Explore every episode of the podcast LogosLeaper Podcast

Elaine Pagels is one of the most influential scholars of early Christianity of the last fifty years. Her groundbreaking work on the Nag Hammadi discoveries transformed how many people understand the origins of Christianity and the remarkable diversity of the early Christian movement.

In this conversation, we explore the discovery of the Nag Hammadi library, the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Mary, and other ancient Christian writings that have fascinated scholars for decades. We discuss whether these texts preserve authentic traditions about Jesus, why they were excluded from the New Testament, and what they reveal about the earliest followers of Christ.

We also examine some of the most controversial passages found in the Gnostic Gospels, whether there was any such thing as orthodoxy before the fourth century, and why these texts continue to provoke debate nearly eighty years after their discovery.

Whether you are interested in biblical history, the historical Jesus, or the origins of Christianity, this conversation offers an accessible and thought-provoking introduction from one of the world's leading scholars in the field.

Who was the historical Jesus? Did he really expect the end of the world? How did a small Jewish movement become the religion of the Roman Empire?

In this episode, I speak with renowned historian Paula Fredriksen about the origins of Christianity and her new book, Ancient Christianities: The First Five Hundred Years. We explore the historical Jesus, Paul, the dating of the New Testament, the diversity of the earliest Christian movements, the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple, Constantine, martyrdom, persecution, proto-orthodoxy, celibacy, and the development of Christian doctrine.

We also discuss why the first centuries of Christianity were far more diverse than many people realise, and I finish by asking Paula what she believes is the single most significant discovery in the history of biblical studies.

Whether you're interested in the historical Jesus, early Christianity, biblical scholarship, or church history, this conversation offers a fascinating introduction to one of history's most influential religious movements.

I sat down with Dr Richard C. Miller.

Richard is one of the most thought-provoking historians working in New Testament studies today. His research has challenged long-held assumptions about the origins of Christianity, the resurrection of Jesus, and the world in which the Gospels were written.

We begin with some of the biggest questions in biblical scholarship. Who wrote the Gospels? When were they written? What does Richard make of Q, Marcion, and the growing debates over Gospel dating?

From there, we explore Mark's Gospel in depth. Does Jesus actually claim to be God in Mark? Who was Mark writing for, and what was he trying to communicate?

The conversation then turns to the resurrection—a subject Richard has spent years researching. We discuss his book Resurrection and Reception in Early Christianity, the striking parallels between the Gospel resurrection accounts and stories from the Greco-Roman world, figures such as Romulus, and why early Christian writers like Justin Martyr acknowledged these similarities while maintaining that Jesus' resurrection was unique.

Finally, we tackle one of the biggest historical questions of all: can the resurrection be defended as a historical event? Richard offers a perspective that challenges many traditional assumptions and invites us to think more carefully about what historians can—and cannot—say about the origins of Christianity.

Whether you agree with Richard's conclusions or not, this is a fascinating conversation that explores some of the most important debates in New Testament scholarship today.

Did the hypothetical Q source really exist? Or did the Gospel writers know and use each other’s work directly?

In this conversation, I sit down with New Testament scholar Mark Goodacre (Duke University), one of the leading critics of the Q hypothesis and a prominent advocate of the Farrer Hypothesis. We explore the Synoptic Problem, the case for and against Q, whether Luke knew Matthew’s Gospel, and why this debate continues to shape New Testament scholarship today.

We discuss:

• The Synoptic Problem and why it matters
• What Q is supposed to be
• The strongest arguments for Q
• Why Goodacre rejects the Q hypothesis
• The Farrer Hypothesis explained
• The relationship between Matthew and Luke
• Double tradition material and the evidence for literary dependence
• The role of oral tradition in Gospel composition
• What this debate means for reconstructing the historical Jesus
• The current state of New Testament scholarship

Whether you're new to biblical studies or already familiar with the Synoptic Problem, this interview offers an accessible introduction to one of the most important debates in Gospel scholarship.

Mark Goodacre is Professor of Religious Studies at Duke University and the author of numerous books, including The Case Against Q and The Fourth Gospel and Matthew.

Did Jesus of Nazareth really exist? How do historians evaluate the evidence? And what can we actually know about the man behind the Christian tradition?

In this episode, New Testament scholar Helen Bond explores one of the most debated questions in biblical studies: the historical Jesus.

The conversation examines the evidence for Jesus' existence, the reliability of the Gospels, the letters of Paul, Josephus, Mara bar Serapion, oral tradition, mythicism, and the challenges involved in reconstructing the past from ancient sources.

Topics discussed include:

• The strongest evidence for the historical Jesus
• Why Jesus was crucified
• The burial traditions surrounding Jesus
• Dating the Gospels
• Who wrote the Gospels
• Whether the Gospels can lead us to the historical Jesus
• The Q hypothesis and its value for historical research
• Scholarly consensus and historical method
• Josephus and the Testimonium Flavianum
• Mara bar Serapion and non-Christian evidence
• Paul and the earliest traditions about Jesus
• Richard Carrier and mythicism
• The historical reliability of John's Gospel
• Whether Jesus claimed to be divine
• Early Christian diversity and common misconceptions
• The most important developments in modern biblical scholarship

Helen Bond is Professor of Christian Origins at the University of Edinburgh and one of the world's leading scholars of the historical Jesus and early Christianity. She is the author of numerous books, including The Historical Jesus: A Guide for the Perplexed, Jesus: A Very Brief History, and The First Biography of Jesus.

