We examine the earliest references to the Virgin Birth in chronological order, starting in 48-50 AD, paying brief attention to the famous debate around Luke 2:2-3 and examining evidence that the author of John knew of and believed the nativity account in Luke.

To some of us, thinking about Satan or demonic powers seems weird; but what is weird about standing up against evil? Shouldn't this be our greatest desire? There is nothing to lose in learning how to defeat it the power of darkness.

I give an update about myself and this show, asking for input from listeners on both my own path in the future as well as the future of this podcast. You can respond to:

nthistoryandtheology@gmail.com

In this episode we look at instructions Paul gives to wives and husbands in light of what we have learned about his instructions to slaves and masters. Avoiding the contemporary terms of egalitarian and complementarian, we seek to get a sense of Paul's desire to Christianize all social relationships by seeing how he capitalizes on Jesus's own teachings about himself as a bridegroom.

In this episode we look at how Christian history and Scripture each relate to historic slavery. We examine the biblical basis for a total condemnation of historic slave trading as well as the passages that challenge us how we can advance God's kingdom across new frontiers of mercy.

We start by looking at how to read the "household codes" in the New Testament and how they are based on Jesus's own teaching. We then look at the biblical basis for a free community and take our first looks at the biblical basis for emancipation.

We explore four statements in Ephesians that designate Christ as God. We then look at manuscript evidence for that idea, followed by a look at what worship means for our sex and money lives.

Is Christian faith ultimately about community or individuality? Is it about character or about knowledge? Let's explore how we can grow in all of these things in a way that brings unity to the church, our families, our places of work, and our society.