Church History for Chumps
We're not your grandfather's church history podcast. But we'd also really appreciate it if he still listened.
Saints, heretics, councils...and the occasional crazy stuff. We have fun.
IG: @churchhistory4chumps
Episodes
107 episodes
106. Our Lady of Guadalupe: The Ghost of the Virgin Mary?
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....
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Season 3
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Episode 54
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57:39
105. Charles Spurgeon: Great Baptist? Or GREATEST Baptist?
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 Spur...
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Season 3
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Episode 53
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1:13:57
104. CHUMP TALK: Is AI the Spawn of Satan???
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 influen...
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Season 3
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Episode 52
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55:54
103. Saint Boniface: God's Man with an Axe
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,...
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Season 3
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Episode 52
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1:22:14
102. Who Were the Pilgrims, Really? Faith, Flight, and the Mayflower
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 clo...
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Season 3
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Episode 51
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1:08:49
101. John Allen Chau: Reckless Missionary or Righteous Martyr?
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. ...
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Season 3
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Episode 50
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1:02:34
100. Heresies, Heresies, Heresies: What Makes a Heresy?
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 ...
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Season 3
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Episode 49
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57:08
99. The Satanic Panic: The Devil is in the Details
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 ...
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Season 3
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Episode 48
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1:16:32
98. CHUMP TALK: Harmless Hot Takes
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...
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Season 3
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Episode 47
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46:24
97. The Adventures of the Apostles: Did Paul Lose His Head in Rome??
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.&...
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Season 3
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Episode 46
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1:06:10
96. The Adventures of the Apostles: Why You Should Know Thaddeus and Bartholomew
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...
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Season 3
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Episode 45
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1:09:54
95. The Adventures of the Apostles: Did Doubting Thomas Go to India?
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 her...
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Season 3
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Episode 44
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57:48
94. The Adventures of the Apostles: Was John Really Boiled in Hot Oil?
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 ...
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Season 3
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Episode 43
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1:03:06
93. Gregory of Nyssa: The Man, The Mystic, The Legend
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 s...
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Season 3
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Episode 42
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55:26
92. The Adventures of the Apostles: What Happened to Philip?
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 thos...
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Season 3
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Episode 41
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59:15
91. Gregory of Nazianzus: The Introvert Who Shaped the Trinity
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...
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Season 3
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Episode 40
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1:03:55
90. Rome's Final Pagan Emperor: Julian the Apostate
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 Co...
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Season 3
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Episode 39
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1:24:38
89. CHUMP TALK: Another 'Ask Us Anything!'
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 th...
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Season 3
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Episode 38
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1:05:51
88. Basil the Great: The Father of Monks and Defender of the Poor
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 fig...
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Season 3
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Episode 37
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1:02:32
87. The Missionary to the Tribes: Isaac McCoy's Forgotten Story
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 missiona...
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Season 3
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Episode 36
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1:24:42
86. The First Ever Guide to Christian Apologetics: The Letter to Diognetus
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, th...
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Season 3
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Episode 35
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42:29
85. Saint Cyprian and the Church Split that (almost) Rocked Rome
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...
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Season 3
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Episode 34
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1:07:33
84. The Adventures of the Apostles: Was Peter Really Crucified Upside Down???
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...
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Season 3
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Episode 33
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57:14
83. The Adventures of the Apostles: Gone Fishin' with Andrew
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 fals...
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Season 3
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Episode 32
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58:22
82. The Roman Colosseum and Circus Maximus: The Christian's Crucible
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 ...
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Season 3
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Episode 31
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1:05:47