Controversies in Church History

"I believe in one God, the Father Almighty..."  Each week, Catholics  recite the Nicene Creed in the liturgy.  Why do we do this? The first lecture of Controversies in Church History for the 2019-2020  academic year will be on the First Council of Nicaea, the first  ecumenical (or general) council in the history of the Christian Church. In 325, the bishops assembled promulgated a creed which is the basis of  the one we recite today.  Critics in the past have asserted that the  Council corrupted Christianity's original message, and that the council  invented the canon of Scripture, among other accusations.  Come learn the history of this momentous event, which for the first time bound all  Christians to believe doctrines as a test of orthodoxy, on pain of excommunication from the Church. Please subscribe to our podcast on Anchor and check out Controversies in Church History on our other platforms. LINKS: YouTube Website SOCIAL: Facebook Twitter

"Why were there no wars of religion in the pagan world?" the philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau once asked. His answer was that their religions made no universal claims, unlike Christianity, which he called "the most  violent despotism in the world." "The Wars of Religion, 1524-1549," discusses the wars fought between Catholics and Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries, and how much Christian faith contributed to the wars of that age. Was Christianity responsible for the violent wars of the  period?  Or were there other factors which complicate this received  picture of the era?  Listen to find out! Please subscribe to our podcast on Anchor and check out Controversies in Church History on our other platforms. LINKS: YouTube Website SOCIAL: Facebook Twitter

In the sixteenth century, the Spanish brutally conquered a more civilized  and advanced Aztec civilization, and imposed Catholicism on the native peoples of the Americas.    Or did they?   In this special episode, Dr. Ezekiel Stear of the University of Auburn, dispels the myths surrounding the Spanish colonization of the Americas,  and the conversion of their native peoples. In this lecture, Dr. Stear  provides us with some background on the "Black Legend," the propaganda  of Spanish rivals in the early modern period, which became the received  wisdom about alleged Catholic cruelty to Native Americans, in contrast  to the Protestant empires of Britain and the Netherlands.  (Note the volume may be low on this episode, and you may need to turn it up to listen.) Please subscribe to our podcast on Anchor and check out Controversies in Church History on our other platforms. LINKS: YouTube Website SOCIAL: Facebook Twitter

*Originally recorded April 30 2018* This episode of Controversies in Church History assesses the charges against the Catholic Church and pope Pius XII as being culpable in some way for the Holocaust during WWII. In this talk, we explore the Church's relationship with Nazi Germany, and its actions with regards to the Jewish people during the war. The talks concludes that the charges are  mostly false, while acknowledging the sensitivity of the issues  involved. Please subscribe to our podcast on Anchor and check out Controversies in Church History on our other platforms. LINKS: YouTube Website SOCIAL: Facebook Twitter

*Recorded March 26 2018* Popes have always exercised "immediate jurisdiction" over the entire  Church, and have always been proclaimed to speak infallibly when pronouncing upon matter of faith and morals--haven't they? Though popes long claimed some sort of infallibility with regards to their teaching,  it was only in the late 19th century that papal infallibility was  solemnly defined as a dogma of the Church. In this episode, we discuss the debate over the definition of papal infallibility which took place  at the First Vatican Council in 1870. It details the immediate  background for the definition, what the major criticisms of it were, and  what papal infallibility means for Catholics today. Please subscribe to our podcast on Anchor and check out Controversies in Church History on our other platforms. LINKS: YouTube Website SOCIAL: Facebook Twitter

This week's episode of Catholic Lives recalls the life of Barnaba Chiaramonti (1742-1823), known to history as Pope Pius VII (1800-1823), the pope who dealt with the aftermath of the French Revolution in Europe, including the general and statesman Napoleon Bonaparte, whom he excommunicated in 1809.   Please subscribe to our podcast on Anchor and check out Controversies in Church History on our other platforms. LINKS: YouTube Website SOCIAL: Facebook Twitter

*Recorded on February 26 2018* Ever since the Inquisition condemned him in 1633, critics have used the story of Galileo Galilei to illustrate the conflict between faith and science, and the obscurantism of the Catholic Church. In this episode, we will explain why the Church condemned Galileo's heliocentric theory, and what the ramifications are of this historical event for the  relationship between the Church and science, reason and faith in our  world today. on the condemnation of Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) will discuss why the Inquisition condemned his word. This episode talk discusses aspects of the Galileo affair, which do not fit the conventional narrative, and actually exonerates the Church from much (though not all) of the calumnies it has received over the centuries. Please subscribe to our podcast on Anchor and check out Controversies in Church History on our other platforms. LINKS: YouTube Website SOCIAL: Facebook Twitter

In this episode of Catholic Lives, we discuss the heroism of Witold Pilecki (pronounced Vitold Piletski, 1901-1948), a member of the Polish resistance against the Nazi occupation of Poland who volunteered to enter the concentration camp of Auschwitz to gain information. Captain Pilecki wrote a hundred page report on the camp, and both it and his life testify to the enduring power of the Catholic faith and the human spirit. Please subscribe to our podcast on Anchor and check out Controversies in Church History on our other platforms. LINKS: YouTube Website SOCIAL: Facebook Twitter

*Recorded January 29 2018* This episode covers one of the most divisive events in all of Church  history: the Protestant Reformation. Why did the Reformation happen? Is  it still important for Catholics today? This talk will address some of  these basic questions, and provide some basic historical background for  those still unfamiliar with the great divide within the Western  Christian world. Please subscribe to our podcast on Anchor and check out Controversies in Church History on our other platforms. LINKS: YouTube Website SOCIAL: Facebook Twitter

Today we take a brief look at the life of Constantine XI Dragases Palaiologos (1404-1453), the last Emperor of the Romans, who came to the throne of Constantinople at the very end of the Roman (i.e. "Byzantine") empire's life, and fought a heroic 52 day siege against Ottoman forces before succumbing in May of 1453.   Please subscribe to our podcast on Anchor and check out Controversies in Church History on our other platforms. LINKS: YouTube Website SOCIAL: Facebook Twitter