The 4,000 Year Rise and Fall of Christianity
An historical reconstruction, in podcast form, of how Christianity was formed, contested, and inherited across four millennia. 32 episodes so far, spanning the ancient Near East to the Council of Nicaea.
Christianity Unearthed traces the development of Christianity across 4,000 years. It follows how ancient traditions, Jewish scripture, the historical Jesus, early Christian movements, texts, institutions, and imperial power combined to produce a single dominant form of Christianity.
This series is organized into five historical Ages. Each examines a phase in the long development of Christianity, from its ancient roots to its institutional form and beyond.
Ancient Near Eastern and Jewish foundations.
Early Christianity and the formation of the New Testament. The hinge of the entire project.
Institutional consolidation and alignment with imperial power.
Peak institutional power and the strains that precede rupture.
Fragmentation, Reformation, and the long afterlife of Christianity.
How the New Testament took shape.
This season examines the Gospels and early Christian texts as evidence of a movement still in formation. It shows how different accounts of Jesus reflect different communities, and how coherence was gradually imposed on that diversity. It traces the process by which a set of competing voices became a structured body of texts.
A governor died in office. His replacement was still at sea.
Watch / listen S2 · Episode 22Every believer was scattered. Except the apostles.
Watch / listen S2 · Episode 21John’s community got the Spirit. Then it split.
Watch / listenAvailable wherever you follow podcasts.
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