History of Christianity: Recent Episodes
Stephen J. Bedard
A Podcast All About Christianity beginning with John the Baptist down to the present time. Hosted by Stephen J. Bedard.
The fourth century was a century of great change for the church. It was equally so for the Roman Empire. In fact, from this century onward it would be difficult to separate the history of Rome from the history of the church. In this episode, we look at the major events of the fourth century ... Read More "Episode 76 – The Roman Empire in the Fourth Century" »
The fourth century was one of the most formative eras for the church. A part of that story are those men who were the bishops of Rome, those we call popes. In this episode, we summarize their experience in this century of rapid change. Please consider supporting me at http://www.patreon.com/hopesreason or consider a one time ... Read More "Episode 75 – The Popes of the Fourth Century" »
One of the most influential theologians of the early church was Augustine of Hippo. Love him or hate him, Christians cannot escape his influence. This episode is the first part of a look at his life, taking us up to 400 as start to conclude our look at the fourth century. Please consider supporting me ... Read More "Episode 74 – The Life of Augustine of Hippo up to 400 AD" »
One of the most remarkable and yet largely unknown Christian thinkers is Didymus the Blind. His story is worth hearing and in this episode, we look at his influence especially in Alexandria. Please consider supporting me through patreon.com/hopesreason.
In the battles for Nicene orthodoxy against the Arians during the fourth century, one of the most important figures in the west was Hilary of Poitiers. Hilary took the wisdom from the east and translated it for the west. Learn more about Hilary in this episode and make sure to go back to Episode 62 ... Read More "Episode 72 – Hilary of Poitiers: The Athanasius of the West" »
One of the Christian leaders of the fourth century who had the greatest impact on the later church. While active in many areas, his Latin translation of the Bible had legacy as much as if not more than the writing of any other contemporary thinker. In this episode, we look at the life and ministry ... Read More "Episode 71 – Jerome: Scholar of Scripture and Architect of the Latin Bible" »
Two of the important Church Fathers in the later fourth century are Cyril of Jerusalem and Epiphanius of Salamis. You may not know much about…
Many people are aware of the Council of Nicaea in 325, which gave us the Nicene Creed. Fewer people are aware that the form of…
One of our most important sources for Christian history is Eusebius of Caesarea. While he […]
In this episode, we explore the remarkable life of John Chrysostom, one of Christianity’s greatest preachers and theologians. Born in 347 AD in […]
This episode explores the extraordinary life of Ambrose of Milan, a Roman governor turned bishop who became a pivotal figure in early […]
Among the highlights of the fourth century was a group of theologians, two brothers and a close friend. These were the Cappadocian […]
In this episode, I talk to Dr. Emily Conroy-Krutz, author of Missionary Diplomacy. In the 19th Century, the United States was expanding […]
An important part of Christian history has been the role of clergy in supporting the military in terms of both spiritual and […]
One of the greatest defenders of what would be known as orthodox Christianity was Athanasius the Great, bishop of Alexandria. He was […]
While some Christians were gathering in councils and devising creeds, others were fleeing the cities to be alone with God. These were […]
In this special Christmas episode, we look at the figure who would be the inspiration for the popular Santa Claus. While some […]
One of the most important events in Christian history is the First Council of Nicaea that took place in 325 AD. Christianity […]
The Christian church was emerging out of a time of persecution but their troubles were not over. Shifting from threats from without […]
One of the most influential people in the history of the early church was someone of unknown religious conviction. Constantine came to […]
Emperor Constantine was Great, but was he good? If you were talk to many Christians today, they might suggest that much of […]
There had been numerous persecutions on a small scale for the first three centuries but the church experienced a much more significant […]
The third century was a time of great upheaval for the Roman Empire and it was equally so for the church in […]
One of the religious movements that emerged in the third century was that of Manichaeism. This religion, founded by the Iranian prophet […]
The Christian Church existed within and was growing inside the Roman Empire. What was happening in the Roman Empire during the third […]
By the third century, the church had been growing rapidly. They were facing threats both internal and external. In this episode, we […]
Two of the brightest, most influential, and most prolific church fathers were Origen of Alexandria and Tertullian of Carthage. They were both […]
Pope Pius XII was the pope during the Second World War. There is controversy over how he responded to the crisis. Should […]
As we conclude our look at the second century, we revisit some of the people we have already talked about. These are […]
Since the time before Jesus, the Jews were a part of the Roman Empire. Not a willing part, but a part nonetheless. […]
It is impossible to say exactly how many people in the early church were considered apostles. We can say with certainty that […]
Back in episode 27, we looked at the Roman Emperors of the first century (or most of them). Now we take a […]
One of the most important leaders in the Church today is that of the Pope. But where did the popes come from? […]
This episode of the podcast is brought to you by HelloFresh. Get $80 Discount ($50 – $20 – $10). Including Free Shipping […]
Clement of Alexandria may not be the most well known of the Church Fathers but he was influential. Clement helped to develop […]
In this episode, we look at one of the most influential of the early church fathers: Irenaeus of Lyons. He is especially […]
Justin Martyr was an important church father and pioneering Christian apologist. He had the courage to not just write a defence of […]
