Gospel Simplicity Podcast

In this episode, I'm joined by Catholic apologist and repeat guest, Suan Sonna, to discuss Mary's role in the Early Church. Specifically, we're looking at some sources that I didn't bring up in my own video on the historical record for Marian doctrine and devotion in the early church. These sources include the Odes of Solomon, the Sibylline Oracles, and more. Along the way, we also talk at length about historical methodology and how history and theology intersect.

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Get access to my book club, one-on-one office hours, show notes, and more:  https://patreon.com/gospelsimplicity
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Book a meeting: https://calendly.com/gospelsimplicity/meet-with-austin
Read my writings: https://austinsuggs.substack.com


00:00 The Backstory
01:54 Ascension of Isaiah
06:08 History vs. Dogma
16:30 Odes of Solomon
26:00 "Gnosticism"?
35:13 Irenaeus
45:52 Sibylline Oracles
01:05:48 Gregory Thaumaturgus?



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In this episode, I'm joined by the Rev. Dr. Matthew Olver and the Rev. Dr. Nathan Jennings to discuss their book, Turning Points in Prayer Book History which traces the development of the Book of Common Prayer over the centuries. 

Pre-order my novel, The Long Road to Holy Island: https://amzn.to/4sISAC9

Get access to my book club, one-on-one office hours, show notes, and more:  https://patreon.com/gospelsimplicity
Make a one-time donation: https://paypal.me/gospelsimplicity
Book a meeting: https://calendly.com/gospelsimplicity/meet-with-austin
Read my writings: https://austinsuggs.substack.com

Read the Book: https://link.amazon/B025gMLW8

00:00 What Would Cranmer Think?
10:14 Elizabethan Compromise
16:03 Via Media Theology
22:46 The Importance of Rubrics
32:54 Optionality in Liturgy
44:57 English vs. Scottish BCP
56:00 What's Next?

*Links in the Description may include Affiliate Links, from which I receive a small commission at no extra price for you.

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In this episode, I'm joined by two repeat guests, Dr. Matthew Thomas and Dr. Barnabas Aspray. I've had the pleasure of getting to know both of these men over the last few years, and for almost the entirety of that time, they've insisted that I read one book: The Spirit and Forms of Protestantism by Fr. Louis Bouyer.

Finally, after much delay, I've read the book, and the three of us sat down to discuss not only this book, but also two main ideas:
1. Nominalism is at the root of the negative aspects of the Reformation.
2. All the positive aspects of the Reformation can be found within the Catholic Church.

Pre-order my novel, The Long Road to Holy Island: https://amzn.to/4sISAC9

Get access to my book club, one-on-one office hours, show notes, and more:  https://patreon.com/gospelsimplicity
Make a one-time donation: https://paypal.me/gospelsimplicity
Book a meeting: https://calendly.com/gospelsimplicity/meet-with-austin
Read my writings: https://austinsuggs.substack.com

Read the Book: https://link.amazon/B09FL1iyu

Guest Links:
Barney's Podcast:  @FaithattheFrontiers 
About Barney: https://stmarys.edu/staff/dr-barnabas-aspray/
About Matt: https://dspt.edu/matthew-thomas/


00:00 The Backstory
11:50 Bouyer's Main Idea
19:47 Reformation Nominalism?
31:25 Still Nominalist?
39:26 What is Nominalism?
46:27 Anglican Exception?
01:07:29 My Reservations



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In this episode, I'm joined by the Rev. Dr. Michael Niebauer to discuss his new book, From Word to Worship, which is all about learning to read the Bible in accord with the lectionary, noticing the way it connects Scripture and presents it as a unified story with Christ at the center.

Over the course of the conversation, we cover things like hermeneutics, preaching advice, the history of the lectionary, and much more.

Pre-order my novel, The Long Road to Holy Island: https://amzn.to/4sISAC9

Get access to my book club, one-on-one office hours, show notes, and more:  https://patreon.com/gospelsimplicity
Make a one-time donation: https://paypal.me/gospelsimplicity
Book a meeting: https://calendly.com/gospelsimplicity/meet-with-austin
Read my writings: https://austinsuggs.substack.com

Guest Links:
Read the book: https://link.amazon/B0j1PA3cV
Substack: https://substack.com/@michaelniebauer

00:00 What is a Lectionary?
08:59 How are Readings Selected?
14:34 The Church Calendar
21:01 Three Year vs. One Year
26:50 Don't Just Preach the Gospel Text
30:20 Doctrine and Exegesis
36:41 The Church's Book
45:50 Examples
50:45 Living the Text
58:30 Preaching Advice

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In this episode, I'm joined by Bonnie Kristian to discuss her new book, In Defense of Evangelicalism: A Response to its Cultured Despisers. Over the course of the interview, we discuss what makes Evangelicalism unique, why its become a punching bag in American discourse, its entanglement with politics, and much more.

