Twenty Centuries. Twenty-Four Timezones. Two Hemispheres. One Church.

Episodes

Nov. 2, 2023

Snapshot: Taking Death Seriously (#149)

In this snapshot, Greg discusses why it's important to take death seriously in a culture that doesn't, and takes comfort in Catholicism which offers a coherent, comprehensive, and mature approach to death, dying, and remembe…
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Considering Catholicism
Oct. 31, 2023

Snapshot: (Un)Happy Reformation Day! (#148)

For secular folks this is Halloween, for Catholics it's the eve of All Saints Day, but for Protestants it's Reformation Day, when Martin Luther nailed his complaints against the Catholic Church to a cathedral door in Germany…
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Considering Catholicism
Oct. 30, 2023

The Pursuit of Happiness (#147)

Greg and Ed discuss the concept of happiness and the responsibility to cultivate happiness in one's life. Pursuing immediate gratification does not lead to genuine happiness, but rather, pursuing goodness, truth, and beauty …
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Considering Catholicism
Oct. 28, 2023

Snapshot: More About UFOs (#146)

Snapshots are a type of episode: around 10 minutes on a single topic. Today, Greg follows up on a recent episode about whether UFOs are aliens, angels, or something else. What should Christians, and Catholics in particular, …
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Considering Catholicism
Oct. 25, 2023

Listener Questions, Part 1 (#145)

Greg answers questions sent in by listeners (send your own to consideringcatholicism@gmail.com! ): How do I overcome my distrust of the Catholic Bible (the "deuterocanonical books)? Can salvation be lost? What if I commit a …
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Considering Catholicism
Oct. 23, 2023

Our Duty to Improve (#144)

Greg and Ed have an honest talk about what stewardship means. Because our life is a gift, God expects us to try and become the best possible versions of ourselves that we can be. Please support the podcast: https://givebutte…
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Considering Catholicism
Oct. 22, 2023

Revisiting an Evangelical Protestant Church (#143)

Greg was traveling in the Rocky Mountains last week, and revisited a contemporary evangelical Protestant church that he attended sometimes before he converted to Catholicism. These are his reflections on the differences that…
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Considering Catholicism
Oct. 16, 2023

Can We Participate in Halloween? (#140)

Greg and Ed talk about Halloween. Can Christians participate? Are its origins really in the Catholic Church incorporating pagan Celtic rituals? And has the Church adopted pagan rituals throughout history, including Easter ce…
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Considering Catholicism
Oct. 9, 2023

What are Angels? (#142)

What are angels? How are they different from us? What do they do? What are the types or categories? Do we have a guardian angel, and what does he do? Greg and Cory unpack the nature of these spiritual beings. Please support …
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Considering Catholicism
Oct. 2, 2023

UFOs: Aliens, Angels, or...? (#141)

UFOs are in the news again, as Congress holds hearings about what the government knows about them. How should Christians feel about this issue? What does the Catholic Church teach? And how do we make sense of it. Greg and Co…
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Considering Catholicism
Sept. 25, 2023

Why Does the Church Baptize Infants? (#139)

Greg and Ed discuss one of the most divisive issues between Catholics and evangelicals: infant vs. believer baptism. Please support the podcast: https://givebutter.com/BaUAnz We are a small non-profit ministry dedicated to e…
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Considering Catholicism
Sept. 18, 2023

How to Choose a Church (#132)

So you or your friends or family are looking for a new church. How do you pick one? Is it like standing in the cereal aisle at the grocery store, surveying the various colors, textures, shapes, and tastes, and finding one th…
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Considering Catholicism
Sept. 11, 2023

Is Catholicism...Spooky? (#138)

Ed the Protestant had breakfast with three of his friends, and they couldn't understand his attraction to Catholicism. From their perspective, it seems full of mystical rituals instead of being straightforward, simple, and r…
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Considering Catholicism
Sept. 4, 2023

What Do Catholics Have to Believe? (#137)

What must someone believe as infallible "dogma" in order to be "in the Catholic faith?" How does that differ from doctrines, teachings, and recommended beliefs? There are important but subtle differences that carry different…
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Considering Catholicism
Aug. 29, 2023

The Eldest Daughter of the Church (#136)

An invitation to take a free online course with Greg Smith about Catholic church history (and some other updates about the podcast). Sign up for the class at LANEcatholic.org The conversation with Cory about knowledge, belie…
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Considering Catholicism
Aug. 28, 2023

What is Faith? (#135)

Christianity makes truth claims, like that Jesus rose from the dead. But what if we aren’t sure? Greg and Cory discuss the difference between certain knowledge, confident belief, and the mystery of saving faith.
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Considering Catholicism
Aug. 21, 2023

Is the Bible the Word of God? (#134)

Greg and Ed continue their conversation in the woods about the Bible, this time asking whether it is really the "Word of God?" Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringca…
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Considering Catholicism
Aug. 14, 2023

Where Did the New Testament Come From? (#133)

Greg and Ed sit in the forest and continue their conversation about the Bible--its sources, how it was compiled, the difference between the Catholic bible (a.k.a. "the Bible") and Protestant bibles--by asking who wrote the N…
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Considering Catholicism
Aug. 7, 2023

Catholic vs. Protestant Bibles? (#131)

Protestants have been told that Catholic Bibles are wrong and weird and that medieval popes snuck suspicious extra books into the Catholic Bible! Which is tampering with God's Word, right?! Ed asks Greg about this while they…
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Considering Catholicism
July 31, 2023

Do It Again (#130)

Why is modern life so unsatisfying? Why are so many of us discontent? Greg and Cory reflect on how Catholicism offers a boring yet fundamentally satisfying antidote to heal our frantic postmodern souls. Support this ministry…
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Considering Catholicism
July 26, 2023

The Galileo Myth (#129)

Supposedly, during the dark ages, the Catholic Church threw the brave scientist Galileo Galilei into a dungeon for discovering that the earth revolved around the sun because the Church wanted to keep the people in intellectu…
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Considering Catholicism
July 17, 2023

Is Catholicism Anti-Science? (#128)

Many assert that Christianity, and Catholicism in particular, is opposed to science. Greg and Cory explain why that's not strictly true, but that some people misuse the word "Science" to describe something that is, by defini…
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Considering Catholicism
July 10, 2023

Catholic vs. Protestant Views on Creation and Evolution (#127)

Greg and Cory wade into a thorny subject: Catholic vs. Protestant views of the creation of the world and mankind, evolution and whether the early chapters of Genesis are to be understood literally. As they illustrate, nothin…
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Considering Catholicism
July 3, 2023

Mission? Vocation? How Should I Organize My Life? (#126)

As a Christian, how should you organize your life, set your priorities, spend your time? Greg and Ed talk about how in the evangelical Protestant world the highest priority was/is "mission," while Catholicism stresses that l…
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Considering Catholicism