Episodes

Greg often hears from listeners whose friends and family cannot understand their interest in Catholicism, or who react negatively to their desire to become Catholic. He and Ed the Protestant talk about why and how to respond. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

Few things drive Protestants more crazy than the Catholic Church calling Mary the "Queen of Heaven" and our "advocate." Greg and Ed explore why and how she has earned those titles. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

Greg answers your questions. Did Mary have free will when she agreed to bear Jesus? Did the Church just make up its objections to artificial birth control? And why are the Southern Baptists debating whether to affirm the Nicene Creed? Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

What "lens" should we the Bible through? History? Moral lessons? Spiritual insights? The Catholic Church teaches that scripture speaks to us in four "senses" or "modes." Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

The Roman Catholic Church is the only Christian denomination that has held the line, maintaining a total ban on artificial contraception, even within marriage. Why? Greg explains the philosophical and theological ethics that underlie the Catholic position. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com Humanae Vitae: online at the Vatican website

We talk a lot about the oral tradition of the apostles and how it formed (and still forms) the foundations of Catholic doctrine. But several listeners have written in asking how those oral traditions were transmitted and preserved in the generations immediately after the apostles. In this episode, Greg dodges a bear attack while doing his best to answer. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@g...

In this "Deep Dives" episode, Greg asks why Catholics and Protestants have different Old Testaments. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

The most fundamental difference between Catholicism and Protestantism is Protestant rejection of the "real presence" of Christ in the Eucharist. Jesus said, "This is my body, and this is my blood," and from the beginning the Catholic Church has taken him at his word. Protestants consider the doctrine of "transubstantiation," that the bread and wine are transformed into Christ's body and blood ridiculous. In this two-year old conversation from the podcast vault, Greg and Cory explain this most es...

Yesterday was the Feast of "Corpus Christi," which is Latin for "Body of Christ." Catholics celebrated with processions, carrying the consecrated Eucharist through public spaces. But other than a few Anglo-Catholic Episcopalians, Protestants do not celebrate Corpus Christi. Why is the Eucharist such a big deal for Catholics? Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

In this "Deep Dives" episode, we explore the formation of the New Testament and refute the Protestant doctrine of "sola scriptura." Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

In this "Deep Dives" series, we explore what the Catholic Church teaches about the Bible and the role the Bible plays in the Catholic faith. In this installment, we discover what the Church teaches about how the sacred scriptures and sacred tradition work together. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

A listener wrote in about the challenges of inviting non-catholic friends to mass for the first time. Greg and Ed talk about the process of evangelization and whether an invitation to mass should always be the first move in sharing the Catholic faith. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

Ed the Protestant recently led worship at a contemporary evangelical church, and describes it like visiting an old girlfriend. It was comfortable, but not where he wants to be anymore. He and Greg talk about what they found missing in that world and why they considered (or are considering) Catholicism. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

In this "Deep Dives" series, we explore what the Catholic Church teaches about the Bible and the role the Bible plays in the Catholic faith. In this installment, Greg asks how the Church functioned before the Bible as we know it was completed. And did the completion of the Bible render the teachings and traditions of the apostles invalid? Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

The Vatican, headquarters and home to the papacy, is its own sovereign nation. It's small (108 acres), but it has its own army (the Swiss Guard), embassies in 180 countries, status in the United Nations, and until 1999 printed its own currency. But why does the pope have his own country in the first place? In this second of two conversations, Greg and Cory explore the Vatican city-state since 1929. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcat...

The Vatican, headquarters and home to the papacy, is its own sovereign nation. It's small (108 acres), but it has its own army (the Swiss Guard), embassies in 180 countries, status in the United Nations, and until 1999 printed its own currency. But why does the pope have his own country in the first place? In this first of two conversations, Greg and Cory explore the reason and history of the Papal States. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consid...

In this new "Friday Deep Dives" series, we explore what the Catholic Church teaches about the Bible and the role the Bible plays in the Catholic faith. In this first installment, Greg asks what exactly is meant by the term "God's Word" or "Word of God." Is that the same thing as the Bible? Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

Greg answers questions listeners have sent in about the Traditional Latin Mass and why some younger priests are starting to wear cassocks again. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

Greg answers questions listeners have sent in about joining the Catholic Church, what relatives can (and can't) do if the parents aren't baptizing their kids, and whether you have to attend your "geographic parish" or if you can shop around for one that suits you. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

Last week, two things happened on this podcast: we passed 100,000 total downloads and we wrapped up a 10-week Bible study of Genesis on Fridays. So, to start our run at 200,000 downloads, we're launching a new feature: Friday Deep Dives. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

For 1600+ years, the Catholic Church took the gospel to the ends of the earth. But eventually, revolutionary changes in Europe and the Americas (the Protestant Reformation, the Enlightenment, revolutionary ideologies, etc.) shattered the old Christian civilization and the Church's missionary efforts had to cope with hostile modern and post-modern cultures at home. Greg and Cory continue their conversation about the Church's missionary history. Support this ministry so more people can consider Ca...

Christianity was born in a pagan world. At first, it was an oppressed sect but it came to overcome the religions of Greece and Rome, the Celtic and Germanic tribes, and carried the gospel to the ends of the earth. How and why were Catholic missionary efforts so successful? Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com