Once we get out of the New Testament era, we move into the period of the Apostolic Fathers. These are some early church fathers who had connections to the apostles. In this episode, we look at Clement of Rome. Clement wrote 1 Clement, a letter that actually had a chance to make it into the … Read More “Episode 30 – Clement of Rome” »
Archives: Episode
One of the most important events in the first century for both Jews and Christians was the Jewish War (66-73 AD). This war included the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple. Nothing would ever be the same. This episode gives a summary of the events of this first Jewish War. If you want more details … Read More “Episode 29 – The Jewish War” »
The book of Acts describes a church in which the members held all things in common. But how seriously should we take those passages? How common was that practice? And how do we interpret those passages in light of modern experiences of communism? In this episode, I talk to Roman Montero, author of All Things in … Read More “Episode 28 – Interview With Roman Montero on Early Christian Communism” »
As important as the Jewish background is to the rise of Christianity, so is the Roman background. All of the events of the New Testament take place within the borders of the Roman Empire and there are frequent interactions with various aspects of Roman authority. This episode includes a short summary of the Roman emperors … Read More “Episode 27 – The Roman Empire in the First Century” »
Christianity emerged out of Judaism. We have already looked at the Jewish background of Christianity. While there are many ways for us to learn about Judaism, one important way is to look at Jewish texts. Certain texts of Jewish origin were very influential on either Judaism or Christianity. In this episode we look at Tanak, … Read More “Episode 26 – Jewish Texts You Need to Know About” »
This is the final episode of the series on the Synoptic Gospels based on my lectures from Tyndale University College. Although there were more lectures given for the course, this is the last one that will be posted here. In the episode we ask the question, Did Jesus exist? Those who hold to the Jesus … Read More “Episode 25 – Synoptic Gospels (Did Jesus Exist?)” »
We take a short break from our regular scheduled episodes to bring you a special announcement. I have decided to start a new podcast on World War Two. It is called the Second World Podcast and you can find it here. If you are interested in military history or just history in general, I hope … Read More “Special Announcement” »
We take a break from our series on the Synoptic Gospels for a short Christmas episode. In this episode we look at how Dec. 25 came to be the date of Christmas. One of the things that I discovered in this episode was that the fixing of the date actually took place during the life … Read More “Episode 24 – Happy Birthday Jesus!” »
In this lecture from the course Jesus and the Synoptic Gospels taught at Tyndale University College, we look at the Gospel of Luke. We look at some of the specific interests of Luke, including women, Samaritans, the poor and the marginalized in general. We also look at some of the popular parables unique to Luke, … Read More “Episode 23 – Synoptic Gospels (Luke)” »
One of the most popular Gospels is that of Matthew. It is in Matthew that we get the Sermon on the Mount and the classic version of the Lord’s Prayer. Matthew has helped shape Christian theology and worship for centuries. This lecture from my course on Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels that was taught at … Read More “Episode 22 – Synoptic Gospels (Matthew)” »