Send us a text In many parts of the world, the question of whether you're a Catholic or Protestant means a lot more than if you submit to the Pope, or how you feel about Martin Luther. One such place is Northern Ireland. For generations, the people of Ireland and the United Kingdom have been steeped in a conflict about religious freedom, civil righ…

Send us a text Have you ever wondered why some churches use grape juice for communion, while others insist on using wine instead? The answer is more complicated than you think. Or it might be less complicated, I don't know, I feel like you're probably pretty smart. Either way, join us as we discuss Thomas Welch, the Prohibition Era, and the impact …

Send us a text Church history isn't always as, well, historically reliable as we wish it was. Sometimes the stories of saints and heroes tend to blur the lines between fact and fiction. That would be the case of Saint Dymphna, an Irish-Catholic runaway who sought refuge from her violent father in a small town in Belgium. What's interesting though, …

Send us a text It's 1550. A generation has passed since the Reformation swept across Europe like a wildfire. The Catholic Church has launched the Counter-Reformation, a multi-layered initiative to restore the continent to its former Roman glory. One step of this plan in Germany is to recognize the cities that have fallen into the clutches of Luther…

Send us a text In the 5th Century, the Western Roman Empire is on its last leg. Riddled with internal conflict, external threats, and even theological disputes tearing at the fabric of the Church, Rome has seen better days. And the great shadow of the Huns looms larger and larger as days go by. This leads to one of the most engaging (and unexpected…

Send us a text If you're not a Baptist (and we still love you even if you are), you're probably no stranger to the idea of infant baptism. The doctrine of paedobaptism is saturated with the idea that the children of believers are heirs of the covenant of grace, and through baptism are welcomed into God's family. But did you know that for several ce…

Send us a text Beginning as a fringe interpretation of the creation story in Genesis, the Serpent Seed Doctrine asks a question that no one really seems to be asking: what if Satan and Eve had a little...fling? It's a wild doctrine with even more of a wild history. So let's talk about it! Also, we're not gonna be too crude this episode, but given t…

Send us a text The 16th Century was a rollercoaster for Japanese Christians. The first half was amazing-- the first Portuguese missionaries broke ground and people were getting saved by the thousands. Churches were built, clergy established, things were looking great. The second half was...well, pretty bad. A combination of suspicious Japanese lead…

Send us a text The discovery (well, sort of discovery) of the New World was one of the most groundbreaking events in world history. The decades that followed however, would be marked by widespread violence and abuse of power as the colonizing Europeans came to settle in a foreign new land. In the midst of this broken system, there were several voic…

Send us a text Well folks, we've danced around this topic for long enough. It's time to unpack the grand-daddy of all heresies (most heresies), the second-century slammer, the demiurge devastator...Gnosticism. Unlike many of the heresies we've discussed so far this season, Gnosticism is a tricky one to pin down. There is no singular, authoritative …

Send us a text In the second century, it's safe to say that Christians were still kind of figuring things out. One of those things for example, was the celebration of Easter. There was a heated disagreement in the church about whether Easter should be celebrated on a Sunday (the Lord's Day) or whether it should stay on the day of the Jewish Passove…

Send us a text Well gang-- our Instagram followers supplied the questions, and here we are with the answers. What heresy do we find most dangerous to the church? How do we feel about nondenominational churches? How has our study of church history affected our work as pastors? WILL WE EVER DO AN EPISODE ON THE CRUSADES??? All of these questions (and…

Send us a text Manifest Destiny is a heck of a drug. In the 1800's, American and Canadian settlers were faced with a problem: what should be done about all these Native/Indigenous people? The result was a pretty gross blemish on the face of North American Christianity: the adoption of Indigenous Boarding Schools. The story behind this episode isn't…

Send us a text Okay fine, "original doomsday cult" is a little on the dramatic side. But come on, Montanism is like the perfect Frankenstein's monster of heresies. You've got a dash of modalism, a sprinkle of hyper-pentacostalism, and a healthy splash of end times panic. And all before the 3rd Century! Montanism was a strange movement in the early …

Send us a text The Protestant Reformation in the 16th Century wasn't just a movement. It was a million dominoes falling to trigger a BUNCH of movements all across Europe. One of the most unique of these movements was that of the Anabaptists. While Lutherans and Calvinists fought about whether justification or predestination were cooler sounding wor…

Send us a text Have you ever read through the Old Testament and thought, "Geez, God seems a little harsh compared to that Jesus guy"? Well, Marcion of Sinope had that thought as well. In fact, he would have argued that they were completely different gods. Join Thomas and John as they explore Marcionism, a 2nd century heresy with lots and lots of fu…

