Have You Considered Catholicism?

Welcome to the first post on the new blog on the new website. Let me begin with a question: have you ever considered Catholicism as a realistic alternative to the worldviews, faiths, and cultures of the early 21st century?

Most people haven’t. Some are so immersed in their beliefs and lifestyle that they’ve never really considered any alternatives to the zeitgeist, the “spirit of the age” (even if it makes them miserable). Some are all in, true believers, enthusiastically embracing the zeitgeist. Some are committed Christians who do reject the zeitgeist, but are skeptical of or biased against Catholicism, sure that it’s unbiblical and corrupt––a sort of “degenerate” Christianity. Some Catholics have wandered away from the Church, while others that are still inside the Church have wandered away from the Catholic faith, either ignorant of or ignoring the treasures of Catholicism. And some are curious about Catholicism, and would like to learn more.

Well, we launched Considering Catholicism for all of the above, and more. If you’re a committed Catholic but would like to either learn more about the living legacy of Catholic civilization, this is for you. And if you’re a Catholic who would like to learn how to share Catholicism with your friends or family that fall into the buckets above, then this ministry is for you.

Considering Catholicism is a ministry project ("product"?) of One Whirling Adventure (OWA for short). And OWA itself is a daughter ministry of the Lakeshore Academy for the New Evangelization (LANE for short). And LANE grew out of a local parish (Our Lady of the Lake, in Holland, Michigan) with help from the Diocese of Grand Rapids. I’ll tell the whole story some other time.

OWA’s mission is to “educate and excite people about the historic Catholic faith, and to equip them to live, share, and defend it in the 21st Century.”

To do that, in February 2022 we launched the Considering Catholicism Podcast. Six months and 30 episodes later, we’ve come to realize that we need a companion website with resources that run alongside the podcast. And here we are: new url, new website, new blog.

I hope that you’ll subscribe (there are buttons for that all around the site). If you do, you’ll get our newsletter and updates about new podcasts episodes, videos, and articles. You’ll also learn about upcoming field trips and pilgrimages, online courses through LANE, and speaking events. At a minimum, save ConsideringCatholicism.com in your browser favorites and come back often.

And reach out to us. There are email links everywhere on the site. Email me at “greg at Considering Catholicism dot com” (just smoosh all that together). To let me know what you think, ask a question, suggest a topic, or invite me to speak at your event.

This should be fun. In the words of Tom Brady (and if you don’t know who that is, then you need to watch more football), “Let’s Go!”