
Christian terminology
Protestantism is a form of Christianity that follows the tenets of the Protestant Reformation: a major movement within Western Christianity that began in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to be errors, abuses, innovations, discrepancies, and theological novums within the medieval Catholic Church.They emphasize justification by faith alone (sola fide) rather than by faith with good works; the teaching that salvation comes by divine grace or "unmerited favor" only, not as something merited (sola gratia); the priesthood of all believers; and either affirm the Bible as being the sole highest authority (sola scriptura "scripture alone") or primary authority (prima scriptura "scripture first") for Christian doctrine, rather than being on parity with outside sacred tradition. Protestants reject the Catholic doctrine of papal supremacy, but disagree among themselves regarding the number of sacraments, the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and matters of ecclesiastical polity and apostolic succession.
12 episodes
Episodes in this category also belong to the following categories:
Arianism
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss a widely shared form of Christianity, followed in the Roman empire and by the Goths across its borders, that became an infamous heresy.
15 April 2021
Featuring: Judith Herrin, Robin Whelan, Martin Palmer
Baltic Crusades
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the fight, led by orders such as the Teutonic Knights and supported by the popes, to convert pagans in what became known as the Baltic Crusades.
24 November 2016
Featuring: Aleks Pluskowski, Nora Berend, Martin Palmer
Early Christian Martyrdom
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the lives of martyrs in the first three centuries of Christianity and how Eusebius presented their stories once the Roman Empire became Christian.
28 April 2022
Featuring: Candida Moss, Kate Cooper, James Corke-Webster
Paganism in the Renaissance
Melvyn Bragg discusses paganism in the Renaissance and the return of classical pagan thought to Italy and then to the rest of Europe in the 15th century.
16 June 2005
Featuring: Thomas Healy, Charles Hope, Evelyn Welch
Purgatory
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the history of Purgatory as an idea and, from C12th, as a place imagined alongside Heaven and Hell where souls of sinners would be purged by fire.
25 May 2017
Featuring: Laura Ashe, Matthew Treherne, Helen Foxhall Forbes
The Fall
Melvyn Bragg discusses the idea of original sin and its impact on politics, gender and notions of morality in western culture, examining Augustine, Milton, the Masaccio frescoes and Charles Darwin.
8 April 2004
Featuring: Martin Palmer, Griselda Pollock, John Carey
The Holy Grail
Melvyn Bragg discusses the sacred allure of the Holy Grail which has fascinated writers for a thousand years.
15 May 2003
Featuring: Carolyne Larrington, Jonathan Riley-Smith, Juliette Wood
The Nicene Creed
Melvyn Bragg discusses the Nicene Creed, a statement of essential faith that established the Divinity of Christ and has been spoken for over 1600 years in Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant Churches
27 December 2007
Featuring: Martin Palmer, Caroline Humfress, Andrew Louth
The Pelagian Controversy
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Pelagian Controversy, one of the most significant doctrinal disputes of the early church.
21 April 2011
Featuring: Martin Palmer, Caroline Humfress, John Milbank
The Rapture
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the impact of the idea developed by John Nelson Darby that believers will vanish suddenly, 'to meet the Lord in the air' before the Second Coming
26 September 2019
Featuring: Elizabeth Phillips, Crawford Gribben, Nicholas Guyatt
The Schism
Melvyn Bragg discusses events surrounding the 11th century division of medieval Christendom into what became the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church.
16 October 2003
Featuring: Henrietta Leyser, Norman Housley, Jonathan Shepard
The Trinity
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the doctrine of the Trinity, the idea of a threefold God, which lies at the heart of Christianity.
13 March 2014
Featuring: Janet Soskice, Martin Palmer, The Reverend Graham Ward