Giants of the Faith - A Christian History Podcast

Send us feedback Welcome to episode 27 where we're continuing our look at the life of Martin Luther. As we left off in the last episode Luther had just taken a position as professor of theology at the University at Wittenberg and as a result had begun to study the scriptures in earnest. RESOURCES Reformation 500: https://reformation500.csl.edu/timeline/luther-meets-with-cajetan-at-augsburg/ L...

Send us feedback With episode 26 we're embarking on what I'll call season 2 of this podcast. For the next several episodes we'll be focused on the reformers - men and women, but mostly men, who broke from the Catholic church and contributed to the wildfire of religious reformation that swept Europe in the 16th century. We've already dipped our toes into deep waters of this peri...

Send us feedback On today's show we're featuring four men who might not individually merit an entire episode but are interesting nonetheless. I did the same thing back in episode 18 and it seemed to work out pretty well. I have a catalog of people to feature on this show that I call the Big List and sometimes when I go digging for the next podcast subject some of these folks with not as...

Send us feedback In this episode we're going to look at the life of influential 20th century apologist and evangelical leader, Francis Schaeffer. I'm pretty late to learning about Schaeffer, first being introduced to him through his excellent video series How Should We Then Live near the end of 2020. Through that series and reading about his life I've come to appreciate Schaeffer an...

Send us feedback Today's episode is focused on one of the most prominent black American ministers of the post-civil war era, Francis Grimke. Grimke was born a slave but rose to be a well respected champion of integrity and Christian ideals even in the face of racial discrimination and prejudice. RESOURCES  The Christian History Institute: https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/it-happened-toda...

Send us feedback Today's episode focuses on the man that is considered the Father of the Congregationalist Church as well as the Father of the Pilgrims and the Grandfather of the United States, Robert Browne also known as Trouble Church Browne. Browne is famous for being the first to set up a separatist church in England after the establishment of the Church of England. Browne may have been,...

Send us feedback Today we're turning our attention to the man who composed perhaps the greatest work of Christian art known to man. I'm referring, of course, to George Frideric Handel and his Messiah. He was no theologian, nor was he even particularly religious for much of his life, but his ultimate work, Messiah, has something of the Divine in it. And for that, he is a Giant of the Fait...

Send us feedback This short episode will be most interesting to my American listeners as we are zeroing in on the Godmother of Thanksgiving, Sarah Hale. And we're talking about the American version of Thanksgiving. 

Send us feedback I'm pretty excited that this show has reached 20 episodes and to celebrate this milestone we're going to look at the life of one of the giants among the giants, Augustine of Hippo. Augustine is recognized by churches of all stripes - Protestant, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox (well, sort of) as an important church father. His impact is summarized by historian Diarmid M...

Send us feedback One of my favorite things about doing this podcast is how much I learn each episode. Whether I'm familiar with the subject or not I always learn something new about each one. And I'm always inspired in some way. Today's featured subject, Netherlander Corrie ten Boom, was virtually unknown to me but she is one of the great Christian heroes of the 20th century. She, a...

Send us feedback Today's episode is a bit of a change from the norm. Rather than focusing on one subject for the entire show I'm going to be covering several different people in one episode. These are people that are interesting and noteworthy but perhaps don't have enough material available about their lives to compose an entire episode around them. But I still helewant to bring th...

Send us feedback Today's episode features perhaps the greatest American intellectual and theologian, the man who is sometimes called the last Puritan, Jonathan Edwards. RESOURCES Christianity Today: https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/theologians/jonathan-edwards.html Crossway: https://www.crossway.org/articles/10-things-you-should-know-about-jonathan-edwards/ Inspirational Chris...

Send us feedback When I started this podcast one of my goals was to include people other than just the biggest and most recognizable names in Christian history - the Luthers, Pascals, and Calvins will all have their day but I also want to dive deeper into the vast ocean of Christians that have advanced the Kingdom. Today's subject is one of these "deep dive" Christians, journalist a...

Send us feedback In this episode we're zeroing in on W.A. Criswell. There's a good chance you aren't familiar with W.A. but he was a very important American evangelical leader in the 20th century who played a key role in defending the largest protestant denomination in the United States, the Southern Baptist Convention, from succumbing to an encroaching liberal theology. RESOURCES L...

Send us feedback Today's episode focuses on the proto-reformer Jan Hus. Hus lived about a century before the reformation and was influenced by the writings of another proto-reformer, John Wycliffe, who we'll get to on a future episode. Obviously, the reformers are going to play a large part in this podcast at some point but I've been putting them off as I think abut how to give them...

Send us feedback In episode 13 we covered Blaise Pascal and mentioned his Memorial. The Memorial was an outpouring of faith, hope, and love that accompanied Pascal's surrender to Christ and his commitment to live for Him. I wanted to read the entire Memorial in episode 13 but felt like it would distract from the narrative and so I've decided to break it out into a small bonus episode. I&...

Send us feedback In this episode we will take a look at one of the giants of the giants, Blaise Pascal. Pascal was a great intellect, inventor, apologist, theologian, and the rare man who is a hero of both the religious and the scientific. He was a true Renaissance Man and worthy of inclusion in this series. RESOURCES Christianity.com: https://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/16...

Send us feedback In this episode we are focusing in on Richard Wurmbrand - the Romanian minister who suffered under the Nazis and communists and went on the found The Voice of the Martyrs. His is a tale of strength and faith in the face of great persecution and points to the ultimate victory of Christ. RESOURCES Richard Wurmbrand Foundation: https://www.richardwurmbrandfoundation.com/pdfs/richard-...

Send us feedback This episode focuses on the 18th and 19th century statesman, William Wilberforce. Wilberforce was the public face of the abolitionist movement in Britain and his convictions came from his faith. He persevered in the face of great opposition and is remembered and revered today by both Christian and secular audiences alike. RESOURCES Christian History Institute: https://christianhis...

Send us feedback This brief bonus episode looks at the Nicene Creed and it's importance to orthodoxy. It is a wonderfully concise declaration of theology that all Christian churches should be able to affirm. While not scripture, it's an important tool for Christians when evaluating churches and denominations.

Send us feedback Athanasius is one of the great defenders of Christian Orthodoxy. He helped protect the church from falling into the Arian heresy and was instrumental in canonizing the Bible. He's one of the most important churchmen of the last 2000+ years. Also in today's episode there's a sneak peak at the excellent Christian history podcast - The Soul Anchor Podcast by Vidal More...

Send us feedback This bonus episode takes a brief look at the history and importance of everyone's favorite VeggieTales host - Bob the Tomato. 

Send us feedback This episode we are looking at the life and ministry of the great Catholic servant of the poor, Vincent de Paul. He was a man who moved the Catholic Church in France to a more positive force for the poor and needy and he greatly improved the effectiveness and godliness of the priesthood in France. RESOURCES   Pierced Hearts: https://www.piercedhearts.org/theology_heart/life_saints...

Send us feedback Today's episode's focus is the famous diminutive Southern Baptist missionary Charlotte 'Lottie' Moon. I say famous because if you've attended a traditional Southern Baptist church for any length of time you've probably heard of the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. But that doesn't mean you really know anything about Lottie Moon. And, if you aren&a...

Send us feedback This episode marks our first step into antiquity as we review the life, at least what we know of it, and impact of early church father Polycarp. Polycarp's legacy is multi-faceted. He serves as a critical link between the early church and the Apostles He held firm to the emerging orthodoxy and was a rock in Asia, the center of late first-century Christianity. He's also t...