Church History for Chumps

Bienvenidos, amigos.  It's the 16th century. The Aztec Empire has recently fallen at the hands of the Spanish conquistadores. Colonialism is spreading throughout New Spain, and with it, a rise of the Spanish faith: Roman Catholicism.  The Native population is apprehensive, as they deal with the social collapse of their civilization and the health crises of crippling diseases. Until one Decemb...

We all knew this day would come.  For many of our friends in the Baptist tradition, there is no competition as to who the greatest Baptist is to grace the pulpit. Only a battle for second place. The gold medal belongs to Charles Spurgeon, the cigar smoking, quip quipping, Bible preaching, pulpit shaking, rootinest, tootinest cowboy in the wild, wild west.  Charles Haddon Spurgeon, often known as t...

I remember when AI was just a quirky little app that we used to laugh about.  Now AI is everywhere: from your aunt's posts on Facebook to the suspiciously well-written essays turned in by terrible 6th graders.  The influence of AI is growing, and the question of its morality is becoming more and more relevant.  So what do you think, is AI opening Pandora's box? Or is it a new tool to be...

It's a story as American as apple pie: a man known for his good morals is accused of chopping down a tree, and would one day lead a great nation.  Oh wait, you think I'm talking about George Washington? WRONG! This is Saint Boniface, my friend.  Often called the Apostle to the Germans, Boniface was a monk, preacher, missionary, and yes, sometimes a destroyer of pagan idols.  Join Thom, T...

If you live in America, chances are you've been spoon fed Pilgrim lore since you were but a wee lad.  You've likely heard the tales of adventurous English men and women braving the seas, fist bumping Indians, and wearing terrible clothing.  But what's the real story? What would possess these people to brave a journey that would take them weeks, and possibly even cost them their live...

If you were around for this story in 2018, you remember that it was everywhere .  An American missionary is killed after attempting to make contact with an isolated tribe that lives on a small island in the Bay of Bengal.  Criticism was immediate. Swarms of news outlets condemned the man for resurrecting age-old imperialist tactics in defying the tribe's desire for autonomy. Many Christians d...

From Arianism to Modalism, Nestorianism to Docetism, we've hit our fair share of heresies on this show.  (By talking about them, not by committing them, hopefully) So for this week's episode, we'll be discussing how the church has historically dealt with the "h-word." We'll also consider, from our own ministry perspectives, the optimal way to address heresy in a moder...

Note: We love that some of our listeners enjoy our podcast with their entire families. However, this episode contains some content that may be a little inappropriate for the little ones. “I dedicate this edit to all my friends who couldn’t watch The Smurfs because they were allegedly satanic.” — Our editor, Ray We know—we’re a few days late for Halloween. But bear with us. The Satanic Panic was a...

The world is obsessed with hot takes. Sometimes to an unhealthy degree, we think.  So for today's episode of Chump Talk, we're going to be cracking open the vault of spicy takes and sharing them with the world. The only thing was, to keep things fun and fancy free, we opted to keep them on the milder side. Save the scorched earth comments and heretical potshots for your *second* favorite...

They said we'd never make it.  Our series on the apostles ends with easily the most impactful of them all: the man himself, Paul. Author of 251 books of the bible, survivor of many attempted murders, the world's greatest evangelist.  But what does history say happened to him where the New Testament is silent? Was he killed in Rome under Nero's persecution? Or did something way LAMER...

Thomas is BACK, BABY. It's about dang time.  But also, we're wrapping up our series on the Apostles with two of the minor-est boys in the bunch, Thaddeus and Bartholomew.  While the biblical narrative doesn't offer us much on these two lads, history has no shortage of legends about their lives. Where did they go? Were they martyred or did they die of natural causes?  Also, let'...

For a long-time follower of Jesus, Thomas really got the short stick when it came to nicknames. But that's okay. He redeemed his doubting ways and was named with the rest of the disciples even after Jesus ascended to heaven.  But here's a question-- what did he do after that? Did he go to Persia? Or perhaps, even farther??? Join us as we explore the fascinating legacy of the Apostle Thom...

