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Avoiding Babylon

Avoiding Babylon Crew
  • 4.7 (156)
  • CHRISTIANITY

Avoiding Babylon was started during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. During these difficult and dark days, when most of us were isolated from family, friends, our parishes, and even the Sacraments themselves, this channel was started as a statement of standing against the tyrannical mandates that many of us were living under. Since those early days, this channel has morphed into an amazing community of friends…no…more than friends…Christian brothers and sisters…who have grown in joy and charity.  As we see it, our job here at Avoiding Babylon is to remind ourselves and those who enjoy the channel that being Catholic is a joyful and exciting experience. We seek true Catholic fraternity and eutrapelia with other Catholics who, like us, are doing their best to live out their vocation with the help of God’s Grace.  Above all, we try to bring humor and joy to the craziness of this fallen world, for as Hillaire Belloc has famously said: “Wherever the Catholic sun doth shine, There’s always laughter and good red wine. At least I’ve always found it so. Benedicamus Domino!”

  1. 2D AGO

    Trump Preparing the US for War

    Want to reach out to us? Want to leave a comment or review? Want to give us a suggestion or berate Anthony? Send us a text by clicking this link! A war budget doesn’t come with a press release that says “war.” It shows up as numbers that don’t make sense for peace, and as a mood you can feel in the news cycle. We trace that mood back to two big ideas that shaped the post–Cold War mindset: the liberal belief that institutions can tame power, and the realist insistence that nations ultimately act for themselves. Using Francis Fukuyama’s End of History and Samuel Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations as guideposts, we sketch how the old order frayed and why cultural blocs—religion, memory, language—may reshape the map more than trade agreements ever did. From there, we dig into Ukraine as a harsh teacher: drones over doctrine, trenches over glossy strategy decks, and the stubborn reality of industrial bottlenecks. Can the U.S. rebuild munitions capacity fast enough? What happens when defense contractors get pushed from buybacks to production and the state edges toward a “command economy” posture without formally declaring it? We explore how sovereignty, logistics, and frontier tech like AI become national-security terrain—and why markets shift when mission logic takes over. Europe’s identity crisis threads through it all. A continent that once exported Christianity now struggles to define itself amid demographic change and civilizational tension. We consider what realism predicts for Europe, Russia, and the U.S., and how domestic fractures—censorship battles, CBDC talk, and culture-war fatigue—complicate strategy at home. Yet there’s a human counterpoint here: we share details for our Italy pilgrimage, why we’re keeping it small, how we’ll pray together, and a moving note from a Protestant listener reconsidering Mary through biblical typology. It’s geopolitics with a soul, grounded in faith, community, and the stubborn hope that meaning outlasts headlines. If this conversation challenged your assumptions or clarified the stakes, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review. Then tell us: which lens explains the world better right now—liberal order or realism? Support the show Take advantage of great Catholic red wines by heading over to https://recusantcellars.com/ and using code "BASED" for 10% off at checkout! ******************************************************** Please subscribe! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKsxnv80ByFV4OGvt_kImjQ?sub_confirmation=1 https://www.avoidingbabylon.com Merchandise: https://avoiding-babylon-shop.fourthwall.com Locals Community: https://avoidingbabylon.locals.com Full Premium/Locals Shows on Audio Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1987412/subscribe RSS Feed for Podcast Apps: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/1987412.rss Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/AvoidingBabylon

    1h 33m

  2. 2D AGO • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    Trump Preparing the US for War (Full LOCALS Show)

    It feels like the world is slipping its old skin. The postwar order promised stability through institutions, trade, and liberal democracy—and then ran headlong into culture, religion, and power. We unpack why those fault lines matter right now: Fukuyama’s “End of History,” Huntington’s “Clash of Civilizations,” and the uncomfortable ways their ideas echo in Ukraine, Europe’s identity crisis, and America’s defense build-up.We talk frankly about an exploding Pentagon budget, pressure on contractors, and what a creeping wartime command economy really signals. If your supply chains run through rivals, if your munitions lines are slow, if your energy is fragile, deterrence becomes theater. We explore how two decades of counterinsurgency left the West unready for attrition, drones, and industrial-scale logistics—and why that matters far beyond headlines. This isn’t cheerleading; it’s an honest look at costs, risks, and timelines.But politics alone can’t explain the ache under the surface. Civilizations are built from stories, rituals, and faith, not just rules and markets. When meaning collapses, people reach for identities strong enough to bind them. That’s why Europe’s cultural drift, mass migration pressures, and loss of confidence feel like more than policy failures—they’re spiritual. We share a practical path that resists despair: invest in parishes and friendships, relearn skills, protect families, care for priests, and live the liturgical year with intention. Resilience starts close to home.If you’re trying to make sense of Ukraine, NATO, energy security, AI, reindustrialization, and the rising talk of great-power conflict—without losing your soul—this conversation is for you. Listen in, argue back, and take what helps you build where you stand. If this episode resonates, share it with a friend, subscribe for more, and leave a review to help others find the show.