Pre-order my novel, The Long Road to Holy Island: https://amzn.to/4sISAC9

Get access to my book club, one-on-one office hours, show notes, and more:  https://patreon.com/gospelsimplicity
Make a one-time donation: https://paypal.me/gospelsimplicity
Book a meeting: https://calendly.com/gospelsimplicity/meet-with-austin
Read my writings: https://austinsuggs.substack.com

Guest Links:
Read the book:https://amzn.to/3VfDtEw
Find Bonnie on Substack: https://substack.com/@bonniekristian

00:00 Why Now?
03:30 What is Evangelicalism?
18:43 Cultural Criticism of Evangelicals
24:14 Evangelical Self-Criticism
27:27 Evangelical Egalitarians
33:30 Tackiness
40:49 Global vs. American Evangelicalism
45:00 Evangelical Politics
51:29 One Thing to Know about Evangelicals

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In this episode, I'm joined by the Rev. Dr. Thomas Plant to discuss his new book, King Oswald's Heirs, which is a meditation on the 1662 BCP Catechism applied to the questions of re-enchantment and Christianity in a modern/post-modern world. It's a fascinating combination and well-worth reading.

In this discussion, Fr. Thomas discusses the importance of embracing the traditions we've been given, whether the Reformation caused secularism, and much more.

Pre-order my novel, The Long Road to Holy Island: https://amzn.to/4sISAC9

Get access to my book club, one-on-one office hours, show notes, and more:  https://patreon.com/gospelsimplicity
Make a one-time donation: https://paypal.me/gospelsimplicity
Book a meeting: https://calendly.com/gospelsimplicity/meet-with-austin
Read my writings: https://austinsuggs.substack.com

Guest Links:
Read the book: https://amzn.to/4x16Esi

00:00 The Reformation and Modernity
11:00 Post-Christianity
22:00 The Saints
27:00 Particular and Universal
47:30 Identity

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In this episode, I'm joined by Dr. Brendan Case to discuss his new book, Doubting Thomas (UND Press), which covers a host of debates between St. Thomas Aquinas and his Franciscan counterparts, especially St. Bonaventure. In this discussion, Dr. Case shares a few instances where he thinks Bonaventure got the better of Thomas. Moreover, he shares why these debates matter and how they might better help us understand the place of Thomas in modern theology.

Pre-order my novel, The Long Road to Holy Island: https://amzn.to/4sISAC9

Get access to my book club, one-on-one office hours, show notes, and more:  https://patreon.com/gospelsimplicity
Make a one-time donation: https://paypal.me/gospelsimplicity
Book a meeting: https://calendly.com/gospelsimplicity/meet-with-austin
Read my writings: https://austinsuggs.substack.com

About the Guest: Brendan W. Case, Th.D., serves as the Associate Director for Research at the Harvard Human Flourishing Program. A Christian theologian by training, Case’s work brings theology and philosophy into conversation with the empirical social sciences to understand the nature, distribution, and determinants of a good life. Dr. Case is the author or co-author of five books: The Gentleness of Wisdom: A Christian Ethics of Charity, Anger, and Enmity (Routledge, 2026); Doubting Thomas: Early Franciscan Disputes with Aquinas (University of Notre Dame Press, 2026); The Justification of the Sinless: Supralapsarian Christology and the Goodness of the Incarnation (Baker Academic, 2026); The Accountable Animal: Justice, Justification, and Judgment (T&T Clark, 2021), and (with William Glass) Least of the Apostles: Paul and His Legacies in Earliest Christianity (Pickwick Press, 2022).

Guest Links:
Read the book: https://amzn.to/3UnrxQQ
The Justification of the Sinless: https://amzn.to/4ccbZFP
Learn more: https://hfh.fas.harvard.edu/team/brendan-case

Chapters
00:00 The Place of St. Thomas in Theology
04:46 St. Bonaventure's Approach
10:01 Reception of Thomas in his time
20:04 The Trinity and divine relations
25:12 The Ontological Argument
30:07 Implications of different theological emphases
35:05 Bonaventure today
39:55 Beyond the Summa
45:13 Mystical theology in Bonaventure
49:48 Historical and contemporary views on Thomas and Bonaventure
54:57 The future of theological study

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What did the earliest Christians believe about the Virgin Mary? That's what I'll cover in this video, looking at both orthodox and heterodox groups, as well as written and material evidence. This is the longest and most detailed video yet in my ongoing series on the history of Marian doctrine and devotion. 

