Considering Catholicism

The sons of Israel lie to their father and sell their brother Joseph into slavery in Egypt. But the Lord takes what they intend for evil and lays the foundation to save the two nations. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: [email protected]

A listener asked why entering the Catholic Church is so much more complex than joining a nondenominational church. Greg and Ed discuss what entering the Church means and the steps involved. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: [email protected]

Protestants like to say that Catholicism is a religion of merit that teaches we are saved by our own good works. Is that true? Greg and Ed discuss how salvation by faith gets us airborne, but good works pilot us to our destination. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: [email protected]

What's the origin of the word "Israel?" In Hebrew, it means "wrestles with God." Why was this the name of Jewish nation, both ancient and modern? Because the grandson of Abraham literally wrestled with God one night, and his descendants have metaphorically kept wrestling with the Lord ever since. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: [email protected]

Greg knows a Catholic priest who was criticized for not having a "vision." Greg and Ed discuss how destructive the "vision thing" has been in the evangelical world, and how comforting it is that the sacramental and pastoral ministry of Catholic parishes is mostly predictable and consistent across the planet. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: [email protected]

Evangelical and Pentecostal Protestants say that salvation begins with being "born again" or "born again in the Spirit." They also say that the Catholic Church doesn't believe in or help Catholics to become "born again," and so many or most Catholics aren't really saved. Is that true? Greg and Ed the Protestant explore what being "born again" means in the Bible and how the Catholic Church brings that about in the life of every baptized Catholic. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: [email protected]

Abraham chose to believe God's promise for innumerable number of descendants, despite the circumstances of his life. And then God tested his faith through the loss of his nephew, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the command to sacrifice his only son. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: [email protected]

Many listeners that are considering Catholicism ask Greg about whether they should consider Eastern Orthodoxy. In this second of two episodes, Greg and Cory discuss why they chose the Roman Catholic Church. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: [email protected]

The Orthodox churches of the East are the "other half" of the ancient Church founded by Jesus' apostles. They have been separated from the Roman Catholic Church since the Great Schism of 1054. In this first of two episodes, Greg and Cory discuss what Orthodoxy is and why it is separate from the Church of Rome. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: [email protected]

The Lord called a man to leave his country and travel to a distant land. He gave that land to this man and his descendants, and promised that one day they would be as numerous as the stars of the sky or the grains of sand on the beach. And he gave this man a new name: Abraham, the Father of Nations. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: [email protected]

As we reflect on the joy of Easter, Greg and Cory recall one of the most profound and revolutionary works of Catholic literature, St. Francis of Assisi's "Canticle of the Creatures. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: [email protected]

This was the 13th episode of Considering Catholicism, back in 2022. Since then, the challenges to a biblical and Catholic understanding of the human person and the resurrection have grown more dramatic. In 2024, the United States Government declared March 31, Easter, to be "Transgender Visibility Day." Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: [email protected]

In Genesis chapter 11, the story widens to encompass the peoples, tribes, nations, and languages that make up human history. And we begin to understand that God's plan of salvation will involve one small tribe, one chosen nation, through which he will bless the whole world. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: [email protected]

A 19-year old listener named "Kate" has been investigating and considering Catholicism. But she is facing harsh resistance and rejection from her Protestant friends and family who argue that Catholicism is a false Christianity and she is falling for an unbiblical religion. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: [email protected]

A 19-year old listener named "Kate" has been investigating and considering Catholicism. But as she discusses and debates with her Protestant friends and family, she still wrestles with an important question: how do we know that the Catholic Church is the original Church that Jesus established, instead of a distortion what Jesus intended? Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: [email protected]

Almost everyone has heard of Noah's Ark, usually in Sunday School or children's bibles. But it's a very adult story that looks back to the Fall, establishes covenants with all mankind, and points forward to our salvation in Christ and his Church, the "new ark" of Peter. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: [email protected]

A young listener named Caiden wrote in to ask about the medieval Catholic religious military orders (like the Knights Templar) that fought in the Crusades. In the previous episode (#197), Greg and Cory discussed the medieval Catholic society that produced these orders, and in this episode, they get to specifics. Here’s our previous episodes on the Crusades: The Crusades (#157). Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: [email protected]

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.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: [email protected]

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: [email protected]

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: [email protected]

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: [email protected]

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 Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: [email protected]

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 "mystical" quality of biblical Christianity and the faith as it was practiced for 1500 years. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: [email protected]

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 of the Christian. Greg and Ed the Protestant discuss the biblical roots of the mystical nature of the sacraments. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: [email protected]

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: [email protected]

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: [email protected]

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://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: [email protected]

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: [email protected]

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: [email protected]

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: [email protected]

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 as OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation for Adults).] If you're interested in Angie's podcast or the prayer videos she mentions in the episode, those links are down below. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: [email protected] Angie's podcast: https://www.yougetwhatimsaying.com/ Angie's Catholic prayers memorization videos: https://www.tiktok.com/@catholicprayersvault

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: [email protected]

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: [email protected]

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: [email protected]

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: [email protected]

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.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: [email protected]

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.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: [email protected]

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 bonus episode, Greg shares his thoughts from a couple of years ago on "plastic modernity." Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: [email protected]