    2h 25m

  3. 4D AGO

    This Synodality Trend Is Dangerous, Bishop Barron Warns

    Want to reach out to us? Want to leave a comment or review? Want to give us a suggestion or berate Anthony? Send us a text by clicking this link! The spark was small—a tweet from Bishop Barron about synodality and doctrine—but the questions behind it are huge: What should a synod actually decide? How did “the spirit of Vatican II” turn into perpetual uncertainty? And why are everyday Catholics still getting side-eyed for kneeling at communion? We open the hood on a consistory that could reset expectations, sift Barron’s argument for what it gets right and wrong, and get painfully practical about reverence, freedom, and pastoral authority. Along the way, we share a happier twist: a priest reached out and offered to accompany our Italy trip, making daily Latin Mass not only possible but likely across private chapels in Rome and beyond. That momentum matters. People don’t want liturgical roulette; they want beauty, clarity, and worship that deepens faith. The pastoral playbook that treats piety as a problem is wearing thin, and that comes into sharp focus with a diocese banning portable kneelers for the elderly and Jonathan Roumie describing how he was told to stand when he tried to receive on his knees. Reverence isn’t performance; it’s love braving friction. We don’t dodge the tough map either. Under Francis, a common foe united disparate trad corners. Under Leo, the tone is calmer, but the doctrinal direction still worries many. Could a non-territorial jurisdiction—an ordinariate-style solution with bishops from traditional communities—offer stability without schism? Maybe. Or maybe it risks a new ghetto unless leaders honor what’s already law: the right to kneel, the right to receive on the tongue, and the call to worship God with proper solemnity. We’re watching the consistory, reading the dubia, and building something constructive: a pilgrimage ordered to daily prayer and the Eucharist. If this conversation hits home, follow the show, share it with a friend who cares about liturgy and clarity, and leave a quick review. Your feedback helps more people find thoughtful Catholic conversations that aim higher. Support the show Take advantage of great Catholic red wines by heading over to https://recusantcellars.com/ and using code "BASED" for 10% off at checkout! ******************************************************** Please subscribe! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKsxnv80ByFV4OGvt_kImjQ?sub_confirmation=1 https://www.avoidingbabylon.com Merchandise: https://avoiding-babylon-shop.fourthwall.com Locals Community: https://avoidingbabylon.locals.com Full Premium/Locals Shows on Audio Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1987412/subscribe RSS Feed for Podcast Apps: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/1987412.rss Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/AvoidingBabylon

    1h 11m

  4. 4D AGO • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    This Synodality Trend Is Dangerous, Bishop Barron Warns (Full LOCALS Version)

    Start with a city pilgrimage and you’ll end up in Rome: we swap holiday stories for a concrete plan to bring a priest-chaplain and daily Latin Mass to an Italian itinerary. That boots-on-the-ground energy sets the tone for everything else—reverence first, logistics second, and honesty throughout.Then the headline lands. Bishop Robert Barron’s consistory thread becomes our litmus: synodality can be a tool for pastoral strategy, but it cannot be a revolving door for doctrine. We chart the difference between councils that conclude with clarity and a perpetual “council state” that breeds drift. That naturally meets the moment everyone’s watched: Jonathan Roumie describing a priest who told him to rise when he knelt for Communion. We unpack the law—yes, you may receive kneeling and on the tongue—and the pastoral optics around the Charlotte diocese kneeler ban. Reverence isn’t a performance; in most parishes, it carries social cost. The question is whether bishops and priests will make it easier, not harder, to adore.From sanctuary to statecraft, the conversation widens into the surprise raid that removed Venezuela’s leader. We trace the logic behind a hemispheric reset: oil leverage, keeping rivals out of the neighborhood, and why Greenland sits underneath every Arctic flight path. Cuba’s fingerprints on security details, NGOs as cover for operations, and the way one platform can force a story into the old media cycle—these details paint a sober picture of a multipolar world arriving faster than anyone admits. If you’re looking for a tidy narrative, you won’t find it here. You’ll get tradeoffs, strategic maps, and the reminder that “low-intensity conflict” can live alongside your workweek.Across it all, a single throughline holds: worship God with reverence, protect doctrine from mission creep, serve the poor with clarity, and think clearly about power—ecclesial and geopolitical. If that sounds like a lot, it is. But it’s also the only way to remain steady when the ground keeps shifting under your feet.If this resonates, follow the show, share it with a friend who loves both liturgy and maps, and leave a review telling us where you stand on kneeling, synodality, and the new world that’s already here.