One of the most important movements to understand the history of Christianity, especially for the second and third centuries, is that of […]
In this episode, I talk to Dr. Gordon Heath of McMaster Divinity College. We have an interesting chat on the nature of […]
How do we study Christian history? One way is to look at the sermons of the past. Sermons are more than expositions […]
What do we do with the Secret Gospel of Mark? Some scholars accept it as an early Gospel, earlier even than our […]
In this episode, we finish up the collection of writings known as the Apostolic Fathers. While not as well known as some […]
The Gospel of Thomas is probably the extra-canonical gospel that most people have heard of but do not know anything about. In […]
I had the opportunity to write a chapter for A Noble Company: The Canadians. I wrote about a Baptist who came from […]
We continue to look at documents of the early church with a look at the Shepherd of Hermas and the Epistle of […]
There are two ancient Christian writings that are attributed to the Twelve Apostles, even though they unlikely wrote them. One, the Apostle’s […]
Papias is the most important church father that you have never heard of. Even though none of his writings survive in anything […]
One of the most inspiring of the Apostolic Fathers is Polycarp. At the age of 86, he became a martyr, even though […]
It has been a while since the last episode but I have not given up on the podcast. I am busy with […]
We continue our look at the Apostolic Fathers with a brief look at Ignatius of Antioch. Although we don’t have much information […]
Once we get out of the New Testament era, we move into the period of the Apostolic Fathers. These are some early […]
One of the most important events in the first century for both Jews and Christians was the Jewish War (66-73 AD). This […]
The book of Acts describes a church in which the members held all things in common. But how seriously should we take […]
As important as the Jewish background is to the rise of Christianity, so is the Roman background. All of the events of […]
Christianity emerged out of Judaism. We have already looked at the Jewish background of Christianity. While there are many ways for us […]
This is the final episode of the series on the Synoptic Gospels based on my lectures from Tyndale University College. Although there […]
We take a short break from our regular scheduled episodes to bring you a special announcement. I have decided to start a […]
We take a break from our series on the Synoptic Gospels for a short Christmas episode. In this episode we look at […]
In this lecture from the course Jesus and the Synoptic Gospels taught at Tyndale University College, we look at the Gospel of […]
One of the most popular Gospels is that of Matthew. It is in Matthew that we get the Sermon on the Mount […]
In this lecture on the Synoptic Gospels from Tyndale University College, we look at the Gospel of Mark. Mark is generally considered […]
This is a continuation of my lectures on Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels as taught at Tyndale University College. In this episode, […]
This is a continuation of the course on Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels that I taught at Tyndale University College. In this […]
This the second part of a lecture on Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels taught at Tyndale University College. In this section, I […]
This episode is the first part of a series of lectures I gave for a course on Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels […]
The family of Herod the Great weaved in and out of the story of the early church, including the lives of Jesus […]
Introduction Many children are looking forward to October 31. They enjoy dressing up as their favourite superhero or some other character, and […]
Christianity didn’t emerge out of a vacuum. Although considered a separate religion now, it was originally a sect of Judaism. The culture […]
In this episode of the podcast, we have an interview with Dr. Mark Steinacher. Mark is an assistant professor of history at […]
One of the interesting things about the Apostle Paul was his insistence on working with other Christian leaders. At one point Barnabas […]
Much of our New Testament is made up of letters by the Apostle Paul. We are fortunate to have both an account […]
In this episode, we look at the life of the Apostle Paul. We examine his beginnings in Tarsus as a faithful Jew […]
This episode of the History of Christianity asks the questions: 1) Was Jesus really the brother of Jesus and 2) Did he […]
In this eighth episode of the History of Christianity, we take a look at the three men that the Apostle Paul describes as the […]
In this seventh episode of the History of Christianity, we take a look at the beginnings of the church, starting with the day […]
In this sixth episode of the History of Christianity, we take a look at Jesus as he enters Jerusalem, is arrested and crucified. We […]
In this fifth episode of the History of Christianity, we look at Jesus’s ministry before his entry into Jerusalem. Rather than recounting every […]
In this fourth episode of the History of Christianity, we look at Jesus from his birth to his baptism. We also look […]
In this third episode of the History of Christianity, we take a look at Jesus before he was born in Bethlehem. The New Testament […]
In this second episode of the History of Christianity, we take a look at the sources we have for Jesus. How can […]
In this first episode of the History of Christianity, we take John the Baptist as our starting point. In many ways, John […]
For Christians, the crucifixion and resurrection are the most important events in the ministry of Jesus. This episode looks at those two events.
In this episode, we look at the actual ministry of Jesus. We look at titles for Jesus, major themes and important events. This is a big picture look at Jesus.
In this episode, we look at the early years of Jesus. We start with the birth and go right up to his baptism by John the Baptist.
For Christians, the story of Jesus does not begin 2000 years ago. Christians believe that Jesus is the incarnation of God. This episode looks at what the New Testament says about the divinity of Jesus.
In this first episode, we look at the man who's ministry introduced that of Jesus. We look at the role and importance of John the Baptist.