Christians talk about “the Church” as the universal body of Christ, made up of all Christians. However, in a more practical, institutional sense, Christians are actually divided into thousands of different denominations, many of which consider their rivals heretical and even non-Christian. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will trace a brief history of Christian schism, outlining the major branches of the movement historically and in the present.

As countries around the world legalized same-sex marriage, many opponents of ending discrimination argued that the change would undermine “traditional marriage.” What is traditional marriage? John Hamer of Toronto Centre place will trace the origins of marriage customs in the western world and how the institution came to be regarded as a sacrament in Christianity.

From nuclear war and super-plagues to asteroids and alien invasions, popular culture continues to obsess about the idea of the world's destruction. We're look at the first mythological predictions of the end and see how the popularity of apocalyptic writing influenced Judaism, Christianity, and the Western world ever since.

Artistic expression and religion have been intertwined since prehistory. From Antiquity to the Modern era religion has provided both inspiration and patronage for artists. Paintings of animals and hunts in caves may have related to Animism: calling upon their spiritual power. Classical sculpture and painting were focussed on depicting the gods and the stories of Greek and Roman mythology. In much the same way that casting an actor for a role in a film adaptation of a book tends to overwrite a future reader’s picture of a character (e.g., try envisioning Gandalf without seeing Ian McKellen), having a statue or a picture of a god affects the way a worshipper envisions the divine. Perhaps for this reason, religious reformers at various points in history have objected to picturing the gods, or especially picturing God. Ancient Israelites forbid graven images of Yahweh, a prohibition that expanded to any depiction or even saying his name aloud. Likewise, Islam forbids depicting God (Allah) and the prohibition has expanded to depictions of God’s prophet, and in some interpretations any human or animal forms. Christians too have a complicated history with religious imagery from the Iconoclasm which divided the Byzantine Empire to the Protestant destruction of statues and imagery during the Reformation. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will explore why artwork has been such a charged issue within the religions of the West from Antiquity to the present.

Before coming to understand Yahweh as their only God, ancient Israelites worshiped a pantheon that included the great goddess Asherah. In Canaanite religion, Asherah often appears as the consort of the chief deity El. Later, archeology and about 40 mentions of her name in the Hebrew Bible suggest she was sometimes seen as Yahweh’s wife. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will reconstruct the history of the worship of the Divine Feminine in ancient Israel from the Biblical texts and the contemporary historical and archaeological records, tracing how Asherah’s attributes and cult, like those of El, were ultimately absorbed into the figure and worship of Yahweh.

The modern Jewish nationalist ideology of “Zionism” traces its origins to a movement founded by Theodor Herl in 1897. The movement evolved considerably during the 20th century in the wake of the Holocaust and the establishment of the State of Israel in Palestine in 1948. As conflicts between Israelis, Palestinians, and their neighbors have evolved, so too have ideas about nationalism, imperialism/colonialism, rights to self-determination, and international law. The idea of Zionism is further complicated by Christians, some of whom support a “gathering of Israel” as a precursor for Armageddon and bringing about a literal end to the world. Before embarking on a trip to the West Bank of Palestine this November as a representative of Churches for Middle East Peace, John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at the history of “Christian Zionism” and its precursors.

Brian Carwana, director of the Encounter World Religions Centre, presents on the history of Evangelical Christianity within the context of modernity, showing that despite its anti-liberal character, the movement has evolved to thrive in the context of modernity.

Don’t Read the Bible If You Don’t Know This

The Worldwide Church of God preached that Anglo-Saxons were the descendants of the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel and the Book of Mormon claims that the First Nations peoples of North America are descended from those same lost tribes. The Dowieites of Zion City, Illinois, taught that the world is flat. What happens when religions have falsifiable truth claims and discover they are false?

From world maps where Greenland appears larger than Africa to historical maps that show European claims to the world but leave off its actual indigenous occupants, to Google Earth which shows different political boundaries to different users depending on what country they're in, maps distort our picture of the world around us. In this presentation from Toronto Centre Place, John Hamer looks at how maps convey different worldviews both accidentally and deliberately.

