Born in the Second Century
Chris Palmero
For nearly two thousand years, we've been told that Christianity began around 30 AD - when the disciples of the backwoods preacher "Jesus of Nazareth" came to believe he had risen from the dead. But now, BORN IN THE SECOND CENTURY exposes this tale as a myth. Host Chris Palmero - an adherent of the Catholic Church - proves that Christianity began almost one hundred years after the imagined death of Jesus, through a close reading of the New Testament and books left out of the Bible.
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Top 10 Born in the Second Century Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Born in the Second Century episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Born in the Second Century for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Born in the Second Century episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
26. Let the Women Be Violent. Part 1 of Montanism Trilogy.
Born in the Second Century
12/08/22 • 96 min
BORN IN THE SECOND CENTURY presents the first installment of a trilogy of shows on the Great Montanist "Heresy." Host Chris Palmero examines the tremendous impact that the second century religious movement of Montanism had on Christianity actually becoming a distinct religion. At the same time, Montanism will be revealed to be a heretical Jewish movement that originally had nothing to do with Christianity.
For the first time ever on this show, we find ourselves in "Ordinary Time," surveying a historical narrative from the late 100's AD. This is the dividing line between Christian history and pre-history, and we are at the very moment when the Church first found it necessary to create a backstory for itself.
Anyone who listens to this episode can learn about the theologian's explanation of Montanism and the flaws inherent in that explanation; about the oracles of the three mad prophets Montanus, Maximilla, and Priscilla; about the suspicious lack of connection between Montanism and Christianity; about the possible true date of this movement's origins; about the uncanny links between the New Prophecy and Blade Runner; and about a possible alternate history in which women led Christianity throughout history, Bene Gesserit-style. A new segment is introduced in which a history of the 1980's AD is given, but as if written by Eusebius.
Opening reading: A Montanist prophetess delivers a fiery exhortation to her fellow women, in a passage that has ironically been preserved by Schmucko Supremo Tertullian.
YouTube: @borninthesecondcentury
E-mail: [email protected]
Music: Pompeii Gray on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud
14. Pliny's Letter Part 5. Killing for the Name of.
Born in the Second Century
09/23/21 • 95 min
The siege of Pliny's Letter continues as host Chris Palmero proceeds further in the close reading of this Christian forgery of the late second century.
Anyone who listens to this episode can learn about other contemporary Christian forgeries written over the name of an emperor, about the poetic structure and literary devices used by the forger of Pliny's Letter, about how the treatment of persecution in Pliny's Letter would only make sense to a Christian of that time, about strange anachronisms and use of terms by Pliny that would only ever have been used by Christians, and about the numerous and flagrant parallels between this document and other Christian writings of the time, including the New Testament and the acts of the martyrs. It's part of BORN IN THE SECOND CENTURY's multi-part investigation of the key text used by those who argue an early date for Christianity.
Opening reading: A fake letter from the emperor Antoninus to the common assembly of Asia sheds further light on Christian forgeries of imperial rescripts during this period.
YouTube: @borninthesecondcentury
E-mail: [email protected]
Music: Pompeii Gray on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud
1. The Abandoned Road.
Born in the Second Century
12/07/20 • 79 min
The general introduction to BORN IN THE SECOND CENTURY, and a reading of the infamous Fragment of Quadratus.
Anyone who listens to this episode can learn about all the difficult problems that come from viewing Christianity as a religion that began after the supposed death of Jesus of Nazareth around 30 AD. Host Chris Palmero presents an alternative view: the Special Paradigm. The theory that Christianity was born out of a mélange of clashing religious ideas nearly 100 years later.
A key piece of early Christian history is examined and found to be spurious: a fragment from a lost book by Quadratus, which claims that some of the people who were resurrected by Jesus lived on into the following century.
Opening reading: Celsus, in the Logos Alethes, describes the MLM-like conversion tactics of Christians in the waning days of the 100's AD.
