Catholic–Protestant Questions

Learning to Read

Four years of Greek and Hebrew at a Baptist college taught me the opposite of what I expected. Not precision—the places where the English hides a decision.

The Faith of My Fathers

A Catholic convert's gratitude for the Southern Baptist faith that raised him—the Bible under his arm, the casseroles, the cost, the hymn verse he never sang.

The Apologist Who Believed Too Much

A sophomore apologetics assignment on Justin Martyr's First Apology cost me the church I was raised in. What chapter 66 says about the Eucharist.

The Case Against John MacArthur: A Critical Assessment

A former evangelical's comprehensive assessment of John MacArthur: the scholarship claimed for him, his documented exegetical errors, and his record.

The Abuse Scandal and the Authority of the Church

Does the clerical sexual abuse scandal disprove the Catholic Church’s authority to teach? The answer turns on infallibility, indefectibility, and impeccability.

What the Council of Trent Actually Said About Justification

A Catholic convert reads the Council of Trent's 1547 Decree on Justification verbatim—and finds that what Protestants are taught it says is not what it says.

Did Christianity Go Wrong for 1,500 Years? A Catholic Reply

A Catholic convert defends and steelmans the claim that Protestantism's deepest assumption is that Christianity went wrong for 1,500 years before Luther.

2 Kings 13:20–21 and the Bones of Elisha: A Catholic Exegesis of the Old Testament's Relic Miracle

A Catholic exegesis of 2 Kings 13:20–21: the Hebrew, the LXX, Sirach 48, and the patristic case that Elisha's bones warrant relic veneration.

The Deuterocanonical Books: What They Are, Where They Came From, and Why Christians Disagree About Them

What the deuterocanonical books (the seven books most Protestants call the Apocrypha) are, where they came from, and why Christians disagree about them.

The Council of Trent (1545–1563): Catholic Doctrine, Reform, and the Reformation's Long Answer

The Council of Trent (1545–1563) answered the Reformation, defined Catholic doctrine on Scripture, justification, and the sacraments, and reshaped the Church.

Real Presence and Transubstantiation: What Catholics Actually Believe About the Eucharist

A Yale MDiv convert's case for the Real Presence and transubstantiation—steelmanning Zwingli, Calvin, Luther, Carson, and Mathison, then answering each.

Did the Catholic Church Ban the Bible? What History Actually Shows

Did the Catholic Church ban the Bible? Examining the councils, indices, and regional restrictions—what's myth, what's exaggeration, and what's actually true.

Is Marian Devotion Idolatry? A Catholic Response to Protestant Objections

A charitable Catholic case for Marian devotion, answering Protestant objections from Scripture, the Fathers, and the Reformers themselves.

Martin Luther: A Fair Catholic Assessment

A balanced Catholic assessment of Martin Luther: honest acknowledgment of medieval abuses he rightly condemned, examination of his theological claims, and rigorous critique of his solutions and later works.

Did Constantine Create Christianity? Separating History from Myth

Did Constantine invent Christianity or choose what books went in the Bible? A historian's guide to what Constantine actually did — and didn't do — at the Council of Nicaea.

Evangelical to Catholic: The Intellectual Journey

The story of my conversion from Southern Baptist evangelicalism to the Catholic Church, told as a series of essays — the road in order, one installment at a time.

The Counter-Reformation: Catholic Reform in the Wake of Luther

A comprehensive examination of the Catholic Counter-Reformation: the Council of Trent, the founding of the Jesuits, and the Church's response to the Protestant Reformation.

Orthodox vs. Catholic vs. Protestant

Orthodox vs. Catholic vs. Protestant — the key differences explained. A side-by-side comparison of authority, salvation, sacraments, worship, and what all three traditions still share. Updated 2026.

Orthodox vs. Protestant

How do Orthodox and Protestant Christians differ on Scripture, salvation, sacraments, and worship? A point-by-point theological comparison.

Is Jesus God? The Biblical and Catholic Case for the Deity of Christ

Is Jesus God? A biblical and theological examination of the deity of Christ, from New Testament texts through the Councils, addressing common objections and theological implications.

Effort and Faith in the Catholic Church

In the Catholic vision, salvation requires our cooperation with grace—not works that earn heaven, but a transformative journey into the divine life.

Faith and the Foundation of Belief

Faith is man's response to God, who reveals himself and gives himself to man — the foundational dynamic on which the Catechism and the Christian life rest.

Catholic-Protestant Relations and the Catechism

In this post, I take a look at Catholic-Protestant relations in light of the Catholic Church’s organization of her own Catechism.

The Protestant Ideal as a Logical Fallacy

In this post, I discuss how Protestants often set up the Protestant ideal against the Catholic reality and the logical failure of such arguments.

Evangelical Catholic Thought

Evangelical Catholic thought is not a contradiction but a central part of the Church's self-understanding. This post explores how the Catechism's foundational emphasis on God's grace, Christ's redemptive work, and universal salvation aligns with evangelical conviction.

I Choose to Believe

What "choose to believe" means in Catholic teaching: faith as an act of the will, how faith and doubt coexist (CCC 2088), and why believing is a choice.

Sola Scriptura and the Journey Toward Catholicism

Sola scriptura is logically self-defeating: affirming Scripture alone requires authority outside Scripture. The insight that started my Catholic journey.

Atheism Provides a False Sense of Intelligence

In my interaction with militant nonbelievers, it has become apparent that, for many, atheism provides a false sense of intelligence.

The Insufferable Recovering Evangelical

The recovering evangelical label has become a badge of honor—but does it hold up? A Catholic convert and former Southern Baptist pushes back on the exvangelical movement.

Fight the Cynic

Why cynicism about Christianity often stems from false expectations. Fight unrealistic hopes and discover faith built on neighbor-love, not self-fulfillment.

Anti-Catholic Evangelicals

During this time of quarantine, I have had the opportunity to dialogue with some old-school anti-Catholic evangelicals, and it has left me wondering how...

My Theology Circa 2007

A snapshot of my evangelical theology in 2007 — from Open Theism to Arminianism — before seminary reshaped everything. A starting point for tracing my faith journey.

Neo-Gnosticism in Evangelical and Progressive Christianity

How both evangelical and progressive Christianity have absorbed Gnostic tendencies—rejecting the body in different ways while departing from historic Christian teaching.

Authority of Community in Christian Faith

How Scripture and community tradition work together in Christian faith. A Yale Divinity student's reflection on balancing Protestant and Anglican approaches to religious authority.

Protestants and Purgatory

How the Catholic doctrine of purgatory completes salvation as a process of theosis after death—and why C.S. Lewis and other thoughtful Protestants have found it compelling.

How to Talk to Protestants about Authority

Catholic-Protestant dialogue about religious authority: start from shared Scripture, then move to the Church Fathers and Catholic Tradition.

How to Talk to Protestants

Protestant-Catholic dialogue often falters on semantics rather than substance. Learn how to bridge the communication gap and find theological common ground.