The Advent of the Drive-In Church, Which Was Not at All Ridiculous and Definitely Needed to Be a Thing

Please understand that when I call drive-in theaters one of the worst ideas of all time, I’m speaking from direct experience.

The Guy Who Just Decided He Was Pope

If you’re wondering how someone can just declare himself pope, keep in mind that things in the church were way less formal back then.

The Saint Who Rolled with the Pigs

Since I’m not a historian, I’m going to tell you about the weird, possibly legendary, and super awkward stuff this guy did.

The History of Pews Is Just as Terrible and Embarrassing as You’d Imagine

Despite the advent of stadium-style seating and auditorium-like worship halls, the simple, ancient pew endures.

A Brief History of Snake Handling, in Case the Common Communion Cup Isn’t Enough of a Health Hazard for You

The story goes that Hensley wandered out into the wilderness to seek God’s will, which he was pretty sure would involve snakes.

How Seventh-Day Adventists Convinced You to Eat Breakfast Cereal

We devote huge amounts of time and energy guilting each other over what we eat.

That Time the Church Had One Pope, and Then Two Popes, and Then Three Popes

With multiple popes in play, the people could freely listen to whichever pope was convenient for them at the time, sort of like national church-shopping.

The Crusaders Who Missed the Holy Land by a Couple Thousand Miles

The Crusades began with the medieval equivalent of drunk-texting an ex.

The Crumbling Chicken Church in Java

What does it mean when God gives you a dream—and then the dream dies?

The Christian Relic Nobody Wants to Talk About

The people of Calcata continued to parade through the streets with the prepuce every January 1 almost until Return of the Jedi hit theaters.

The Fake Kidnapping Scandal That Almost Destroyed a Megachurch Pioneer

It turns out church scandals and culture wars weren’t invented last week.

The Story of Those Little Communion Cups, Whatever Those Are Technically Called

Communion may be the moment where God and man meet face-to-face, which is cool and all, but yeesh, get on with it, God.

The Anabaptist Who Got His Junk Münster-Mashed

In Münster, there was general agreement they needed to be following the teachings of Christianity — the only problem was, whose version?

The Severed Puritan Head That Traveled the World

Like Oliver Cromwell, people have a tendency to become the things they hate.