Born in the Second Century

In the final episode of BORN IN THE SECOND CENTURY, host Chris Palmero examines nine secret sayings of Jesus. Not to be outdone by the crucified deity, the host also issues nine wise observations of his own, as well as discussing Christ Mythicism and the historicity of Jesus of Nazareth.

Anyone who listens to this episode can learn about the Gospel of the Hebrews, the origins of Scientology, and the Ant-Lion.

YouTube: @borninthesecondcentury
E-mail: [email protected]
Music: Pompeii Gray on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud

BORN IN THE SECOND CENTURY celebrates its three year anniversary with a discussion of the renowned Sermon on the Mount. Host Chris Palmero sets out to analyze this famous discourse of Jesus in the face of strange interference from the fourth dimension.

YouTube: @borninthesecondcentury
E-mail: [email protected]
Music: Pompeii Gray on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud

BORN IN THE SECOND CENTURY completes its survey of the Gospel of John, having demonstrated that the author of John borrowed wholesale from the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke to construct his narrative.

In this episode, host Christ Palmero covers the final section of John, which deals with Jesus' arrest, trials, crucifixion, and burial. In examining the author's use of traditional setpieces like the Anointing at Bethany, the Entry into Jerusalem, the Division of Garments, the Two Malefactors, and the Vinegar Sponge, we demonstrate beyond any doubt that John's Gospel is a derivative work.

Anyone who listens to this episode can learn about who wrote the Gospel of John; whether Justin Martyr was aware of the Gospel of John; why Christian theologians shouldn't use irreverent humor; and the meaning of the mysterious word "Pavement" that the author uses. 

Opening reading: Philip K. Dick's short story about a failed-time travel experiment helps demonstrate how the Jesus of John, like the proverbial pearl swept up in the currents, is doomed to suffer the same fate as his Synoptic counterpart.

YouTube: @borninthesecondcentury
E-mail: [email protected]
Music: Pompeii Gray on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud

BORN IN THE SECOND CENTURY continues its miniseries on the Gospel of John as a derivative work, with its author aware of the prior Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke.

Host Chris Palmero follows the progress of Jesus from Galilee - where he urges a confused audience to eat his flesh and drink his blood - to the outskirts of Jerusalem, where he performs the Raising of Lazarus.

Anyone who listens to this episode can learn about why the general public never seems to learn anything new about Jesus; about the origins of the strange new ritual in the Gospel of John; why some Christians thought that the Beloved Disciples would never die; why the middle chapters of john are so chaotic; why John doesn't seem to think that Jesus was born in Bethlehem; and about the several rewrites of the Lazarus Miracle.

Opening reading: An academic paper by Hugo Mendez about the Gospel of John being a forgery has got the usually staid Mainstream Theologians extremely excited.

YouTube: @borninthesecondcentury
E-mail: [email protected]
Music: Pompeii Gray on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud

BORN IN THE SECOND CENTURY'S miniseries on the Gospel of John continues. Host Chris Palmero examines John's use of the Synoptic Gospels - Mark, Matthew, and Luke - as sources.

Anyone who listens to this episode can learn about: why the Gospel of John contains two separate John the Baptist scenes; why Jesus only heals Gentiles at long range; the problems with the "Ecclesiastical Redactor" hypothesis; why John told us that Jesus was conducting baptisms; what the next logo of Born in the Second Century will look like; and why Jesus said that a prophet is only without honor in his hometown.

Opening reading: Jesus cures the Royal Official's son, in a scene that not only borrows from Mark, Matthew, and Luke, but also gives John an opportunity to counteract those authors' opinions about miracles.

YouTube: @borninthesecondcentury
E-mail: [email protected]
Music: Pompeii Gray on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud

BORN IN THE SECOND CENTURY begins a multi-part exploration on whether the author of John's Gospel was aware of the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke. In presenting evidence that the Gospel of John does not draw from independent oral tradition, but from the prior Gospels, host Christ Palmero will establish that John is not a reliable witness for Jesus' ministry. John should be seen not as the weird younger brother of the Synoptics, but as the semi-respectable older brother of the early Apocryphal Gospels now extant, like those of Peter and Philip.

Opening segment: a new discovery announced in August of 2023 threatens all that this podcast stands for.

Anyone who listens to this episode can learn about whether John knew the name of Jesus' mother; Peter's hometown; why John doesn't bother to list out the Twelve Disciples; whether John knew Aramaic; why John moved the Temple Cleansing story to the beginning of his Gospel; whether John knew that Jesus was an exorcist; the specific reason why so many are so strongly convinced that Jesus was a historical figure; ; the danger of New Testament AIs; and a new variant reading of the famous John 3:16.

