All History articles
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ShowsDid 1776 Create the Modern West? Andrew Wilson on Christianity, Wealth and Identity
Why do we trust our feelings? Why did Western societies become so wealthy? And how much of what we believe about ourselves can be traced back to the revolutionary ideas of 1776?
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ShowsHow 1776 Created the Modern West: Andrew Wilson on Christianity, Atheism and Human Rights
Is our supposedly secular civilisation still shaped by Christianity?
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ShowsThe Forgotten Queen Who Dared to Challenge the Roman Empire
Long before modern debates about women and power, Queen Zenobia of Palmyra was building an empire that threatened Rome itself. Ruling during one of the most turbulent periods in Roman history, Zenobia transformed a precarious position into extraordinary political and military power, conquering vast territories from Syria to Egypt. But was she a ruthless conqueror, a visionary ruler or a mother determined to protect her son’s inheritance?
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ShowsThe stolen Gospel scandal: An Oxford professor and First Century Mark | Stephen Carlson
Was a sensational discovery of the earliest Gospel of Mark too good to be true?
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ShowsThe Gospel of Jesus’ Wife: How a biblical forgery fooled the experts
Did Jesus have a wife? For a brief moment, a tiny piece of ancient-looking papyrus appeared to offer extraordinary new evidence..
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ShowsThe Secret Gospel of Mark: Christianity’s Greatest Hoax? | Stephen Carlson
Is the Secret Gospel of Mark a long-lost Christian text or one of the greatest hoaxes in biblical scholarship? Mike Bird and Stephen Carlson dive into the mystery, exploring linguistic clues, historical puzzles, and the explosive accusation that the manuscript is a modern forgery.
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ShowsWhat Artemis of Ephesus changes about how we read Paul
Why does Paul say women will be “saved through childbearing”?
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ShowsThey killed Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Why couldn’t they silence him?
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was executed by the Nazis as a traitor, but his legacy only grew stronger after his death. Mike Bird and John McCabe explore how Bonhoeffer’s courage and writings inspired movements for justice and freedom around the world, proving that his voice could never be silenced.
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ShowsDietrich Bonhoeffer’s final days: Did he really plot to kill Hitler?
Did Dietrich Bonhoeffer really support the plot to assassinate Hitler? Mike Bird and historian John McCabe continue their deep dive into Bonhoeffer’s final days, exploring his connection to the German resistance, the moral struggle behind his choices, and the dramatic events leading up to his arrest and execution.
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ArticleThe real Dietrich Bonhoeffer: How faith led a theologian into resistance against Hitler
Dietrich Bonhoeffer has become a symbol of Christian resistance to tyranny. But has the real man been obscured by myth? Historian John McCabe joins Mike Bird to separate Bonhoeffer from the versions later generations have created.
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ShowsWho Was the Real Dietrich Bonhoeffer? Historian John McCabe Sets the Record Straight
How much of what we believe about Dietrich Bonhoeffer is true? In this episode, Bonhoeffer historian John McCabe joins Mike Bird to reveal the real story behind the legendary pastor’s resistance to Hitler. They separate fact from fiction, discuss Bonhoeffer’s underground seminary, and challenge modern portrayals that reshape him for our times.
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ShowsHas Christianity forgotten its own history? Why the past still matters
Has Christianity lost touch with its own story? Historian Sarah Irving-Stonebraker joins Mike Bird to discuss why forgetting 2,000 years of Christian history leaves faith vulnerable to fads and drift - and how remembering the past can guide Christians through today’s challenges.
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ShowsAre we losing our past? Why history matters more than ever | Sarah Irving-Stonebraker
What happens when a society loses touch with its history - or rewrites it to fit modern politics? Historian Sarah Irving-Stonebraker joins Mike Bird to discuss vanishing history departments, culture wars over the past, and why understanding where we come from matters more than ever.
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ShowsAlexander’s Empire Implodes: Betrayal, War Elephants and Crocodiles | Mike Bird and Tristan Hughes
In episode two of History’s Last Stand, Mike Bird and Tristan Hughes dive into the chaos after Alexander the Great’s death. As his generals turn against each other, the empire is rocked by betrayal, war elephants, crocodile-infested rivers, and military disaster. Discover how ambition and rivalry shattered one of history’s greatest empires.
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ArticleWhy History Matters
Christianity is rooted in real people, places and events. In his new podcast, History’s Last Stand, historian and theologian Michael F. Bird explores the moments that shaped our world, the often-overlooked influence of Christianity in those moments, and why understanding the past matters more than ever.
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ShowsAlexander the Great Is Dead: Who Will Seize His Empire?
History is under siege, and Mike Bird is taking a stand. In the launch episode of Premier Unbelievable’s podcast, the host of Ask NT Wright Anything joins Tristan Hughes, presenter of The Ancients, to explore the violent aftermath of Alexander the Great’s death.
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ShowsWhere do Christians go when they die? Jesus kept healing on the Sabbath? And is ‘faith’ enough?
Can someone else’s faith help bring us to Jesus? What really happens after Christians die? And why did Jesus keep healing people on the Sabbath?
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ShowsWas the Nativity invented to fulfil Prophecy? NT Wright answers
Was Jesus really born in Bethlehem, or did the gospel writers “invent” the story to fit prophecy? Did a Roman census ever force people to travel back to their ancestral towns? And what about Herod’s massacre of the innocents – pure theology, or plausible history?
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ShowsIs life meaningless without God? A live school debate between Atheism UK and Christian apologist
In this live edition of Premier Unbelievable? from Aylesbury High School in the UK, stand-in host Sam McKee moderates a thought-provoking dialogue between:
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ShowsDid Jesus fulfil Scriptural Prophecy? Jonathan Rowlands vs Rabbi Marc B Shapiro
As Advent approaches, John Nelson hosts Dr Jonny Rowlands (St Mellitus College, UK) and Rabbi Prof Marc Shapiro (University of Scranton, USA) to ask: did Jesus fulfil scriptural prophecy?
