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Avoiding Babylon

Avoiding Babylon Crew
  • 4.6 (152)
  • 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. 10H AGO

    Scott Hahn Refutes Catholic Zionism in Awkward Exchange

    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 flooded basement, a dead furnace, and three kids shivering through a New York winter. We start with a human story and a fundraiser that turned into a lesson in Christian charity—how a community can change a family’s life overnight. Then we pivot into one of the most charged theological conversations of the moment: Scott Hahn’s interview with Gavin Ashenden and the fault lines it exposed. We unpack why Hahn refused to let the conversation stall at labels, and instead zeroed in on a deeper danger: bicovenantalism. Is it anti-Semitic to critique Zionism? Hahn says no—and shows why conflating political critique with hatred is lazy and misleading. Walking through Romans 9–11, he offers a vivid image: remaining within the Old Covenant without Christ is like living in a mansion on fire. That line reframes everything. We explore how Catholic liturgy—altar, priest, sacrifice—fulfills biblical worship, while post-70 AD rabbinic Judaism marks a real discontinuity from temple-centered Israel. Along the way, Augustine and Aquinas remind us why the preservation of the Jewish people is providential and prophetic, pointing toward a future conversion near the eschaton. The conversation broadens with clips of Benjamin Netanyahu invoking “Jews against Rome” and calling the United States the “new Rome.” We connect that to the Church Fathers on the “restrainer,” the unraveling of Christendom, and how propaganda pressures Catholics to fall silent. The challenge is clear: resist panic labels, reject hatred, speak truth, and stay rooted in doctrine. We close with a heartfelt letter from a 27-year-old father discerning Catholicism while priced out of housing and ignored by leadership. It’s a sobering snapshot of the moment—and a call for the Church to engage young men with honesty and hope. If this resonates, share it with a friend, subscribe for more conversations that don’t dodge the hard questions, and leave a review with your takeaways. Your voice helps others find these talks. 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 48m

  2. 11H AGO • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    Scott Hahn Refutes Catholic Zionism in Awkward Exchange (Full LOCALS Version)

    A family crisis set the tone for what became one of our most candid episodes: real need, real gratitude, and then a turn into real theology. After updating you on a fundraiser to replace a destroyed boiler after last year’s flood, we unpack the awkward Ashenden–Hahn exchange that tried to police arguments about Israel by branding them “anti-Semitic.” Scott Hahn refuses the trap. He draws a bright line between rejecting hatred of the Jewish people and critiquing Zionism as a supposed fulfillment of prophecy.We walk through Hahn’s core points from Romans 9–11: the gifts and call are irrevocable, but the old covenant is fulfilled in Christ, not paralleled alongside Him. Bi-covenantalism fails. His “burning house” image makes it vivid—remaining in the old covenant apart from Christ leaves you in danger, not safety. Then comes the crucial historical-theological piece: Judaism after 70 A.D. becomes rabbinic/synagogue Judaism; its center is not the Temple, priesthood, and sacrifice. The Catholic Church, by contrast, safeguards what the Temple prefigured—presence, priesthood, altar, and sacrifice in the Mass. Hahn even notes the structural echo between synagogue liturgy and much of Protestant worship.We also examine contemporary rhetoric about “Rome” and the patristic idea of the Katechon, the restrainer of Antichrist often identified with Rome/Christendom. We’re not predicting timelines, but we are urging literacy. When theology turns to mush, propaganda thrives. When Catholics conflate charity with flattery, they bless error. The antidote is simple and hard: love the Jewish people, refuse every form of contempt, and tell the truth that salvation flows from Christ and His Church.It all lands back on the ground: help families in need, form young men with honesty, and stop outsourcing courage. If this conversation sharpened your thinking, share it with a friend. If you haven’t yet, tap follow, leave a review to help others find the show, and tell us: where do you land on Romans 9–11 and the Zionism question?

    2h 15m

  3. 2D AGO

    Groypers & The Future of Catholic Inc?

    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 ground beneath Catholic life is moving: a diocese weighs merger, a flagship university faces succession questions, and a younger right is quietly mastering the mechanics of power. We open with Steubenville’s crossroads and the outsized influence of charismatic figures like Scott Hahn—how donor gravity, faculty recruitment, and reputation hinge on personalities, and what happens when those anchors age out. That sparks a bigger question we can’t dodge: can Catholic institutions renew themselves without a clear plan for leadership and community stability? From there we zoom out to the media and political ecosystem. Critics warn about Groypers infiltrating DC, but miss what makes the movement resilient: a culture of praxis that turns talking points into step‑by‑step action. We unpack the generational clash as older voices lean on moral alarm while younger Catholics ask for mentorship, not gatekeeping. The real divide forming isn’t over liturgy; it’s over whether we keep outsourcing our hopes to a spent conservative order or build policy around Catholic social teaching—curbing usury, strengthening families, and defending place over “just move.” We don’t sanitize hard topics or excuse reckless behavior. We insist on charity as a boundary, reject dehumanization, and argue that serious strategy beats viral outrage. If the old guard wants relevance, it must confront the debt, housing, and wage realities that make Gen Z cynical. If the young right wants durability, it must build institutions and habits that outlast personalities. Between these paths lies a rare chance to renew Catholic witness in public life. Subscribe for future episodes, share this one with a friend who cares about the Church’s future, and leave a review with your take: is the next Catholic fault line already here? 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 2m