YouTube: @borninthesecondcentury
E-mail: [email protected]
Music: Pompeii Gray on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud
29. Testimonia.
Born in the Second Century
05/11/23 • 114 min
There is a treasure that lies hidden behind the earliest Christian writings: the TESTIMONIA. Host Chris Palmero describes the theory that the earliest sources about Jesus of Nazareth may have been strange list of Biblical prophecies that were passed around among early sectarian Jews. These lost books may indeed have been the primary sources even for the authors of the New Testament.
Anyone who listens to this episode of BORN IN THE SECOND CENTURY can learn about how the "proof from prophecy" was the first and best defense of the faith among the earliest Christians; about why the Church Fathers sometimes seem to forget who exactly wrote certain Biblical books; what the Testimonia were, what they may have looked like, where we can still find evidence of them, and; the paramount importance of Psalm 110 to the entire concept of Christianity.
Opening reading: The very first lines of the Gospel of Mark provide the occasion for the host to play a historic recording of an ancient phone call placed circa 116 AD.
YouTube: @borninthesecondcentury
E-mail: [email protected]
Music: Pompeii Gray on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud
38. The Lost Sayings of Jesus. Farewell Episode.
Born in the Second Century
06/17/24 • 136 min
In the final episode of BORN IN THE SECOND CENTURY, host Chris Palmero examines nine secret sayings of Jesus. Not to be outdone by the crucified deity, the host also issues nine wise observations of his own, as well as discussing Christ Mythicism and the historicity of Jesus of Nazareth.
Anyone who listens to this episode can learn about the Gospel of the Hebrews, the origins of Scientology, and the Ant-Lion.
YouTube: @borninthesecondcentury
E-mail: [email protected]
Music: Pompeii Gray on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud
16. Pliny's Letter Part 7. Adieu, Pliny!
Born in the Second Century
11/04/21 • 111 min
The series finale of the exposure of Pliny's letter about Christians as a forgery. BORN IN THE SECOND CENTURY surveys the wreckage left in its wake. We climbed and we climbed. Oh, how we climbed.
Anyone who listens to this episode can learn that no one until 1502 AD seems aware of Pliny's Letter, unless they've heard about it from the writings of Tertullian. Host Chris Palmero also does a wrap-up refuting the arguments for the letter's authenticity, explains why it was forged, and speculates on the identity of the forger. A strange guest appearance closes the show.
Opening reading: In "Antiquity Unveiled," J.M. Roberts describes a séance in which Pliny the Younger was summoned from the dead.
YouTube: @borninthesecondcentury
E-mail: [email protected]
Music: Pompeii Gray on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud
12. Pliny's Letter Part 3. Domitian's Persecution a Myth.
Born in the Second Century
08/12/21 • 95 min
This is the third part of the investigation into Pliny's letter, as BORN IN THE SECOND CENTURY continues the march through Roman history to find some precedent for the persecution of Christians, a persecution that is somehow accepted by Pliny and Trajan before they even put pen to paper.
Anyone who listens to this episode can learn about a major argument against the authenticity of Pliny's letter: it lacks any basis in contemporary Roman law and custom. Host Chris Palmero reveals that the supposed persecution of Christians by the emperor Domitian, who ruled shortly before the time of this letter, is nothing more than an airy fiction.
Opening reading: A Talmudic text reveals that Christianity's own obsession with persecution and martyrdom may be a simple borrowing from its mother religion.
YouTube: @borninthesecondcentury
E-mail: [email protected]
Music: Pompeii Gray on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud
10. Pliny's Letter Part 1. Pliny's Letter Late and Spurious.
Born in the Second Century
07/04/21 • 95 min
The Roman official Pliny the Younger supposedly wrote a letter that mentioned the Christian religion, all the way back in 112 AD. If this letter is genuine, it represents a major threat to BORN IN THE SECOND CENTURY. Therefore, host Chris Palmero launches a new multi-part series: the most comprehensive effort of the past three hundred years to prove that this letter of Pliny was in fact a forgery; a Christian forgery of the late second century in the spirit of Hadrian’s fake rescript to Fundanus.