Send us a text David Brainerd was an 18th century colonial man for the people. We also have it on good authority that his pals called him 'Davey the Brain.' After running into obstacles on his path into pastoral leadership, David opted for a different calling: mission work to the Native Americans. Although his life would be cut short by illness, Br…

Send us a text Historically, Christians have believed that when the first humans sinned, it introduced corruption into everything. Human hearts turned away from God, nature began to decay, and all creation groaned for its Redeemer. But what if that wasn't the case? What if humans weren't born bad at all? In fact, what if humans could be perfect? Jo…

Send us a text Have you ever wondered why Protestants don't have a richer view of the sacraments (a fancy word for 'visible means of grace,' like baptism if you're a Protestant, or confession if you're a Catholic)? Or ever wondered why most Protestant churches tend to be so "dressed down" and casual, compared to high-church settings? Well then you'…

Send us a text At this point, people really should have learned to stop making up new ideas about Jesus' nature. But some people never learn. This week, we end up with Eutychianism, an overcorrection of the heresy of Nestorianism. This one suggested, "What if Jesus' two natures were just kind of, like, blended together into one?" We'll break down w…

Send us a text The Council of Nicea might be one of the most commonly misunderstood events in church history. Everyone from TikTok influencers, Joe Rogan, and that one guy who wrote the Da Vinci Code, have different opinions on what went down on that fateful day in 325 AD. So hey, let's uh, break up some myths! Also, our wonderfully fun guest Ben L…

Send us a text Through our Hefty Heresies series, we've kind of done a "series within a series" as we cover the four major Christological heresies of the early church (following Arianism and Docetism). This week we're covering Nestorianism (kind of a part 3 for our series within a series), which was borne from a dude who thought that Docetism was j…

Send us a text Not often do you have the privilege of interviewing a relative of one of the figures you talk about. But today is a special day. Today John and Tommy are joined by long time-friend (and Tucson LEGEND) Tom Askew, who shares the story of his great x 17 grandmother, Anne Askew. This was a fun episode to record, and Tom was a delightful …

Send us a text The worst persecution against Christians that the world has ever known has just ended. Christian leaders bear scars of torture and violence all across their bodies. The priests and bishops who kept the faith despite the brutality of the Romans now look forward to a brighter future. But here's a question...what do you do with the Chri…

Send us a text This week, the guys are joined by Michael, the man and mind behind Creative Orthodox, an online page that explores the virtue and beauty of the ancient Orthodox faith. In addition to geeking out about Abba Arsenius and the rest of the Desert Fathers (you know how we do), he also shares a big part of his story and how the stories of t…

Send us a text Docetism (or Apollinarianism for people who like syllables) is basically the evil little brother of Arianism. While Arianism said that Jesus wasn't cool enough to be God, Docetism said that Jesus was too cool to be a human. It was an idea born in the shadow of Arianism's larger threat, but still created a troubling take on Jesus that…

Send us a text For our WW2 homies: This isn't the Aryanism (with the blue eyes and blonde hair stuff) that Hitler was a big fan of. This was, rather, one of the most vicious heresies that Satan ever hurled at the 4th century church: the view that Jesus was not God. But let us be clear: All Arianisms suck. They suck hard. We're psyched to be back fo…

Send us a text What it do babyyyyyyAv ay big dog media

Send us a text BACK LIKE WE NEVER LEFT. For just a little bit, though. While we continue getting our ducks in a row for the official launch of Season 2, we just couldn't help but drop a little teaser in honor of All Saints' Day. Be blessed, friends. We'll see ya real soon.Av ay big dog media

Send us a text Do you ever wish you could step into a time machine and see what some of the earliest Christians were doing? Well, say no more. Kinda. The Didache is one of the oldest Christian documents, with some scholars arguing its circulation even before some of the Gospels were written. Join us as we chat about this cool little Christian guide…

Send us a text In our day, technological breakthroughs seem to happen every two or three weeks. Things were a little different in the 15th Century. Enter the man known as Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg (what a name!). He would introduce one of the most groundbreaking, culture shifting, Reformation igniting devices the world had yet se…

Send us a text From the age of 13, young Simeon knew that he was destined for greater things. Or at the very least...much higher things. Join Thomas and John as we talk about Simeon Stylites, a 5th century monk who began an interesting monastic practice: committing your life to living in isolation at the top of a pillar. It's uncanny to say the lea…

Send us a text This week, Thomas and John kick their feet up a little bit for a lil' Q&A episode. Big thanks to all of our IG followers who contributed! Ever wondered which figures from church history our beloved hosts would love to grab a drink with? Or maybe their favorite crowd pleasing recipe? Tune in for answers to these and more. And as alway…

