Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Papias of Hierapolis wrote a five-volume work called Exposition of Dominical Oracles sometime in the early second century. It is one of the most important lost texts in the history of Christianity. In it, Papias recorded what he claimed to have learned from people who knew the apostles, including what he understood about how the Gospels of Mark and Matthew came to be written. His book shaped how later church fathers understood the origins of the Gospels, and fragments of his work are still cited in almost every debate about who wrote the New Testament.
The problem is that the book itself is gone. Everything we know about what Papias wrote comes from fragments and references preserved by later authors across fourteen centuries, fifty-seven different writers, and five different languages. Some of those later authors admired Papias. Others, including the church historian Eusebius, thought he was unreliable. Piecing together what Papias actually believed from this scattered evidence is one of the great puzzles in early Christian studies.
Dr. Stephen Carlson spent years doing exactly that. His Oxford University Press edition of Papias, published in 2021, documents 98 separate mentions of Papias and his work, making it the most complete collection of Papias evidence ever assembled. He holds a PhD from Duke University and is Associate Professor at the Australian Catholic University's Institute for Religion and Critical Inquiry.
Derek Lambert (MythVision Podcast) sits down with Dr. Carlson for a deep dive into the real Papias. What did Papias actually say about Mark and Matthew? What kind of book was the Exposition? What did Papias believe about Jesus and the end of the world? Did he really know people who knew the apostles? What do the fragments tell us about how second-century Christians understood their own texts and traditions? And why did this important book disappear?
Grab his book - amzn.to/41V0nS2
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Sign up for Dr. James Tabor’s Course, “The Quest for the Historical Paul: Apostle or Apostate?” - -
https://mythvisionpodcast.com/histori...
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Sign up for Dr. Robyn Faith Walsh’s Course, “The Gospel Masterclass” - -
mythvisionpodcast.com/gospels
Sign up for Dr. James Tabor’s Course, “Jesus and The Dead Sea Scrolls” - -
mythvisionpodcast.com/dss
Sign up for Dr. Robyn Faith Walsh’s Course, “Unforgettable Footprints of the Pauline Legacy” - -
https://mythvisionpodcast.com/paulsle...
Sign up for Dr. Dennis MacDonald’s Course, “Reading the Gospels with One Eye on Greek Poetry” - -
https://mythvisionpodcast.com/homeric...
Sign up for Dr. James Tabor’s Course, "Creating Jesus: Why Mark’s Gospel Was Forgotten?" - -
https://www.mythvisionpodcast.com/fir...
Sign up for Dr. Dale C. Allison Jr's Course, “The Quest for The Historical Jesus” - -
https://www.mythvisionpodcast.com/jes...
============================
GET RECOMMENDED BOOKS HERE: 👉 amzn.to/35FqNYf
============================
Please consider supporting MythVision's work by joining our Patreon or contributing a one-time donation:
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===========================
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Papias of Hierapolis wrote a five-volume work called Exposition of Dominical Oracles sometime in the early second century. It is one of the most important lost texts in the history of Christianity. In it, Papias recorded what he claimed to have learned from people who knew the apostles, including what he understood about how the Gospels of Mark and Matthew came to be written. His book shaped how later church fathers understood the origins of the Gospels, and fragments of his work are still cited in almost every debate about who wrote the New Testament.
The problem is that the book itself is gone. Everything we know about what Papias wrote comes from fragments and references preserved by later authors across fourteen centuries, fifty-seven different writers, and five different languages. Some of those later authors admired Papias. Others, including the church historian Eusebius, thought he was unreliable. Piecing together what Papias actually believed from this scattered evidence is one of the great puzzles in early Christian studies.
Dr. Stephen Carlson spent years doing exactly that. His Oxford University Press edition of Papias, published in 2021, documents 98 separate mentions of Papias and his work, making it the most complete collection of Papias evidence ever assembled. He holds a PhD from Duke University and is Associate Professor at the Australian Catholic University's Institute for Religion and Critical Inquiry.
Derek Lambert (MythVision Podcast) sits down with Dr. Carlson for a deep dive into the real Papias. What did Papias actually say about Mark and Matthew? What kind of book was the Exposition? What did Papias believe about Jesus and the end of the world? Did he really know people who knew the apostles? What do the fragments tell us about how second-century Christians understood their own texts and traditions? And why did this important book disappear?
Grab his book - amzn.to/41V0nS2
============================
FIND ALL LINKS HERE 👉 https://linktr.ee/mythvision
============================
RECOMMENDED ONLINE COURSES HERE
👉👉 Checkout MVP Courses to find new and upcoming online courses:
mvp-courses.com
Sign up for Dr. James Tabor’s Course, “The Quest for the Historical Paul: Apostle or Apostate?” - -
https://mythvisionpodcast.com/histori...
Sign up for Dr. Kara Cooney’s Course, “Ancient Egyptian Cosmogony and Cosmology” - -
https://mythvisionpodcast.com/egyptia...
Sign up for Dr. Robyn Faith Walsh’s Course, “The Gospel Masterclass” - -
mythvisionpodcast.com/gospels
Sign up for Dr. James Tabor’s Course, “Jesus and The Dead Sea Scrolls” - -
mythvisionpodcast.com/dss
Sign up for Dr. Robyn Faith Walsh’s Course, “Unforgettable Footprints of the Pauline Legacy” - -
https://mythvisionpodcast.com/paulsle...
Sign up for Dr. Dennis MacDonald’s Course, “Reading the Gospels with One Eye on Greek Poetry” - -
https://mythvisionpodcast.com/homeric...
Sign up for Dr. James Tabor’s Course, "Creating Jesus: Why Mark’s Gospel Was Forgotten?" - -
https://www.mythvisionpodcast.com/fir...
Sign up for Dr. Dale C. Allison Jr's Course, “The Quest for The Historical Jesus” - -
https://www.mythvisionpodcast.com/jes...
============================
GET RECOMMENDED BOOKS HERE: 👉 amzn.to/35FqNYf
============================
Please consider supporting MythVision's work by joining our Patreon or contributing a one-time donation:
Patreon: 👉 / mythvision
Paypal: 👉 paypal.me/dereklambert7 - - @dereklambert7
Cashapp: 👉 $rewiredaddiction
Venmo: 👉 venmo.com/Derek-Lambert-9 - - @Derek-Lambert-9
Facebook Stars: fb.com/stars
============================
CONTACT ME
Website: 👉 mythvisionpodcast.com
Email MythVision: 👉 mythvisionpodcast@gmail.com
Facebook Page: 👉 / mythvision
Facebook Group: 👉 / thewaterboyzradio
Twitter X: 👉 https://x.com/DerekPodcast - - @DerekPodcast
TikTok: 👉 / mythvision
Instagram: 👉 / dereklambert_7
Discord: 👉 / discord
===========================
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST HERE:
🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gf3XMe...
🎧 Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
🎧 Castbox: https://castbox.fm/vh/6551369
🎧 Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/61670kid
🎧 iHeartRadio: iheart.com/podcast/271777389
