Avoiding Babylon

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A husband posts that his wife “was formerly promiscuous” and he “was a virgin,” and somehow we’re all expected to nod along like it’s spiritual content. That moment opens a bigger problem we can’t ignore: testimony culture is starting to look like confession-as-branding, where past sin becomes a credential and conversion becomes a content strategy.

We dig into what this does to the moral imagination, especially for younger Christians who grew up trying to live faithfully. When dramatic stories get rewarded, it quietly teaches that holiness is boring and that wreckage is a prerequisite for meaning. We talk about repentance versus performance, the temptation toward antinomian thinking, and why public scandal isn’t erased by a quick “sorry” when real harm was done.

Then we pivot to the political-theology fight blowing up online: Catholic integralism, natural law, religious liberty, and why figures like Scott Hahn are suddenly getting name-dropped as threats on mainstream shows. We react to the Eric Metaxas clip with James Lindsay and John Zmirak, clarify what integralism actually claims about the relationship between temporal power and spiritual authority, and challenge the “we don’t impose morality” line that collapses the moment you remember that every law encodes a moral vision.

We also connect the dots to the convert boom narrative, Zionism pressure, Gaza framing, and the way “anti-Semitism” gets used as a debate-ending weapon. We read and respond to public statements in the Carrie Prejean Boller controversy and Bishop Robert Barron’s response, emphasizing the need to condemn real racism while refusing to treat all criticism of Israel, Judaism, or public behavior as hatred. If you want clearer categories, sharper definitions, and less propaganda in Christian discourse, this one is for you. Subscribe, share the show, and leave a review, then tell us what you think: where should Christians draw the line in public speech?
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One bad Mass can haunt you for years. So can one truly reverent one that finally makes the Catholic faith click.

We sit down with Catholic Esquire to trace the path a lot of serious Catholics have quietly taken: from lukewarm Novus Ordo parish life, to apologetics and “doing all the programs,” to the shock of realizing how much the liturgy forms what we believe about sin, sacrifice, and the Eucharist. We talk about the Traditional Latin Mass not as nostalgia, but as a place where the prayers and posture teach the faith with force and clarity.

COVID comes up as the accelerant. When parishes shut down Mass and delayed sacraments, many people stopped trusting the idea that everything was fine and started seeking a community that would protect a sacramental life. From drive-through confessions to Communion policies that felt irreverent, we unpack why 2020 pushed people “full trad” and why even defenders of the status quo still end up parish-shopping for reverence.

Then we go big: Vatican II, religious liberty, ecumenism, and the social kingship of Christ. We explore why these debates connect to the current Catholic crisis, why sedevacantism arguments keep growing, why the SSPX question won’t go away, and how online “trad wars” can destroy charity if we let them. If you’re trying to raise a family, keep the faith, and think clearly about authority, this conversation is for you.

Subscribe for more conversations like this, share it with a friend who’s wrestling with the same questions, and leave a review with the biggest point you disagreed with.
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Need seafood for Lent? Check out https://shoplobster.com/ and use code AB10 to get 10% from Maine's ONLY Catholic lobster company.

Check out our new sponsor, Nic Nac, at www.nicnac.com and use code "AB25%" for 25% off of your first order!

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Christian Zionism sounds “Bible based” until you actually follow the Bible’s own rules for reading the Bible. We start with the claim that many Christians were taught: God still has a separate covenant with Israel, modern return to the land fulfills prophecy, and end times can’t happen without it. Then we put that claim under the light of the New Testament and the result is uncomfortable but clarifying: Christ is the fulfillment of the law and prophets, not a footnote to them.

We walk through the covenant story in detail, from the split of the northern kingdom and the lost tribes to Paul’s argument in Romans 9–11 about God’s promises and the ingrafting of the nations. From there we dig into one of the most fascinating “hidden in plain sight” connections in Scripture: Hosea 2’s betrothal promise, 2 Kings 17’s five nations, and Jesus at the well in John 4. The point isn’t trivia. It’s a blueprint for how fulfillment works in Christ, right now, through the New Covenant.

We also open Isaiah 42 and Isaiah 49 to show the Servant as a light to the Gentiles, given as a covenant, with the coastlands waiting for his Torah, not a continued reliance on Mosaic categories as the final word. Along the way we challenge the fixation on earthly Jerusalem using Galatians 4 and Revelation’s stark language, then land the plane in Matthew’s vineyard parable and Jesus’ warnings about covenant judgment. Whether you’re Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant, if you care about biblical theology, Israel and the Church, end times claims, and how to interpret prophecy without forcing modern politics into the text, you’ll get a lot out of this conversation.

If this helped you rethink a long held assumption, subscribe, share it with a friend who’s confident about “Israel prophecy,” and leave a review with the verse you think matters most.
Support the show

Need seafood for Lent? Check out https://shoplobster.com/ and use code AB10 to get 10% from Maine's ONLY Catholic lobster company.

