In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by veteran Catholic apologist Tom Nash to talk about the biblical basis for the Catholic Church. How can we use the Bible to explain the origins of the Catholic Church? We dig into apostolic succession, the centrality of the Mass, Jesus' desire for Christian unity in John 17 (and how to accomplish this), and some of the Church-dividing problems with the doctrine of Sola Scriptura. Plus much, much more. Tom is a veteran apologist with a...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by the legendary Brandon Eaves to talk about his journey from Evangelical Christianity through to the Catholic Church. Brandon, who you've heard about on this show before, has an incredible story to tell. After the Catholic conversion of a close friend, Brandon began to ask questions about the Catholic Church – what would compel such an intelligent, Spirit-filled person to become Catholic, of all things. And was in Brandon's pursuit of...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by two of the most fantastic guests of all time Caleb and Natali Perkins from Shema Culture to talk about their conversion journey, their incredible ministry, and how they see the Holy Spirit dismantling the barriers between Catholics and Protestants right before their eyes. In this epic, 2-hour long conversation, Caleb and Natali unpack what it was that first drew them into Catholicism, what it was like quitting their jobs to pursue the...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Dr. James Prothro to talk about the historical and biblical roots of the Catholic Sacrament of Reconciliation. Where does the idea of the Sacraments come from? Where do we see the roots of repentance, reconciliation, and forgiveness in the Old Testament? What about penance? And how do these historical roots connect to how Catholics practice the Sacrament of Reconciliation – commonly called Confession – today. Dr. Prothro gives a...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Gerard Figurelli, a former pastor, radio host, apologist, and a student under some of the very best Evangelical minds in North America, to tell his incredible story of his return – his reconciliation – with Rome. Raised Catholic, Gerard received all of the sacraments but never really felt connected to Christ until a radical encounter in a Baptist church. From there, Gerard spent decades working in pastoral ministry and studying under...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by one of my heroes, Early Church scholar Dr. Thomas Scheck to unpack his amazing story of growing up Catholic, leaving the faith for Evangelical Christian, and then coming storming back to the Church after 17 years away. It's a great journey! Listen as Dr. Scheck explains why an encounter with two Baptist roommates in college fired him up for a relationship with Christ, his time as an Evangelical missionary with his wife in Germany, and...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by one of the most remarkable guests I've ever had on the show, Daniel Dinneen, an Instagram evangelist, to talk about his amazing journey through addiction, loss, and a sinful lifestyle into his total dedication to Christ, His Church, and the work of his online ministry. Once you begin this episode you aren't going to want to stop. Daniel's story is amazing and his honesty in telling it – his not holding anything back – will leave you...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Chris Kellam, a former pastor, an Evangelical seminarian, and a Catholic convert to share his absolutely amazing journey of conversion. Chris' story is one of a serious Evangelical Christian – a pastor, working on his Master's degree at seminary – realizing that not every Christian agreed on some of the theology and belief he took for granted. It began, for Chris, when he started working as a youth pastor at a church that practised...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by the wonderful Dr. Mark Giszczak from the Augustine Institute Graduate School of Theology to talk about suffering. It's a perennial topic and, as I suggest in this episode, one of the top reasons that I hear about for people leaving the Catholic faith. Why does God allow so much suffering? What's the difference between human-caused suffering and natural disasters and sicknesses? How is suffering just? And, incredibly, how does the...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Izabela Ciesinska to talk about her incredible faith journey and her wonderful new book. Raised nominally Catholic, Izabela wandered into the New Age movement as a young adult and eventually into atheism, deciding that there can't possibly be a God until she was struck by incredible, natural beauty on a road trip with some friends. Suddenly confronted by inexplicable beauty Izabela began a winding journey to discover its source,...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by the incredible Louis Damani Jones. A revert to the Catholic faith with an incredible story to tell, an African American Catholic with a rich experience of Catholicism to talk about, and a social justice leader in the community, deeply rooted in Catholic social values and the work of some of the best and bright Catholic theologians. You don't want to miss this episode. Raised in an activist household Louis had to learn quickly what it...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined once again by my good friend Catholic convert, author, and historian Rod Bennett to propose a really interesting thesis he's been chewing on these days: that the "unwritten tradition" often criticized by non-Catholic Christians was actually written down. Maybe you've heard this claim before? That as Christians should rely on the Bible alone and that Catholics have heaped up all kinds of unwritten traditions – barnacles on the once-pure Ark...