What we lost from early Christianity: 'Quadcast' interview with Andrew McGowan

In the new episode of the Yale Divinity School podcast series, early Christianity scholar Andrew McGowan discusses the origins of today’s Christian practices, which Christian rituals were lost over the centuries, and why the famous biblical story of Abraham and Isaac is about trust, not sacrifice.

Early Christians, McGowan says, understood Baptism “not so much as a conversion from one faith to another as conversion to a new level of seriousness about seeking God.”

Listen to the episode on Soundcloud.

Andrew McGowan is McFaddin Professor of Anglican Studies and Pastoral Theology at YDS and Dean of Berkeley Divinity School. He is an Anglican priest and historian whose scholarly work focuses on the life of early Christian communities, and on aspects of contemporary Anglicanism.

The YDS Quadcast is hosted by Emily Judd ‘19 M.A.R., who is Senior Communications Specialist at the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity. She previously worked as a journalist in the Middle East.

Download the transcript of this episode (pdf).