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 post-modern civilization. The Holy Spirit will pull her through, and eventually, she'll develop immunities, but it might be a wild ride as she fights the infection. See also: What Happened to Catholicism in America Over the Last 50 Years? Part 1 What Happened to Catholicism in America Over the Last 30 Years? Part 2 Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: [email protected]

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 consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: [email protected]

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://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: [email protected]

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/ Email: [email protected]

Marxism has been in the news again lately. Cultural Marxism (i.e., "wokeism," DEI, and radical social justice movements) and various globalist ideologies try to challenge, undermine, and overwhelm historic Catholic Christianity despite every pope since the mid-1800s specifically condemning Marxism and communism. Every Marxist or communist government around the globe has persecuted Christians and the Catholic Church. In this episode, Greg explains why Catholicism and Communism (Marxism) are diametrically opposed to each other and can never be reconciled—not as a matter of economics, but as a matter of faith and worldview. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: [email protected]

All Christian churches practice the sacrament of baptism, but they don't all understand it in the same way. From a Catholic perspective, Greg answers three questions: 1) Why do we baptize? 2) Who/what/when/where do we baptize? 3) Why did Jesus get baptized by John the Baptist if Jesus had no sin? Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: [email protected]

As our society kicks out the load-bearing walls of the civilization that Catholicism built, things are going to get weirder and darker. Spiritual warfare and demonic activity will become more obvious. But we have armor and weapons for times like these. Greg shares two powerful Catholic prayers of protection. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: [email protected] ******************************************* **The Lorica/Breastplate of St. Patrick** I arise today Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, Through belief in the Threeness, Through confession of the Oneness of the Creator of creation. I arise today Through the strength of Christ's birth with His baptism, Through the strength of His crucifixion with His burial, Through the strength of His resurrection with His ascension, Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom. I arise today Through the strength of the love of cherubim, In the obedience of angels, In the service of archangels, In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward, In the prayers of patriarchs, In the predictions of prophets, In the preaching of apostles, In the faith of confessors, In the innocence of holy virgins, In the deeds of righteous men. I arise today, Through the strength of heaven, The light of the sun, The radiance of the moon, The splendor of fire, The speed of lightning, The swiftness of wind, The depth of the sea, The stability of the earth, The firmness of rock. I arise today, Through God's strength to pilot me, God's might to uphold me, God's wisdom to guide me, God's eye to look before me, God's ear to hear me, God's word to speak for me, God's hand to guard me, God's way to lie before me, God's shield to protect me, God's host to save me From snares of devils, From temptation of vices, From everyone who shall wish me ill, afar and near. I summon today All these powers between me and those evils, Against every cruel and merciless power that may oppose my body and soul, Against incantations of false prophets, Against black laws of pagandom, Against false laws of heretics, Against craft of idolatry, Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards, Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul; Christ to shield me today Against poison, against burning, Against drowning, against wounding, So that there may come to me an abundance of reward. Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me. I arise today Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, Through belief in the Threeness, Through confession of the Oneness of the Creator of creation. ***************************

On the second anniversary of the podcast, Greg finally tells his own story: how he became a Christian, his life as a Protestant, and his conversion to Catholicism. Learn why he started this podcast, what motivates him, and the vision to take it to the next level. Support the Vision 2024 campaign: https://givebutter.com/dbN25v Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: [email protected] 1 Timothy 4:1-5: “Preach the word, be urgent in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, and exhort, be unfailing in patience and in teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own likings, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths. As for you, always be steady, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”

On January 1, the Catholic Church celebrates the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. For most American Protestants, especially evangelicals and Pentecostals, the idea that Mary could be called “the Mother of God” is jarring, even offensive. But as Greg explains, this ancient truth only reinforces the power of the Gospel. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Send me an email: [email protected] Visit the website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ ----more----Keywords: Catholic, Catholic Church, Mary

Anyone considering ancient and biblical Christianity, particularly Catholicism, has to ask, “Why does the Christian life have to be so hard? If God wants us to follow him, why doesn't he just make it easier? Is living the Christian life, as the Catholic Church lays it out, worth it?" Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Send me an email: [email protected] Visit the website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ ----more----Keywords: Catholic, Catholic Church, Christianity, Christian Life

What was Mary doing in the manger? Obviously she gave birth to Jesus among the sheep, but why her? Why was she chosen? And did her role end once he was born and raised? As Greg explains, Mary's place in the manger, and the Church that would eventually come from it, was and is far more significant than we realize. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Send me an email: [email protected] Visit the website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ ----more----Keywords: Catholic, Catholic Church, Christianity, Mary, Christmas

Part 2 of Greg's conversation with Angie Griffith, a Considering Catholicism listener who spent over a decade as a music industry executive in Nashville. After COVID lockdowns disrupted her career, she found herself immersed in New Age religion as a way to "manifest" success in online businesses and podcasting. But she has since burned her Tarot cards, crushed her crystals, and is entering the Catholic Church. Angie is the host of the "You Get What I'm Saying" podcast. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Send me an email: [email protected] Visit the website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ ----more----Keywords: Catholic, Catholic Church, Christianity, conversion, the occult