Laurence and Stephen conclude this 3 part series looking into aspects of early church history.  This time they explore how people became members of a church and the significance of sharing the bread and cup of wine to remember Jesus.  As in previous episodes, there are some similarities with churches today, but also some differences that are worth reflecting upon.

Paul and Dan investigate the many and varied Biblical images for the judgement.  They discuss whether we should think that any of those word-pictures and metaphors describe what will actually happen - or are they designed to teach us something else?  If you've ever experienced that moment of fear at the thought of trying to explain what you've done, listen in, as there are some encouraging messages of comfort hidden away in this topic!

Paul chats to Mark Vincent, the author of a small book with big ambitions, entitled Life's Biggest Questions.  They talk about how the book came about and step through some thoughts on those major questions - Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where are we headed?  The book is a highly accessible read (at only 140 pages), so enjoy the conversation with Mark and we hope you'll enjoy reading the book as well!

Laurence and Stephen continue this mini-series on themes from early church history. This time they look at Jesus' prediction that Christians might be persecuted for believing in him and how that unfolded over the first few centuries of the church.  Stephen explains what led to two periods of persection - under Emperor Nero and the Great Persecution of Diocletian - and how the church emerged from them as a changed institution. Was that a good thing?  Listen in to find out!

Dan and Phil finish their conversation about the work of textual critics and what that can tell us about the New Testament that we read today.  They dive into some examples of accidental copying mistakes as well as more deliberate changes that a scribe might make when copying texts.  This is just a brief overview of a vast field of study and so Phil gives some really useful resources at the end that you can use if you want to explore further!

In this two-part episode Dan talks to Phil Evans about what the discipline of Textual Criticism can tell us about the New Testament that we read today.  Is it reliable? How strong is the evidence behind it?  Can we ever know how close it is to the original?  In this first part, Dan and Phil compare the manuscript evidence for the New Testament with the writings of other ancient, classical Greek and Latin authors.

Laurence introduces Stephen Blake for a new 3 part series on aspects of church history.  For this episode they look at the Christian practice of baptism from the early church, through the Middle Ages and beyond.  How and why does it change over time, and does it matter?  Listen in and tell us what you think!

Ever wondered what it was like to be part of one of the earliest Christian communities in the 1st century?  Follow along with Laurence and Paul's thought experiment as they attempt to place a 21st century consciousness into the body of a 1st century Christian!  They explore the where, when, what and how of a Christian gathering around 65AD and think about what we might recognise and what would feel different.  This starts to reveal which aspects of Christianity should be protected from change, and where we should be flexible, all in preparation for our forthcoming series on aspects of church history.

For our first episode in 2022, Paul and Dan close out our series on Revelation.  They discuss the final sequence of seven bowls and tie them in to the previous groups of seven seals and trumpets.  They then tackle the question of how God will intervene in human history - will it really be as warlike as the language sounds in Revelation?  Finally they close the series by exploring the wonderful imagery of the New Jerusalem and think about what that could mean in reality!