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 metaphorically kept wrestling with the Lord ever since. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

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 parishes is mostly predictable and consistent across the planet. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

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 aren't really saved. Is that true? Greg and Ed the Protestant explore what being "born again" means in the Bible and how the Catholic Church brings that about in the life of every baptized Catholic. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

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 only son. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

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 consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

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 Orthodoxy is and why it is separate from the Church of Rome. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

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 this man a new name: Abraham, the Father of Nations. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

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! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

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 March 31, Easter, to be "Transgender Visibility Day." Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

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 will bless the whole world. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

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 an unbiblical religion. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

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 the original Church that Jesus established, instead of a distortion what Jesus intended? Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

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 "new ark" of Peter. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

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 produced these orders, and in this episode, they get to specifics. Here’s our previous episodes on the Crusades: The Crusades (#157). Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

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 previous episodes on the Crusades: The Crusades (#157). Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

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 this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

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 more of it. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

A listener wrote in to share her journey from Wicca to full-blown Satanism, under the patronage of demons, to Catholicism, to entering the Church through the RCIA process. She also mentions that Ed and Greg's conversations on this show were helpful to her along the way. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

In Genesis 3, we learn how mankind fell from grace when Adam and Eve, tempted by the serpent, disobeyed God and ate 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 and decay, God responded with the promise and prophecy of a day when all will be made right again. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com

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. The mysteries of the faith were intellectualized, spiritualized, and sanitized. Greg and Ed the Protestant discuss how Catholicism preserves the "mystical" quality of biblical Christianity and the faith as it was practiced for 1500 years. Support this ministry so more people can consider Catholicism! Website: https://www.consideringcatholicism.com/ Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com