Biblical Time Machine
Join Helen and Lloyd as they travel back in time (metaphorically… it’s a podcast) to explore the real history of the people, places and events of the Old Testament, New Testament and everything in between.
Biblical Time Machine
The Haunted House of Early Christianity
What if the earliest Christians believed the world around them was teeming with invisible forces waiting to invade the human body? This Halloween, Biblical Time Machine delves into early Christian ideas of demons with Dr Travis Proctor, Associate Professor of Religion at Wittenberg University. His book, Demonic Bodies and the Dark Ecologies of Early Christian Discourse (OUP, 2022) reveals that demons were not just ghosts or spirits—but embodied, contaminating presences that could bring sickness, impurity, and spiritual ruin.
In the Time Machine, they explore how Christians imagined demons, what they believed demons were made of, where demons lurked, and how demonic contamination shaped ancient understandings of purity, health, and the human body. Along the way, Travis reveals why haunted houses aren’t just a modern Halloween invention—and which early Christian writer had the strangest ideas about demons.
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DOWNLOAD OUR STUDY GUIDE: MARK AS ANCIENT BIOGRAPHY
Check out our 4-part audio study guide called "The Gospel of Mark as an Ancient Biography." While you're there, get yourself a Biblical Time Machine mug or a cool sticker for your water bottle.
Theme music written and performed by Dave Roos, creator of Biblical Time Machine. Season 4 produced by John Nelson.