Exploring why Protestants become Catholic (w/ Dr. Chris Castaldo)
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- Опубліковано 12 чер 2024
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In this video, I'm joined by Dr. Chris Castaldo, a Protestant convert from Roman Catholicism, author, scholar and pastor. We discuss his recent book Why Do Protestants Convert? exploring the phenomenon of Protestants becoming Catholic, diving into the history, psychology, sociology and more.
Chris Castaldo (PhD, London School of Theology) was raised on Long Island, New York. Since November 2014, he has served as Lead Pastor of New Covenant Church, Naperville. A fellow at the Center for Pastor Theologians, he has authored and contributed to several books and has written articles for publications such as Religion News Service, Christianity Today, Touchstone Journal, Credo Magazine, Themelios, The Gospel Coalition, and First Things.
Dr. Castaldo's book on conversion: davenantinstitute.org/why-do-...
His book on Newman and Vermigli: amzn.to/48ISXlx
His book on the beatitudes: amzn.to/48P4QX7
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Gospel Simplicity began as a UA-cam channel in a Moody Bible Institute dorm. It was born out of the central conviction that the gospel is really good news, and I wanted to share that with as many people as possible. The channel has grown and changed over time, but that central conviction has never changed. Today, we make content around biblical and theological topics, often interacting with people from across the Christian tradition with the hope of seeking greater unity and introducing people to the beautiful simplicity and transformative power of the gospel, the good news about Jesus.
About the host:
Austin Suggs holds a BA in Theology from Moody Bible Institute and is currently pursuing an MA in Liberal Arts with a focus in Theology and Philosophy from St. John's College, Annapolis. He has served in the local church in a number of ways, including as a full-time staff member,, teacher, church planter, and more. Today, he resides outside of Baltimore with his wife Eliza.
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Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction
03:40 - From Catholic to Protestant
05:50 - Newman and Vermigli
16:34 - Doctrine matters
18:55 - Conversionitis
23:46 - The psychology of conversion
26:10 - Pastoral guidance
29:10 - Desire for unity
36:18 - Desire for depth
40:26 - Good ecumenism
46:50 - The beatitudes
50:03 - The Final Four
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Born and raised Southern Baptist. Now a very happy, strong, can't-imagine-myself-anywhere-else Catholic!
Baptist/Pentecostal here and same
Sad to hear
"If someone is fed up with an overly subjective experiential faith they're more likely to take Catholicism seriously. Conversely, if they're looking for a biblically chaste Christianity with a personal relationship with Christ at the leading edge they're more likely to move towards Protestantism." Probably the most polite way I've ever heard someone crap on Catholicism. I promise Biblically accurate teaching and a deeper relationship with Christ is what led me to Catholicism. To suggest that someone with those desires is "more likely to go to Protestantism" is ridiculous.
This comment! ❤
Do you think statements like “to be deep in history is to cease to be Protestant” is ridiculous as well then? Just wondering.
@@sargechurch1 I didn't think about that, but I think it's a more accurate statement. Obviously, plenty of Protestants would disagree with that. But, it's actually more truthful. Lol. You have to disregard 1500 years of history in order to maintain Protestantism, although I'd venture to say most Protestant Christians either simply don't care about Church history, don't know that there IS such a thing as Church history (where I used to be), or go through it looking for proof texts for their doctrines and toss out the rest. I don't mean to say any of those things about Austin specifically (because he's more about dialogue and not so much making arguments), or even his guest here, but when you get down to it Church history takes Protestantism off the table. But to say that if your focus is on a relationship with Christ you'll be more likely to be Protestant is to say that Christ is not at the center of Catholicism, which is completely false.
@@pendletondrew So you’re fine with overly general triumphalist statements as long as they fit your subjective view. Nice lol.
@@sargechurch1 A fundamental aspect of Protestantism is to disregard Church history. That's literally what it's founded on. Lol. I don't think it's triumphalistic to say, it's just true. Therefore "To be deep in history is to cease to be Protestant" is a more accurate statement because, again, the reformers wanted to etch-a-sketch Church history and start over. But there's no basis for anyone to say "If your focus is a relationship with Christ then you'll prefer Protestantism" because, just like the Protestant, the Catholic person's faith as a Catholic is focused on relationship with Jesus Christ. To say any Christian group/denomination or whatever is not concerned with a relationship with Christ is ridiculous. One statement is based on an actual attribute of Protestantism while the other is just mischaracterizing Catholicism, seemingly intentionally.
I found that all the denominations felt like they were trying to sell me something whether a preacher or community, when I went to the Catholic Church it felt like actual worship of the living christ, and it feels like the Catholic Church gets the closest when it comes to interpreting the Bible, and I’ve never had a more personal relationship with Christ
Nailed it
I just became catholic in February of 2024
Praise God! Converts are such a gift to the Church!
@@bluecomb5376 thank you so much I love being catholic and God bless you
Welcome home brother 😊 Protestant "churches" were founded by mortal men with deep human flaws such as Martin Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, Wesley and countless others. The Catholic aka UNIVERSAL Church on the other hand was founded.....by none other than our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who is the son of the most high God and of his mother the blessed virgin Mary
Welcome home❤❤
Speaking as a life long evangelical, it is so good now to be Catholic! Thank you God! I'd never go back.
What first opened your eyes when looking at the Catholic faith?
@@TruthHasSpoken when I looked at the history of Christianity it looked very Catholic and almost nothing like the evangelicalism I was raised in. Doctrinally once I realized the truth about the Eucharist I was convinced
@@HrvojeSL "when I looked at the history of Christianity it looked very Catholic" 👍👍👍
"almost nothing like the evangelicalism". 👍👍👍
"Doctrinally once I realized the truth about the Eucharist I was convinced". 👍👍👍
Congratulations!! My spouse went through the same (but Lutheran)
I'm sorry you joined a false religion like Catholicism I hope you find your way out someday.
The history of Christianity doesn't look very Catholic 😂 Catholics just love making themselves out to be like they are the one true church like all false religions do. To know if someone is truly Christian, observe who they look to for truth and authority. A real Christian looks to God and Scripture, Catholics look to the Pope the Magisterium, the Catechism, then maybe Scripture. 😂 Enough said.
As a son of a pastor of a major church, and a descendent of loving and devoted Protestant missionaries and ministers, praise be to Jesus Christ that I have been welcomed into the Catholic Church
Praise God! You are a gift to the Church.
Welcome, brother!
I came into the Catholic church almost 3 years ago and feel I’ve finally found the church home I’ve been looking for my whole life. I am almost 70 years old and always felt something was missing. The Catholic church offers so many ways to grow close to Jesus and sola scriptura no longer made sense to me.
I am a cradle Catholic Italian Catholic and I grew up in New York too. I fell away from all church for 18 years and then had a radical mystical conversion to Jesus and joined the local non denominational church. I practiced my faith as an evangelical Protestant Christian for 10 years and last year I was lead back to the Catholic Church lead by the need for Church Authority and the Sacraments. My husband who is a cradle Protestant and myself will be confirmed Catholic on Pentecost. I appreciate so much these conversations! God bless you both 🙏
Thanks for sharing some of your story!
Yay 🙏
I’ve never been closer to Christ than I am now being in the Catholic Church. I can say the same about so many people I know who have converted from Protestantism. Including Scott Hahn and Dr. John Bergsma who I hear speak recently. They could be lying but the say their faith is stronger than ever and they truly seem on fire for the Lord. And are living out the Christian life and seem to me to be aligning their wills with the will of God.
For me it was the fact that the Catholic Church does not put science at odds with Christianity. And it also makes sense there needs to be a central authority to correctly interpret scripture and define doctrine. Thousands of denominations teaching different things will never make sense to me. Then you have the Eucharist. One church whose name means universal saying the same thing for 2000 years and still exists today, makes perfect sense. An institution that stands the test of time is evidence that there is something true about it.
The very word it’s self Protestant is a negative word and division. Catholic is universal and inclusive. If God is Love it makes way more sense to me that His church would be called Catholic rather than Protestant.
That makes no sense!!??
The followers of Wickliffe, then called Lollards, were becoming extremely numerous, and the clergy were so vexed to see them increase whatever power or influence they might have to molest them in an underhand manner, they had no authority by law to put them to death. However, the clergy embraced the favourable opportunity and prevailed upon the king to suffer a bill to be brought into parliament, by which all Lollards who remained obstinate, should be delivered over to the secular power, and burnt as heretics. This act was the first in Britain for the burning of people for their religious sentiments; it passed in the year 1401, and was soon after put into execution.( DE Heretico Comburendo) you can read the Law.
The first person who suffered in consequence of this cruel act was William Santree, or Sawtree, a priest, who was burnt to death in Smithfield.