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by former White House speaker writer, New York Times #1 best-selling author, Bible scholar, historian, and Catholic convert Joshua Charles to talk about his simply incredible conversion story. A lifelong Protestant, Joshua was steeped in Scripture from an early age, collecting study Bibles as soon as he could read and it was his love for Scripture that began to find him asking some uncomfortable questions about the Evangelical faith he was...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Catholic Answers apologist extraordinaire Joe Heschmeyer to talk about a topic that we get lots of questions about on this show: Calvinism. What does the Catholic Church have to say about this Reformation-era idea? What's the Catholic view of it? What's the Catholic response to it? And how can a Catholic become equipped to speak about Calvinism from place of understanding as a Catholic. Plus, with Joe as our guide, we drop back in...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by the very cordial John Martignoni, an author, speaker, long-time radio host, and the founder and president of the Bible Christian Society to mine some of the questions that Protestantism – that I, as a Protestant Evangelical Christian – had the hardest time answering. These are questions like that John calls the "pea under the mattress." Questions like what did Jesus mean in Matthew 18:15 when he explained how to resolve disputes (and...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Catholic convert and author Shaun McAfee to talk about the wonderful, wild, and sometimes downright weird world of Catholic sacramentals. What is a sacramental? Why does the Church think they may be helpful in our faith journeys? What do they do? What don't they do? What are some common misconceptions about sacramentals? And how to use them. This episode is packed full of goodness; it's a great topic. We talk about how to approach...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Talia Kruze, a wife, mother, mental health coach, and a convert to the Catholic faith to talk about her absolutely incredible journey of conversion to the Catholic faith. The theme throughout Talia's journey is the effect of good Catholic witnesses. Beginning when her own sister converted to Catholicism after the witnesses of the good Catholics she met at university, Talia's story is full of other Catholics sharing the faith in rich and...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by my new friend Phillip Campbell, a Catholic convert from charismatic, evangelical Christianity, to talk about his truly remarkable faith journey. Raised nominally Catholic Phillip never went to Mass or received any of the sacraments but found Jesus through the evangelization of some close friends and their incredible examples of faith. After spending time in a number of charismatic communities – and a number of impactful religious...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by podcaster, writer, and speaker John Edwards to share what I think is the most incredible conversion story ever. John breaks the record previously held by the wonderful Tsh Oxenreider as he speaks for a full hour unpacking his whirlwind conversion story: through a crippling drug addiction, successes and failures, ups and downs, and an incredible return to the Catholic Church through the grace of vulnerability and the sacraments John's...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Bishop Athanasius Schneider to talk about what new Catholics, non-Catholic Christians, and even Catholics who have been around the faith for a long time can, and should, make of the current state of affairs in the Catholic Church. How to thrive and live faithfully, following Christ, when it seems sometimes like the Church is in crisis. How, and why, anyone should even consider becoming Catholic when it seems, some days, like the...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by my friend Joe Goodwin. Joe was an evangelical seminarian, worship leader, and a Catholic convert. Since his conversion, Joe's gone on to work in campus ministry for a number of years and is currently the Executive Director of Canadian Priests for the Third Millennium, a group working to meet the needs of the next generation of priests. This week on the show, Joe tells his incredible conversion story which, remarkably, intersects with my...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Dr. Matthew J. Thomas to talk about justification, salvation, and whether or not Evangelicals and Catholics can agree on how we're saved. This is a wonderful topic and one of the bread-and-butter type conversations on this podcast: unpacking what both Catholics and Evangelicals believe about how we're saved and trying to come up with some agreement. Dr. Thomas explains how the definition of words like "justification," "works," and...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Catholic convert, author, speaker, and, of course, Catholic priest Father Ken Geraci, CPM to talk about the realm of spiritual warfare and the uniquely Catholic tools we have to combat sin, Satan, and the demonic. Father Ken is a truly wonderful priest – with a great conversion story! – and is full of fascinating insights into the spiritual realm and how, as Catholic, we possess the unique tools to draw us closer to Christ and away from...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Dr. Samuel Klumpenhouwer, an expert in Medieval Catholicism, to talk about the day-to-day realities of what it was like for Catholics in the Middle Ages? Did the Catholic Church really keep the Bible out of the hands of average Catholics? Was doctrine, dogma, and theology out of touch with Scripture and the history of the Church? Did Catholicism really go off the rails? Was the Reformation necessary? We tackle these questions and much...