The B-Side Bible: The Hidden Tracks of the ancient world.

In this episode, we’ll trace the journey of St. Nicholas—a 4th-century bishop from Myra—to the global legend we celebrate today. Along the way, we’ll explore the extraordinary life of Nicholas of Myra, the legends that shaped his saintly reputation, and how these stories evolved into the mythos of Santa Claus.

Don’t forget to check out my other episodes of “They didn’t teach that at school”. Available on all major podcast platforms. 

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In this. the first episode of season 2 of "They Didn't Teach That at School," podcast author and presenter Mark Kerrigan B.Ed, M.TheolSt delves into the discovery and significance of the Gospel of Thomas, an apocryphal text comprising 114 sayings of Jesus, found in Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in 1945. Unlike the narrative-driven canonical gospels, the Gospel of Thomas emphasizes mystical and Gnostic themes, promoting self-knowledge and personal enlightenment. The episode explores the historical context of early Christianity, highlighting the differing visions of key figures like James, Peter, and Paul, and the rise of the orthodox church, which established a unified set of beliefs through councils and canonical criteria, ultimately shaping the dominant form of Christianity. 

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In the grand finale of our first series, we explore the early days of Christianity, focusing on the Jewish Christian sect, the transformative influence of Paul of Tarsus, and the significant but often marginalized role of women like Mary Magdalene. Join us as we uncover hidden stories and challenge conventional narratives, shedding new light on the foundations of one of the world's largest religions.

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In today’s episode we are going to look at the various flood mythologies from some of the world’s religions. Floods have been a part of human history since time immemorial, and across different civilizations and religions, we find remarkable stories of deluges that reshaped entire landscapes and changed the course of humanity. In fact, of all the countries in the world, Japan stands out as one of the very few major cultures that do not have a flood myth. The Hebrew flood myth that focuses on Noah and his ark is probably one of the best known however cultures across the world including those in Mesopotamia, India, Africa, China and Mesoamerica all have stories of life shattering inundations. While the details may differ, the core elements of a catastrophic flood, a chosen hero, the construction of an ark or vessel, and the survival and repopulation of the earth are remarkably similar across these cultures. How did this happen? How did cultures separated by time and distance all develop remarkably similar tales? 

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Today’s episode will begin by focusing on everyday life in Roman Occupied Judea. We are going to look at how people lived, the influence of Roman occupation on the populace and what led to Pontius Pilate making his fateful decision to execute Jesus of Nazareth. From there we will delve into sedition, rebellion and the tumultuous events that led to the catastrophic destruction of Jerusalem in 70CE.

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Today’s episode is part Two of a two-part podcast. In the previous podcast we looked at 5 of 10 distinct archaeological artefacts in history that corroborate with texts found in the Old Testament. In this week’s episode of Ancient Artifacts, we will examine the other 5 artifacts. The artifacts  we will investigate today are:

The Pool of Bethesda

The Tel Dan Stele

The Mesha Stele

The Cyrus Cylinder

And finally, The Pilate Stone

Each of these artifact reveal, not only a fascinating insight into how these civilisations conducted themselves, but how the Hebrews observed and recorded their interactions with their neighbours. 

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Today’s episode is part one of a two-part podcast. In this podcast we are going to look at 10 distinct archaeological artefacts in history that corroborate with texts found in the Old Testament. In this week’s episode of Ancient Artifacts, the 5 artifacts we will investigate are:

The Amarna Letters: 

The Kurkh Monolith: 

The Siege of Lachish Reliefs: 

The Siloam Tunnel: 

and

The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III.

Each of these artifact reveal, not only a fascinating insight into how these civilisations conducted themselves, but how the Hebrews observed and recorded their interactions with their neighbours. 

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 In chapter 19 of the Book of Acts of the Apostles, we encounter an unusual event that took place in the city of Ephesus.

According to the biblical account, the Apostle Paul had been preaching and performing miracles in Ephesus, which threatened the livelihood of those involved in the occult and magical practices. Many people who practiced magic arts and sorcery were deeply impacted by Paul's teachings and chose to renounce their previous practices.

As the newly converted believers turned away from their former practices, they brought together their books and scrolls on magic and sorcery. In Acts 19:19, it is stated, "A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. "

In this podcast we take a closer look at this episode in history and discover, not only was magic and witchcraft rife throughout the Roman Empire but that Christianity had a significant and lasting impact on its practice.

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In this episode of "They Didn't Teach that at School" we delve into the Jewish/Babylonian wars and examine a little known tactic used by King Nebuchadnezzar II against the Jews. We also look at the aftermath of the war and the effect it had, not only on the Jewish people, but on their neighbours as well. 

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Our first ten podcasts are going to focus on the Bible and we are going to discover some incredible things that you probably didn’t know. I intend to get behind the scriptures and discover who they were written for, why they were written and what they say about the civilisation that wrote them. For our very first podcast, we're diving into the captivating realm of ancient Hebrew cosmology. It's important to note that these cosmological beliefs were the ones prevalent during ancient times and were not unique to Hebrew culture. They represent the cosmological understanding of that era. So get ready to uncover some fascinating insights into how the Hebrews perceived the world around them. 

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