sordid crimes and deposed him. In his place, they chose a layman, who received all of his ecclesiastical orders in a single day to become Pope Leo VIII. He managed to sit in the Pope's chair less than a year before the music started all over again.

This is part three of “The Long Road to Reform.”In our last episode we looked at The Conciliar Movement that formed to end the Great Papal Schism and so many hoped would be a permanent fixture for reform in the Church. As well-intentioned as the movement was, it ended up resurrecting the Schism instead of solving it. In its long battle with the Papacy, Conciliarism eventually lost.We turn now to look at a reformer from Bohemia named John Hus; or more properly Jan Hus. One of my personal, all-time favorite church leaders.Bohemia was an important part of the Holy Roman Empire; a sovereign state with its capital at Prague. Today, it roughly corresponds with the Czech Republic. It had a long history as a place of vibrant Christianity, especially monasticism. In 1383, Bohemia and England were linked by the marriage of Anne of Bohemia and the English King Richard II. With this union, students of both countries went back and forth between the colleges of Prague and Oxford where the pre-reformer John Wycliffe.The revolt Wycliffe started at Oxford, expanded when he was booted and met with greater success in Bohemia than England because unlike England, it was joined to a strong national party led by a man named Jan Hus.Hus came from peasant parents in the southern Bohemian town of Husinetz. He studied theology at the University of Prague, earning a Master of Arts before teaching there and diving into the cause of religious reform.While a student, Hus was introduced to the early philosophy of Wycliffe, but it was only after his appointment as the pastor at Bethlehem Chapel that was exposed to Wycliffe's more radical views on religious reform. He immediately adopted Wycliffe's views that the church was an invisible company of the elect, with Jesus as its head rather than a Pope.Bethlehem Chapel was located near the University of Prague, giving Hus an open door to circulate Wycliffe's writings. As his ideas took hold, paintings began to appear on the walls of the church contrasting the behavior of the popes and Christ. In one, the pope rode a horse while Jesus walked barefoot. Another showed Jesus washing the disciples' feet as the pope's were kissed.Bethlehem Chapel had been founded in 1391 to encourage the national faith of Bohemia, so Hus's strong sermons in Bohemian stirred up popular support for reform. And wouldn't you know it? Where do you think the first protests came from--That's right: Students rioted both for and against the ideas of Wycliffe being promoted by Hus and his supporters.The Archbishop of Prague realized the threat Hus's activities had for the upper echelons of Church Hierarchy and complained to the pope. The Pope responded, “Root out the heresy.” So the Archbishop excommunicated Hus. Bad move; for right away the Archbishop realized how little local support he had. When Hus realized he held the backing of the people, he ramped up his criticisms and attacked the pope's sale of indulgences to support of his war against Naples. That was too much for the Bohemian King Wenceslas. Hus might have the support of the common people, but his condemnation of the sale of indulgences impacted a political issue the king didn't want messed with. Negotiations between the Pope and king saw Prague being placed under a papal interdict; a political and religious slap on the wrist that had an immediate impact on people across the board. When under an interdict, people remained members of the church, but the sacraments were suspended. All of this happened because of Hus, so he left Prague to live in exile in southern Bohemia. It was during this time Hus wrote his most notable work, titled On the Church.The Council of Constance we recently looked at was fast approaching. This was the council set to solve the problem of the Great Papal Schism. At the urging of the Emperor Sigismund, Hus agreed to appear. He hoped to present his views on the nature of the Church to the members of the Council. He ended up instead a victim of the Inquisition.The rule of the Inquisition was simple. If enough witnesses testified to the guilt of the accused, he had to confess and renounce his error or he'd be executed by being burned, because, well – being good churchmen, they couldn't shed blood. If the accused confessed, the sentence was life in prison, which in most cases was hardly better than being burnt at the stake. Hus's case was handled in a manner typical for the Inquisition of that time. Greedy Inquisitors often went after someone simply because they lusted for their property. So people were accused of some grievous crime and there were usually enough witnesses-for-hire around who'd say whatever the Inquisitors paid them to. In Hus's case, the Inquisitors weren't after his wealth; the Church simply wanted him gone, so he was accused and found guilty of heresies he'd never taught.Now, Hus said he'd alter his views—IF they could be shown to be contrary to Scripture. But he refused to recant the heresies he'd been falsely accused of. It was a matter of principle; to recant of them, he'd have to admit he taught them. He hadn't. How could he recant something he'd never taught? But the Inquisitors were adamant: Hus must recant.In words similar to what Martin Luther would say some time later while on Trial at Worms, Hus said, “I have said that I would not, for a chapel full of gold, recede from the truth. . . . I know that the truth stands and is mighty forever, and abides eternally, with whom there is no respect of persons.”It's clear in the letters Hus wrote at this time his main anxiety was that “liars would say I've slipped back from the truth I preached.” This trial of Hus is one of those special stand-out moments in church history. His fidelity and refusal to swerve from Truth, even to save his life was duplicated many times over by thousands of the un-named, but it was Hus who forged the template.For 8 months he lay in prison in Constance. His letters during his last month rank among the great in Christian literature.