The rise of atheism in modern Western societies is often treated as a rejection of religion—but what if this cultural trend is more accurately understood as part of Protestantism itself? In this live lecture, John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place explores how Protestant reforms—especially the rejection of Catholic tradition, the doctrine of sola scriptura, the emphasis on rational inquiry, and the rise of literalist interpretations of scripture—created fertile ground for natural religion and Enlightenment-era deism, and ultimately for an ethical framework devoid of spiritual or supernatural elements. We will also consider how modern atheism continues to engage in dialogue with Evangelicalism—another modern expression of Protestantism—echoing the way theologically opposing movements have remained in conversation throughout Christian history.

The historical Jesus and his disciples were all Jewish. In his lifetime and for decades after, the followers of Jesus did not see themselves as part of a religion separate from Judaism, at most they were a sect within Judaism, like other contemporary sects including the Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, and Zealots. That changed in the second half of the 1st century, as individuals and communities who continued to testify of Jesus as the Messiah, the Christ, were expelled from synagogues. The groups, now calling themselves “Christians,” began to emerge as a new religion, which sought to separate itself from their former co-religionists. The New Testament’s gospels, written toward the end of the 1st century reflect this historical context (and not the context of Jesus’ lifetime). This is especially true in the Gospel of John where Jesus speaks of “the Jews” as if they were a separate group that he is not a part of. Unfortunately, the negative portrayal of Jews in the Gospel of John has informed attitudes among some Christians to this day, serving as a precedent for and a cause of Antisemitism. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will review the portrayal of Jews in the Gospel of John and its unfortunate legacies.

The rise and fall of a prophet-king and its Mormon kingdom on Lake Michigan. After the death of Joseph Smith, James Strang emerged to claim his mantle as a new Mormon prophet. We'll review the fascinating history of James Strang and the short-lived Mormon Kingdom on Beaver Island in Lake Michigan. Although initially a serious threat to Brigham Young, today only a single congregation of Strangite Mormons remain.

Joseph Smith III, termed a "pragmatic prophet" by biographer Roger D. Launius, led the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints for 64 years, promoting "moderate Mormonism." While adopting a balanced approach on most issues, his unwavering stance denying his father's initiation of polygamy deviated from this pragmatism. Despite ample evidence from various sources, Joseph III chose to protect his father's reputation over addressing the concerns of the Latter Day Saint community. This lecture explores Joseph III's tenure, his missions to Utah, and the ongoing ramifications of his stance on polygamy for Community of Christ.

There is a consensus among historians that Joseph Smith Jr, the founder of the Latter-Day Saint movement was a practitioner of polygamy. Joseph Smith’s son, Joseph Smith III, the prophet of the Reorganization, held out hope that his father may have been innocent — a hope that was incorrectly taken as fact by his own sons, the subsequent prophets of the RLDS Church. While these leaders testified in good faith, the evidence shows that they were incorrect. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will lay out the evidence to show why historians universally agree that Joseph Smith Jr was a polygamist.

Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement (commonly called “Mormonism”), began his career as a teenage treasure seer. By peering with his spiritual eyes into a seer stone, Joseph led digging companies on quests to unearth buried treasure. The gifts he claimed evolved as he announced that a spirit had shown him where a book engraved on gold plates was buried. Using the same process of looking into the seer stones, Joseph dictated the words of what became known as the Book of Mormon. He also used the stones to channel what he claimed was direct revelation from God as he transitioned into the role of religious seer and prophet. In this new lecture, John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will cut through the mythic portrayal of Joseph Smith to try to understand him in his historical context. Given that literary criticism has shown the Book of Mormon is a 19th Century document and is not the ancient history Smith claimed, must it necessarily follow that both were conscious frauds? How is the text still understood as scripture in Community of Christ, the second largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement?

