Live Free with Josh Howerton
Live Free with Josh Howerton

Did The Church BAN These Gospels from the Bible?! | Live Free with Josh Howerton

September 9, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Did the Church BAN These Gospels from the Bible?

A viral clip of Joe Rogan interviewing screenwriter Joe Eszterhas claims the "real Jesus" was hidden by the church—and that the Gnostic Gospels were written before the New Testament Gospels, making them more historically reliable. In this episode of Live Free, pastors Carlos Orazzo and Paul Cunningham react to that clip, walking through what the Gnostic Gospels actually are, why they were rejected, and whether Christians can trust Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

What Are the Gnostic Gospels?

Gnosticism comes from the Greek word gnosis, meaning "knowledge." It wasn't a single religion but a philosophical movement from the second to fourth centuries AD. The core idea: there is secret knowledge that, once you learn it, reveals that you are already divine—or at least contain a spark of divinity. The material world was seen as evil or a mistake, created by a lesser god. Salvation wasn't about Jesus dying for sins; it was about escaping the physical world through hidden knowledge.

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What you'll learn

  • 1 Timestamped Outline
  • 2 (00:00) **Opening: Can We Trust the New Testament Gospels?** - Carlos and Paul introduce the episode's purpose: addressing claims about "lost" or "banned" Gnostic Gospels
  • 3 (01:25) **Setting the Tone: Loving the Conversation, Not Mocking the Guests** - Paul and Carlos establish their posture toward Joe Rogan and Joe Eszterhas
  • 4 (07:05) **Cultural Context: The Ebb and Flow of Christianity in America** - Paul explains Aaron Renn's framework of positive, neutral, and negative worlds
  • 5 (11:46) **The Problem with "Safe" Christianity** - Eszterhas criticizes Christian films for being "full of incense and piety" — and the hosts agree
  • 6 (14:35) **Jesus: Caricature vs. Full Character** - Eszterhas claims Jesus has been made into a "Fred Rogers figure" who never resisted violence — the hosts push back
  • 7 (20:36) **What Are the Gnostic Gospels?** - Paul defines Gnosticism before Eszterhas makes his main claims

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Guests on this episode

Paul Cunningham

Show Notes

What if some of the “lost” or “banned” gospels actually tell us more about the real Jesus than the Bible does? It’s a claim that continues to resurface—and a recent viral conversation on The Joe Rogan Experience brought it back into the spotlight.

In this bonus episode of LIVE FREE, Pastors Carlos and Paul react to claims about the Gnostic Gospels and examine the historical evidence behind Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Were books about Jesus intentionally suppressed by the Church? Were the Gnostic Gospels actually written first? And can we trust the New Testament to give us an accurate picture of the historical Jesus?

Along the way, they also discuss why Christians should pursue truth without becoming hostile toward people asking sincere questions—and why getting Jesus right matters.

In this episode:

  • What the Gnostic Gospels actually are
  • Why they were rejected by the early Church
  • When the biblical Gospels were written compared to the Gnostic texts
  • The evidence supporting Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
  • Why the full character of Jesus matters
  • How to respond when popular voices make questionable claims about Christianity
  • Why the real Jesus continues to transform lives 2,000 years later

If you’ve ever wondered whether books were removed from the Bible, whether the Church hid alternative accounts of Jesus, or how confident we can be in the Gospels, this conversation is for you.

Stand firm. Think biblically. Live free.


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