    2h 20m

  5. 12/29/2025

    Joy to the World: Christ's Light in a Dark Age

    Want to reach out to us? Want to leave a comment or review? Want to give us a suggestion or berate Anthony? Send us a text by clicking this link! A neighborhood teen walks into a midnight Latin Mass and steps straight into a world of chant, candlelight, and awe. That single moment sets the tone for a wide-ranging conversation about faith that’s lived, not branded—how ordinary Catholic family life can quietly evangelize a restless culture craving stability, fatherhood, and hope. We trade UK and US vantage points and compare media narratives with street-level reality. Are things truly burning, or are we binging on spectacle? We tackle the perennial “war on Christmas,” the corporate habit of sanitizing holy days, and the rise of a substitute liturgical calendar that tries to replace the Incarnation with new rituals and new saints. The throughline is clear: without a supernatural core, culture-building becomes cosplay. Tradition isn’t window dressing; it’s the scaffolding that carries meaning from one generation to the next. We don’t stop at headlines. Mark shares the searing loss of his daughter, the decade of ache that followed, and the surprising graces that kept him moving—community, providence, and a daughter named Mary who arrived like a gift from heaven. Katherine speaks with candor about costly choices, how personal relief often shifts pain onto children, and why love sometimes means carrying the cross instead of outsourcing it. Along the way, we reflect on fatherhood statistics, Protestant critiques of Christmas, and the difference between wielding Christianity as a tool and receiving it as life. If you’ve ever wondered whether small fidelities matter—family meals, icons on the wall, prayer before bed, Sunday Mass—this conversation says yes. Light still enters the darkness. Grace still heals what pride breaks. Join us, then tell a friend, subscribe, and leave a review with one takeaway you’ll put into practice this week. Support the show Take advantage of great Catholic red wines by heading over to https://recusantcellars.com/ and using code "BASED" for 10% off at checkout! ******************************************************** Please subscribe! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKsxnv80ByFV4OGvt_kImjQ?sub_confirmation=1 https://www.avoidingbabylon.com Merchandise: https://avoiding-babylon-shop.fourthwall.com Locals Community: https://avoidingbabylon.locals.com Full Premium/Locals Shows on Audio Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1987412/subscribe RSS Feed for Podcast Apps: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/1987412.rss Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/AvoidingBabylon

    1h 12m

  6. 12/29/2025 • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    Joy to the World: Christ's Light in a Dark Age (Full LOCALS Version)

    A teen steps into Midnight Latin Mass for the first time, the church is dark, the chant rises, and something otherworldly breaks through. That’s the spark that runs through this wide-ranging conversation: the way small, steady acts of faith—prayer before meals, a father leading, a family welcoming neighbors—carry more power than arguments and outlast the noise of culture wars.We trade stories from both sides of the Atlantic and compare what we see on screens with the reality on the ground. Media loves fire and frenzy; most of life is dinner tables and quiet decisions. We talk about Christmas as the revolution of the Incarnation rather than a seasonal mood, and why traditions aren’t nostalgia but culture-making acts that shape children, cities, and time itself. We push past politicized takes on “the war on Christmas” and ask a better question: what does it cost to live like the Incarnation is true?Mark shares a devastating testimony of losing his daughter and the unlikely road of grace that followed—signs, community, a new child named Mary, and a vocation to shepherd his family toward heaven. Catherine reflects on moral consequence with bracing honesty: when we refuse to bear the cost of our choices, we pass it onto those we love. That insight reframes hot-button issues like abortion, IVF, and adultery through the lens of mercy and repair. We also navigate ecumenism and Catholic identity without buzzwords, staying clear that unity never requires blur.From AI’s eerie pull to the fading myth that held the West together after World War II, we wrestle with the next story that will shape our civilization. Our take is simple and demanding: choose habits that make you human again. Read slowly. Pray daily. Keep holy days holy. Build local friendships. Arrange your home around the altar, not the algorithm. That’s how light returns.If this resonates, follow, share with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find the show. Tell us: which tradition anchors your home right now?

    1h 56m

  7. 12/24/2025

    Is Ben Shapiro’s AmFest Speech the Beginning of His Downfall?

