Discover the rise and fall of the Montanist movement, an early Christian sect led by Montanus in the 2nd century AD. Branded a heresy by the early church, Montanism emphasized ecstatic prophecy, strict morality, and the imminent return of Christ. In this video, we explore the origins of Montanism, its teachings, key figures like Priscilla and Maximilla, and the reasons the mainstream church ultimately rejected it.Whether you’re a theology student, church history enthusiast, or curious about Christian heresies, this deep dive into Montanism will give you insight into one of the most controversial movements in early Christianity.

In this episode we smoke and review Chesterton Cigars and have an open dialogue about the new pope and our hopes for the future. To purchase a FABULOUS Catholic cigar, go to Chestertoncigars.com and pre-order for August 2025. HURRY, the cigars are going fast! Also be sure to follow Chesterton Cigars on Instagram at @chesterton_cigars SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNEL AND GIVE US A LIKE! 0:01 Chesterton Cigars Review9:30 Pope Leo’s Election and stated goals (Daniel’s initial reaction)12:55 Steven’s initial reaction to Pope Leo16:35 4 Promising Signs for this Pontificate24:57 Augustine’s Anthropology vs Modern Anthropology28:17 A healthy doctrine of creation34:12 Jesus is the reason for creation36:00 The Benedictine genius and liturgical communities40:26 What *is* Christianity…….really…43:57 Pope Leo and an authentically Catholic liturgical ethos49:50 Bishop of Charlotte’s letter LEAKED57:01 “Programs” won’t save us; mysticism will1:01:55 Vatican 2: What is the universal call to holiness?1:06:13 The pitfalls of iconoclasm and liturgical “reform” movements1:11:22 Ai: The old idols are back1:16:38 Aliens, UAP, and the Occult1:22:32 Everything is sacrament1:24:48 Pope Leo and speaking to our era1:28:18 Traditionis Custodes: What is the way forward for unity? 1:36:05 Conclusion and next episode in our First 500 Years Series

Why did early Christians argue over the date of Easter?In this video, we explore the Quartodeciman Controversy, a major theological debate in the 2nd century that split early Christian communities. On one side were the Quartodecimans, who celebrated Easter on the 14th of Nisan—regardless of the day of the week—following Jewish Passover tradition. On the other were those like the Roman church, who insisted Easter should always be celebrated on a Sunday.We’ll break down: • What “Quartodeciman” means • Key figures like Polycarp, Pope Anicetus, Melito, Pope Victor, Polycrates, and Irenaeus • The dating method for Dominical Pascha vs Quartodecimen Pascha, and why one method eventually wins out • The character of Quartodecimen liturgy and its lasting impact on Christian traditionThis historical dispute isn’t just about dates and calendars—it reveals how early Christians defined their identity and tradition.

In this episode, the brothers discuss the rise of Christian philosophy in the second century among a group of writers known as “The Apologists.” While the Apostles were very successful in bringing both Jews, God fearers, and lower class pagans into the Christian movement, they were not able to significantly penetrate the philosophical classes of Greco Roman society. The Apologists of the second century, therefore, stepped in and framed the Christian faith in such a way that it became a serious interlocutor for the greatest philosophical minds of the day.

In this episode we discuss one of proto-orthodoxy’s most formidable challenges: the rise of the Gnostics. We often hear the word “Gnosticism,” and we think we know what it refers to, but here we dive into the Gnostic worldview and explain why these teachers were worthy of so much apologetic ink in the second century.

In this installment of the First 500 Years series, the brothers take a journey through the life and thought of the church’s first major Heresiarch: Marcion of Pontus. Along the way, they propose fresh ways of understanding the origins of his doctrine and explain why he proved a formidable enemy for the earliest apologists as they began their struggle to preserve apostolic tradition.

Why did God become a man? We’re used to hearing what Christ’s incarnation/death/resurrection did for us, but we don’t often hear what His work did to the demonic powers. We’re used to answering the question solely with reference to matters of substitution, satisfaction, debts (of honor, wrath, or obedience?), so we can lose sight of the ancient Christian worldview and the entire cosmic drama at work between God and ‘the gods.’ In this episode, we flip the table—from metaphysical to apocalyptic— to see a whole other dimension of the atoning work of Christ, through the eyes of Satan himself.

