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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!

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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.

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In the 5th Century, the Western Roman Empire is on its last leg.

Riddled with internal conflict, external threats, and even theological disputes tearing at the fabric of the Church, Rome has seen better days. And the great shadow of the Huns looms larger and larger as days go by.

This leads to one of the most engaging (and unexpected) encounters in church history: the frail and elderly Bishop of Rome face to face with the bloodthirsty tyrant of the Hunnic Empire.

Also, John and Tommy talk about why there was no episode last week, but why that's okay, because cool godly guys staying bros is more important.

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If you're not a Baptist (and we still love you even if you are), you're probably no stranger to the idea of infant baptism.

The doctrine of paedobaptism is saturated with the idea that the children of believers are heirs of the covenant of grace, and through baptism are welcomed into God's family.

But did you know that for several centuries of church history, the youngest believers weren't just baptized, but were also given communion?

Join us for an episode that might ruffle a little feathers, where we discuss the history of paedocommunion. But just remember, if you don't ruffle any feathers, you'll never make any pillows. So bear with us. We love ya.

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Beginning as a fringe interpretation of the creation story in Genesis, the Serpent Seed Doctrine asks a question that no one really seems to be asking: what if Satan and Eve had a little...fling?

It's a wild doctrine with even more of a wild history. So let's talk about it!

Also, we're not gonna be too crude this episode, but given the nature of this episode's topic, it may not be appropriate for our youngest listeners. Maybe ask your parents. Or your grandparents.

Thanks for listening, cool cats.

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The 16th Century was a rollercoaster for Japanese Christians.

The first half was amazing-- the first Portuguese missionaries broke ground and people were getting saved by the thousands. Churches were built, clergy established, things were looking great.

The second half was...well, pretty bad. A combination of suspicious Japanese leaders and the shaky reputation of the European powers started to turn the tides of what Christianity would look like in Japan for hundreds of years.

So let's talk about it! Thanks for listening~

Also hey, John and his wife are hosting this episode! Tommy will be back next week.

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