Considering Catholicism

A listener asked about the medieval military religious orders; Catholic warrior monks like the Knights Templar that fought in the Crusades. To answer the question, Greg and Cory begin by exploring the Catholic society that produced them. Here’s our previous episodes on the Crusades: The Crusades (#157). Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.considering...

In Genesis 4, we see Adam and Eve, exiled from Eden. They begin their family, the human family, by having two boys, Cain and Abel. And the first death in human history isn't from old age or being stepped on by a Wooly Mammoth, it is a murder. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

Our culture says that it values equality and democracy, but is really obsessed with functionality and power structures. Catholicism, on the other hand, presumes a sacred ordering of things. Why? Greg and Ed discuss hierarchy and ask whether we need more of it. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholici...

A listener wrote in to share her journey from Wicca to full-blown Satanism, under the patronage of demons, to Catholicism, to entering the Church through the RCIA process. She also mentions that Ed and Greg's conversations on this show were helpful to her along the way. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: considerin...

In Genesis 3, we learn how mankind fell from grace when Adam and Eve, tempted by the serpent, disobeyed God and ate fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil... and how they took the world down with them. But while the Fall brought death and decay, God responded with the promise and prophecy of a day when all will be made right again. Support this ministry so more people can consider C...

Before 1517, Christians imagined the universe as "enchanted," full of mystery, wonder, and awe. But the Protestant Reformation reduced Christianity to Bible study, the spiritual transaction of "accepting Jesus," and grateful obedience to God's law. The mysteries of the faith were intellectualized, spiritualized, and sanitized. Greg and Ed the Protestant discuss how Catholicism preserves the "mysti...

Why is Catholicism more "mystical" in character and practice than Protestantism or Evangelicalism? And why does the Catholic Church refer to the sacraments as "mysteries of the faith?" A protestant evangelical listener named Doug asked why his evangelical friends speak of "accepting Jesus" as a mystical transformation but act as if after that, nothing "mystical" ever happens in the church or life...

Genesis chapter 2 tells the story of the creation of Adam and Eve, the Garden of Eden, and Adam’s work. And we’ll see why mankind’s two genders, male and female, are an essential part of the image of God in man. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

We begin a study of the Book of Genesis with the creation of the cosmos and what the Bible and the Catholic Church tell us about how God brought it about. Greg unpacks the first chapter of Genesis, the six days of God's creative work, and the seventh day of rest. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcathol...

Why is Mary sometimes called the "Star of the Sea?" And why are statues of her sometimes even more prominent than statues of Jesus in Catholic Churches? A listener recently visited a beautiful, historic Catholic church in Duluth, Minnesota, but was puzzled by one of its architectural features, so he emailed Greg to ask. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https:...

Most people today don't think that the Bible makes much sense. Even Christians who respect it as God's Word struggle to explain it. In this episode, Greg unpacks the big story that the Bible tells: it's bookends, it's plot, and it's central point. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

Ed the Protestant returns to ask Greg about the differences between Protestant pastors and Catholic priests. In Part 2, they explore what a Catholic priest is, and how priests differ from Protestant ministers or pastors. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com  

Ed the Protestant returns to ask Greg about the differences between Protestant pastors and Catholic priests. In Part 1, they explore how much contemporary evangelical Protestantism revolves around the personality of the pastor rather than doctrine and sacraments. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcathol...

How does someone officially enter the Catholic Church, so they become eligible for the Eucharist and other sacraments? Former guest Angie Griffith (episodes #164-165) rejoins us to share her experience of joining the Catholic Church through the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) program, which is something like the Church's "new members class." [Note: it's being rebranded by the Church...

Last year, Ed the Protestant asked Greg why Catholics make such a big deal out of Lent. In this re-released episode, Greg explains the liturgical season of  "Quadragesima," Latin for "40 Days," which in Old English English came to be known as "Lent." Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.c...

In the last of a series of episodes about marriage, guest Carla Niziolek explains the process by which the Catholic Church considers declaring that a valid sacrament of matrimony never occurred, leaving the parties free to remarry.  Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

In the third of a series of episodes about marriage, guest Carla Niziolek explains the various grounds the Catholic Church considers to declare that a valid sacrament of matrimony never occurred, leaving the parties free to remarry.  Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

In the second of a series of episodes about marriage, Greg and Cory take on some common myths about Catholic sacrament of holy matrimony. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

The Catholic Church's understanding of marriage differs greatly from Protestant, evangelical, or secular concepts. It's not just "traditional." The Church teaches that matrimony is a sacrament, that contraception is a sin, and that divorce is impossible. Greg and Cory highlight these distinctive Catholic teachings. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www...

What is the Catholic perspective on marijuana and its legalization for recreational use? Greg explains how it can diminish our essential human qualities. If you're interested, Denver's Archbishop Samuel Aquila has written a wonderful pastoral letter on the subject: "That They Might Have Life."   Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholic...

Within the next few years, artificial intelligence paired with mass-scale robotics manufacturing will change our economy, workplaces, and daily lives in ways we can't imagine. But our belief in technology as the solution to our problems and a means to shaping the world to our desires runs up against a Catholic vision of humanity, the place and role of science, and the nature of reality. In this bo...

If you're reading the news, you might be thinking that the Catholic Church is abandoning Catholic doctrine, morality, and tradition. It's like the old joke about whether the pope is Catholic. Greg and Cory explore this question and explain that, just as a human body gets sick when it fights a virus or infection, the body of the Church is showing the symptoms of fighting the viruses and bacteria of...

People who are considering Catholicism, especially those coming from Protestant or Evangelical backgrounds, are sometimes hesitant to commit because of doctrinal differences between Catholicism and what they were raised to believe. Greg and Cory explain why, in many cases, these are the easiest speed bumps to overcome on the way to becoming Catholic. Support this ministry so more people can consid...

People who are considering Catholicism are sometimes hesitant to commit because of its historical baggage. Incidents like the Crusades, sexual abuse, or financial scandals can be a barrier to joining the Church. Greg and Cory share some perspective on the Church's very real, and sometimes exaggerated, historical baggage. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https...

Many folks who are considering Catholicism have to overcome hurdles or barriers on their road to the Church. In this three-part series, Greg and Cory take on these speed bumps. This first installment, they explore the Catholic cultural barriers that can make non-Catholics uncomfortable.  Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/...