Church History

The theory goes like this: Just a few centuries after Christ’s death, around the time the Roman Empire converted to Christianity, the true Faith suffered a catastrophic falling-away. The simple truths of the gospel became so obscured by worldliness...

After the best-selling archaeological biography Mary of Nazareth, Michael Hesemann sets out once again for the Holy Land, this time seeking traces of perhaps the most mysterious figure in human history: Jesus of Nazareth, whom Christians believe to be...

The Shroud of Turin is celebrated as one of the holiest and most important relics of Christianity, with millions of pilgrims traveling to see the precious cloth in Italy on the rare occasions it has been displayed. Yet despite its enormous global...

We’ve grown way too comfortable with the story of Jesus. Nice man, right? Taught us to love one another. Said not to judge people. Tragically killed by his enemies. We celebrate his birthday every year. It’s time to put away this small, safe...

There may be no event in Church History so fraught with controversy as the Inquisition. The topic is often used to discredit the Catholic Church, too frequently by people whose own knowledge of the relevant circumstances and events is thin...

The Founding of the American Republic is on trial. Critics say it was a poison pill with a time-release formula; we are its victims. Its principles are responsible for the country's moral and social disintegration because they were based on the...

The papacy is no stranger to controversy. In many ways it’s Catholicism’s defining doctrine—but also its most divisive. From medieval pontiffs who acted like princes to a modern pope whose every casual statement sets off a social-media...

Common Sense About the Common Good Pope Leo XIII wrote of the “harvest of misery” that socialism brings. Pius XI said that it’s impossible to be a good Catholic and a good socialist. John Paul II spent his papacy combating...

About a century after Jesus died, a battle began for the Old Testament. Large numbers of faithful Christians fought about its contents and even about its right to be called a Christian book! On one side, many Jewish converts charged Paul and most of...

Islam...Is it a religion of peace?...Are Muslims an easy ally in the fight against global secularization and the culture of death?...Are their beliefs really so different than our own? Some Christians view Islam as a sister religion, a branch of the...

Many Protestants call themselves “Bible Christians”—in contrast with Catholics, who ignore the Bible because they have the Church instead. Too many Catholics have taken this mistaken assumption for granted. We don’t have to...

How can the Crusades be called “glorious”? Our modern mindset says they were ugly wars of greed and religious intolerance—a big reason why Christians and Muslims today can’t coexist peacefully. Historian Steve Weidenkopf...