Send us a text More than a century before the English Reformation kicked off, there was already something cooking across the pond. And it wasn't blood sausage. In this episode, John and Thomas talk about the so-called Morning Star of the Reformation, John Wycliffe.Av ay big dog media

Send us a text Francis of Assisi had it made in the shade to be a handsome, wealthy Italian noble. But boy did Lord have other plans. John and Thomas talk about our new favorite wolf-talking, poverty-living, Gospel-preaching son of a gun.Av ay big dog media

Send us a text Nope, don't worry, we didn't accidentally sneeze on the keyboard when we typed this episode's title. Wilgefortis was a popular folk saint during the Middle Ages, and her story is...well...just hit play. It'll make sense real soon.Av ay big dog media

Send us a text Okay, hear us out...is it possible that the Prosperity Gospel formed as a teaching as a trauma response to the Great Depression? Seriously, I'm still not sure. Anyways. This week we'll talk about one of the most polarizing faith healing evangelists of the 20th century: A.A. Allen. We'll talk about his legacy and the strange amount of…

Send us a text Lawrence (not Brother Lawrence, but he was dope too) was one of the seven deacons in the city of Rome in the 3rd Century. While he was one of many martyrs under the reign of Emperor Valerian, his story is one for the ages. In this episode, John and Tom chat about the role of deacons in the church, awesome pre-martyrdom punchlines, an…

Send us a text If the name is any indication, the Black Death was probably NOT a good time. In the shadow of a sweeping disease the killed half of Europe's population, a young English woman committed to a simple life of prayer and isolation as an anchoress. In her small and prison-like cell, this woman would experience remarkable visions from God. …

Send us a text For this special episode, John and Tom sit down with Ben Lansing, the artist and creator behind the page @ourchurchspeaks. Ben is a talented artist who has used his skills to highlight prominent church figures from across the centuries on his IG page. During this conversation, Ben shares his wild and fascinating theological journey, …

Send us a text No matter how many times you hear the haunting accounts of the slave ships traveling across oceans, in conditions that would be inexcusable for cattle, let alone humans, it always puts a pit in your stomach. This was the reality for much of the Western world in the mid-18th century. But slowly and steadily, the Spirit of God was awak…

Send us a text February 1692. Salem Massachusetts. Two young girls, feeling unwell, begin to go into "fits." This consists of screaming, vomiting, contorting their bodies, and making strange noises. This began one of the most well known religious controversies in American history. #spookyhoursAv ay big dog media

Send us a text John, Thomas, and the esteemed Dr. Melle are BACK. And they're all out of bubble gum. The good doctor leads the guys through yet another captivating conversation on the Celts. The guys discuss the missional posture of the Celtic monks, how we as Westerners can adopt a more Celtic lens of the world, and Brad's favorite Irenaeus quote.…

Send us a text It's the 5th century, and the slightly complicated relationship between the Christian church and the Roman Empire is in full swing. A dusty missionary named Patrick arrives at the coast of Ireland. He finds a unique, nature-centered culture with a rich relationship with the spiritual realm. The table is set for the birth of Celtic Ch…

Send us a text Takashi Nagai was the biblical Job of the 20th century. A Japanese radiologist and convert to the Catholic faith, he lost everything when his home, and the home of thousands of other believers, became an atomic wasteland at the conclusion of the Second World War. Like Job, his story would become a monument to faith and perseverance i…

Send us a text The year is 70 AD. Christianity has existed for less than 40 years. Unrest is growing in Jerusalem between factions of militant Jewish citizens and their Roman captors. A siege is about to break out that will alter the history of Christianity and Judaism forever. Thomas and John are joined by Pastor Joshua Palmer to chop it up.…

Send us a text Maximilian Kolbe was a Polish priest who, while imprisoned at a concentration camp, volunteered to die in the place of another man. But his legacy doesn't end there. His life was marked by deep devotion to his faith, service to the needy, and a sacrificial love that lasted until he died. He also REALLY vibed with the Virgin Mary, whi…

Send us a text Polycarp (not a Pokémon) was a beloved and well respected church leader in the 2nd century. After facing tensions from the oppressive Roman Empire, this 86-year old legend refused to deny his faith in Jesus and was burnt at the stake as a result. In this episode, John and Tommy explore the life of Polycarp, the supernatural occurrenc…

Send us a text Around 270 AD, years before anyone ever contemplated “van life,” a dude named Anthony had a similar idea: “What if I got rid of all my stuff, left this terrible city, and wandered around in the desert until God spoke to me?” What followed was an explosion of communities of men and women that would commit themselves to simple lives of…

Send us a text I'm sure you have a lot of questions. What is church history? Am *I* a chump if I'm listening to this? Why didn't Thomas join John for this trailer? This trailer will answer all of that and more.Av John