For early access to interviews, bonus content, and to support the show, visit LogosLeaper on Substack.

Did Jesus exist as a historical figure? Who wrote the Gospels? And are modern scholars still influenced by assumptions inherited from nineteenth-century Germany?

In this episode, New Testament scholar Robyn Faith Walsh discusses some of the most important questions surrounding the origins of Christianity, Gospel authorship, and historical method.

Drawing on her influential work on the social world of early Christian literature, Walsh challenges the traditional view that the Gospels emerged from distinct Christian communities preserving oral traditions. Instead, she argues that the Gospel authors were educated literary figures operating within the broader intellectual culture of the Greco-Roman world.

Topics discussed include:

• The historical Jesus and the evidence for his existence
• Who wrote the Gospels
• Dating the New Testament texts
• The "community model" of Gospel origins
• German Romanticism and its influence on biblical scholarship
• Oral tradition versus literary creativity
• Paul and the earliest Christ groups
• Early Christian diversity
• Marcion and the Pauline tradition
• Martyrdom, persecution, and the Roman Empire
• Mara bar Serapion and non-Christian evidence for Jesus
• The strengths and weaknesses of modern Gospel methodology
• The most significant developments in biblical studies

Robyn Faith Walsh is Associate Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at the University of Miami and the author of The Origins of Early Christian Literature. Her research focuses on the literary culture of the ancient Mediterranean world and the social context of early Christian texts.

For early access to interviews, bonus content, and to support the show, visit LogosLeaper on Substack.

Were early Christians really persecuted and martyred on a massive scale? How reliable are the stories surrounding the deaths of the apostles? And what role did enslaved scribes play in shaping the New Testament?

In this episode, historian and New Testament scholar Candida Moss explores two of the most fascinating and controversial topics in early Christian history: persecution and authorship.

Drawing on her influential books The Myth of Persecution and God's Ghostwriters, Moss challenges popular assumptions about widespread Christian martyrdom and examines the often-overlooked role of enslaved individuals in the production of early Christian texts.

Topics discussed include:

• The reality of persecution in the early church
• The difference between persecution and prosecution
• Why martyrdom became central to Christian identity
• The historical evidence for the deaths of the apostles
• Whether martyrdom proves religious claims are true
• The role of enslaved scribes in early Christianity
• Tertius and the writing of Romans
• How much influence ancient scribes had over texts
• Inspiration, authorship, and the New Testament
• Papias, Mark, and Gospel traditions
• Richard Carrier, mythicism, and the historical Jesus
• The most significant developments in modern biblical scholarship

Candida Moss is Professor of Theology at the University of Birmingham and one of the world's leading scholars of early Christianity. Her work focuses on Christian origins, martyrdom, biblical interpretation, and the social history of the ancient world.

For early access to interviews, bonus content, and to support the show, visit LogosLeaper on Substack.

Did Jesus of Nazareth really exist? What do historians make of the evidence? And how strong is the historical case for the resurrection?

In this episode, philosopher and theologian Dr William Lane Craig discusses the historical evidence for Jesus, engaging with questions raised by sceptics, scholars, and viewers of the channel. The conversation explores debates surrounding mythicism, the writings of Paul, non-Christian sources such as Josephus and Tacitus, the dating of the Gospels, and historical arguments for the resurrection.

Topics discussed include:

• Richard Carrier and the mythicist challenge
• Why Paul says relatively little about Jesus' earthly life
• Non-Christian evidence for Jesus
• Josephus, Tacitus, and Mara bar Serapion
• The historical case for the resurrection
• The empty tomb and post-resurrection appearances
• Hallucination theories
• Bart Ehrman and textual criticism
• Dating the Gospels
• The Q source
• Whether Jesus claimed to be divine
• The strengths and limits of historical evidence

Dr William Lane Craig is a philosopher, theologian, and Christian apologist known for his work in philosophy of religion, natural theology, and historical arguments for the resurrection of Jesus. He is the founder of Reasonable Faith and has participated in debates with many of the world's leading atheists and sceptics.

For early access to interviews, bonus content, and to support the show, visit LogosLeaper on Substack.

In this episode, historian Richard Carrier discusses his latest book, The Obsolete Paradigm of a Historical Jesus, and explains why he believes the traditional scholarly model of Jesus of Nazareth is no longer adequate.

Carrier is one of the most prominent critics of the standard historical Jesus framework. Rather than relying solely on scholarly consensus, he applies Bayesian probability to ancient history in an attempt to measure how strongly the available evidence supports competing hypotheses. His approach has made him one of the most influential—and controversial—figures in contemporary debates about Christian origins.

Topics discussed include:

• What mythicism is and how it differs from traditional historical Jesus scholarship
• Whether the historical Jesus paradigm remains persuasive
• How academic consensus forms and why it can sometimes be misleading
• Bart Ehrman's engagement with Carrier's work
• Bayesian reasoning and historical method
• Paul's letters and the earliest evidence for Jesus
• The "brothers of the Lord" passage
• Alternative explanations for the origins of Christianity
• Professional risk, peer pressure, and scholarly debate within biblical studies

Richard Carrier holds a PhD in Ancient History from Columbia University and is the author of Proving History, On the Historicity of Jesus, and The Obsolete Paradigm of a Historical Jesus.

For early access to interviews, bonus content, and to support the show, visit LogosLeaper on Substack.