We’ve all seen him in action—debating Protestants and Orthodox, writing incredible books, or podcasting on his own channel, Classical Christian Thought—but we rarely get to hear about his personal journey of faith. In this special episode, we sit down with our friend Erick Ybarra to explore his story and all of the reasons why, in the final analysis, he ended up in the arms of the Catholic Church. This is a fun, lively, and deep conversation that you will not want to miss! 0:05 Introduction 2:44 Steven’s new book 5:17 Erick’s story/upbringing 8:45 Baptized Catholic as a child 9:53 Teenage doubts 12:20 College encounter with a Baptist 14:08 Erick begins to investigate Christianity 16:19 He attends a Baptist/Calvinist church 18:55 He is (re)baptized and wipes Catholicism from his mind 23:46 Trauma and scandal at the Baptist church 25:10 Erick excommunicated and becomes a penitent 28:22 He begins to study early church disciplinary practices 29:25 Erick leaves the Baptist church 31:12 Studies Protestant options and becomes Anglican 33:15 questions about justification 37:05 Anglican theology begins to form his thought 40:25 Diving into Patristics 44:53 Doubts about Anglicanism, exploring Eastern Orthodoxy 51:50 Erick discovers Orthodox divisions as a catechumen 53:21 Begins to study Catholicism seriously 55:30 Catholic priest confronts Erick! 58:22 Erick and wife become Catholic, devotes time and energy to studying East-West divisions 1:00:06 Erick searches for a good Catholic parish……and STRUGGLES 1:01:00 Stumbles upon the Ordinariate 1:02:18 Three questions for Erick and open discussion 1:06:46 Starting Reason and Theology with Lofton and writing his Papacy book 1:11:46 A golden age of Catholic apologetics under a difficult pontificate 1:13:54 What is Pope Francis really up to? 1:15:24 Catholic confusion and internet divisions 1:20:40 Doctrine vs Pastoral Praxis. Is the Magisterium “working?” 1:24:38 Things Erick wishes he covered in his book on The Papacy 1:27:52 Papal Failure and how to understand it 1:30:00 Question from a listener of TCB 1:33:07 Erick’s challenge to Gavin Ortlund’s view of the Church 1:40:07 How to break out of intellectual deadlock. 1:44:10 Conclusion

In this episode we have a most interesting chat with Ben Bollinger, a theology blogger and a bright apologist for the Christian faith, whose journey began with atheism and progressed into Eastern Orthodoxy. However, in 2023, he made a shocking, final move into the Roman Catholic Church, and here we explore his intellectual and spiritual journey. This is a fascinating dialogue that you WILL NOT want to miss!

A Superstition? Funerary society? Guild? A philosophical school? What the heck is this “Christian” thing? In this episode, we complete our discussion of the vitality of Roman Religion and then analyze various ways in which Roman writers politically and culturally tried to classify the novel Christian movement throughout the second century. How Christians were politically classified by various Roman authorities have serious implications. It would determine whether or not they were free to debate in the public square or merely destined for ostracization and execution. This is a fascinating topic that you don’t want to miss!

In Part One of this episode, we flip the table a bit and try to understand Rome’s relationship to her gods *from the inside out* so that we can paint a fuller picture of the religious landscape of Christianity’s rise in Late Antiquity. Heretofore, many scholars have argued that early Christianity was able to spread so rapidly because the religion(s) of the Roman Empire had increasingly lost vitality and failed to fulfill emerging soteriological hopes of Late Antique peoples. But, is any of this true? Is this merely the residue of centuries of anti-pagan bias and propaganda? What was Roman religion *really* like; how captivating was it; and why did the fledgling Christian movement cause such concern for some of the brightest Roman minds of the second century?

In this episode we address the topic of exorcism in the early church, particularly from the lens of Hebrew cosmology and Christian mission to a pagan world from the second century onward. Connecting the dots between research on exorcism in Late Antiquity and Divine Council Scholarship, we explain why Christian exorcism became a major force for the conversion of the Roman Empire.

In this episode on Liturgy in the second century, we resume our journey of reconstructing and envisioning early Christian worship.

In this episode on Liturgy in the second century, we resume our journey of reconstructing and envisioning early Christian worship. In Part 1, we focus on change and continuity with regard to the (1) location, (2) timing, and the (3) “shape” that the Eucharistic gathering is taking in this post apostolic era. You won’t want to miss this one!

In this second part of our episode on women in early Christian communities we address the question of whether or not females served as presbyters. A timely topic, to be sure, as modern events like the Synod on Synodality continue to see this question bubble up to the top of the debates.  But putting aside modern preoccupations and concerns, as historians, let’s really take a good look at the evidence, context, and preoccupations of the second century Christians.

Here we offer our response to Dr. Gavin Ortlund’s recent video in which he argues against the decisions of the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, asserting that the veneration of images/icons is not a proper development of doctrine, but instead represents an illegitimate accretion which contradicts the unanimous consent of the Church Fathers and the commandments in Scripture.   Leave us your comments, and be sure to tune into our channel for our regular, First 500 Years series!

Our personal evaluation of Pope Benedict XVI, especially with regard to his impact on culture, the Church, and our own journey from Protestantism to Catholicism.

Did the early Christian movement have women in prominent leadership roles? What sorts of functions did women perform within the communities? Who are some influential women of the first and second centuries? These questions and more are tackled in part 1 of our episode on women in the early church.

Join us for a quick discussion about how early stories of martyrdom reveal what the first Christians believed about the Eucharist. Are the seeds of later Catholic theology to be found here?

Is the religion of the Old Testament strictly monotheistic, or was monotheism an innovation of a much later era in the history of religion? Is the Christian Trinity an amalgamation of paganism and Judaism, or is Trinitarianism thoroughly rooted in the tradition of Israelite religion?  In this episode we first examine the foundations for Divine “Plurality” in the history of Israelite thought, and then we take a look at how increasingly diverging conceptions of the Godhead between rabbinical Judaism and emergent Christianity in the second century set the stage for the two sister religions to part ways.