YouTube: @borninthesecondcentury
E-mail: [email protected]
Music: Pompeii Gray on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud

BORN IN THE SECOND CENTURY concludes its look at the Resurrection Appearances of Jesus. Host Chris Palmero examines the common elements of these legends, from the point at which Jesus appears to his disciples all the way up to his ascension at the end. The versions of the Resurrection as told by Celsus, the ancient pagan critic of Christianity, as well as the lost book called the Preaching of Peter, are also explored. Finally, Justin Martyr's version of the Resurrection story is analyzed, to see whether he is in fact using the New Testament Gospels as his source.

Anyone who listens to this episode can learn about the earliest evidence for Christians in the city of Rome; why Jesus and the disciples are sometimes said to eat a meal during the Resurrection Appearance; why Jesus invites the disciples to touch him in some stories; about how Celsus' story of the Resurrection clashes with that of the New Testament; the Preaching of Peter and its possible links to Mark's Gospel; and the true source of Justin's strange "account" of the Resurrection.

Opening reading: the Roman poet Martial, from the turn of the second century, grumbles about his neighbor in the manner of Annette Benning from American Beauty.

YouTube: @borninthesecondcentury
E-mail: [email protected]
Music: Pompeii Gray on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud

BORN IN THE SECOND CENTURY continues its investigation into Justin Martyr's non-use of the New Testament Gospels, with an examination of the Resurrection Appearances of Jesus. Host Chris Palmero analyzes the common themes of these tales in the Canonical and Apocryphal Gospels (including the Gospel of Peter and Gospel of the Hebrews), and the Nag Hammadi and Gnostic writings (including the Pistis Sophia, Gospel of Mary, Apocryphon of James, Wisdom of Jesus Christ, and Dialogue of the Savior).

Anyone who listens to this episode can learn about why Justin doesn't seem to know anything about the miracles conducted by Jesus; about the earliest sources of the Passion and Resurrection Narratives; about the confusion in the various sources over the number of Disciples who were actually present to witness the Risen Jesus; about their differences regarding who appeared at the Empty Tomb and when; and about Mary Magdalene.

Opening reading: the Healing of the Syrophoenician Woman's Daughter (as read in Wycliffe's version of Mark's Gospel) is a repurposed legend about an anonymous smartmouth Jewish Exorcist that may hold the key to the origins of miracle stories in our Canonical Gospels.

YouTube: @borninthesecondcentury
E-mail: [email protected]
Music: Pompeii Gray on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud

BORN IN THE SECOND CENTURY embarks on the effort to answer the most important question of our age, or of any age: whether Justin Martyr was aware of the New Testament Gospels. In a deep analysis of Justin's stories about Jesus from the so-called Memoirs of the Apostles, host Chris Palmero begins to excavate "the Gospel of Justin."

Anyone who listens to this episode can learn about how Justin was truly a "somebody" in the early church; about the potential sources to which Justin had access; about how Justin apparently forgot that Jesus had visited his hometown; about the three specific instances where Justin's quotes of Jesus manage to line up with their Gospel counterparts; about Jesus and his disciples finding the colt; and about John the Baptist "sitting" by the Jordan River.

Opening reading: Justin, in his Apology, explains that everything we want to know about Jesus can be learned in "the Acts Composed Under Pontius Pilate."

YouTube: @borninthesecondcentury
E-mail: [email protected]
Music: Pompeii Gray on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud

There is a treasure that lies hidden behind the earliest Christian writings: the TESTIMONIA. Host Chris Palmero describes the theory that the earliest sources about Jesus of Nazareth may have been strange list of Biblical prophecies that were passed around among early sectarian Jews. These lost books may indeed have been the primary sources even for the authors of the New Testament.

Anyone who listens to this episode of BORN IN THE SECOND CENTURY can learn about how the "proof from prophecy" was the first and best defense of the faith among the earliest Christians; about why the Church Fathers sometimes seem to forget who exactly wrote certain Biblical books; what the Testimonia were, what they may have looked like, where we can still find evidence of them, and; the paramount importance of Psalm 110 to the entire concept of Christianity.

Opening reading: The very first lines of the Gospel of Mark provide the occasion for the host to play a historic recording of an ancient phone call placed circa 116 AD.

YouTube: @borninthesecondcentury
E-mail: [email protected]
Music: Pompeii Gray on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud