Change station
Schedule
Ed Stetzer Live
May 24, 2025
The Weird and Compelling Formation of the Early Church
Within Roman society, the earliest Christians stood out for the oddness of their beliefs and practices. They worshiped God in strange ways, and practiced religion in a whole new way that would have been viewed as bizarre to other religions at the time. Ed Stetzer talks with Nijay Gupta about his book, Strange Religion: How the First Christians were Weird, Dangerous and Compelling and how these early Christians and how their stories can be an encouragement and hope for us today on Ed Stetzer Live.
Ed Stetzer Live is a listener supported program. To donate, click here.
To learn more about Ed Stetzer, click here.
To learn more about Ed Stetzer Live, click here.
IN THIS EPISODE
Nijay Gupta
Dr. Nijay Gupta is Julius R. Mantey Professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary. He has published over twenty books including A Beginner's Guide to New Testament Studies and Strange Religion: How the First Christians Were Weird, Dangerous, and Compelling. He serves on the Theological Advisory Board for YoungLife USA and is a Senior Translator for the New Living Translation. He also co-hosts the popular podcast Slow Theology with Dr. AJ Swoboda.
Stay Connected
Ed Stetzer
Ed Stetzer, Ph.D., is Dean of the Talbot School of Theology at Biola University. He has planted, revitalized, and pastored churches; trained pastors and church planters on six continents; earned two master’s degrees and two doctorates; and he has written hundreds of articles and a dozen books. He is Regional Director for Lausanne North America, is the Editor-in-Chief of Outreach Magazine, and regularly writes for news outlets such as USA Today and CNN. He serves at his local church, Mariners Church, as a teaching pastor. Ed and his wife Donna have been married for more than 35 years and are the parents of three daughters.
Ed Stetzer Live
Discover new ways to show and share the love of Jesus to a broken and a hurting world. Join Ed Stetzer in an engaging discussion of todays cultural trends.