Fundamentally Catholic

In the coming weeks, the half-hour author interview for my book, Challenged to Grow, will launch on Shalom World TV. More information can be found here, and you can also download the great Shalom World app for your phone or tablet. I thought we'd turn the tables and ask a couple of questions of the host of the Shalom World program, Amy Cattapan, an author in her own right. Today, we'll address her experience asking the questions for the show, and then later talk about her b

I first met Fr. Bob Miller at an ecumenical meeting in 2016 and had the great opportunity to spend time with him at a quarterly 'cohort' meeting over the course of 2017. What caught my attention was his wide range of knowledge, sharing my interest in history to the point of authoring several books, including a fascinating study of the Civil War. Earlier this summer, I was asked to sit down for an author interview with Shalom World (www.shalomworldtv.org) regarding my new boo

Sometimes, don't we just want to read a good story? Keep away, for now, the theory and theology, I just want to be carried away to a different time and place. So it was that I began writing Nicodemus, Book 1 of the Foundations Series. The good people at Enroute Media and WCAT Radio honored me with a second interview this summer, this time discussing the upcoming book, Nicodemus, and how the story brings alive some of the early history of the church. Set in 70 AD as the Roma

One of the things which greatly helped my launch of Challenged to Grow were reviews from other authors and experts in the theological world. One particular author I found very intersting in Kevin Vost, an expert on Thomas Aquinas. I asked Kevin to help me better understand this titan of the middle ages before the Christian world divided during the Reformation. Here is part three of our discussion: 3) Your book discussed Aquinas’ answer to ‘fundamental questions’. What ar

Can yo use the movies to help explain our Catholic faith? Check this out...

Very pleased to see new 5-star reviews for Challenged to Grow. For those interested in evangelizing the world with the good news, Challenged to GROW July 10, 2018 For those interested in evangelizing the world with the good news, Challenged to GROW, gives a very unique perspective of two different Christian faith traditions. This book is a must read for any parent concerned about helping their children grow in their faith in a culture that is becoming more secular. The author

As I went through the last edits of my upcoming book with the publisher, I was drawn toward putting together a new resource that could explain at least a few of the common challenges Catholics face from other Christians. This tool - the LISt Method - can be found here. I hope it can help explain a few issues and lead to more productive dialogue between Christians. #Catholic #Catholicbook #Evangelical #Ecumenism #ecuminical

Why do many Protestants attack the Catholic relationship with Mary? After eight years, the answer came to me through Evangelical.... In the book Fundamentally Catholic, (available here) we review many of the common complaints I heard from Evangelicals concerning the Catholic relationship with Mary. After spending every other weekend at a local 'mega-Church', I finally understood the source of their concern. Do Catholics create an idol of Mary and do we then sin against God

For most Christians the story of the Good Thief who died next to Jesus shows us that we can repent and come to Christ at any point in our lives and receive salvation. No crime is too heinous, no age is too late. For many Protestants, however, the story of the Good Thief is also used to attack the concept of purgatory. Most hold the view that when Jesus says to the man hanging next to him, ‘today you will be with me in paradise’, he is telling us that we will all go immediat

Listen to the Word. The Word, as we see in John 1, is Jesus. Jesus, the Word, explained the sacrament of the Eucharist to his disciples in John 6 and in the Last Supper narratives, ‘This is my body’. In Latin, translated to ‘Hoc est corpus meum’. Jesus, the physical incarnation of God, had left us a physical part of him for all ages. The Apostles listened to the Word and obeyed Christ, for we see in Paul’s writings the recital of Jesus’ words of the Last Supper and a warni

Sola Scriptura. ‘Scripture alone’. This doctrine is often misused today because many Protestants do not use Sola Scriptura as Martin Luther first used. When asked to recant his previous writings, Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms in 1521 said, “Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Holy Scriptures or by evident reason’ I cannot do so. What at that time was a combination of scripture or evident reason has turned into what we now know as Scripture Alone (with or wi

Please click here for the new edition to our book, Fundamentally Catholic, with a sneak peek at the upcoming book, Romans by Paul. Recently, a debate concerning the issue of the assurance of salvation was posted on line. This debate, between Protestant Dr. James White and Catholic Trent Horn, focused upon the issue of whether a Christian can lose their salvation. The debate traces its roots back to the 1520’s when Martin Luther and the Roman Catholic theologian, Erasmus, to

Please click here for the new edition to our book, Fundamentally Catholic, with a sneak peek at the upcoming book, Romans by Paul. We all hear a lot about the Church and the Bible and which came first and which has authority over the other. An interesting question, however, might be this.... If the Holy Spirit inspired the Bible, which both Catholics and Protestants believe, and the Holy Spirit is all-knowing God, then the Holy Spirit certainly knew best how to write the Bibl

Please click here for the new edition to our book, Fundamentally Catholic, with a sneak peek at the upcoming book, Romans by Paul. How many times do we hear Protestant accusations against the Rosary? Last night I heard it again, and this time it struck a particular nerve. The basic challenge brought up was this - the Rosary is a prayer to Mary, the Catholic Church says the Rosary sums up all of the Gospel, therefore Catholics worship Mary, bypass Christ altogether, and are

I introduced the Catholics United with Protestants (CUP) program after more than a decade living within both Catholic and (anti-Catholic) Evangelical communities. For me, Ecumenism - the drive for Christian Unity - has long been a family affair. I saw in this effort several key benefits - 1) I was obeying Jesus' call for unity (Jn 17:21). 2) United with my fellow Christians, I could better evangelize the world with the Gospel, and better influence our culture. 3) Together,