9. John the Baptist and Justin Martyr in the Temple of Time.

A new regular feature in which host Chris Palmero examines and compares two passages from ancient books: one that suggests an early origin for Christianity, and one that suggests that Christianity was indeed BORN IN THE SECOND CENTURY. In our first vision in this Temple of Time, we listen as Justin Martyr tells us about geriatric volcel Christians in 156 AD. In our second vision, from the gospel of Matthew, we listen to Jesus' infamous statement about John the Baptist that seems to suggest that John was really a figure from the distant, murky past - and not a contemporary of Jesus at all.

Anyone who listens to this episode can learn about the host's Catholic background, about why this is not an anti-Christian show, about the lack of evidence for an early origin of Christianity, about Mark changing the day of Jesus' death, about Justin Martyr and his time and place, and about the temporal paradox created when the gospels merged the timelines of Jesus and John the Baptist.

Opening reading: The fake travel diary of Thessalos of Tralles shows us how common forgery was in the Hellenistic world, and what implications that may have for Pliny's famous letter to Trajan about Christians.