Soon after this, lord Cobham, in consequence of his attachment to the doctrines of Wickliffe, was accused of heresy, and being condemned to be hanged and burnt, was accordingly executed in Loncoln's-Inn Fields, A. D. 1419.
The next man who suffered under this bloody statute was Thomas Bradley, a tailor, and a layman; and a letter having been tendered him, which he refused, he was declared an obstinate heretic, and tied to the stake in Smithfield; where he was burnt alive, rejoicing in the Lord his God.
The next person we read of who was tried upon this abominable statute, was William Thorpe, a man of some knowledge, who adhered to all the doctrines taught by Wickliffe. He was brought many times before archbishop Arundel, and at last committed a close prisoner, where he died, but in what manner cannot now be ascertained.
About this time 36 persons, denominated Lollards, suffered death in St. Giles', for no other reason than professing their attachment to the doctrines of Wickliffe. They were hung on gibbets, and fagots being placed under them, as soon as they were suspended, the fire was set to them, so that they were burnt while hanging. Only one of their names has been transmitted to us, which is that of Sir Roger Archer[188] whom they distinguished from the rest by stripping him stark naked and executing him in that indecent manner.
Reply
@@whathappening5323 there’s a good book called bearing false witness you should read.
Catholics are "universal and inclusive"? Only if you sign on to their incredibly-long list of mandatory doctrinal beliefs. Otherwise? You're out of luck. Doesn't seem universal OR inclusive to me.
Also, Catholics have not been saying the same thing for 2000 years. There have been a LOT of changes.
@@whathappening5323 Where ever man exists there will be human fallibility. Focusing your view on only one point of human history well always show that. Would suggest to not stop the research and carry to our Lord and Savior and the Church Fathers. I am sure your research won't disappoint. God bless!
PS to @whathappening5323 Just bought John Bergsma book on the Old Testament. Can wait to starting reading it. Kind regards.
Sorry, my PS was actually for www.youtube.com/@johnbrion4565 Kind regards again.
I am leaving Protestantism because my church was invaded by Calvinists. It nearly broke me spiritually. Yes, I tried to find another denomination but it did not help. The fear of them coming in and doing it again and again and again was too much. I first sought out what the Early Church Fathers believed. Then I researched Orthodoxy, then Catholicism. Yes there are the factions of Catholicism that scare me because they are very Augustinian and ring of Calvinism. But the Church has the checks and balances to stop those with those leanings from sweeping the entire church. There is no where else for me to go. I cannot go back. I did not have faith, I had fear. Calvinism set me on the road to conversion, God brought me to the door of the Catholic Church. And anyone who knew me four years ago would be shocked by that. “I could never be a Catholic” was something I said easily and readily. Not anymore.
What do you fear about Calvinism?
amen!
Thats awesome! May the Lord Jesus Christ give you peace.
Calvinism is the modern day gnostic heresy. A lot of non-reformed prot churches have to keep up their radar to try to keep it out.
I was the same way! I always tell people, I don't want to be Catholic way more than you, but I have to go where the truth leads me! Lol.
This was a beautiful conversation between two beautiful souls. Two protestants of the kind we desperately need in the Catholic Church. It is their Church, and their Church needs them back.
Saying “living biblically leads to Protestantism” is a bit ironic considering the Catholic Church gave us the Bible.
@@samueldurham-moran157you just owned yourself
They never see this. Always a whiff.
But seriously, these goobers claim LUTHER was the first one to codify scripture in the SIXTEENTH century, and I swear to god, they somehow say it with a straight face. I'd be terrified of being struck by lightning if I told a whopper that big about God's word and his Bride. 😬😬😬
Exactly
I was protestant / evangelical for years. Now Catholic. I can tell you that Protestantism is a Sesame Street version of the true faith. The more you learn the harder it is to justify being Protestant. It's simply incoherent.
Jajaja! That's the best way I've ever heard it described! 😆😁👍🏻
I appreciate the talk, but Catholics absolutely believe in a personal relationship with Christ. God bless
I agree. Our "flavor" is different. I am a Catholic convert from charismatic Evangelicalism. I am a charismatic Catholic. To me, it's the best of both worlds.
Agree 1000%. I don't understand how anyone could walk into a Catholic Church and go to Mass and not see how absolutely obsessed the Catholic Church is with Jesus Christ. Lol.
@@pendletondrew it is always ex Catholics who somehow go there entire lives without encountering Christ that experience christ outside of the church and then take the false position that catholics don't know Jesus personally. It's a very sad thing to see. I wish this brother the best.
It depends on the Catholic. Both nominal Catholics, and Catholics of a very conservative traditionalist persuasion, tend to miss out on the relationship bit.
@@taylorbarrett384 Good point, I guess I'd say you find those two extremes in all Christian churches. The nominal Christian and the Christian who's overly concerned with the letter of the law. Lol.
In my high school and college years I attended several Protestant churches and was impressed with the friendship and community each one offered. However, every time I considered definitively leaving the Catholic Church the thought of completely turning my back on "Mama" Mary stopped me. To me, as a cradle Catholic and Italian immigrant, family is everything. I need and desire a large loving "perfect" and "eternal" family: A loving Father, elder Brother, sweetest Mother, and tons and tons of siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc etc etc.
That's so beautifully put! It also made me think of something my catechist told us once when talking about mass. "Even if there's only two people attending mass and the priest, that church is not empy, the church is PACKED!". Of course she was referring to the real presence of Christ, which we talked about a lot, but also to all the angels and saints. God gave us a heavenly family after all.
@@scythian6829 Yes, the family everyone desires: a perfect family where everyone loves everyone and is always supportive and kind and joyful. 😇😇😇
That's beautiful! 🥰🥰🥰
The way some Evangelicals speak about Mary is absolutely sickening sometimes. I just can't do it.
Oh please, family is important to all cultures. And I know "Italians" who certainly don't care about family. At least you didn't bang on about food.
As a Catholic I appreciate people returning to the church because their testimonies shine a light for me to what is beautiful about the Church, and I appreciate people who leave the Church because their testomonies uncover issues I might not be aware of, that I must take seriously and grapple with.
I became Catholic when I was in high school and later became a priest. The reason why I became Catholic was that I was United Methodist and grew up in a family that went to church every Sunday. Good times, choir specials and covered dishes; however, when I had an experience of something in high school and went to speak to the pastor, basically he told me I did not have this experience because it was not "Weslyan" and when I asked him questions about the theology of the Eucharist, it was jibberish. My siblings eventually left as well stating that we never heard anything about the Lord's intervention in everyday life. It was kind of like attending a fun YMCA with some bible stories.
What part of the country are you from? I wonder if Mainline Protestantism declined also due to a decline in the quality of its leadership. That's terrible! Good grief, my Baptist pastor would've at least tried!
My paternal grandmother used to take me & my siblings to the United Methodist church. After she passed, we got nothing. I love my parents (dad deceased, mom 93 and going strong) but this is not something we did as a family. I met my husband, a Catholic. We were married in the Church but it took me 9 more years to convert. Best thing I ever did. All thanks goes to my husband (his mother was a big influence too) but mostly to our Lord and the Blessed Mother. I was touched in ways I didn’t realize until later. No coincidence
I grew up evangelical and left it when I was 16. My Bible study was super hollow of any real learning. My pastors were all deeply unqualified memorialists. Became Catholic at 23 after a lot of soul searching and biblical research from actual theologians. I can assure you that Catholicism has both the deep roots of tradition and the personal relationship with God that evangelicalism claims to have but fails to deliver to its average participant. On top of the obscurity of scripture to the average undeducated layman
I would agree.
Protestantism seems empty and arbitrary
@@cabellero1120and heretical!
Charity isn’t niceness or making people feel good.
Charity requires truth.
And yet charity demands that, as far as it depends on us, we always be at peace with, and nice to, and friendly with everyone
@@taylorbarrett384 No.
@@MrTzarBomb bro I was quoting the Bible with expanded notes on what it means
If you think Jesus doesn't want your default to be nice, polite, and friendly, and only your rare, only when called for, tone, to be confrontational, then....well...
@@taylorbarrett384 This rare tone you speak of is TELLING THE TRUTH!
@@bruno-bnvm Nope. Telling the truth takes no specific tone. See that? I just "told the truth" without using all caps. It not only can be done, but should be. We are called to preach the word in meekness and love. Truth in love, not truth in malice, or anger, or belittling tone.
My friend Cindy was the first evangelical friend I’d ever had, I myself was raised Catholic. Her mom was so much fun and always listened to Christian music like Ron Kenoli and had on the TBS cable channel. She would bring me along with them to a big church in Edison NJ. The band was wonderful and the the pastor was dynamic and when I left, I felt great. I was considering joining their church. My mom and I were sitting in the car in the parking lot of Ascension Catholic Church in Bradley Beach and I was telling her this development. I told her that it was a lot more interesting than our church. She said something that changed everything for me. She said Lindsay, we don’t come to church to be entertained. We come to worship God the way He has instituted. I realized I was going for myself and my entertainment, it made me feel good. What ever denomination we are we need to check our motives. The Israelites were getting pretty bored waiting for Moses to come down the mountain, so they created something that they wanted.