“O most holy Christ,” he prayed, “draw me, weak as I am, after Yourself, for if You do not draw us we cannot follow You. Strengthen my spirit, that it may be willing. If the flesh is weak, let Your grace precede us; come between and follow, for without You we cannot go for Your sake to cruel death. Give me a fearless heart, a right faith, a firm hope, a perfect love, that for Your sake I may lay down my life with patience and joy. Amen.”On July 6th, 1415 Jan Hus was led out of his cell and began the walk to the place where he was to be burned. On the way he passed thru a churchyard and saw a bonfire of his books. He laughed, and told those looking on not to believe the lies being passed around about him. On arriving at the stake in a spot called The Devil's Place, Hus knelt and prayed. Following protocol, the official in charge of the execution asked him for the final time if he'd recant and save his life. Hus replied, “God is my witness that the evidence against me is false. I have never thought nor preached except with the one intention of winning men, if possible, from their sins. In the truth of the gospel I have written, taught, and preached; today I will gladly die.”The Inquisitors thought Hus's condemnation and execution would put the kibosh on the calls for Reform. They thought burning Hus was a kind of back-fire that would put out the forest-fire lit by Wycliffe's criticisms. They couldn't have been more wrong. The Bohemian rebellion grew and developed into both a moderate and a militant wing. The moderates were called Utraquists, a Latin term meaning “both” since their protest called for freedom to receive both the bread and the cup in Communion.The militants were called Taborites after the city in Bohemia that served as their headquarters. This was an apocalyptic group that called for radical reform.Facing armed resistance from the Bohemian King at the urging of the Pope, the various groups of Hus's followers, loosely called Hussites, agreed to what's called The Four Articles. Under the Articles, while the various groups might differ on this or that, they were far more united with each other in facing the King. The Four Articles were, à1) The Word of God was regarded as the chief authority and was to be taught freely throughout the kingdom.2) Per the Ultraquists, Communion would be given by BOTH bread and cup.3) All agreed that clergy should give up their wealth and live in apostolic poverty.4) Simony and any other public sin was to be punished.When King Wenceslas died in 1419, his successor was Sigismund, the guy who'd failed Hus at Constance. The Hussites demanded he agree to the Four Articles and grant them freedom of worship. Sigismund refused and petitioned the Pope to proclaim a Crusade against them. The Pope agreed and Sigismund marched on Prague where he and his army was crushed by the Hussites.Their leader was Jan Zizka who turned the many peasant carts into a kind of war chariot. In a follow up battle, the remnant of Sigismund's army was wiped out. Then, a year later, an army of a hundred thousand crusaders fled yet again before Zizka's carts. A 3rd Crusade, a year after that, in 1422, dissolved before it even met them.Under different leaders, the Bohemians crushed 2 later Crusades called against them, one in 1427 and the other in 31. The Council of Basel extended an olive branch to the Hussites, but they, fearing the same treatment Hus had met at Constance, refused. So yet ANOTHER Crusade was called against them. This was also put down. Good Grief! When are these people going to learn?Actually, this defeat convinced the Catholics negotiation with the Hussites was necessary. As a result of that negotiation, the church in Bohemia rejoined the rest of Western Christendom, but was allowed to retain Ultraquist communion as well as a modified form of the Four Articles.While most of the nobility accepted this arrangement and honored Sigismund as King, many of the commoners left the Church, and formed the Unitas Fratrum—or “Union of Brethren.” Their numbers grew in Bohemia and nearby Moravia.They'll become closely aligned with the Reformation later.What the lives of Wycliffe and Hus make clear is that if the Church of Rome was going to be reformed from within, it had ample opportunity in the 14th and early 15th Cs. By the end of the 15th , those who hoped to bring reform by councils were themselves frustrated and by their opponents, repudiated. The treatment of Wycliffe and Hus by church authorities made clear to all the reform-minded how they were going to be dealt with. It was now clear:  Reform of the papal church from within was impossible. A time of “judgment” had come.In our next episode, we'll take a look at an Italian Reformer from a bit later in the 15th C; Savonarola.