  4. 2D AGO • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    The Future of Catholic Inc? (Full LOCALS Version)

    What holds a Catholic ecosystem together: buildings, budgets, or the people who make donors care? We open with Steubenville’s possible merger and the weight of Scott Hahn’s legacy to ask a bigger question about succession, prestige, and what happens when a personality-built engine has to become a real institution. If grads don’t stay and leadership pipelines are thin, devotional culture becomes event-driven instead of rooted—and that has consequences for parish life, lay apostolates, and local identity.From there we turn to the surging energy of the new right among younger Catholics. Love it or loathe it, the movement thrives because it blends theory and praxis: get staff jobs, avoid paper trails, shape policy. Older voices keep swatting at rhetoric while ignoring operations. That’s a missed chance to mentor. We argue for a different approach: hold firm lines on charity and truth while showing younger men where prudence begins, how power should be used lawfully, and why strategy beats outrage.The most consequential split on the horizon won’t be between liturgical camps; it will be about loyalty, policy, and power. How do we assess foreign influence without collective blame? How do we reject predatory finance while building family-first economics? Catholic social teaching demands a common-good economy: sane housing, fair wages, and laws that protect the conditions for virtue. Fifty-year mortgages and 26% credit cards aren’t prudence; they’re a slow cage. We also talk about disciplined protest inside the Church—kneeling reverently and suffering silently when necessary—as a way to defend piety without courting schism.Along the way, we share fresh evangelization stories: a lapsed Catholic returning to confession and burning occult baggage, a Protestant discovering the beauty of the Latin Mass, and why beauty plus clarity still changes lives. If you care about where Catholic life is headed—on campus, in parishes, and in politics—this conversation brings heat, hope, and a path forward.If this resonates, subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show. Your feedback helps us shape the next conversation.

    1h 48m

  5. NOV 7

    From Mass Of The Ages To Movie Crusade: Reclaiming Culture Through Film

    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! What if the stories we stream every night are shaping our souls more than any sermon we hear on Sunday? That’s the heartbeat of this candid conversation with Mass of the Ages director Cameron O’Hearn—a filmmaker who pulled a hit film at 1.6 million views on principle, re-edited through crisis, and kept his eye fixed on devotion over dopamine. We trace the arc from the trilogy’s explosive reception to the quiet wins that don’t trend: a free priest-training platform walking hundreds of Novus Ordo priests (and even a few bishops) through the traditional Latin low Mass step by step. Cameron opens up about the cost behind the craft—lost footage, hard edits, and choosing integrity mid-production—and why part three refused to offer a “silver bullet” in a Church moment defined by tension and testing. Then we widen the lens. Movie Crusade was born from rediscovering Pius XI and Pius XII on cinema, and their bold claim that images form the moral personality. We unpack a simple but sharp framework—good, dangerous, harmful—for evaluating films, and revisit the power of the old Hayes Code when seven million Catholics once moved Hollywood. Expect frank takes on Silence, The Passion of the Christ, and The Chosen; how on-screen portrayals of Jesus can aid or distort prayer; and why icons’ strangeness protects mystery. This isn’t culture war for its own sake—it’s a call to choose stories that teach us to love the good. We close with a look at Discover Tradition, a brisk, story-driven travel series exploring living Catholic customs, and a sustainable model that gets more beautiful work finished and seen. If you care about the Latin Mass, moral imagination, and giving your family better art, this conversation is a roadmap and a rallying cry. Subscribe, share with a friend who loves movies, and leave a review to help more people 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 32m

