Considering Catholicism

The Good Samaritan: just a call to help the needy? Explore a 2,000-year-old Catholic twist—Christ as rescuer, the Church as refuge. The road from Jerusalem to Jericho might lead to Rome, revealing salvation’s depth beyond morality. A surprising ride awaits!   Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicis...

How can heaven be perfect if the things that bring us joy in this life are not there with us? For example, the one creature that God gave us capable of being man's best friend: how can I be happy in heaven without my dog who brings me so much happiness? Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmai...

Last week, those who have prepared to enter the Catholic Church at Easter attended the "Rite of Election" at their local cathedral. The "catechumens," those who will be baptized at Easter signed the "Book of the Elect" along with the bishop. What does "election" and "the elect" mean? And how does the Catholic Church's use of these New Testament terms differ from how they are used in Reformed theol...

Catholic leaders—priests, bishops, even popes—sometimes share their opinions about various political issues. Some Catholics and those considering Catholicism often wonder, "Do I have to agree with them?" Greg and Ed ask whether all Catholics have to all have the same politics. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: con...

The Catholic Church is a universal community, transcending time, space, races, languages, nations. So can you be a faithful Catholic and still be patriotic, loyal to your own place, time, tribe, and nation? Greg and Ed discuss the Catholic concept of "patria." Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholici...

Lent is a time of self-denial, which is a feature (not a bug) of ancient Christianity. It's a form of "asceticism," which Protestants and Evangelicals abandoned. Greg explains what asceticism is, and why sometimes telling ourselves no is a yes to God. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail....

As Lent begins, it's time for the annual Lent-bashing on social media (particularly on X) by some Protestants and fundamentalist Evangelicals. Greg takes on the most common myths they drag out every year. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

Greg and Ed speculate about how the Catholic Church might (or might not) change whenever Pope Francis passes. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

Pope Francis has been in the hospital for a couple of weeks. We are praying for his recovery, but it raises the question: what happens when a pope passes? Greg and Ed talk about the process of papal transitions. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

In practice, most Protestants believe that after justification we are called to grow in sanctification through good works, which is the Catholic position. So, what's this whole faith vs. works controversy really about? Greg wraps this series by suggesting that it's about whether you believe the Church is a real thing, with real sacraments, that really dispenses grace. Support this ministry so more...

This is one of those age-old debates—“Once saved, always saved?” or can you lose your salvation? And who’s really fretting at night—Catholics, or our Protestant and Evangelical brothers and sisters? Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

Greg tackles one of the trickiest, most misunderstood words in Catholic theology: “merit.” The very mention of merit sets off alarm bells for many non-Catholics (and even some Catholics!), who suspect that we’re advocating a system where we earn salvation through human effort. But does the Catholic Church really teach that? Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: ht...

The whole Faith vs. Works debate really kicked off in 1517, when Martin Luther complained about the Catholic Church charging German peasants money for something called "indulgences." Since then, Protestants will pull this out as a kind of trump card: "The Catholic Church sells salvation through indulgences! That proves it believes in salvation by works!" Greg takes this topic on, explains the myth...

We've been talking about how salvation is a multi-phase process, not a single event. It involves justification, which is entirely by grace through faith and repentance. It also involves sanctification, the journey towards holiness, maturity in Christ. But what happens if we don't complete that journey by the time we die? Can unholy people stand before a holy God? The Catholic doctrine of purgation...

Greg and Ed discuss their friend Danny, who is going through an extremely difficult experience. Ed realizes that before he began considering Catholicism, he didn't really have a way to make sense of this kind of suffering, but he's begun to see the value in it. Greg explains that Catholicism teaches us that Danny might be closer to the Kingdom of God than either of them. Support this ministry so m...

Catholicism identifies three categories of sin: original, mortal, and venial. What are the differences? How are they addressed or overcome in salvation? And to which types are our good works applied? Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

Protestants teach that we have "imputed righteousness" because Christ, in a one-time legal transaction, swaps our guilt and debt for his innocence and perfect credit score. Based on the totality of scripture, Catholicism (and all its ancient branches) teaches *infused* righteousness. We are gifted new life planted in us like a see, but we must cooperate with God's grace to cultivate that new life...

Greg explains that the "Romans Road," a handful of cherry-picked verses from the first half of Paul's Letter to the Romans, is the interpretive lens for man Protestants. They read the words of Jesus through this limited view of Paul. But when he began reading Paul through Jesus' Sermon on the Mount and parables, Catholicism lept of the pages. And the Protestant Romans Road became his Road to Catho...

Greg takes the tired old cliche that Catholicism is a works-based religion in which we earn our way to heaven on our own steam by looking at some Bible stories that illustrate the Catholic position. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

This next installment of the Arguing with Protestants series, takes on the tired old cliche that Catholicism is a works-based religion in which we earn our way to heaven on our own steam. In this first installment of a series-within-a-series, he "brings the receipts" on what Scripture and the Catholic Church actually teaches on the issue. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholici...

This is the 300th episode of the podcast, released almost to the day on the third anniversary of the show. Greg explains that so many arguments with Protestants are endless and result in frustration because Protestants play "Proof Text Poker." Catholics make the mistake of trying to play it with them rather than seeing that it's often a trap, a dishonest Protestant tactic. Support this ministry so...

Protestant apologists claim that the Bible is the foundation, the beginning of the Church. Catholicism has always said the Church came first and the Bible arose from and derives its authority from the Church. So, which is it? Greg points out that Protestants make logical errors of conflation and equivocation when they confuse passages about the "Word of God" with the written Bible. Support this mi...

Protestant apologists like Wesley Huff claim that the Roman Catholic Church didn't exist in ancient times, that the early church was a sort of nondenominational, generic Christianity, a sort of proto-Protestantism. Greg responds by pointing out this involves both category (verbal sleight of hand) and factual errors, and that Catholicism is the ancient and original Christian faith. Support this min...

Hebrews 12:1 tells us to "run with perseverance the race marked out for us." In 1 Corinthians 9:27, St. Paul said that he did works of faith lest "after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified." But in 2 Timothy 4:7, written from prison before his martyrdom, he declares, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." What does Catholicism teach...

The author J.R.R. Tolkien was not only one of the greatest storytellers of the 20th century, he was also a devout Catholic. In a letter to his son, he described, "the one great thing to love on this earth." Greg explain what it is, and why. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com