Church History for Chumps

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 voices who were critical of these injustices. They believed that the...

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 Gnostic worldview, so it takes a little nuance to...

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 Passover.  What came of this agreement is one of the oldest a...

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 a lot more) will be answered.  IG: @churchhistory4chumps  Suppor...

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 a fun one, but we believe it's important as bel...

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 days of Christianity. It demonstrated a growi...

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 words, Anabaptists were marching to the beat of a very differen...

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 fun heretical ideas. Oh and John will consistently call...

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, Brainerd's legacy would survive him through his jou...

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? Join John and Tommy as they discuss Pelagianism, as Tomm...

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're in good company.  Join...

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 why that's problematic, but also h...

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 Lansing (of Our Church Speaks) will be joining in as well....

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 just the worst.  Also: in the first minute or...

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 guest. Give it a listen and let us know what you think.  @chur...

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 Christians who sold out? The ones who traded in the Scriptures...

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 the saints and Fathers have kept the flame of his faith ignited....

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 the early church needed to sort out.  Also, at around...

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 for Season 2! And we're psyched that you're h...

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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.  Support the show

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 guidebook, its discovery, and some of its contents. Note: THANK YOU A...

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 seen: the printing press.  Crazy stuff, man.  IG: @churchhistory...

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 least, but it sure gives us a lot to talk about.  @churchhis...

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 always, make sure you follow us on IG (@churchhistory4chumps...