Although James Strang is perhaps the Mormon who is most famous for crowning himself king, he did so in emulation of Joseph Smith Jr, who restored "the kingdom of God on earth" in his final year and was anointed its king in a secret ceremony of the Council of Fifty. John Hamer will look at the evolution of the prophetic monarchy as it has continued in the two largest sects of the Restoration: the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Missouri-based Community of Christ and consider the future of both institutions.

The coronation of Charles III, King of the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth Realms, has reminded people around the world of the ancient institution of monarchy. Why do some of the world’s leading democracies continue to have monarchs? What separates democracy from autocracy, monarchy from republic, and monarchs from dictators? John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at monarchies past and present to answer these questions and more.

As Confederate statues are removed across the US, we will look at the history of monuments in public spaces. Although social media memes argue that removing statues “erases history,” historians point out that Confederate monuments are actually a willful distortion of history that promote a myth known as “the Lost Cause.” We’ll look at the actual history of Confederate monuments and consider them in the context of public monuments in general.

The pandemics among indigenous Americans after the Columbian exchange were among the most devastating in human history. We'll look at the Western Hemisphere in 1491; why indigenous Americans were so susceptible to Old World diseases. How the pandemics changed all of history and consider lingering effects today.

The world’s religions have complex and often troubling relationships with the institution of slavery. Although some Christians fought for abolition of the slave trade based on their faith, others used the Bible to justify keeping other humans as property. The Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam arose in an era of slave societies. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at their long, complex, and often unfortunate relationships with the institution.

How did faith healing and reported miracles work in Antiquity and the Middle Ages? Modern Western medicine has become very effective at healing injury and curing illness, but its history of effectiveness is very recent. Previously, those with chronic conditions had little alternative than hope of miracles (and physical magic). John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place looks at the history of belief in miracle healing in Ancient and Medieval times, the role it played in society, and its legacies today.

In the Biblical story, when Moses returns from Mt Sinai to find the Israelites worshiping a golden calf, he smashes the original tablets of the Ten Commandments. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will smash several misconceptions about these famous legal precepts, beginning with the actual list (there are actually three versions preserved in the Bible) and how they are numbered. The Apostle Paul taught that Christians should not follow Mosaic Law because Christ had fulfilled the Old Covenant and established a New Covenant. Nevertheless, Christian focus on the Ten Commandments continues to provoke confusion about the status of Old Testament law in Christianity.

John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place explores how modern nationalism contrasts with ancient kin group and homeland traditional identities. He traces the origins of nationalism in the modern era and considers how this ideology — artificially constructed group identity based on language, religion, ethnicity, and race — led to the devastating wars and genocides of the 20th centuries.

The 19th century myth that continues to claim the heritage of pre-Columbian North Americans today. The centuries following the renewed 1492 contact between the world's eastern and western hemispheres were devastating for the indigenous peoples of the Americas whose population was continually decimated by imported diseases for which they lacked immunity. By the early 19th century, so few indigenous people remained that European Americans doubted they could have ever built the massive number of earthworks that covered the North American landscape. Instead they created a myth that the mounds must have been built by a lost civilized race that was ultimately exterminated by the American Indians. The most successful telling of this myth is found in Joseph Smith's Book of Mormon. We will look at how the myth of the mound builders evolved and its continuing consequences.

Stephen M. Veazey, the 8th prophet and president of Community of Christ, announced a date for his retirement and subsequently has been placed on an extended medical leave of absence. The church has been engaged in a worldwide discernment process to determine who will be called as his successor. For the John Whitmer Historical Association’s “Wallace B. Smith Lecture,” in April of 2023, John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place traced the historical background of the “prophetic monarchy” in the Latter Day Saint movement, considered the present state of affairs, and called for future reforms. Hamer looks at the 1844 succession crisis following the death of church founder, Joseph Smith Jr., through the lens of monarchy, arguing that Brigham Young and Joseph Smith III can best be understood as a “usurper” and a “pretender,” respectively, to the prophetic throne. In this November lecture, Hamer will update his analysis in light of changes to the succession process announced due to President Veazey’s medical leave and also after the death of Prophet Emeritus Wallace B. Smith. The lecture will be livestreamed free to the public with donations for the John Whitmer Historical Association welcome.