Anyone who listens to this episode can learn about the background of Pliny the Younger and his famous letter; about the many arguments against its authenticity that will be presented in this series; about how Tertullian's apparent early use of the letter doesn't prove its authenticity, about whether Pliny himself was a historical figure, about whether Pliny's writings as a whole are genuine, and about the strange history of Book Ten of Pliny's Epistulae, in which this troublesome text occurs.
Opening reading: Pliny writes to Tacitus, expressing pride in the genius of both men, and hopes that they'll be remembered by posterity. Nineteen centuries later they still stand, thrusting out forbidding hands like the Pillars of the Argonath guarding the secrets of the true origins of Christianity.
But I've seen much more formidable objectives. And I propose to move immediately upon their works.
YouTube: @borninthesecondcentury
E-mail: [email protected]
Music: Pompeii Gray on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud
25. The "Paul" of the Acts.
Born in the Second Century
08/05/22 • 173 min
BORN IN THE SECOND CENTURY explores the mystery of the strange portrayal of Paul in the Acts of the Apostles. Host Chris Palmero carefully examines the stories about Paul in Acts, and explains the author's motive for depicting him as a loyal, submissive, even-tempered company man: the polar opposite of the moody, outspoken mystic who speaks from Paul's letters.
Anyone who listens to this episode can learn about the possible sources of Acts of the Apostles and the author's true motive for writing it, about that author's obsession with telling us that Paul was hardly ever alone, about whether and why Peter's career mirrors Paul's, about the author's reluctance to call Paul an "apostle," about how Acts was written in a universe that lacked the dimension of time, about Simon Magus and Stephen and Philip, about the "Hellenists" and who they really were, about Paul's supposed dual names, about the suppressed story of his conversion, about how Acts distorts two major events from his career, and whether he was bald.
Opening reading: Paul's malicious blinding of a Jewish magician is exposed as a Christian rewrite of a sectarian fable in which the Christians themselves were the original antagonists.
YouTube: @borninthesecondcentury
E-mail: [email protected]
Music: Pompeii Gray on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud
11. Pliny's Letter Part 2. Nero's Persecution a Myth.
Born in the Second Century
07/22/21 • 94 min
The sinister voice of host Chris Palmero heralds the second part of the renowned effort to make the case that Pliny's letter about the Christians is a forgery. Both Pliny and Trajan seem to accept that Christianity is illegal even before they put pen to paper. For this to make sense, there would have to have been some precedent for the persecution of Christians, such as from the reign of Nero or Domitian.
Anyone who listens to this episode can learn about a major argument against the authenticity of Pliny's letter: it lacks any basis in contemporary Roman law and custom. BORN IN THE SECOND CENTURY also explores the embellished legend of the early persecution of Christians, and shows that the supposed persecution of Christians by the emperor Nero is nothing more than an airy fiction.
Opening reading: A satire of Pliny's letter to Trajan shows us how complicated it actually is to detect the forgery of an ancient writing.
YouTube: @borninthesecondcentury
E-mail: [email protected]
Music: Pompeii Gray on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud
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FAQ
How many episodes does Born in the Second Century have?
Born in the Second Century currently has 38 episodes available.
What topics does Born in the Second Century cover?
The podcast is about Christianity, History, Religion & Spirituality, Podcasts, Religion, Jesus, Biblical, Bible and Christian.
What is the most popular episode on Born in the Second Century?
The episode title '24. The Shining Weapon. Or, First Corinthians Late and Spurious.' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Born in the Second Century?
The average episode length on Born in the Second Century is 110 minutes.
How often are episodes of Born in the Second Century released?
Episodes of Born in the Second Century are typically released every 25 days.
When was the first episode of Born in the Second Century?
The first episode of Born in the Second Century was released on Dec 7, 2020.
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