    Want to reach out to us? Want to leave a comment or review? Want to give us a suggestion or berate Anthony? Send us a text by clicking this link! The night starts with chaos—copyright worries, a broken chair, and a mood hanging by a thread—and then shifts into something a lot more meaningful: a 10-day pilgrimage to Italy designed for depth, safety, and affordability. We walk through the route that blends history and holiness—Rome, Pompeii, Capri, Naples, Loreto, Lanciano, Assisi, Orvieto—and explain why we’re keeping it to one bus and targeting around four thousand dollars: intimacy over hype, substance over markup, and a chance for travelers who’ve hesitated to finally say yes. From there, we step straight into the week’s storm around TPUSA and the conservative media world. What happens when movements turn into personality cults, when symbols become props, and when emotion is the product? We unpack how factional tribes—Candace, Tucker, Fuentes, BAP—monetize outrage and keep us scrolling, while core Christian realities like sin, penance, and the interior life get sidelined. The result is a culture war that looks spiritual but rarely calls for conversion. Our push is simple: trade spectacle for repentance, and public drama for real prayer and virtue. We also tackle the pressure inside the Church: the fatigue of constant scandal, the unnatural posture of permanent suspicion toward the hierarchy, and the ache for true spiritual fatherhood. We’re not calling for theatrics or caricatures of masculinity; we’re asking for priests and bishops whose presence is steady, fatherly, and ordered to the salvation of souls. Finally, we confront the hot-button debates—Zionism, media narratives, and what can be questioned—arguing for honest inquiry without sensationalism and a theological lens that prioritizes human dignity, history, and clarity. If you’re ready for a conversation that ditches performative outrage and aims at real renewal—plus a concrete way to encounter the sacred in Italy—hit play. And if this resonated, subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show. Support the show Take advantage of great Catholic red wines by heading over to https://recusantcellars.com/ and using code "BASED" for 10% off at checkout! ******************************************************** Please subscribe! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKsxnv80ByFV4OGvt_kImjQ?sub_confirmation=1 https://www.avoidingbabylon.com Merchandise: https://avoiding-babylon-shop.fourthwall.com Locals Community: https://avoidingbabylon.locals.com Full Premium/Locals Shows on Audio Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1987412/subscribe RSS Feed for Podcast Apps: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/1987412.rss Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/AvoidingBabylon

    1h 1m

  8. 12/24/2025 • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    Is Ben Shapiro’s AmFest Speech the Beginning of His Downfall? (Full LOCALS Version)

    Tonight’s energy is messy, honest, and worth leaning into. We open with a reality check—noisy gear, a broken chair, and a quick correction on music that keeps getting us flagged—then shift into something a lot of you have been asking for: a focused, affordable pilgrimage to Italy. We map out ten days across Rome, Pompeii, Capri, Naples, Loreto, Lanciano, Assisi, and Orvieto, with one bus, capped seats, and open afternoons so you can pray and breathe instead of sprinting between sites. The goal is simple: build a small community that can share Mass, meals, and wonder without the price tag that shuts most people out.From there we wade into the week’s biggest spectacle: the TPUSA rifts and the influencer ecosystem that seems engineered to keep people angry and loyal. We unpack the archetypes—fitness tribes, political brands, culture-war mascots—and why Christian symbols often show up as props rather than paths to conversion. We talk Zionism as a political litmus test, how “anti‑Semitism” is used to freeze honest debate, and why serious Christians must keep their anchor in theology, not hot takes. It’s not about defending your favorite pundit; it’s about naming sin, turning back to prayer and penance, and refusing to let outrage content define your faith.We also confront the Church’s image problem: a public square hungry for real spiritual fatherhood and tired of performative masculinity. What people crave isn’t bluster—it’s men who can be gentle and firm, who protect and teach, who say no when souls are at risk. We share candid stories about dignity, consequences, and the pressure to “fix” humiliation with worse decisions. The antidote to our era’s spectacle culture is old and still potent: fathers and mothers forming kids in virtue, parishes that catechize without flinching, and pilgrim days that let the heart reset among ruins, relics, and the prayers of the saints.If this resonates, tap follow, share with a friend who’s tired of the noise, and leave a review to help more people find the show. And if the Italy pilgrimage speaks to you, reach out—seats are limited, and we’d love to walk and pray with you.

    1h 49m
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4.7
out of 5
156 Ratings

About

Avoiding Babylon was started during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. During these difficult and dark days, when most of us were isolated from family, friends, our parishes, and even the Sacraments themselves, this channel was started as a statement of standing against the tyrannical mandates that many of us were living under. Since those early days, this channel has morphed into an amazing community of friends…no…more than friends…Christian brothers and sisters…who have grown in joy and charity.  As we see it, our job here at Avoiding Babylon is to remind ourselves and those who enjoy the channel that being Catholic is a joyful and exciting experience. We seek true Catholic fraternity and eutrapelia with other Catholics who, like us, are doing their best to live out their vocation with the help of God’s Grace.  Above all, we try to bring humor and joy to the craziness of this fallen world, for as Hillaire Belloc has famously said: “Wherever the Catholic sun doth shine, There’s always laughter and good red wine. At least I’ve always found it so. Benedicamus Domino!”

Information

  • Creator
    Avoiding Babylon Crew
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    579
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Avoiding Babylon
  • Show Website
    Avoiding Babylon
  • Provider
    Robert Blyton

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