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

Recent Episodes

April 19, 2024

Bible Study of Genesis, Part 9: Wrestling with God (#211)

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 metaphor...

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April 17, 2024

The "Vision Thing" (#210)

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 paris...

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April 15, 2024

Are Catholics "Born Again?" (#209)

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...

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April 12, 2024

Bible Study of Genesis Part 8,: A Father's Faith (#208)

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 ...

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April 10, 2024

Why Didn't I Choose Eastern Orthodoxy? (#207)

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 co...

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April 8, 2024

What is "Eastern Orthodoxy?" (#206)

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...

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April 5, 2024

Bible Study of Genesis, Part 7: The Patriarch (#205)

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 th...

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April 3, 2024

From the Vault: Easter and "Brother Sun, Sister Moon" (#204)

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! Websi...

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April 1, 2024

From the Vault: Easter in a World Gone Trans? (#203)

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 ...

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March 29, 2024

Bible Study of Genesis, Part 6: The Nations (#202)

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 wil...

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March 27, 2024

Resistance and Rejection on the Road to Rome (#201)

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...

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March 25, 2024

Did Jesus Establish the Catholic Church? (#200)

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...

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March 22, 2024

Bible Study of Genesis Part 5: Noah's Ark (#199)

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...

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March 20, 2024

Warrior Monks?! (#198)

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 pro...

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March 18, 2024

Those Who Work, Those Who Fight, and Those Who Pray (#197)

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 p...

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March 15, 2024

Bible Study of Genesis (#4): The Kids Are Not Alright (#196)

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...

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March 13, 2024

Why is Catholicism Hierarchical? (#195)

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 m...

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March 11, 2024

From Satanism to Catholicism (#194)

A listener wrote in to share her journey from Wicca to full-blown Satanism, under the patronage of demons, to Catholicism, and entering the Church through the RCIA process. She also mentions that Ed and Greg's conversations on this show were helpful ...

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March 8, 2024

Bible Study of Genesis (#3): The Fall of Man (#193)

In Genesis 3, we learn how mankind fell from grace when Adam and Eve, tempted by the serpent, disobey God and eat 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 an...

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March 6, 2024

Mysteries of the Faith, Part 2 (#192)

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. T...

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March 4, 2024

Mysteries of the Faith, Part 1 (#191)

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 evange...

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March 1, 2024

Bible Study (Genesis): In God's Image (#190)

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 c...

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Feb. 28, 2024

Seven Days (#189)

How was the earth created? What does 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 ...

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Feb. 26, 2024

"Star of the Sea?" (#188)

Why is Mary sometimes called the "Star of the Sea?" And why 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 puzzl...

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Feb. 23, 2024

What is the Bible About? (#187)

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. Su...

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Recent Blog Posts

Taking Death Seriously

I’m recording and releasing this a few hours before our parish celebrates the mass of All Souls Day. It’s part of a three-day focus on death and the dead: All Saints Eve on October 31 (or Halloween), the solemnity mass of All Saints Day …

(Un)Happy Reformation Day

Listen to Episode 148 So today is not just Halloween, which for Catholics is the eve of All Saints’ Day, but for Protestants, it's Reformation Day. This means that my Facebook timeline is filled with my former colleagues telling each other, "…