Join Me on the Camino!: https://www.gospelsimplicity.com/pilgrimage

Pre-order my novel, The Long Road to Holy Island: https://amzn.to/4sISAC9

Get access to my book club, one-on-one office hours, show notes, and more:  https://patreon.com/gospelsimplicity 
Make a one-time donation: https://paypal.me/gospelsimplicity
Book a meeting: https://calendly.com/gospelsimplicity/meet-with-austin
Read my writings: https://austinsuggs.substack.com

Videos Referenced: 
Protevangelium: https://youtu.be/rgHV-leh6P8?si=cseP3b3EpdPoSqCk
Dormition/Assumption: https://youtu.be/0ylKNQmE1oE?si=DSHGJLl_yXO75-4J
Rejecting Mary? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCZ-ZK8e17c&list=PLPYmFzsNDDO-WMGWwl6gTofsw_J-k_Bcd&index=4

Recommended Secondary Sources: 
Yale Dura Europos Website: https://duraeuropos.artgallery.yale.edu/
Stephen Shoemaker, Mary in Early Christian Faith and Devotion
Miri Rubin, Mother of God


0:00 Introduction
012:28 Ascension of Isaiah
06:03 St. Ignatius of Antioch
07:38 St. Justin Martyr
09:52 Protevangelium of James
13:52 St. Irenaeus of Lyons
20:23 Gnostics on Mary
24:44 Tertullian
26:35 St. Clement of Alexandria
27:48 Origen of Alexandria
30:53 Third Century Summary
31:23 Sub Tuum Praesidium
36:37 Mary in Early Christian Art
40:49 The Book of Mary's Repose
43:19 Concluding Thoughts


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Since its definition as a dogma in 1950, Mary's Bodily Assumption has been a point of tension between Protestants and Catholics. For some, it's the beautiful telos of the other Marian dogmas. For others, it's a bewildering act of dogmatizing something that seems unnecessary. 

This video isn't about who's right. Instead, this video is a look at the historical development of Christian belief in Mary's Bodily Assumption through three sources: St. Epiphanius of Salamis, apocryphal Dormition/Assumption narratives, and liturgical history. 

This video is deeply indebted to the work of Dr. Stephen Shoemaker. You can find the links for his work in the resources section below. 

Join Me on the Camino!: https://www.gospelsimplicity.com/pilgrimage

Pre-order my novel, The Long Road to Holy Island: https://amzn.to/4sISAC9

Get access to my book club, one-on-one office hours, show notes, and more:  https://patreon.com/gospelsimplicity 
Make a one-time donation: https://paypal.me/gospelsimplicity
Book a meeting: https://calendly.com/gospelsimplicity/meet-with-austin
Read my writings: https://austinsuggs.substack.com

References:
Stephen Shoemaker, Ancient Traditions of the Virgin Mary's Dormition and Assumption: https://academic.oup.com/book/27239
Stephen Shoemaker, Mary in Early Christian Faith and Devotion: https://amzn.to/4zotIUo
Matthew Levering, Mary's Bodily Assumption: https://amzn.to/4bLfP8E


0:00 Background
05:53 St. Epiphanius, 4th c.
13:32 Dormition/Assumption Apocrypha
29:19 Liturgy
31:55 Conclusion


Disclaimer: Links in the description may contain affiliate links, from which I receive a small percentage of the purchase.

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In this episode, I'm joined by Dr. Zachary Wagner, author of Men of Virtue, to discuss the crises men are facing, the problematic solutions being offered, and why embracing a Christian vision of virtue is the answer.

Pre-order my novel, The Long Road to Holy Island: https://amzn.to/4sISAC9

Get access to my book club, one-on-one office hours, show notes, and more:  https://patreon.com/gospelsimplicity
Make a one-time donation: https://paypal.me/gospelsimplicity
Book a meeting: https://calendly.com/gospelsimplicity/meet-with-austin
Read my writings: https://austinsuggs.substack.com

About the Guest: Zachary Wagner is an author, ordained minister, and New Testament scholar. He earned a DPhil from Oxford in 2025. He published his first book, Non-Toxic Masculinity: Recovering Healthy Male Sexuality, in 2023 with InterVarsity Press. His second book, Men of Virtue: How the Fruit of the Spirit Forms Male Character in the Modern World, will release from Brazos Press in May 2026. He is currently pursuing publication for his DPhil thesis, as well as a further writing and research projects on Christianity and Stoicism.

Guest Links:
Book: https://amzn.to/3TBoAfg
Substack: https://substack.com/@zacharywagner
Website: https://www.zacharycwagner.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zacharycwagner

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