Church History for Chumps

Have you ever heard someone say that Christianity is anti-intellectual? Well, you should send them this episode. And have them 'like' and 'subscribe' too, that would help us a lot. But anyways. Justin Martyr was a 2nd-century Greek man with a love for philosophy, who found the fullness of all love of wisdom in Christ. We think he's a pretty cool guy. And today we're joined by another pretty cool guy, friend of the show Jacob Lewis. Join John and Jacob as they wax philosophically about, well, philosophy. Buy us a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/chumphistory

As you guys know, we love presenting church history as a beautiful anthology of the story of God's people. Sometimes it's easy to lose sight of the vastness of that story when we don't venture out of our own contexts.So today, we're going to peer to the far outside branches of our Christian family tree, and discuss the origin of one of the most longstanding Christian traditions in the world: the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. To any Ethiopian (or otherwise East African) listeners, please forgive all of my flaws and mistakes, and feel free to let us know how to pronounce things properly. Thanks for being here. Buy us a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/chumphistory

"Why are you booing me? I'm right!"- the early church, probably The first century was a funky time to be a Christian, but persecution as we know it was pretty scattered and sporadic. In the second century though, things are starting to ramp up. Join us for another episode from our "The Early Church Gets the Worm" series, and listen to us forget to edit out some fun mic noises in the first five minutes! Buy us a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/chumphistory

In our newest piece in our series of Early Church lore, we discuss another tale of martyrdom, that of Perpetua and Felicity. The early third Century was not an easy time for Christians in Northern Africa. But as so many tales of martyrs go, their story was one of both tragedy and triumph, as they took up the cross of Christ in the truest way. Thanks for tuning in! Buy us a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/chumphistory

"It's hard out here for a pimp." -the early church, probably As we continue our aptly named series, "The Early Church Gets the Worm," we discuss one of the most pressing topics for early Christians: persecution in the Roman Empire. Happy New Year, friends. Buy us a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/chumphistory

GUESS WHO'S BACKMan, it's been a minute you guys. I don't know if you missed us, but we definitely missed you. This kicks off our new season, "The Early Church Gets the Worm." We'll be focusing on, you guessed it, stories from the early church era. The story of Sergius and Bacchus is a tale of brotherhood, friendship, and the lasting legacy of their 5th century martyrdom. We love you guys. Stay safe, drink lots of water, and have a wonderful, joyous Christmas. God bless you! Buy us a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/chumphistory

In many parts of the world, the question of whether you're a Catholic or Protestant means a lot more than if you submit to the Pope, or how you feel about Martin Luther. One such place is Northern Ireland. For generations, the people of Ireland and the United Kingdom have been steeped in a conflict about religious freedom, civil rights, and discrimination. Tragically, this period of tension boiled over between the 1960's and 1990's, an era of bloodshed and violence known as the Troubles.Today, we are joined by our fantastic guest Oisin Feeney (don't worry, he'll tell you how to pronounce it), host of The Troubles Podcast. Join us as we're led into the vast history of the Troubles by someone with the accent to prove he knows what he's talking about. In other news, we're going to use this special episode to close out our season, so we'll be going on a break for a few weeks. See you guys in Season 3!IG: @churchhistory4chumps(@thetroublespodcast) Buy us a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/chumphistory

Have you ever wondered why some churches use grape juice for communion, while others insist on using wine instead?The answer is more complicated than you think. Or it might be less complicated, I don't know, I feel like you're probably pretty smart. Either way, join us as we discuss Thomas Welch, the Prohibition Era, and the impact still felt by churches today. IG: @churchhistory4chumps Buy us a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/chumphistory

Church history isn't always as, well, historically reliable as we wish it was. Sometimes the stories of saints and heroes tend to blur the lines between fact and fiction. That would be the case of Saint Dymphna, an Irish-Catholic runaway who sought refuge from her violent father in a small town in Belgium. What's interesting though, is that whether or not her story is more than folklore, this European community is still honoring the legacy of her story: for hundreds of years, its residents have opened their homes to outsiders suffering from mental and cognitive disabilities. Join John and Tom as we talk through the story of Saint Dymphna and the town of Geel, Belgium. Also Tom humblebrags about graduating seminary. What a nerd. IG: @churchhistory4chumps Buy us a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/chumphistory

It's 1550. A generation has passed since the Reformation swept across Europe like a wildfire. The Catholic Church has launched the Counter-Reformation, a multi-layered initiative to restore the continent to its former Roman glory. One step of this plan in Germany is to recognize the cities that have fallen into the clutches of Lutheranism and coerce their return to the Church. Suddenly the town of Magdeburg has an urgent question to answer: what is the responsibility of the local magistrate to defend the church from a violent military threat? Let's talk about it! Join Tommy and John as we impress all of our Lutheran pals. IG: churchhistory4chumps Buy us a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/chumphistory