Theology Made Podcast

The Jesus People and the Electric Guitar

In the late 1960s, no one expected a revival to break out among America’s hippies. They were supposed to be lost to drugs, protests, and free love. Instead, they found Jesus, on beaches, in coffeehouses, and through songs strummed on battered guitars.

This is the story of the Jesus People movement: baptisms in the Pacific surf, barefoot worship circles, and music that rewired the soundtrack of...

“Amazing Grace” may be the most famous hymn ever written — sung at funerals and protests, in cathedrals and stadiums. But its origins are stranger, darker, and more powerful than most people realize. Born from the pen of John Newton, a former slave trader turned pastor, the hymn’s journey from an obscure English parish to a global anthem of hope is a story of sin, redemption, and the surprising ways theology goes viral. In this epi...

In the 1800s, a quiet Augustinian friar in a monastery garden uncovered the laws of heredity, decades before anyone knew what DNA was. His name was Gregor Mendel, the “godfather of genetics.” This episode explores how his faith shaped his science, why his work was ignored in his lifetime, and what his story teaches us about hiddenness, legacy, and the fingerprints of God in creation.

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What comes to mind when you picture the devil? Horns. A pitchfork. Red tights.

But that image isn’t biblical, it’s medieval.

In this episode, Jordan traces the surprising story of how one saint’s imagination, a few desert monks, and centuries of theater and art gave Satan his face. From serpents in the catacombs, to horned hybrids borrowed from Pan, to the booming devils of mystery plays, this is how evil got branded.

The devil you kn...

In 1925, a small-town courtroom in Dayton, Tennessee became the stage for one of the most famous trials in American history. The “Monkey Trial” wasn’t really about Darwin, evolution, or even a $100 fine. It was about dignity.

When Clarence Darrow grilled William Jennings Bryan on the witness stand, the courtroom laughed. Newspapers printed cartoons of monkey-preachers. And in that laughter, evangelicals—who had once stood at the cen...

Empire of Relics: When Bones, Blood, and Bread Became the Currency of the Sacred

What happens when faith turns material? In the Middle Ages, relics were more than devotional objects, they were power. The finger of a saint could draw pilgrims across Europe. A vial of blood could bankroll a cathedral. A splinter of the “true cross” could legitimize an empire.

In this episode, we step inside the strange economy of holiness: where churc...

We all picture angels with white feathers, halos, and harps, but the Bible never describes them that way. In Scripture, angels show up as messengers, warriors, and servants of God’s will but never as winged ornaments. So where did the wings come from?

This episode traces the surprising history of how angels grew wings: from the throne guardians of Isaiah and Ezekiel, to pagan gods like Nike and Hermes, to Byzantine mosaics, medieval...

In the 16th century, a bitter, dark drink swept into Europe from the Muslim world and panic followed. Priests called it “the invention of Satan.” Rumors claimed it fueled heresy, addiction, and political unrest. Some feared it might even replace wine in Christian life.

The controversy reached the Pope himself. What happened next would transform coffee from a suspicious foreign vice into the drink of choice for priests, scholars, an...

Rome, 897.

On a gray January day, the streets of the Eternal City fill with bakers, monks, and merchants, all walking toward the Lateran Basilica. Inside, beneath flickering candles and the scent of incense, a corpse sits on the papal throne. What follows is one of the strangest trials in church history: a pope on trial months after his death.

This is the story of the Cadaver Synod. A mix of political revenge, theological controversy...

They didn’t just pray for the sick, they stayed.

While the rest of the world fled plagues, early Christians moved toward the dying.They didn’t wait for governments to act. They built something entirely new: the hospital.

In this episode of Theology Made, we trace the radical roots of medical care not to ancient Greece, Rome, or science alone, but to the revolutionary compassion of the early Church. You’ll meet Bishop Basil the Great,...

We’ve all heard the story of the Salem Witch Trials, but most of what we know barely scratches the surface.

This episode unpacks the deeper forces behind one of America’s most infamous chapters: political instability, religious fervor, social vendettas, and the terrifying power of unchecked accusations. More than a tale of superstition, Salem reveals how fear and groupthink can turn neighbor against neighbor, and how justice can va...

Before the councils. Before the creeds. There was Macrina. She never wrote a book or held a title, but her faith, intellect, and quiet influence shaped two of the most important theologians in church history: Basil the Great and Gregory of Nyssa. This episode tells the powerful story of the woman behind the Trinity as we know it and why her fingerprints are still on our faith today.

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The First Missionary You’ve Never Heard Of (George Liele)

Before William Carey. Before Adoniram Judson. Before the mission boards and the maps, there was George Liele. A formerly enslaved Black man who preached with power, crossed an ocean, and planted churches before the modern missions movement even began.

He had no passport, no denomination, and no platform. Just a Bible, a burning conviction, and the courage to go where no one ha...

In 1962, a 22-word prayer changed American history. It wasn’t loud. It wasn’t controversial, at first. But when Engel v. Vitale reached the U.S. Supreme Court, it ignited a national firestorm over religion, freedom, and the role of faith in public life.

Was this the moment God got kicked out of the classroom?Or was it a courageous defense of religious liberty?

In this episode of theTheology Made Podcast, we unpack the courtroom case...

Before hashtags, hot takes, and going vliral meant a million views, there was the medieval pilgrimage. In this episode, we explore how spiritual journeys to places like Canterbury and Compostela became the original social network. Pilgrimage was not just a religious ritual. It was a medieval mix of Twitter threads, TikTok trends, Amazon storefronts, and reputation management. Along muddy roads and crowded shrines, people traded sto...

Imagine a document so powerful it gave the pope divine authority over kings and no one questioned it for 700 years. It claimed to be from Constantine the Great himself. It was quoted, revered, and used to justify centuries of papal rule.

There’s just one problem: It was completely fake.

In this episode, we uncover the wild true story of the Donation of Constantine, the most influential forgery in Church history, and the unlikely hero...

Written and narrated by Jordan Vale

Music by Epidemic Sound

Copyright, Theology Made/Jordan Vale, 2025

References

Daniell, D. (1994). William Tyndale: A biography. Yale University Press.

Mozley, J. F. (1937). William Tyndale. The Macmillan Company.

The British Library. (n.d.). William Tyndale. https://www.bl.uk/people/william-tyndale

Reformation.org. (n.d.). Tyndale’s final words. https://www.reformation.org/tyndale-final-words.html

The T...