Wednesday, March 11, 2026

0:00It is the 11th of March, 2026. Welcome to the Christian History Aluminac brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org. I'm Dan, fan for us. If all has gone to plan, Lord willing, I am back in the shadow of the Saddleback Mountains in the plush CHA Studios and Lake Forest, California by now. But the way podcasts work, it means this show had to be recorded before. And as promised, I said I'd get to some mailbag questions for fun. You can send me your questions at DanVee at 1517.org. And like Monday, I love questions from the kids who I hear about as captive listeners often in their cars on the way to school in the morning. Hey kids, it's good to have you here. Ask your parents if you hear a weird word and certainly ask them questions to send me.

1:04As we have here, I can only assume with a name like Ambrose, you have parents who dig the early church and our collective Christian family tree. Ambrose, who is 11, asked his mom what the early church she helped him form the question a bit, what the church would have thought about podcasts and if it was okay to use them if you can't get to church. Ambrose, I love that question and thinking about how stuff we do today, like listening to podcasts and especially stuff related to the Word of God, might look to other Christians who lived at different times. It's a great way to think through what we do as Christians. One thing to think about is how Christians have embraced technology in the past. And yeah, some have rejected technology, but on the whole that church's record is pretty strong in adopting new means, especially new means in the service of getting the Word

2:06out. And I think Word is the right word here. Just this past weekend, I did a show on the history of the radio and Christianity and how Christians were the first broadcasters in many ways. And if we go before that, the inventing of the printing press, yep, that was Christians, even earlier, you know how we carry books that are kind of rectangle and have spines and flippable pages, that's a codex and Christians used that to instead of those unwieldy scrolls. So Christians have tended to be all over technology, especially when it's word centered. I have more questions about television and YouTube than I do podcasts or radio or even ebooks, which I admit for this job are indispensable, even though I'm married to a librarian who prefers physical books. Of course, I'm biased towards this medium, but I think the amplification of words is less

3:08problematic than other mediums that maybe add images. I do think there can be over amplification. It can lead to celebrity culture, which is not good, and it can lead to everyone thinking they need an opinion about what's going on everywhere, which we have seen can cause a lot of problems. Can God bless a ministry with a large presence, sure, and technology can help that? And maybe in America too big isn't a concept, but maybe it should be in the church. As far as podcasts being a replacement for church, the early church and just about all of the church everywhere has believed that you don't go to church as much as you are the church. The church is the people, and we're called to be the people, which means together, which means in person. But the church has always been aware that much of our ministry is to be done to the sick

4:10and to the poor and to the imprisoned, oftentimes the very people who are suffering because for whatever reason they can't be with the rest of God's people. And so to have the resources to serve those people is important, and I'm glad 15, 17 exists to help those people and to point all people to the church to encourage them to find local communions and will be your companion in the times in between. Ambrose and others, let me invite you to check out the resources at 15, 17. I'm glad you found me, see what else you can find, dig into our other stuff as it strikes you. Kelsey Clembera does a podcast with video called Outside Ourselves, and I just did an episode of that with her you can see what a disheveled podcasting professor looks like. Christian Ambrose and for all who send them in. The last word for today comes from the daily lecture area in a story about Jesus from John 7.

5:12At that point some of the people of Jerusalem begin to ask, isn't this the man they're trying to kill? Here he is speaking publicly and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Messiah? But we know where this man is from, when the Messiah comes no one will know where he is from. Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, yes you know me and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own authority but he who sent me is true. You do not know him but I know him because I am from him and he sent me. At this they tried to seize him. But no one laid a hand on him because his hour had not yet come. Still many in the crowd believed in him they said, when the Messiah comes will he perform more signs than this man? This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 11th of March 2000.

6:1526 brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org this show is produced by man who loves himself some canned pineapple cherries whipped cream that is called an ambroseau. He is Christopher Gillespie, the show is written and read by man who does not tend to care for creamy midwestern fruit salads I am Dan. Van Vores you can catch us here every day and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness and the redemption of all things are true, everything is going to be okay.