Check out our new sponsor, Nic Nac, at www.nicnac.com and use code "AB25%" for 25% off of your first order!

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https://www.avoidingbabylon.com

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Want to reach out to us? Want to leave a comment or review? Want to give us a suggestion or berate Anthony? Send us a text by clicking this link!
Something feels different lately, and we can’t be the only ones noticing it. When Joe Rogan starts talking about church, praising the teachings of Jesus, and asking out loud “who was Jesus Christ?”, that’s not just another trending clip. It’s a signal that the old certainty of the new atheist era is cracking, and millions of people are suddenly willing to take Christianity seriously again.

We play and react to the Rogan clips, including the Dead Sea Scrolls and Isaiah angle, and we talk about why seekers often start with “I like Jesus’ morals” before they can say “I believe.” We connect that to Tolkien and C S Lewis on myth, to the idea that every culture carries echoes of the Gospel, and to why a post-Christian society never stays neutral. If you don’t worship the true God, you will worship something else, and the substitutes showing up in mainstream culture are getting darker and weirder by the day.

But there’s a tension here: is this a path toward real conversion, or a sanitized public version of Christianity that avoids the hard claims, the hard teachings, and the hard questions? We also get into Catholic media dynamics, the Daily Wire conversation, and what happens when Catholicism gets translated for a mass political audience.

On the practical side, we rally our community around two concrete wins: supporting Enoch’s album fundraiser and backing Samuel’s new Matins lectionary (pre-1955 readings from the traditional Roman Breviary) so serious prayer is more accessible in one durable hardcover. If you enjoyed the conversation, subscribe, share this with a friend who’s been feeling that cultural shift, and leave a review so more people can find us.
Support the show

Need seafood for Lent? Check out https://shoplobster.com/ and use code AB10 to get 10% from Maine's ONLY Catholic lobster company.

Check out our new sponsor, Nic Nac, at www.nicnac.com and use code "AB25%" for 25% off of your first order!

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Please subscribe! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKsxnv80ByFV4OGvt_kImjQ?sub_confirmation=1

https://www.avoidingbabylon.com

Merchandise: https://avoiding-babylon-shop.fourthwall.com

Locals Community: https://avoidingbabylon.locals.com

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Want to reach out to us? Want to leave a comment or review? Want to give us a suggestion or berate Anthony? Send us a text by clicking this link!
A strange AI intro sets the tone for a conversation about power, myth, and the cracks running through our civilization. We start with Tucker’s claim that some believers try to force God’s hand, and that secular boosters dream of a tech-ruled future. From there we pull the lens wider: the Bretton Woods order is threadbare, NATO expectations are stale, and a managerial class that once kept the peace now leans on slogans no one believes. Whether you see him as a disruptor or a danger, Trump becomes a prism for realism—treating Europe’s security habits, Ukraine’s symbolism, and great-power hedging as signs the old narrative no longer binds.

Then we enter the thicket of AI. Not sci-fi hype, but concrete pressures: law firms cutting junior roles, back-office “email jobs” vanishing, and a narrow set of labs racing for an advantage that could snowball. We weigh the fear of a winner-take-all “singleton” against the possibility of AI fragility, closed-loop error, and a financial bubble built on scarce chips and shaky energy. Either way, the labor shock seems real, and the blow will land hardest on Gen Z and Gen Alpha. That lands us in the heart of the meaning crisis: social media frays trust, the dating market corrodes goodwill, and the institutions that once turned information into wisdom—churches, schools, civic bodies—feel absent when we need them most.

We don’t retreat into mysticism or denial. Instead, we argue for recovering thick stories and practices that hold under stress: moral limits, local bonds, real sacrifice, and the courage to say no when power dresses up as destiny. We also warn about importing religious wars we barely understand; others see sacred stakes even when we insist it’s just policy. If this is the end of a world, not the world, then our task is to stand upright in truth, steward what’s still good, and build the scaffolding for what comes next.

If this resonates, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a review—your support helps more curious listeners find these conversations.
Support the show

Need seafood for Lent? Check out https://shoplobster.com/ and use code AB10 to get 10% from Maine's ONLY Catholic lobster company.

Check out our new sponsor, Nic Nac, at www.nicnac.com and use code "AB25%" for 25% off of your first order!

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Please subscribe! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKsxnv80ByFV4OGvt_kImjQ?sub_confirmation=1

https://www.avoidingbabylon.com

Merchandise:  https://avoiding-babylon-shop.fourthwall.com

Locals Community: https://avoidingbabylon.locals.com

Full Premium/Locals Shows on Audio Podcast:  https://www.buzzsprout.com/1987412/subscribe

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