Amen.
Love your reply. Happened to me too, but it took me almost 3 decades to see my pride, my concern for my individual and "immediate salvation" and my leaning on my own understanding!
Yes and no. I have tried to discern why I want to attend certain churches more than others. You can be entertained or worship God, and meet God in a variety of places, you can find community in many places, inversely you can be bored and feel far away in those same places. On a different note, please pray for the people of Ethiopia and all people in areas of conflict and suffering in the world today.
"Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb" - Rev. 19.9. Hard to get more intimate than the Eucharist, though many take it for granted as I once did.
I reverted to Catholicism after sifting through the various arguments. One week I felt that I really needed to sort out the Eucharist as I saw the evidence but didn't really have faith. Well I was convinced intellectually after studying scripture and that was reinforced by the early church believing this interpretation almost up until the protestant reformation but I still did not have faith.
That weekend I read John 6 again and then drove to Mass and was praying the whole way that God would give me conviction before I received as it is difficult to believe. To my great surprise, that Mass was a special celebration of the Eucharist that occurs once a year, and the reading was exactly what I had read before Mass which occurs roughly once every 3 years. I was shocked and felt very vulnerable and immediately thought of the words "fear and trembling" as that was a fairly accurate description of what I felt.
To say that is a coincidence is to argue as atheists do against Christianity.
I still struggle as I do not believe as the Saints did, but I recognise that faith is a gift from God and my faith slowly grows as I keep asking. Thanks be to God for His infinite mercy.
While I appreciate this pastor’s point of view and his willingness to be more kind and gentle in his explanations than most, I must respectfully disagree when he points out that the Apostolic faith is not an established institution.
It is much to obvious both in scripture and in the early church, that our Lord established an institutional church. Jesus passed on authority to his apostles who then passed on authority to others and to their successors.
This is the big reason that many are now converting to the Catholic Church, including many pastors themselves. It becomes to difficult to ignore what was clearly established.
Our Lord is not bound by the Sacraments, nor Apostolic succession. Look up Samuel Morris, George Mueller, Sandhu Sundar Singh, Corrie Ten Boom, Keith Green, Bruchko. All non Catholic Saints through whom our Lord did amazing things
@@foodforthought8308that is not an argument against Catholicism….
@Netomp51 You are absolutely right. I was just pointing out that our Lord is happy to Save and use all who sincerely call on His name. I personally am an Evangelical Protestant undecided on Catholicism. I am both drawn and resistant to it simultaneously for various reasons. I love my Catholic family in Christ and appreciate Catholicism's enrichment of my own Christian faith. Please pray for me and my family.
@Netomp51 Church history is tragically messy both ways. It is important to in humility realize that for many people, like myself, this is not a clear slam dunk decision
@@foodforthought8308 it should not be a quick and easy decision. It takes time to research it out. Do exactly that. Take your time, pray on it, study, listen to the very numerous converts from the Evangelical community and then draw your own conclusion. It’s hard to walk away from what you thought you knew and it’s even harder to put your relationships with those in your current church community in jeopardy, but chasing the truth is never easy.
May God bless you and watch over you. I will keep you in prayer!
With my soul at stake, I am going with the side that was started by the apostles themselves, administers the sacraments, and created the Bible. I am not going with the side that popped up 1500+ years later claiming all those guys that came before were all wrong, changed the bible, and to this day has never stopped splitting resulting in thousands of denominations. It really is that simple. Not to mention the latter is based on two main tenants that are unbiblical: faith alone and bible alone.
Seeing that you believe faith is insufficient, what do you add to it?
What brought me to the catholic church? Jesus ❤ being close to Him, with Him, in Him. He is the only one that matters 🙏 without Him there is nothing but with Him every treasure is found in ❤
Converted to Protestantism but always felt a 'phoniness,' a certain chipper optimism that didn't seem to agree with me. It took me a while to realize what was missing: the Cross. It is Christianity without the Cross.
You missed all the pretty graven images. Jesus is a man, not a religion.
@@peterzinya1Wut? He's God. And Christianity, which he founded, is a religion, according to James. I get that Luther tried to remove that book, but trust me, it's still solid and edifying.
@@MeanBeanComedy Does Jesus wear fish head hat?
@@peterzinya1 Did Jesus wear what you are wearing in 21 century? No... Bacause what's your point?
@@chrisalder9096 If Jesus, being catholic, did he wear a big fish head hat of Dagon like the catholic costume holymen wear?
Years ago, when I heard the terms "faith alone, bible alone etc" it made a lot of sense on the surface. However, the more I see these terms on a rational level, there's too many holes in those philosophies. Studying Jonah and the Whale has really opened up my eyes especially in the last few years.
What specifically about the Jonah story? I agree, I’m seeing the holes as well.
Real
I’m curious about the Jonah and the whale story too what about it?
The Solas don't possess any intrinsic fault with regard to rationality, logic,, or epistemology. Sola Fide is Catholic as long as it's understood properly, and Sola Scriptura, while false, is only false because Christ gave the Church infallibility. There's no logical problem with it otherwise.
@@taylorbarrett384 Sola Scriptura is false because :
a. it's not in scripture
b. it wasn't taught by anyone in 1500+ years in all of Christianity.
The Church, which decided which books are scripture, that copied the text, translated the text, and guarded its meaning, upholds a and b, confronting the error (heresy).
One can see too, that it's fruit expose it as man-made error: doctrinal chaos, confusion, and division.
There is nothing in the world more awesome than being a CATHOLIC ❤
My Catholic Faith has given me a deeper knowledge of Jesus Christ and relationship with Him. And the depth of knowledge and relevance of Scripture in the Catholic Faith continually amazes me. Castaldo is simply regurgitating the tired old assertions of the Protestant heretics, with a gentle voice and a smile on his face. I pray fo him as his soul is in grave danger having left the Body of Christ. I recommend the site Catholic Answers as it completely rebuts the various assertions Castaldo makes. Peace be with your spirit.
Amen DD
@dougy6237 Yet, you two will believe anything your Church says (Ref. Catechism 95, 816, 841, 980, 1378, etc.)
So, what do you think about your Church's call for "global Government" in 2011? Yes, the Vatican in 2011 released an official Vatican document outlining the need for global Government, a "World Public Authority."
A great conversation, but I still am unsure where this trope came from where protestants think Catholicism does not have a personal relationship with Christ. That is the entire foundation of everything the church does.
I get the 70's through to the 90's was a dark period with a broken liturgy, but its such a silly critique.
Catholicism offers a way to a personal relationship with Christ, all the way up to receiving him directly. Many protestants that claim otherwise seem to be more into forming a deep relationship with their modernized interpretations of what they want Christ to be, based on however they personally read scripture.
I think a more accurate statement would be that if you read scripture as a first century person, you would very much lean Catholic. If you read scripture as a modernized westerner, you will lean protestant.
Open to have that critiqued but thats how silly it comes accross when people think Catholicism somehow isn't a personal and direct relationship with Christ in the way he asked us to relate with him and with the fullest knowledge of him.
I'll be confirmed this month. In my experience from the last year, I think it stems from a fundamentally false premise that only faith begets works rather than works begetting faith also. As a Protestant, I was never exhorted to better my relationship with Christ. E.g., by setting aside more time with him or wearing nicer clothes to church or learning a language he spoke just to praise him or even going to church in weekday mornings. All of those things I was "pressured" into doing during RCIA which in turn strengthened my faith in Christ.
It's just a false understanding of the world to discount the role works play in strengthening relationships
@@sivad1025 Beautiful! Blessings. 😊☺️
It's gotta just be cope. It's a way to shut down the arguments Catholics make, which are usually solid.
"Sure, you have Apostolic Succession, and the Sacraments, and you guys codified the Bible, but do you have a _personal relationship_ with--oh, you do? Uhhh... No you don't!"
You’re right but I have personally heard this trope from Protestants. Many of them believe that they have a personal relationship that we do not have. We have traditions, rituals, blah blah. It’s very difficult to hear this in conversations with Protestants and not get defensive/angry.
@@sivad1025did anyone ever sit down with you and explain the gospel and how to be born again? This is ignored in many churches
Liturgy, Sacraments, bishops, regeneration, basilicas, eucharist, etc.. were part of the first Christian communities until today...
Anglicanism. If you're Catholic, this apologetic is insufficient.
