Controversies in Church History is back! This time, I interview the husband and wife team of Joseph and Monique Gonzalez about their book, Guadalupe and the Flower World Prophecy: How God Prepared the Americas for Conversion Before the Lady Appeared. In our interview, they discuss the history and culture of the peoples of Mexico prior to the Spanish conquest, and how certain aspects of their culture prepared them to receive the revelation of Jesus Christ. They make the case that the apparition of the Virgin Mary to Juan Diego in 1531 led to the conversion of millions of native Mexican peoples because of this "preparatio evangelica" deposited within Nahua culture (Nahua is the native language of the peoples of Mexico the Spanish encountered). This is an enlightening discussion and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Cheers!

Hello! This is just a brief update on what's cooking for Controversies in Church History. Please take a listen, I have some good things in store for my followers. Cheers!

When did the early Christians begin to seek the intercession of particularly holy people, such as the martyrs? Was this something they copied from Greco-Roman society? In the latest episode of Controversies in Church History, we take a look at the origins of the cult of the saints. In it, I discuss when and how the early Christians began to venerate Christian martyrs, and the evidence of this practice. I address the similarities and differences between the veneration of the saints and Greco-Roman religion, and why veneration of saints marked a radical departure from other religions in the ancient world.