Christians argue fiercely about the literal details of Jesus’ birth—even though the Bible never gives a date and early believers didn’t agree on one. In this episode, we look at how December 25 emerges from theology, symbolism, and later church decisions rather than historical memory, and why our modern obsession with certainty might be the least faithful part of the story.

patreon.com/skepticpastor

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Turns out the Christmas story you defend like it’s a court transcript doesn’t even work on its own historical terms. In part one, we take apart Nazareth, Bethlehem, and the Roman census Luke uses to move Jesus across the map—spoiler: historians aren’t impressed. In part two, we go underground into caves, kataluma, and the version of Jesus’ birth the early church actually remembered before we swapped risk for rustic décor. This isn’t an attack on Christmas. It’s an attack on the idea that faith only works if the floor plan is literal and the facts are fragile.

patreon.com/skepticpastor

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Forget the “it’s pagan” nonsense. The Christmas tree’s story is far wilder: a pope’s missionary memo, a bishop with an axe, medieval theater kids hauling evergreens onstage, and Victorian influencers turning it viral. We dig into how this mash-up of pagans, priests, and actors became the most hopeful ritual of winter.

patreon.com/skepticpastor

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Forget barcodes, microchips, and rapture charts. Revelation isn’t predicting the end of the world—it’s resisting it. We break down the Beast, 666, the four horsemen of the apocalypse and how this apocalyptic fever dream was really underground political poetry written by oppressed people under Roman rule.

patreon.com/skepticpastor

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ever been told that if you stop believing one thing, Jesus unfriends you? Yeah… same. In this episode, we unmask the “literalist playing field” that we didn't realize we were playing on, talk about why deconstruction isn’t the spiritual apocalypse your youth pastor warned you about, and even discover that Paul's writings are part pagan. We’ll walk through a real method for choosing beliefs that aren’t garbage—and explore rituals, practices, and meditation tools that actually help you grow. Basically: how to lose bad theology without losing your soul.

patreon.com/skepticpastor

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This one is equal parts history lesson and how-to. We talk about how to respond to homophobic people and have a big announcement about where you can view the movie. The director, Rocky, breaks down the 1946 “homosexual” mistranslation, the grind of getting the film to actual humans, and the spiritual discipline of not feeding the trolls—while still giving them something to think about.

patreon.com/skepticpastor

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

If you still think the Tower of Babel explains why Spanish exists, this episode might hurt your feelings. Jeremy and linguist Gabby break down how languages actually evolved, why “proper” English is just colonization in disguise, and how Babel’s real message might be about human pride, not divine punishment. Spoiler: God wasn’t mad at skyscrapers.

patreon.com/skepticpastor

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

If you think church has to happen in a building, brace yourself. There's no need to stream a guy in a guitar and a video of people sitting in pews... because that isn't community. In this podcast the tables are flipped and Jeremy is interviewed on the theology of algorithms, how to deal with social media comments and answers the question, "what is community?"

patreon.com/skepticpastor

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.