@@StoaoftheSouth I was referring more to the Evangelical movement... but a little bit more history, either Carholic or Orthodox
@StoaoftheSouth Anglicanism didn't start until the 16th Century with King Henry 8th.
@therese6447 We, as Catholics, need to do better apologetics. This argument isn't going to convince any Anglicans.
@@StoaoftheSouthIs Austin Anglican? Or the other guy? My comment was to Evangelicals with no liturgy, which I thought Austin was.. 😞😔
As a Catholic I'm actually not worried about 2 Protestants asking why other Protestants convert to Catholicism. I'm far more worried they will caricature the Catholic position because their understanding generally comes from Protestant caricatures which were taught to them by other Protestants in a vicious cycle. It's far easier for a Catholic to understand Protestants than the other way around.
Fortunately, you've stumbled on a good channel! I don't think I've ever heard Austin caricature Catholicism or its teachings. Nor has he ever willfully lied about the Catholic faith.
@@padraicbrown6718 Agreed. Not in reference to Austin. However, he's the rare exception. His guests routinely do so.
Agreed that Austin is solid, but this is so true generally. I was pretty anti-Catholic 10 months ago, but I found Trent Horn and Joe Heshmeyer super persuasive because they didn't mischaracterize protestantism. I quickly learned all the crap I heard about Catholicism from protestant preachers/apologists was completely misguided
@@sivad1025Bingo. Which is why you'll find a Scott Hahn convert to Catholicism but never the other way around.
@@p.doetsch6209 I first went to mass at St. John Cantius per Austin's recommendation. The next Saturday, I was listening to Scott Hahn. The day after, I learned that Cantius was having a Bible study with Scott Hahn and John Bergsma. I'm very grateful for Hahn
"If you just knew what the classical Protestants said." We do. Theyre not convincing. They were all contradicting each other on essentials as well. This phenomenon is right out of the gate in Protestant world.
Yes. And you're left with Baptists who completely reject the reformers and early church fathers. And Calvinists who are the final product of reformed theology and bastardize the gospel with double predestination. All the middle positions sprung up to deal with the discomfort of these extremes
Yeah, Zwingli and Luther! 😆😆
Always interesting to see Protestants claiming that they worship as the early Christians did, when it's abundantly clear that they don't. Makes absolutely no sense to me.
Well said. I find it very amusing that Protestants, who all come from areas of Europe North of the Alps and thus not part of the reality of the Incarnation of Christ and the events of the Four Gospels and Apostolic Church think early Church worship looked like what you find in American Protestantism. As Pope Benedict said in his Work The Spirit of the Liturgy (2000 Ignatius Press, pp. 223-224) on Liturgical Form. Water is the sign of Baptism (its Form) and it is universal and common element of life all over the world, thus it is the appropriate sign to be used in the Sacrament of Baptism which is the door into communion with Christ. However, for the Eucharis, Pope Benedict wrote Wine, Wheat and Olive Oil are common elements/gifs of Mediterranean culture (Remember Pope Benedict was of German ancestry). He references Psalm 104 and states this three elements of Mediterranean Life express the goodness of God through which we receive the goodness of God himself. The Pope counters the argument that this 3 gifts mentioned in Psalm 104:15) have force only for the Mediterranean world and should be replaced in other areas of the world. To that the Pope responds, within culture and history, history has priority since God acted in history. The elements from Psalm 104.15 become sacraments due to their connection with Christ thus Incarnation does not mean doing as we please, it means we embrace the history willed by God for our salvation.
To further support your post, all one needs to do is read the earliest accounts of early Church worship. The Didache has a Liturgical Structure [Chapter 9 is on the Eucharist], Saint Justin Martyr's First Apology documents what the Church's worship looked like and has a clear outline of a Liturgy with a Eucharist at its center.
A very interesting quote is from Pliny the younger (the Nephew of Pliny the Elder) wrote to the emperor Trajan around 110 AD where he writes as a Pagan what the Catholic Church does at worship. He specifically uses the term they give "sacramentum" (sacred oath) to not sin and partake bread of an ordinary kind.
In fairness, traditional Calvnist (like Presbyterian, not Baptist) and Lutheran churches are pretty close. They follow the rubric of Justin Martyr. At my Presbyterian church, we would even say the Eucharistic prayer and Sanctus and we believed Jesus was sacramentally present in the Eucharist
@@sivad1025 As a Catholic I would say with all honesty, that Confessional Protestants retain more of the Apostolic Church and Tradition than the American brand of independent, evangelical or pentecostals. Baptist are sort of the mid-point, but Traditional Anglicans and Lutherans would be the closest with Reformed-Presbyterian just next to them with respect to having more continuity with the ancient Church..
So yes I do concede your point and do in fact agree with you.
@palermotrapani9067 I'm also getting confirmed in a couple weeks, so the reverse argument would be that the closer you get to the Catholic church, the more the Reformation seems kinda pointless. You could get the same Sunday worship but in a Church that has 2,000 years of history and all the greatest saints
Well said. I’ve studied the early writings and the worship of the early church centered on the Eucharist.
How can there be depth of reverence in Protestantism when Protestantism in its roots emptied the world of the sacred and the holy? Without sacraments (including Holy Orders and the Holy Eucharist) and sacramentals, what is holy and sacred in the Protestant world?? Why is anyone surprised that atheism and agnosticism have gained so much ground over the past few centuries in the wake of Protestantism?
The fruit of Sola Scriptura was, is, and shall ever be, doctrinal chaos, confusion, and division. And that division, causes other types of division, away from Christianity. EVERYTHING become relative as truth is elusive and determined by thy self.
@@TruthHasSpokenwhat you’re describing is actually the result of rejecting sola scripture. Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Mormons, JW, all make the same argument against it. There’s far greater unity within churches who actually practice sola scripture. The gospel isn’t that complicated, but when you add outside sources, it becomes so.
All you have to do to disprove sola scriptura is to show us one God-breathed source of revelation that’s not found in the Bible. You can’t.
@@KnightFel "one God-breathed source of revelation that’s not found in the Bible. You can’t."
Open your bible to the table of contents. The list of both Old and New Testament books is a doctrine you hold to be true. And, both lists are not found in scripture. Sola fails right at the table of contents.
@@KnightFel Diversity of interpretations/errors is the result of individual private interpretation/judgement, not one supreme Magisterium. Without one authority, everyone feels free to disagree with each other, which is what Protestant denominations do.
Protestant denominations can't agree on church governance, infant baptism, the effects of baptism, the nature of the Eucharist, what constitutes a Christian, etc. One can merely list the denominations, the offspring of Luther, Calvin, etc., to see the greater disunity in Protestantism. The diversity of errors ranges from high church Lutheranism and Anglicanism to the innumerable non-denoms.
"Restorationist" heresies like Mormonism, JWs, etc. are a whole other manifestation of sola Scriptura. Because sola Scriptura can't tell you which writings are Scripture and which are not, they feel free to claim new revelations, "scriptures," prophets, and doctrines that have no basis in early historical Christianity. Protestantism did/does the same thing but only implicitly with Luther, Calvin, etc. and their writings and confessions/creeds.
The degree of doctrinal unity among Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental/Coptic Orthodox, etc. (the apostolic churches) is far greater than among Protestants because of the rejection of sola Scriptura and the holding to Tradition, hierarchy, sacraments, etc. It is the Tradition that keeps the doctrine and practice historically unified over millennia. The "outside sources" of Tradition are the early Church fathers, the writings of the earliest Christians taught, discipled, approved, and appointed by the apostles and their earliest successors. The arrogance of thinking your interpretations of Scripture are more correct than theirs!
Even Protestant scholars have admitted the later historical novelty of Protestant doctrines like sola fide, the rapture, various Calvinist doctrines, etc.
Scripture itself testifies to the authority of the Church, Church councils (Acts 15), the successors of Paul (Timothy and Titus), and the apostolic Tradition that Paul received and handed on.
Maybe ask questions next time rather than presuming to know so much that isn't true?
Well said!
I’m not interested in becoming Catholic per se but if you are Protestant and believe in God, it seems strange you would invalidate the first 16 centuries of Christian history. If the church has been in error for that long then clearly God can’t preserve the Gospel and is therefore not God. Compound the problem with the fact that we then have to trust in the divine revelation of Luther and Calvin, very coarse men if you’ve read their work. Especially Luther very… Scatological (and no I didn’t misspell Eschatological).
Dr. Castaldo, if I may presume to represent the Church Universal, I apologize that you never found the gospel cogently articulated in the Catholicism of your youth.
🙏
I'm convinced these people either went to *atrocious* churches, or just weren't paying attention.
@@MeanBeanComedy I worry that's the case. I mean, I am obviously missing something. Very many people of good will are earnest Protestants, many of these formerly Catholic. I don't know how many have deeply considered that change-let's assume it's most of them-but I certainly cannot fathom the decision. I chose differently. At the crisis point in my faith, I returned to the Catholicism of my youth with a lot of scoring and a much greater engagement.
