This year (2021), due to an abbreviated class year, I have condensed our lessons on history from five to two lessons. Below are the links to the lesson notes for those two lessons, there are no podcasts of those two lessons. The podcasts and handouts for the regular full five lessons from last year are still available. See index.

Lesson 35 (condensed) on Hard Questions in Christian History
Lesson 35 (condensed) Notes

Lesson 36 (condensed) on Orthodoxy and Diversity & Christian Influence on Western Civilization
Lesson 36 (condensed) Notes

Tags: Crusades, Conquest of Canaan, Slavery, Orthodoxy

Of Wars and Witches In this week's lesson we consider the question of the relationship of Christianity with war. A frequent charge against Christianity has to do with the church's involvement in the Crusades. When someone brings up the crusades, what are two alternate issues they may likely be raising regarding Christianity? What historical events lay behind Christendom's decision to engage in Crusades? Why is it important to keep in mind that the Crusades were fought in the Medieval era, and not in the twentieth or twenty-first century? What are six prevalent myths about the crusades that are popularly believed today? Were the Crusades a continuation of a Christian tradition of holy war as is often claimed? Why is the idea that the Crusades were fought to secure wealth and land for Europeans mistaken? While barbaric acts and atrocities were committed by both sides in the Crusades, how should a Christian respond to such charges against Christendom? What were the so-called “Wars of Religion” of the 16th and 17th centuries? Why is it a misnomer to refer to those conflicts as wars of religion? Why is it important to see the phenomenon of witch hunts in Christian history as episodic rather than chronic. What brought an end to the Salem Witch Trials? (58 min)
Lesson 39: Review Questions
Lesson 39: Lesson Notes
Handout: Principles of Just War Theory

Tags: Crusades, Wars of Religion, Witch Hunts, Salem Witch Trials