Fashion-obsessed emperors, real estate deals, and post-baptismal stank...the early church had a lot to deal with! It's time to check in and see how things were going for the African church ca. 200 AD.

"When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die."

Dietrich Bonhoeffer spoke those words in the shadow of Nazi Germany. For the Christians of Africa, they were a sporadic but ever-looming reality. Martyrdom shaped the church - and the church shaped its people through the stories of these heroes of the faith.

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Not all so-called gnostics went down as heretics. Learn the story of Clement of Alexandria today!

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In this episode, Ben chats with an expert on the Nag Hammadi texts to learn a bit more about these fascinating documents we've been reviewing.

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Being venerated just runs in the family.

Jesus's cousin, John the Baptist, has his very own religion that venerates him to this very day!

Learn all about the forerunner's faithful in today's episode.

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Valentinus may be the most reviled of all the Gnostic writers. He was savaged by orthodox thinkers as a heretic and apostate - who almost became the pope! Listen in to find out what St. Irenaeus doesn't want you to hear. (Well, actually, he did want you to hear it, he quotes it at length in his works to tell you how silly it is, but he didn't want you to *believe* it, you know? Listen man, intros are hard. Just listen to the episode.)

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With secret sacred syllables, triple masculinity, and a dramatic reveal that will leave you gasping for air, there's a lot to explore in the mysteries of Sethian religion!

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It's time to see the other texts that shaped African Christianity - the much-maligned (and much less studied) Gnostic Gospels! But who are the Gnostics? And are they really so scary? We'll spend all month answering that question!

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Lions, apostles, and ancient AirBnBs, oh my!

The apostle Mark hailed from Africa and returned there to minister. What legacies did he leave? Listen to find out!

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You've met the man. But what will our amazing Alexandrine allegorist do with the Bible's very first narrative?

A lot, it turns out. Listen on to find out!