There is an article on the website of Called to Communion by Casey Chalk: "Holy Church: Finding Jesus As a Reverted Catholic; A Testimonial Response to Chris Castaldo".
I enjoy conversion stories to hear about why someone chose to be Catholic. Steve Ray or Scott Hahn are really good ones. I look forward to hearing the perspective of a man who has had to watch his friend leave him to become Catholic. Will add a different perspective
Look around the channel more, he has had conversations with plenty of people who have converted to Catholicism
Wonderful discussion. However, I cannot envision abandoning the holy sacraments, especially the holy eucharist via transubstantiation by a priest via apostolic succession. This gift from Christ Himself is open to all in his church, is literally his body and blood, so Come On In, The Water's Fine!
Receiving Communion is the most intimate relationship with Our Lord Jesus Christ. It doesn't get more personal than that. And the love just grows and grows....
I just can’t get my head around leaving the holy Roman Catholic Church because some suave and hip evangelical waved his Bible, put together by no less than the holy Roman Catholic Church, around quoting from it verbatim as though he knew more than the one faith that goes back to Christ and his apostles.
I was offended by some of the accusations leveled at us Catholics: bowing and acknowledging Christ on a crucifix and being called a member of the whore of Babylon, but knew in 1991 when it happened to me that it was all a lie and misinformation for I took away from it to pray for Christian unity. It was and still is a great grace to pray for Christian unity big time.
The Catholic Church is so wound up in the fullness of the truth-the Eucharist for one! Jesus left us with his body and blood, something unparalleled by any other religious institution, not least the happy clappers who could only boast great concert style music!
Also, a belief in going to Mary is one I could never give up. If only people could realise that Catholics don’t worship her but tackle our devotion to her from the point of view of family tree. Jesus had a family. Without that connection any guru can rise up and say: follow me!!
Today is the feast day of St. Joseph. I mean to say! Where would Christianity be without the strong and saving love of Joseph who protected the holy family when fleeing from Herod and his edict to kill all babies under 2!
To turn my back on Catholicism would be a betrayal to Jesus and what he set up and my parents who had me baptised and confirmed and the rest…availing oneself of the sacrament of reconciliation on this earthly journey. Jesus knew what he was doing.
So I guess the Gospels as they were written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are not "clear articulations" ? Since they are read EVERY DAY (except Good Friday) at EVERY MASS on planet earth? How ridiculous for someone who grew up Catholic to say that he had never heard a "clear articulation" of the Gospels. Ludicrous.
See, that's why I have to assume they're either lying or were sleeping thru mass. This guy isn't as bad as that guy who gets paid to travel around to Evangelical churches and slander the Bride of Christ. Forgot his name. Mike G-something, maybe? He's the worst!
Why can't the answer be because we have found the fullness of Truth. Catholicism is simply more true! It provided deep meaningful answers to questions I didn't even know I was supposed to be asking! Jesus, the Word, the Logos is the final authority and He does not equal the Bible. Ask Him about His Church!
When our Lord prayed for unity, I do not think he intended for a person to walk down the street and see 13 different churches. Since the "reformation" began, it has not stopped... division after division... this group believes in regenerative baptism, this other doesn't. This group believes in the real presence, this other does not. How is one to know what is right? When our Lord tells us to take an unresolved issue to the Church for a final answer, how does a protestant with his invisible church do that? And when two protestant elders do disagree, instead of a church resolving it, they just create another division, and slap a new denomination's name on it. I do not think this is what our Lord intended.
Conversion should be about the truth. I know you said that this is what people converted to Catholicism say. But it is true. If you’re not shallow you convert because it is true.
Hmmm. He tells an anecdote from Hillsdale where the male student after holding the hand of his Catholic girlfriend and looking into her "auburn eyes", then says "to be deep in history is to cease to be Protestant." Okay fair enough. That's one anecdote. One good anecdote deserves another. Mine is as follows. In my last rather tradition-oriented parish in NYC, there were a significant number of twenty and thirty something catholics - it warmed my little boomer heart to see it. One of those late twenty something Catholic's was in fact a convert from a "none" status who wife was and still is a lapsed Catholic. He converted after marrying her and she had nothing to do with it (still doesn't attend mass or go to any church or ecclesial community). So that's my counter-anecdote. :-)
That's sad. 😢 I hope she comes home. 😞😓
@@MeanBeanComedyI have a confident hope she will
As a Catholic, I have an analogy for how I view protestant unity. I hope this doesn’t ruffle any feathers. I don’t mean this in a disrespectful way. Perhaps it will even maybe things more clear for those trying to understand the other side.
Imagine a married couple the don’t live together, don’t eat together, don’t sleep together, and spend maybe 6 hours together total over a month’s time. And when you ask how they’re doing, they tell you they are doing great, in fact, they’re so proud of the relationship they have, because they do better than most married couples they know. You ask yourself, “Are they together, is this really Unity?” Well, you find out one day the reason they live in separate houses and spend so little time with one another is because is they lived together they get on each other’s nerves and start fighting within a few hours.
That’s how I view the Protestant concept of unity. You have to shift, what I see as the obvious meaning of unity(united in doctrines), to mean unity in heart or having charity, precisely because you can’t figure out what to believe; and when you can’t figure out what to believe you can’t agree on what you believe either. So, it’s kind of a false unity. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to have charity toward others, but I think it’s pretty obvious we’re supposed to believe the same doctrines. No one talks about the doctrinal problems when you get together, and people act civility and brotherly because that’s all you have left: just being charitable.
So I see switching from unity to charity as sort a clever tactic to get away from the issue. (I don’t attribute deception to protestants, just saying it’s a tactic of obfuscation)
Yes, it's not a real unity. I live in KY and you'll see one Catholic Church and 3-4 Protestant churches on the same street in a small town. If there's such a thing as unity in Protestantism, there wouldn't be a handful of churches all within a mile of each other. I'm sure they'd all say, "Well, we preach the Bible over here!"
@@Jerome616 I don't see the point of Jesus founding a church, teaching the apostles, if in the end, it's perfectly ok if we all just disagree with one another. It's like spending 3 years teaching someone how to follow a specific recipe, but when you leave, he thinks it doesn't matter if he follows the recipe or not. Or like a math teacher spends 10 months teaching math, and on the last day the kids take a test and put random answers down because they think it's all subjective. I just don't see how anyone can affirm that despite problems they may have with Catholicism, surely, their problems with Catholicism can't be as big as that.
@@cmac369 yes, that’s right.
Even the uniformity of the lectionary is jarring for a Protestant. You can go to any church and hear the same message which is so foreign to the Protestant tradition
@@cmac369
My view on the existence of denominations is attributed largely to the following passage from 1 Corinthians 3:
"Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual, but as worldly-as infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for solid food. In fact, you are still not ready, for you are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and dissension among you, are you not worldly? Are you not walking in the way of man? For when one of you says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men?
What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, as the Lord has assigned to each his role.6I planted the seed and Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. He who plants and he who waters are one in purpose and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.
By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one must be careful how he builds. For no one can lay a foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.
If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, his workmanship will be evident, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will prove the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive a reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss. He himself will be saved, but only as if through the flames."
Both Paul and Jesus were well aware that many doctrines would be built on the foundation of Jesus Christ, but His life, His word, His death, burial, and resurrection are ultimately what saves the human soul, not other doctrines. Some are of value, and some of greater value than others, but in the end only Christ remains, and only Christ will carry us through the flames.
As a cradle Catholic I am very much in awe of those who come to our faith via conversion. What I love is our converts never trash their old faith. They give thanks to God for what truth they learned as a Protestant. That’s a very touching tribute.
Thankyou for this kind and refreshing perspective.
I appreciate that this guy can see that Catholicism views itself to be a continuation of the Incarnation and that that is how it sees a guarantee of apostolicity. I also appreciate that he (implicitly) acknowledges how Protestantism inherently divorces the message of the Gospel/Scripture from the incarnational Church, from the Body of Christ. He makes clear the subtle Gnostic/Manichaean undertones that many Catholics see in Protestantism.
Therefore it proves that the manmade Protestant Church is NOT the Church which Christ himself instituted.
And yet Rome teaches as dogma the Marian dogmas which come from Gnosticism. Marian dogmas just make her another Christ when you add them all up, especially when you add the doctrine of Mary being co-redemptrix, which is not dogma yet but millions believe. It’s heresy.
@@KnightFel as usual and it is very depressing and tiresome ,to ALWAYS have to contradict what Protestants say about what Catholics believe, The Catholic Church had to fight Gnosticism which was totally not the Truth , the Way and the Life.
