Skip to main content
Christianity, the Backstory

Christianity, the Backstory

By Elliott Smith

Looking between the lines of Church history and the New Testament.

The narrative that Christianity is based on includes assumptions that are easy to miss, assumptions that are also fundamental premises.

Like the idea that this religion is well connected with the man we all know as Jesus.

This podcast puts that narrative into straight forward terms, and applies critical thinking to see if it makes sense.

Premise: it’s supposed to make sense.

And if it doesn’t, in behind the Church’s story there might be a cohesive, credible story that does make sense.

Christianity is open for critique
Available on
Apple Podcasts Logo
Castbox Logo
Google Podcasts Logo
Overcast Logo
Pocket Casts Logo
RadioPublic Logo
Spotify Logo
Currently playing episode

8e) Acts of the Spotlight Part 5

Christianity, the BackstoryMay 10, 2021

00:00
53:44
8e) Acts of the Spotlight Part 5

8e) Acts of the Spotlight Part 5

The stage play


Image:   'What is Truth?',  a painting by Nikolai Nikolaievich, 1890

May 10, 202153:44
8d) Acts of the Spotlight Part 4

8d) Acts of the Spotlight Part 4

James the brother of Jesus, and the elders at Jerusalem, and thousands of Jews there who have believed and are zealous for the law...

How are they regarded by the author of Acts? How are their envoys received at Antioch? 


Image:   'What is Truth?',  a painting by Nikolai Nikolaievich, 1890

May 04, 202147:40
8c) Acts of the Spotlight Part 3

8c) Acts of the Spotlight Part 3

Jerusalem and Antioch, culturally and ideologically divergent.


The defining principle of Christianity, and a response to it by James, the brother of Jesus.


Image:   'What is Truth?',  a painting by Nikolai Nikolaievich, 1890

Apr 08, 202138:01
8b) Acts of the Spotlight Part 2

8b) Acts of the Spotlight Part 2

"They added nothing to my message."


The exclusive gospel of Paul.


Image:   'What is Truth?',  a painting by Nikolai Nikolaievich, 1890

Mar 01, 202123:27
8) Acts of the Spotlight Part 1

8) Acts of the Spotlight Part 1

Tracing the belief system of Christianity back in time, how do we get from Antioch to Jerusalem ?    It’s about what people were thinking.   There’s a group of people in Jerusalem who need to have believed pretty much the same things that people were believing in Antioch.


Image:   'What is Truth?',  a painting by Nikolai Nikolaievich, 1890

Feb 22, 202126:25
CHURCH NOTICE

CHURCH NOTICE

This is notice of a public challenge to the Christian Church, bringing into question its past conduct.

To the Church of old: The story you passed on to us about a first century Jewish movement…

was it faithfully told?

REFUTE THIS THESIS.

The premise of the thesis is that Christianity began in Antioch, and can't be traced back to Jerusalem.

The disciples of Jesus and their community in Jerusalem could only have been Christians if they changed their belief as a result of Paul's self proclaimed, exclusive, encounters with the risen Jesus. And there is plenty of evidence in the New Testament to say that this didn't happen. They were Jews who followed the teaching of their rabbi. Both these men and their movement disappear from the story in Acts, and from Church history, for a reason.

This thesis is presented as a podcast. It's open to contribution and requires argument for the other side.

Its conclusion is that there is something fundamentally wrong with Christianity.

Can you demonstrate that there’s something wrong with the thesis?

Are the core doctrines of Christianity built on the teaching of the man we call Jesus, or not?

This notice needs to find a learned Christian willing to speak up for listeners who are waiting to hear the Christian response.

If that's you, choose any assertion made in the podcast, or respond to the whole premise,

and send it in as a voice message.

If it's instructive and concise, it will remain as part of the podcast, to provide a more balanced view of things.

---
Send in a voice message:
anchor.fm/christianitythebackstory Over 1400 subscribers, waiting for an explanation.
Jun 26, 202013:26
7) A Tenuous Connection

7) A Tenuous Connection


The story that Christian belief is centred on,   

does it reach back to Jesus?

Jun 08, 202038:20
6) Early Church History

6) Early Church History


The story begins.

What did Peter and John and the other disciples of Jesus go on to do?

... Where did they go?

Introducing Paul, and his doctrine.


May 30, 202042:08
5b) Messiah. (Part 2)

5b) Messiah. (Part 2)


What did they believe?


Image:   'What is Truth?',  a painting by Nikolai Nikolaievich, 1890

Feb 21, 202043:11
5) Messiah. (Part 1)

5) Messiah. (Part 1)


The missing information about the disciples of Jesus.


Image:   'What is Truth?',  a painting by Nikolai Nikolaievich, 1890

Feb 21, 202038:37
4) Christ

4) Christ

How far back do we go with this concept of Christ?  Can we really take it back to the people who followed Jesus around Galilee and Judea?

Did they believe it?  Were they Christians?

Dec 04, 201948:01
3) The Rabbi

3) The Rabbi

An interview with Rabbi Philip Kaplan at the Great Synagogue, Sydney.

In Mark 8:29  Jesus says to his disciples;  "What about you?  Who do you say I am?" 

And Peter answers, "You are the Messiah."

Who is better placed to know what Peter might have meant by this; a Reverend, or a Rabbi?




Nov 27, 201941:50
2) The Reverend

2) The Reverend

An interview with the Reverend of Saint Andrew's Presbyterian church, Newcastle Australia. 

(The Church in the picture)

Tim responds to two questions:

#   What is Christianity? 

#   What is the central message of Christianity?

We also address what exactly it is that makes a person eligible for heaven.


Nov 25, 201954:20
1) What is Christianity?

1) What is Christianity?


The mother of all Christian assumptions



Aug 18, 201925:50
The Book (Intro part 2)

The Book (Intro part 2)


A combination of material from two rival movements



Aug 18, 201939:24
A Fourth Century Tale (Intro part 1)

A Fourth Century Tale (Intro part 1)

Looking between the lines of Church history and the New Testament.

An unorthodox tour through early Church times for anyone interested in what might have been going on behind the scenes. Behind the scenes of the official story that was produced by the Church, with its rise to power.

The Church has demanded a narrow minded view of Christian origins.

Another way to look at that story is to take away the assumption that God was with the religious elite, and against anyone who disagreed with them.

Aug 18, 201937:38