The B-Side Bible: The Hidden Tracks of the ancient world.
The B-Side Bible is a sharp, entertaining, and completely unvarnished dive into the hidden tracks, raw context, and overlooked history of the ancient world. The title is a nod to the mechanics of old vinyl records: while the A-sides are the polished, well-known mainstream hits that everyone recognises, the B-sides are the raw, experimental, and politically messy tracks that shaped the landscape of antiquity.
This podcast is a strict, objective post-mortem of ancient literature and cultural anthropology. We leave modern theology and moralising at the door to explore the original socio-historical context of the scriptures—examining why these texts were engineered, who they were actually written for, and what they meant to the people living under the shadows of the Babylonian and Roman empires. From bizarre prophetic performance art and fringe characters to strategic political propaganda and ancient text-editing battles, The B-Side Bible pulls back the curtain on the deep cuts of history.
### About the Host
Mark Kerrigan holds a Bachelor of Education and a Master’s degree in Theological Studies. With over twenty years of experience as an educator, Mark excels at breaking down complex, rigorous academic research into engaging, accessible, and fascinating narratives. He is a multi-disciplinary creator under the Narranimate Studios banner, hosting both The B-Side Bible and the Forgotten Urban Histories podcast. Mark is also a versatile author, having written two speculative fiction novels as well as two children's novels. Across all his projects, he combines his background in education, narrative world-building, and historical criticism to strip the varnish off the past—delivering it exactly as it was: loud, accurate, and completely off the record.
The B-Side Bible: The Hidden Tracks of the ancient world.
Gnostic Christianity - Enlightenment or Heresy
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Long before Christianity settled into creeds and councils, it was a field of competing ideas — and some of the most striking came from the movement we now call Gnosticism.
In this episode, we trace the rise of the Gnostics: the teachers who shaped it, the world that produced it, and the ideas that set them apart. We explore their dualistic cosmos, their vision of a flawed material world, the role of the Demiurge, the pursuit of hidden knowledge — and why these ideas became such a challenge to the emerging orthodox church.
This is not about heresy hunting. This is about understanding the diversity and complexity inside early Christianity — and how alternative Christianities grew, argued, adapted, and sometimes survived in the shadows.
Join us as we step back into the second century and meet a Christianity very few people ever learn about — the Gnostic imagination.