1. Dogma's in the Church are ONLY truths which God himself declared. A dogma is not an opinion .
2. Mary is absolutely NOT another christ for us Catholics. She is the MOTHER of Christ. God Himself chose her to be the vessel through which He incarnated into the world. No Mother (Mary) , no Christ. At the foot of the Cross , Jesus told John to take care of her :"This is your mother". He asked him to take care of her. He said to His mother:" This is your son."
This meant that she was going to be our mother too. Nothing gnostic about that.
She is called the Queen of Heaven . In those days the MOTHER, not the wife of the King , was called the Queen. David the King of the Jews did not have his wife as queen but his mother. Nothing gnostic about that.
The New Testament uses the image of a king to describe Jesus . Therefore as Jesus is King , His mother is queen according to jewish traditions. Getting to the King through the mother is a natural thought and spurred Christians to ask Mary to INTERCEDE with Jesus on their behalf. The Dogma is that Mary was and is a virgin before, in and after Christ's birth . It stresses thus the radical novelty of the Incarnation and Mary's no less radical and exclusive dedication to her mission as mother of her Son , Jesus Christ.
She ALWAYS posts her finger to her SON. She leads us towards her SON, does not ask anything for herself.
3. Mary being called CO-Redemptrix is NOT a Dogma.
There have been many misunderstandings about this . The word co or the prefix co in English can imply equality .
The prefix co comes from the Latin cum and that means "with". Mary is not equal to Jesus, she can never be and none of us believe she is but she works WITH Him. She cooperates with him. When we ask her something she points us to HIM. She herself is not the Redeemer. This does not mean we cannot get to Jesus without her. Absolutely not.
@@KnightFel lol, were Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and Tertullian gnostics? Why make up stuff when you could just investigate what the Catholic Church points to as sources?
Was Peter a gnostic when he said Jesus has called and promised to us to become partakers of the divine nature?? (2 Pt 1:4)
Do you even know what Gnosticism refers to? It's a rejection of the human body, of the Incarnation, of grace in and through the physical world.
There was no infallible ecclessial tradition during the Old Testament. Does that mean God was Gnostic at that time?
Yet Scripture says Christ established a single church as a corporeal body. There is one church. So if it’s psychology, if experience shapes the question, then Christ’s truth and church becomes an individual matter. There must be an objective criteria for conversion and St. John Henry Newman provided is with one which is history. Individualism produces protestantism
I grew up Catholic, then attended nondenominational churches in my 20s, but came back to the Catholic Church because of the traditional Latin mass. I think the modern Catholic Church and poor example of lukewarm Catholics is to blame for conversions and loss of faith. Nondenom churches are filled with passionate, committed, welcoming people that love Jesus and the Bible. I respect that so much. But when you see Catholicism at its best and study Christian history, it’s hard not to fall in love with the beauty and fullness of truth of Catholicism.
That is dying out and once the boomers are gone the Church will be traditional once again, the future is tradition.
He’s kind of preaching Mere Christianity from CS Lewis. Which is a great book btw. I just don’t connect at all into Protestantism because they have major issues with one another over salvation. It’s what ultimately drew to me to conversion into Catholicism.
Much to learn from them and to sift out the truth from the falsities of it. So there are nuggets of gold there. CS being one of them
Why?
Simple.
People are hungry for tradition and a sense of orthodoxy.
All depends on what you mean by tradition. There were Jewish traditions, which created the canon. The foundation was laid (past tense) with the apostles. The traditions we see today, were not the traditions Paul was referring to in 2 Thessalonians 2. The only tradition that was passed down to the Gentiles, we see in Acts 17:10-12.
@soteriology400 First off, sacred tradition isn't in scripture. Otherwise it would just be sacred scripture.
Second, ecclesiastical traditions aren't asserted to be the traditions of the apostles. But they're not necessarily bad either. The apostles didn't have crosses on their churches, but that's obviously a good tradition that Protestants follow in. If people have done something for hundreds of years, there's probably a good reason for it
@@sivad1025 Bye
and ultimately the TRUTH
This is a fruitful discussion. However, I find Dr Castaldo's statement at the 32:00 mark about "the Gospel" to be assuming the premise. He states that "to the extent that different churches maintain the GOSPEL, there is unity that one cannot find in an institution." Dr. Castaldo is assuming the Gospel that Luther taught in making that statement. I am kind of surprised that someone of his deep faith and intellect would resort to a logical fallacy to explain away why we have so many denominations. It is also extremely relativistic, as if they have all their own truths but since they believe in Luther's Gospel then it is all good. Can there be unity in division? No that is not possible. I believe it is Acts 2 where it states that all were in one accord. Believing otherwise turns "the Gospel" into a sort of reductionistic concept that becomes devoid of all meaning.
I pray these 2 gentlemen will find their way (back) to the Catholic church.
I think for me the big question is about the Eucharist. I believe that Christ is truly present in it. How to reconcile this with so many doubts?
Nothing wrong with doubt, in my opinion. St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa) had talked and written about her doubts.
Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him.
He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”
“How can this man give us his flesh to eat? many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” and Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you?
“You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. This Lord's question echoes through the ages.
From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
"The words I have spoken to you-they are full of the Spirit and life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe.”
What doubts would you need to reconcile that with? Doubts about which Church is the right Church?
@@taylorbarrett384 not necessarily.... I’m sure that the Eucharist is the real presence of Jesus Christ, and I was on the verge of converting to Catholicism for that very reason, yet I see so much corruption within the church and I have doubts about other doctrines.... the perpetual virginity if Mary and the assumption.... it’s these things I have trouble reconciling 🙏💗
@@allen9069 🙏😊
Catholics literally eat the body & blood of Christ … I’m not sure how you can have a more personal relationship.
For many, it’s because they want unity and also curious about the early church.
Dr Castaldo's soul is in peril. There is one Church as there is One Body of Christ as the Son is One with the Father. This realization made me convert, among other things, and it was a long journey.
It's one thing to find the Church, and another entirely to leave the Church. There is no more personal relationship with Our Lord than the Eucharist. It is the ultimate gift that must never be taken for granted. That I lived so much of my life without it is a shame, to abandon it is unthinkable. That is if any of this is true, but that is what our faith is, the Truth!
@@gnomeresearch1666 “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you are saying, ‘We see,’ so your sin remains."
Praying for the day when all Christians come home.
Me too. Not in our lifetimes, though. 😕😞
I do think we'll get one or two denominations to come back, though! 😁👍🏻
Well, I don't think I'll be buying Dr. Castaldo's book. Pendleton drew summed it up nicely. I can think of nothing more personal and more Biblical than receiving the Eucharist in the Catholic Church. For my Orthodox brothers and sisters, I mean the whole Catholic Church!
"My family goes back to John Bunyan." That is a powerful tie. My abuelita told my dad when he left Rome for Canterbury, "We have been Catholic since before Spain was Spain." It's like turning your back on all your ancestors.
“Our experience of faith leads us to ask new questions, and it usually takes a little time; reading, reflection and dialogue with others, before we can wrap our minds around the doctrinal dimensions of what we believe and why we believe.” This was very edifying for me, and has put into words the fear and trembling that I experience as I’m figuring out my faith.
This was weird lol, I started reading the comments while several minutes into watching the video, and the EXACT moment I started reading yours he started saying those words! It was like he was narrating your comment!! Imagine the odds of that!! 😊
Do you really think Jesus left it to every individual to "figure it out"?
@@tonyl3762 True, when there was really only one church claiming authority it was a simpler task for people: Be a Christian or don’t. But of course, LIVING as a Christian and fully understanding what is asked of us has never been simple or easy. As Catholics, we believe that the Holy Spirit has protected the Church for two thousand years. We see the promise of Christ that this would be the case. And it makes sense… as why would God manage to keep the Jewish people more unified for so many centuries than the Church He left (which has the full gospel and the Holy Spirit)? But these days, people born into non-Catholic Christian traditions indeed have to think and pray through a lot due to the division created 500 years ago. They deserve space and time to work through these questions, and I think our fellowship and encouragement as they do so.
@@joeterp5615 I did not ask about the situation of the modern Christian today (or even in the past); I asked about what Jesus intended for every Christian in every age, whether He intended individual Christians to have to "figure out" the faith/doctrines for themselves.
There have always been heresies and schisms in the Church. They are there in the New Testament. But before the Protestant Rebellion, it was always a question of figuring out which community was the real Church with real authority with real credentials going back historically to the apostles. It was never "figure out" which doctrines are true on my own from Scripture; that was always the modus operandi of the heretics.
