Giants of the Faith - A Christian History Podcast

Send us feedback

In this episode we're zeroing in on W.A. Criswell. There's a good chance you aren't familiar with W.A. but he was a very important American evangelical leader in the 20th century who played a key role in defending the largest protestant denomination in the United States, the Southern Baptist Convention, from succumbing to an encroaching liberal theology.

RESOURCES

Lifeway: https://factsandtrends.net/2016/05/23/why-should-we-care-about-w-a-criswell/

Wacriswell.com: https://wacriswell.com/about-dr-criswell/

Preaching.com: https://www.preaching.com/articles/past-masters/with-a-bible-in-my-hand-the-preaching-legacy-of-w-a-criswell/

Challies: https://www.challies.com/vlog/the-message-that-moved-the-sbc/

Intro Music: Country Strumstick Mountain Hop, by Andy Slatter

Send us feedback

Today's episode focuses on the proto-reformer Jan Hus. Hus lived about a century before the reformation and was influenced by the writings of another proto-reformer, John Wycliffe, who we'll get to on a future episode. Obviously, the reformers are going to play a large part in this podcast at some point but I've been putting them off as I think abut how to give them appropriate focus. So with Hus we'll sort of dip our toes into the shallow end of the Reformation waters knowing that Luther, Melanchthon, Zwingli, and others are waiting for us in deeper waters.

RESOURCES

Christian History Institute: https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/issue/jan-hus-incendiary-preacher-of-prague

Reformation 500: https://reformation500.csl.edu/bio/jan-hus/

Christianity Today: https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/martyrs/john-huss.html

Intro Music: Country Strumstick Mountain Hop, by Andy Slatter

Send us feedback

In episode 13 we covered Blaise Pascal and mentioned his Memorial. The Memorial was an outpouring of faith, hope, and love that accompanied Pascal's surrender to Christ and his commitment to live for Him. I wanted to read the entire Memorial in episode 13 but felt like it would distract from the narrative and so I've decided to break it out into a small bonus episode. I'll be reading the English translation of the French and Latin original that I got from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library.

RESOURCES

Christian Classics Ethereal Library: https://ccel.org/ccel/pascal/memorial/memorial

Send us feedback

In this episode we will take a look at one of the giants of the giants, Blaise Pascal. Pascal was a great intellect, inventor, apologist, theologian, and the rare man who is a hero of both the religious and the scientific. He was a true Renaissance Man and worthy of inclusion in this series.

RESOURCES

Christianity.com: https://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1601-1700/blaise-pascals-conversion-11630126.html

The Gospel Coalition: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/pascals-method-for-presenting-the-christian-faith/

Christianity Today: https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/evangelistsandapologists/blaise-pascal.html

Reasons to Believe: https://reasons.org/explore/blogs/reflections/read/reflections/2016/04/19/christian-thinkers-101-a-crash-course-on-blaise-pascal

Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: https://iep.utm.edu/pascal-b/

Intro Music: Country Strumstick Mountain Hop, by Andy Slatter

Send us feedback

In this episode we are focusing in on Richard Wurmbrand - the Romanian minister who suffered under the Nazis and communists and went on the found The Voice of the Martyrs. His is a tale of strength and faith in the face of great persecution and points to the ultimate victory of Christ.


RESOURCES

Richard Wurmbrand Foundation: https://www.richardwurmbrandfoundation.com/pdfs/richard-and-sabina-wurmbrand-biographies.pdf

The Voice of the Martyrs: https://www.persecution.com/founders/

Israel My Glory: https://israelmyglory.org/article/the-story-of-richard-wurmbrand/

Intro Music: Country Strumstick Mountain Hop, by Andy Slatter

Send us feedback

This episode focuses on the 18th and 19th century statesman, William Wilberforce. Wilberforce was the public face of the abolitionist movement in Britain and his convictions came from his faith. He persevered in the face of great opposition and is remembered and revered today by both Christian and secular audiences alike.


RESOURCES

Christian History Institute: https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/issue/william-wilberforce-fighting-the-slave-trade

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Wilberforce

Intro Music: Country Strumstick Mountain Hop, by Andy Slatter

Send us feedback

This brief bonus episode looks at the Nicene Creed and it's importance to orthodoxy. It is a wonderfully concise declaration of theology that all Christian churches should be able to affirm. While not scripture, it's an important tool for Christians when evaluating churches and denominations.

Send us feedback

Athanasius is one of the great defenders of Christian Orthodoxy. He helped protect the church from falling into the Arian heresy and was instrumental in canonizing the Bible. He's one of the most important churchmen of the last 2000+ years.

Also in today's episode there's a sneak peak at the excellent Christian history podcast - The Soul Anchor Podcast by Vidal Moreno. Give it a listen. You can subscribe on Apple (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/soul-anchor-podcast/id1480173781), Android (https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc3ByZWFrZXIuY29tL3Nob3cvNDAzNjY4MC9lcGlzb2Rlcy9mZWVk) or any of your favorite podcast platforms.


RESOURCES

Christianity Today: https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/theologians/athanasius.html

Christian History Institute: https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/athanasius-defines-new-testament

Christian History Institute: https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/athanasius-pugnacious-defender-of-orthodoxy

The Gospel Coalition: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/who-was-athanasius-and-why-was-he-important/

Intro Music: Country Strumstick Mountain Hop, by Andy Slatter

Send us feedback

This bonus episode takes a brief look at the history and importance of everyone's favorite VeggieTales host - Bob the Tomato. 

Send us feedback

This episode we are looking at the life and ministry of the great Catholic servant of the poor, Vincent de Paul. He was a man who moved the Catholic Church in France to a more positive force for the poor and needy and he greatly improved the effectiveness and godliness of the priesthood in France.

RESOURCES

Pierced Hearts: https://www.piercedhearts.org/theology_heart/life_saints/vincent_de_paul.htm

Vincentians.com: http://vincentians.com/en/saint-vincent-paul-biography-01-childhood-spent-in-the-country/

Franciscan Media: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-vincent-de-paul/

Saint Resource: http://saintsresource.com/vincent-de-paul

Catholic.org: https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=326

Intro Music: Country Strumstick Mountain Hop, by Andy Slatter