What is tradition and how might it help us deal with both the good and bad in the history of Christianity? Dr Anne Carpenter is Danforth Chair in Theological Studies at St Louis University and the author of 'Nothing Gained is Eternal: A Theology of Tradition."

What is colonialism and how should white Western Christians think about their own involvement in it? How do we respond, whether Christian or not, to the trajectories of power laid down by our colonial past?

Prof. Willie James Jennings is one of the leading voices in postcolonial theology. We are hono(u)red to have him join us in our first discussion on this thorny topic.

Thanks to Jamie Maule for his sound editing!

Our second episode on religious violence, with Dr. Matthew Rowley , author of God, Religious Extremism, and Violence. Dr. Rowley talks about how we should criticize our own tradition first, approaching everything with curiosity and humility. He also questions ideas about what it means to be an "extremist" and whether that's really a bad thing?

Thanks to Jamie Maule for sound engineering!

Does religion cause violence? It's a common notion today, but Professor William Cavanaugh challenges it in an incisive way. Who stands to gain from this idea? Who benefits from laying the blame for violence at the feet of religion? And what definition of 'religion' is operative here? Thanks to Jamie Maule for editing this video!

An interlude (sort of) in the middle of our present series. It does not address a historical challenge, but starts from the other end. What can Christians do today in responding to these challenges?

Barney interviews Professor Mark Glanville of Regent College, Vancouver, on his latest book, Improvising Church. We discuss questions like:

• How can the Bible speak meaningfully to new situations Christians face today?
• How can every Christian exercise leadership in his or her church community?
• How can you get people to wake up for a prayer meeting at 5:30am?

Thanks to Jamie Maule for his audio editing!

Everyone has heard of the Spanish Inquisition. But how accurate is the popular understanding of it? What really happened and how does it reflect on Christianity? Is this an episode Christians should repent of? What lessons can we learn for the modern day?

These questions and others are discussed in today’s episode. Austin and Barney are joined by Dr. Dennis Castillo who teaches Church History at St. Mary’s Seminary and University.

Thanks to Jamie Maule for sound engineering!

Continuing our “Faith and the challenges of history” series, we turn from biblical history to later history. First of all we want to tackle the crusades, one of the most frequently mentioned in debates about the authenticity of Christian claims to bring peace and justice.

We have invited Dr. Mike Horswell to join us in this discussion. He has spent many years studying not only the crusades, but common perceptions of the crusades in the modern era. He is ideally suited to help us unpack: (1) what the crusades actually were? (2) How do people think of the crusades today? (3) How should Christians think of this episode in their history?

Thanks to Jamie Maule for sound engineering!

It's a big event: our own podcast co-host's first published book: Austin Stevenson, The Consciousness of the Historical Jesus (T&T Clark: 2024).

The book discusses questions like:

• What is the movement called 'the historical Jesus' and how should Christians think about it?
• How does our own way of doing history depend on our understanding of what it means to be human?
• How can we read the history of Jesus in a way that transforms our understanding of ourselves? Can the 'historical Jesus' do that? If not, what can?

Thanks to Jamie Maule for sound engineering!