When Orthodoxy Changed: The Crises That Forced Christianity to Evolve

Theosis: Do We Become Divine?

This episode of The Unintentional Heretic explores the ancient Christian idea of theosis — the startling belief that salvation is not merely about being forgiven or going somewhere after we die, but about humanity becoming divine by grace, participation, and communion with God. Drawing from the Eastern Church, Athanasius, Irenaeus, icons, the Transfiguration, and Gregory Palamas, the episode asks what Christianity might look like if we understood salvation less as a transaction and more as healing, transformation, and becoming fully alive in the life and love of God. Would love to hear your thoughts! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2617303/fan_mail/new]

The Crusades: When The Church Went To War

This episode of The Unintentional Heretic explores the Crusades as one of Christianity’s most sobering examples of what happens when faith becomes entangled with empire, violence, certainty, and political ambition. It traces the Crusades through their most consequential and tragic moments — the First Crusade’s conquest of Jerusalem, the rise of Saladin, the heartbreaking Children’s Crusade, and the catastrophic Fourth Crusade — while asking how a faith centered on the way of Jesus became capable of blessing holy war, and what that history still warns us about today. Would love to hear your thoughts! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2617303/fan_mail/new]

Gnosticism: Christianity's First Great Heresy?

In this episode of The Unintentional Heretic, we explore Gnosticism—the ancient Christian movement that taught salvation comes through awakening to the divine spark within—and the profound influence of Platonic philosophy, the Demiurge, Valentinus, Marcion, and the battle for the soul of early Christianity. Along the way, we ask a question that remains surprisingly relevant today: is the goal of spirituality to escape the world, or to discover the sacredness of creation, embodiment, and ordinary human life? Would love to hear your thoughts! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2617303/fan_mail/new]

Why Did Christianity Become Obsessed with Sex? Desire, Embodiment, and the Sacredness of Creation

For centuries, Christianity wrestled with a profound question: are our bodies, desires, and passions obstacles to God or places where God is revealed? In this episode of The Unintentional Heretic, we explore how Greek dualism, Augustine, monasticism, and purity culture shaped Christian attitudes toward sex—and why many Christians today are rediscovering the sacredness of creation, embodiment, and desire itself. Would love to hear your thoughts! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2617303/fan_mail/new]

Jesus Said “Follow Me,” Not “Worship Me”: When Christianity Became a Religion About Christ Instead of the Way of Christ

In this episode of The Unintentional Heretic, we explore how Christianity gradually shifted from being a movement centered on following the way of Jesus to a religion increasingly focused on worshiping Jesus and defining correct belief about him. While creeds, doctrine, and institutions have great value, their purpose is ultimately to lead us into lives shaped by mercy, compassion, justice, and love—the very things Jesus emphasized when he said, “Follow me.” Would love to hear your thoughts! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2617303/fan_mail/new]