Let's be honest-- each of the Gospel authors clearly had their favorite disciples to write about. Lots of Peter yapping, a little bit of Thomas doubting, a little bit of John being beloved. But what about the other guys? Well, one of those 'other guys' is the apostle Philip, and he's our focus for this week. Join us as we try to uncover once again, what happened to this discipl...

Few things are worse than living in the shadow of a really successful older sibling. We imagine the siblings (or cousins, right Catholics?) of Jesus probably felt that way.  Imagine being young Gregory of Nyssa, the brother of four siblings who would go on to receive sainthood. And two of them are your oldest brother and sister. What a nightmare. For Gregory, living a life of spiritual adventure l...

How's that for a title, huh? We heard we're supposed to be better at hooking people.  But seriously, few of the apostles get as wild of a post-Acts story as John. Supposedly boiled in oil, miraculously survived, and then banished to a tiny island where he wrote Revelation. Supposedly. So let's see what the history books have to say about ol' John the Beloved. Also, we'll t...

As we comb through history's ranks of church fathers, we tend to take something for granted. Many of these people had a natural desire for leadership. Augustine, Athanasius, Antony, they all had a natural penchant to address the crowds and stir up courage.  This was not the case with our next Cappadocian Father, Gregory of Nazianzus. Gregory had a monastic soul, he longed for a quiet and peac...

Do you know what happens when you combine the trauma of growing up as a PK (pastor's kid, of course) with the Game of Thrones-esque violence of the Roman Empire? Well, you sort of get Julian the Apostate.  Born in the era of Constantine's great conversion to Christianity, Julian was the last emperor not to be wooed by the Empire's new religious convictions. Raised on the classics an...

We asked for Q's, and you guys delivered. So now we're back with the A's.  Who's our favorite heretic? Are we Calvinist, Arminian, or something else? Do we have any advice for someone considering pastoral ministry? We answer those questions and many, many more.  As fun as this episode was to record, we honestly just enjoy any chance we get to interact with the folks who listen...

We're back in the 4th century, baby.  And it's time we finally talk about the Cappadocian Fathers. Two brothers and one lifelong friend, Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nyssa, and Gregory of Nazianzus were three of the most pivotal figures in the history of Eastern Christianity. And today, we begin with Basil.  During a thyme of heretical emperors, he was a voice of Nicene wisdom. When the...

This week, we're taking a short break on our early church series, mostly because Taylor put "I get to lead an episode on Baptist missions every once in a while" in his contract when he joined the show :( Isaac McCoy was a Baptist missionary in the early 19th century who endeavored to bring the Gospel to the American Indians that lived throughout the Midwest. Historically, he's...

Imagine you're writing a letter to the President (or Emperor, depending on what era you live in). Point by point, you bring up each idol of that day and age, and refute it thoroughly. Then you explain, it clear and compassionate terms, that the reader should submit themselves to the God of Christianity, repent of their sins, and commit to a Christian life.  Actually, the more I talk about it,...

Persecutions are tough. I think we can all agree with that.  But an issue that doesn't get as much attention is what the church does after a time of persecution. Specifically with the Christians who may or may not have caved under the threat of harm or violence.  The 3rd Century in Rome (as we've discussed on the show before ) was a tough time to be a Christian, and while the persecution...

For the past few weeks, we've been covering the stories of the Apostles after the biblical narrative concludes.  And...we can be honest. This series has gone over like watching a jaded old magician spoiling a handful of classic magic tricks in front of an unsuspecting child's birthday party. But sometimes that's just how history is.  But what about Saint Peter? We all know the story...

The lore surrounding the lives of the Apostles never ceases to amaze. People getting boiled alive (and surviving). Dudes getting thrown off the top of the Temple. Crazy stuff.  But what if most of these crazy things are actually false? And what if nobody had a cool martyrdom? And what if Santa Claus is a FRAUD? Well, you'll just have to listen to find out. Join Taylor and John as we continue...

When you think of the persecution of the Christians in the early church, it doesn't take long for the mind to naturally think of the Colosseum.  But how involved was the Roman Colosseum in the practice of executing Christians in the first 4 centuries after the life of Christ? And what about the other stadiums built around that time?  Join us as Tommy leads us through a rabbit trail for the ag...