The United States is often compared with ancient Rome. Washington DC's monumental architecture was modeled on Rome's and the architects of the US Constitution looked to the constitution of the Roman Republic for inspiration. How did ancient Rome's constitution work and why did the Republic ultimately fall under the sway of Roman Emperors?

The origins, activities, tragedies, myths, and legacies of this infamous institution. "No one expects the Spanish Inquisition!" is a hilarious Monty Python sketch that proves the adage that comedy = tragedy + time. In its time in early modern Spain, the Inquisition was infamous for its activities against Spanish Jews, Muslims, Christian converts from both groups, as well as heretics, Protestants, and other perceived enemies of the Spanish crown. There is no doubt the the persecution, expulsions, torture, trial and execution of members of these groups resulted in horrific tragedy and suffering. But we will also look at the extent to which some of the reported atrocities of the Inquisition may have been exaggerated by Protestants as part of a program of anti-Catholic polemics.

"Messiah" is arguably the most iconic work of sacred music in English language. Handel compiled the biblical story of Jesus from birth to resurrection, including passages from Isaiah, the Gospels, the Book of Revelation, and more. As we approach the Christmas season, Leandro Palacios and Michael Karpowicz of Toronto Centre Place look into the music, the libretto, and the composer, to fully appreciate this masterpiece which continues to be recorded and performed all over the world today. Be ready to sing along!

The story of Galileo’s trial and the banning of his work by the Pope has become a staple of the “History of Science” narrative. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will review at the actual history of the trial and trace the way a Protestant polemic against Catholicism came to be repurposed as a secular myth.

Transubstantiation is the doctrine of the Catholic Church which teaches that the substance of the bread in the sacrament of communion is changed into the substance of the Body of Christ (and the substance of the wine into the substance of the Blood of Christ). Nevertheless the “outward characteristics” of the bread and the wine (the “eucharistic species”) remain unaltered --- which means that “transubstantiation” is not the same as “transmaterializion.” The theological term “substance” is also critical to the Christian idea of the Trinity, where three distinct “persons” of God are said to be “consubstantial” as the One. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at the development of these theological terms and propositions and consider what Catholics and other Christians mean when they talk about the “Body of Christ.

Humanist politician and philosopher Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli has been called the first modern man and the father of political science. His book The Prince, is among the most influential books in the Western canon and has given rise to our adjective “Machiavellian” to describe unscrupulous politicians. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place look closely at The Prince and Machiavelli’s other writings to consider his political philosophy and to ask whether the author himself was “Machiavellian”.

Many fundamentalist Christians anticipate that the world will end in their lifetime and they look for particular signs listed in the Book of Revelation. And it turns out that this has been true for almost a thousand years. As each generation’s belief has been proved false, the next generation simply updates the calculus and reads the signs in their own times. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will outline the actual context of the Book of Revelation, how it was meant to be understood by the generation for whom it was written, and how apocalypticists have come to so thoroughly misunderstand the text.

The northern Kingdom of Israel, centered on its capital Samaria, was destroyed by the Assyrian Empire in 720 bce. Many members of the nobility were deported to Mesopotamia where they eventually assimilated, the so-called “Lost Ten Tribes of Israel.” However, the overwhelming majority of the northern Israelite people continued to live under Assyrian rule in the provinces of Samaria, Megiddo, and Gilead. When Assyrian rule was replaced by Babylonian and finally Persian rule, the people of Samaria (the Samaritans) continued to maintain their Israelite identity and even offered to help the returning Judean exiles (the Jews) rebuild the Jerusalem Temple. This offer was refused and over time, Jews and Samaritans became bitter rivals. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at Samaritan history from antiquity to the present.

John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place examines the latest trends in secularization, the rise of the religiously unaffiliated — including the “Nones” and the “Spiritual-but-not-religious” — shifting demographics and fertility, religious switching, migration, and growth in the Global South to ask: Will Christianity survive the 21st century?