I think it is debatable that the Jewish people are more unified than Christians. And even if true, most of that has to do with the Roman massacre of various sects of Judaism in the 1st century. The ancient diversity in Judaism was literally killed off. Though even today, Jews range from nominal, ethnic atheists to ultra-orthodox and everything in between. This is the case for most all religions, at least in the West, even for Islam.
ive been watching vlogs of former Evangelical Bible Scholars , Pastors ,famous Gospel Singers et al on why they abandoned Christianity . For me ,its likely they were in the wrong faith .They didnt experience the Eucharist . I hope one day ,they will give Christianity another chance, thru the Catholic Church!
John Bergsma did a good explanation of why the dates are different for the Passover in the Gospels, the reason Bart Ehrman left Christianity; it’s because the different sects of Judaism had different calendars, much like the Catholic and Orthodox churches. But you wouldn’t understand that if you take into consideration differny outside sources of Judaism.
@@EpoRose1Bart Ehrman left Christianity because a loved one died a young and painful death. Let's be honest. The rest was just post-hoc rationalisation.
I'm not crapping on him for it! I understand. I just think we shouldn't pretend it was for intellectual reasons. 😕
Yeah, Catholics aren't going thru the "deconstruction" phase right now, because we have nothing to "deconstruct." Evangelicalism was built on sand, and now the storm is washing it away.
I'm intrigued that Francis Chan, a popular pastor i admire, is even saying that Sola Scriptura is silly.
is there a clip of this on youtube? ive often wondered if he would convert to Catholicism or Eastern Orthodoxy but assumed that his life's work in his ministry would make it very difficult.
I'm hoping that he will... conversions for pastors like Francis Chan can take years, maybe decades.
I would love to see a clip of this
@firmbiz000 yes. There's a channel called JD Catholic Engage. He did a video about Francis Chan and Sola Scriptura recently.
@@saradorris3554 I don't see any evidence of Chan rejecting sola scriptura. Sola scriptura is NOT "I'm just going with my own interpretation of the bible"
I was impressed by Dr Castaldo. Would love to see him again.
Glad you enjoyed him!
What frustrates me about this comments section is how it is different from all of the comments sections that have Roman Catholic/ Eastern Orthodox guests. Those videos have tons of kind, and gracious comments, directed at both Austin AND his guest... Yet here, because it is someone of a protestant tradition, the comments are much more snarky, and passive aggressive. It shows what appears to be an imbalance of how we view these speakers... It shows a built in bias AGAINST guests who disagree with the established position of the viewership. There is a FAR better approach to commenting and speaking on these issues than what is demonstrated.
This isn't to say EVERYONE in the comments being rude, but It certainly feels different.
💯 accurate comment.
It's just rebuttals.
@@MeanBeanComedy thats just an assertion.
His continued use of the term "Roman Catholic" is really annoying and shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the issues. The Latin Rite is just one of the many Rites of the Catholic Church, and several of the Eastern Rites also get many converts from Protestantism. The Eastern Rites allow a convert to enjoy the full beauty or orthodoxy without the theological problems with one of the Eastern Orthodox churches, and that is very attractive to many Protestants coming home to the Church. "Roman Catholic" is a slur designed to forward the lie that Catholicism is some weird Italian cult and is an improper adjective to describe the Church. Protestant apologists should stop using it; they would make better arguments without it. Catholics who encounter Protestant brethren using the term should push back on it.
Costaldo states the Protestant sects have "apostolic unity in belief". On the contrary, the disagree on a multitude of doctrines including Faith Alone and Bible Alone. You don't seperate over "secondary issues": 1. Disunity on “Faith Alone”
Lutherans understand the formula of sola fide in a way that does not exclude baptism as a means of justification, as do some Anglicans, some Presbyterians in relation to elect infants, and members of the Campbellite or “Church of Christ” movement. For many Protestants, however, the idea of baptism as a means of salvation is seen as a direct violation of sola fide. This division goes back to the early days of the Protestant Reformation, as illustrated by Luther’s Large Catechism, in which he excoriates Anabaptists for the new, non-baptismal interpretation they were giving his “faith alone” formula.
Following their founder, Lutherans also understand sola fide in a way that allows salvation to be lost, as do most Methodists, Wesleyans, Pentecostals, Charismatics, and many Anglicans. However, Calvinists, Baptists, and many non-denominational Evangelicals influenced by Calvinists hold that, if it is possible to lose salvation, then justification is accomplished in part by one’s “works” (in this case, avoiding the sins that would cause its loss), which is a violation of sola fide. (Those who concede the possibility of losing salvation are also split on the possibility of regaining it after a fall.)
Lutherans, Calvinists, Methodists, Pentecostals, and many Anglicans and Baptists understand sola fide in a way that requires one to repent of one’s sins in order to be justified. However, some Baptists, non-denominational Evangelicals, and especially many Dispensationalists hold that, if repentance is understood as involving a behavioral change whereby one turns away from one’s sinful pattern of life, then salvation is in some measure “by works,” violating sola fide.
One of the most contentious points among Protestants is the meaning of the term faith in “faith alone.” It is widely recognized, per James 2:14-26, that not all forms of faith justify. However, there is great disagreement over the nature of “saving faith” or “justifying faith.” Some Protestants, such as Z. Hodges and C. C. Ryrie, appear to hold that saving faith consists of a person’s recognition and acceptance of the fact that Christ died for him (part of what Catholics call the virtue of faith). Others, such as R. C. Sproul, insist that saving faith includes a conscious decision to trust Christ for salvation (equivalent to what Catholics call the virtue of hope). Still others, in keeping with Galatians 5:6, insist that saving faith includes trust and results in a life of good works, which are inspired by supernatural love (equivalent to what Catholics call the virtue of charity).
Various Protestants will also add into the definition of faith the need for faith to be expressed in baptism, the need for faith to be expressed in repentance, the need for faith to be expressed in good works, the need for a particular form of emotional confidence, the need to have faith in God rather than “faith in one’s own faith,” and other qualifiers.
Those who do not share the same understanding of saving faith are, by necessity, looked upon as having a false understanding of “faith alone.”
2. Disunity on “Scripture Alone”
Protestants also disagree over sola scriptura. Aside from the fact that some Protestants (e.g., some Lutherans) are willing to concede that certain books might not belong in the canon of Scripture-thus disagreeing with fellow Protestants on what counts as Scripture-there is a wide range of exceptions and qualifications that different groups wish to be made.
Many Anglicans and some Lutherans and Calvinists give the early Church Fathers an authoritative-but not binding-role in the interpretation of Scripture. Many of the same individuals give this interpretive role to the early ecumenical councils and certain key creeds (e.g., the Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian).
Many Protestants from confessional traditions (Lutherans, Calvinists, and Anglicans) also wish to see the confessions of their particular movements given special weight in the interpretation of Scripture.
Many Protestants honor the principle that academic study tools and techniques should be used in the interpretation of Scripture, such as linguistic, literary, archaeological, cultural, historical, and critical studies). Other Protestants reject some or all of these methods. Some even go to the extreme of limiting interpretation to a single translation (usually the King James Version) as interpreted without academic training or resources.
Pentecostals, Protestant Charismatics, and Word-Faith adherents insist that in interpreting Scripture, information provided as “revelation knowledge” by the charismatic gifts must be taken into account. Other Protestants reject any role for such alleged information.
Beautifully said! You've been studying this for decades, haven't you? 😉
@@MeanBeanComedy Not some much studying it, but rather simply observing it. 500 years of the flawed nature of Sola Scriptura is there for all to see.
Excellent. Now do it again with all the disputes among Catholics.
@@noxvenit "disputes among Catholics"? False equivalence my friend. The teaching magisterium of the Catholic Church presents ONE official body of doctrine to the Faithful, where as Sola Scriptura presents MANY THOUSANDS of versions of the body of doctrine to people. Sola Scriptura, by its very nature, requires each individual/group to arrive at their own doctrinal conclusions. In Catholicism there is a body-the bishops teaching in union with the pope-who “speak for the Church” and who can articulate what “the Catholic position” is, while in Protestantism there is nothing comparable. You can see the problem you have. Furthermore, the dissadents within the Catholic Church are far less than in the sweep of Protestant belief. Pax
@@DD-bx8rb "...The teaching magisterium of the Catholic Church presents ONE official body of doctrine to the Faithful,..." ~ Totalitarian regimes also teach ONE official body of doctrine. Having only ONE body of doctrine is nice, but that doesn't make every proposition true. Diversity of opinion in some matters is permissible.
"... Sola Scriptura presents MANY THOUSANDS of versions of the body of doctrine to people...." ~ Many thousands? No, not thousands.
"Sola Scriptura, by its very nature, requires each individual/group to arrive at their own doctrinal conclusions." ~ It doesn't require anything beyond affirmation of the proposition that the Bible is the only infallible rule of faith and practice. Yes, that does permit some diversity of opinion, which is risky, but that is a necessary consequence of believing that while we may have an infallible text, we do not have an infallible interpretive body interpreting that infallible text. A supposedly infallible interpreting body may make you feel all warm inside, but that doesn't mean you actually have such an interpretive body.
