Episodes

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: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

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: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

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: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

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: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

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 th...

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: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

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: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

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: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

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: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

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: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

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: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

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 th...

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 imm...

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: consideringcatholicism@gma...

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: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

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: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

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 diame...

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: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

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: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com ************************************...

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: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com 1 Timothy 4:1-5: “Preach the word, be urgent in season and out of season, convinc...

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: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com Visit the website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ --...

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: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com Visit the website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ ----more----Keywords: Catholic, Cathol...

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: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com Visit the website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ ----more...

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...