  6. NOV 5

    Massie's New Wife Sparks Faith Debate Across America

    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! What if the hardest part of grief isn’t the loss itself, but how the living watch you handle it? We dive straight into a thorny question: is there a “right” time to remarry after a spouse dies, especially when children are still grieving and the internet is watching? We don’t hand out rules; we wrestle with the difference between what’s allowed, what’s wise, and what’s respectful when private sorrow meets public platforms. That candor opens into a bigger reflection on how people instinctively talk to their dead and what that says about prayer, memory, and the communion of saints. We explore why Marian devotion feels so natural, how a mother uniquely suffers with her children, and why many Catholics bristled at a recent Vatican document discouraging titles like Co-Redemptrix. The theology is one thing; the message it sends to the faithful is another. We try to hold both—truth and tenderness—without dumbing anything down. To ground today’s heat, we turn to Genesis. Younger over older, betrayal and reunion, Judah and Joseph—those messy family stories echo through salvation history, from Adam and Christ to Eve and Mary. We connect those patterns to modern culture wars, fear-based politics, and the outrage economy. Why did a tame interview spark a wildfire? What happens when panic and censorship drive people into echo chambers? Meanwhile, real pressures—debt, housing, wages, family breakdown—grind on in the background. Our aim is clarity: honor grief without spectacle, love Mary without apology, value nation without idolatry, and keep your eyes on what actually shapes lives. If this conversation challenged you or gave you language for something you’ve felt, share it with a friend, subscribe for more, and leave a review so others can find the show. Your take: does public grief need public rules? 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 21m

  7. NOV 5 • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    Massie's New Wife Sparks Faith Debate Across America (Full LOCALS Episode)

    A year after a spouse dies, is remarriage a betrayal, a grace, or just life unfolding? We open with a candid look at grief, family, and the uneasy line between private healing and public announcements. The question isn’t just “how long,” it’s who gets to decide—kids, community, conscience, or the loudest voices online. From there, we follow a thread many of us know by feel: the instinct to talk to those we’ve lost. That human impulse leads us straight into the communion of saints and why Marian devotion becomes a lifeline when shame or sorrow makes prayer hard. We share personal moments that reveal how mothers suffer with their children and how that illuminates Mary as Our Lady of Sorrows—mercy in motion, drawing us back to Christ when we’d rather hide.We also take a hard look at a recent Vatican move to discourage titles like co-redemptrix and mediatrix, even while nodding to their theological core. Does softening language to avoid confusion help anyone, or does it leave ordinary Catholics adrift? We argue for clear teaching that invites trust, not calculated ambiguity that breeds doubt. Along the way, we map the ecosystem that turns controversy into rocket fuel: platform gatekeeping, the Streisand effect, and why Gen Z tunes out scolding and hunts for straight talk. When fear defines the narrative, audiences don’t disappear—they migrate.This conversation spans mourning etiquette, Marian theology, and media dynamics for a reason: they all shape how we live, love, and believe in public. If you want a space that respects grief, honors Mary, and still calls out bad incentives with a laugh, you’re in the right place. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs a clear-headed take, and leave a review with your own answer to the hardest question of the hour: who should set the rules for grief and devotion—tradition, family, or the feed?

    2h 8m

  8. OCT 30

    Possessed Man Tries to Desecrate Tabernacle

    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! Two timelines. Dozens of videos. One uncomfortable pattern: our feeds are training us to fight. We set out to play a simple game—“Whose feed is it?”—and ended up mapping how algorithms steer attention toward outrage, race-bait clips, and culture-war content designed to keep you scrolling and seething. We start with a candid look at intra-Catholic debates and why public commentary on big moves—like media personalities joining major platforms—should be fair game. Then a body-cam video from a church stops the jokes cold: a man tries to breach a tabernacle while a lone officer hesitates. We talk through drugs vs. possession, the importance of proper procedures, and how policy-driven optics can put both citizens and officers at risk. It’s not anti-police to say training and backup save lives; it’s pro-reality. From there, we follow the week’s algorithmic arc: EBT panic, fraud clips, and the budget math no one wants to discuss. We break down how inflation acts as a stealth tax, why debt service is swallowing policy space, and how little truly changes across administrations once you look past the branding. Meanwhile, social video continues to spotlight bad behavior because it pays—and the more people rage-share, the more these moments define whole groups. That’s not good reporting; it’s content engineering. To lighten the mood (a bit), we explore the strange and hilarious corners of Zoomer meme culture—white Monster energy, Agartha lore—and how even these jokes become identity markers the platforms can sort and sell. The throughline: feeds shape frames, frames shape feelings, and feelings drive choices in the real world. The fix isn’t to hide; it’s to raise your standards above the algorithm’s incentives. Curate what you consume, interrogate what’s missing, and talk openly about institutions and influencers without losing your grip on charity or truth. If you care about media literacy, Catholic commentary with a backbone, and untangling policy from performance, this one’s for you. Listen, share with a friend, and tell us: what’s the strangest pattern your feed has been pushing lately? Subscribe, leave a review, and send us your best (or worst) algorithm finds—we’ll feature our favorites next time. 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 13m
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4.6
out of 5
152 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 - 2025
  • Episodes
    559
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Avoiding Babylon
  • Show Website
    Avoiding Babylon
  • Provider
    Robert Blyton

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