There's nothing more personal and intimate in the world than receiving our Lord and Savior on the tongue and feeding on His flesh. After receiving, I rejoice and say "my beloved is mine and I am his" as the Song of Songs states. I pray that all my Christian brothers and sisters come to the fullness of the faith and deepen their personal relationship with Christ in this central teaching.
The True Presence requires that a validly ordained priest with Apostolic Succession says the Words of Christ during Mass. The Eucharist is the most sublime gift to all humanity, Christ inviting us to become one with Him as He offers Himself to the Father as atonement for our sins. I sincerely hope that one day you will partake in this joy. God bless you and keep you in His Tender Care.
As a Catholic revert, I wonder why you use the word phenomenon?
I am looking forward to hearing this video.
“Primary sources”… great advice. Works great for history as well. My opinions on a lot of things in America started to change when I stopped, listening to what reporters were saying on the news, and started reading the actual letters of Washington, Jefferson, Adam’s and the other founders.
We all have our own unique spiritual journeys. Mine was from Evangelical Anglican and Hebrew Christian to Orthodox Judaism to Hebrew Catholic and Ordinariate Catholic. I am now a Catholic consecrated Brother in a Catholic community over the last 13 or so years.
You need to find the Orthodox church. I promise you will remain there.
Good grief, dude! One more denomination and you get a free frozen yoghurt.
@@MeanBeanComedy Well that would be good as I love yoghurt.
@@gilbertbloomer586 😆😆😝
I'm glad to hear that, brother. 😉
Protestant to Catholic conversion is an urban and online phenomenon. In sparse rural areas it is extremely rare. I was raised on a farm, fundamental evangelical, and am turning 50 this year, still farming, and I was received into the Church in 2011. Among all my rural protestant (nominal or practising) acquaintances I cannot recall a single one ever evincing a desire to consider Catholicism. Online it might seem like a big thing, but the real world it is not really a trend of statistical significance. I live in the real world. My struggle spiritually in leaving protestantism lasted about 15 years, and I have nothing to go back to. I have set my hand to the plough as it were. I may not make it but the daily struggle gives me hope that I am on the narrow hard path to holiness and conformity with God's will. But for daily grace I am sure to flounder and fall. Life is a warfare...living martyrdom.
Praise God for your journey. You are a gift to the church (no matter how remote). God must have a great plan for you in your small corner of the world.
I would like to push back on your "real world" take. It may be true in rural America that you won't find many conversions, but here are some stats I learned about recently that gave me great hope:
Catholics in South Korea have increased by nearly 1,200% over the past 50 years.
This year 550 People will become Catholic in the Diocese of Houston,
1,350 people will be received into the Church in the archdiocese Washington,
400 in Westminster UK,
450 will convert in the archdiocese of Southwark UK which marks the highest number of conversions in ten years,
650 will convert in the diocese of Little Rock Arkansas, 600 in Philadelphia
2,500 will become Catholic in Atlanta, 300 in Memphis, and
1,000 will enter the Church in Portland.
Just to say....continue to have hope!
I live in the real world, too. It's almost standing-room only at this point in RCIA. Do you think we're just imagining this? Do you think we have no statistics? Your attempt to refute this trend by citing the least-populated, least-culturally-influential regions of the country seems silly. I get it--my extended family is rural, and they'll never stop being low-church Lutherans, and they're all very important to me, but I'm not pretending like my grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles remaining Lutheran in the sticks is somehow overturning an actual trend at hand.
You do realise the people who are posting online have churches in real life they attend, right?
Wow incredible, I was specifically looking for quite some time now for a book reviewing (from a non-Catholic apologetic perspective) the reasons Protestants convert to Catholicism.
So I am glad I've came across your video which introduced me to the work of Dr. Chris Castaldo, I'll definitely get his book God willing.
Thanks a lot.
By the way I am a Muslim apologist and I've already watched some of your videos, I really appreciate your charitable attitude in your videos.
The book series _Surprised By Truth_ by Patrick Madrid is an excellent resource by converts to Catholicism sharing their story. Also excellent is The Coming Home Network. See their TV show, "The Journey Home." They have the shows archived, 25+ years, and you can search by denomination and by pastor or laity.
@@TruthHasSpoken Thank you very much, I appreciate it.
I am already familiar with those resources but I now need to read about it from a non-Catholic perspective as I always get the Catholic perspective on this issue but rarely a Protestant or non-Christian perspective on this phenomena.
I am watching and listening to so much Catholic contents that I am kinda trapped into a echo chamber right now ^^
@@misericordepourlhumanite Good to read and follow your conscience. Also excellent is Cardinal Henry Newman's _On Christian Doctrine._. He explored history, going back every 100 years, and what he found was Catholic beliefs. He coined the phrase, "To be deep in history is to cease to be protestant."
There is an article on the website by Casey Chalk: "Holy Church: Finding Jesus As a Reverted Catholic; A Testimonial Response to Chris Castaldo".
The website Called to Communion!
Great video!
Glad you enjoyed it!
@@GospelSimplicityua-cam.com/video/ZjRU2vNUXUs/v-deo.htmlfeature=shared
My final prayer every morning is to be guided in my evangelical mission and be made useful in uniting all followers of Christ. These goals seem inseparable to me. Conversations like this are very reaffirming. Thanks!
Are you willing to be guided into the Catholic Church if that is what Christ would ask of you?
@@bluecomb5376I think that's what he's talking about.
At the 12:45 video mark is where he presents his thesis... It's also where I'll turn the video off. I'm disappointed to say the least. Very shallow thesis. I'm sure it may apply to some people's perspective, but in today's depth of available material not adequate.
Agree 1000%.
Sad not to see pushback on that statement by Austin.
@@deborahfaiththompson3639 I think 13:12 was his push back. "What do you say to people who say they convert to Catholicism because it's true, it's just true?" That's pretty substantial. I do think the various groups don't understand one another and think the "other" doesn't have the needed relationship with Christ. Today is the Feast day of St. Symeon the New Theologian in the Eastern Orthodox Church. I think he's only one of 3 with "Theologian" title in Orthodoxy. His central thesis was that each person needed a personal relationship with Christ.
I think its as simple as God calling his children home into his fold. Unity will be needed for strength if in fact the very last days are here. I also think the shallowness of Evangelicalism is clear. Often conversion to evangelicalism involves preying on and manipulation of the emotions and mental instability of hurting human beings. The Catholic Church has solid teaching about suffering and how suffering is part of our faith wereas Evangelical teaching in general can assume God will heal your suffering. The subject of suffering and death is taboo in Evangelicalism. Catholic teaching has better answers and also offers Hope in suffering along with powerful intercession from the saints at the time of death.
Regarding apostolic meaning: in the Church (Catholic Church) it is not only about the institution but also about a unified gospel message.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1;7
That is written above the bookshelf in the upper left corner of the video.
I think I saw him on another channel- probably Gavin’s. It strikes me he is more expert on why some Catholic’s become Protestants although he does have an interesting perspective on the opposite phenomenon. Of course given his own journey , that perspective is ultimately apologetical for why they shouldn’t become Catholic for the reasons often given
so he used to be catholic?
It probably was Gavin's channel (I know he was on there with his co-author Brad Littlejohn). I think his dissertation was on the conversions of St. John Henry Newman and Peter Martyr Vermigli and their doctrines of justification. So, I'd say the modern phenomenon of conversion is fairly close to his expertise, but this book is certainly a popular treatment. In any case, I hope you enjoy the episode!
@@GospelSimplicity Well with Vermigli and Newman he apparently looked at both ways in his dissertation. I think there has been something of a "recovery" of Vermigli over the past years
@@GospelSimplicity My Catholic Faith has given me a deeper knowledge of Jesus Christ and relationship with Him. And the depth of knowledge and relevance of Scripture in the Catholic Faith continually amazes me. Castaldo is simply regurgitating the tired old assertions of the Protestant heretics, with a gentle voice and a smile on his face. I pray fo him as his soul is in grave danger having left the Body of Christ. I recommend the site Catholic Answers as it completely rebuts the various assertions Castaldo makes. Peace be with your spirit.
Interesting discussion. Growing up Catholic in Southern New England, I saw many leave the RCC over the last couple of decades due to the child molestation scandal. There were arrests, lawsuits, and settlements that discouraged many at the time. And in accordance, there was a rise in attendance in the protestant churches in the area and some RCC church closures.
Now that the scandal has quieted down for awhile, I wonder if some will go back to the RCC.
Child molestation isn’t just in the Catholic Church
@@Ajas0810 I didn't say it was. But it was widespread in this region during that time. And the RCC was in the news what seemed every other week with a new case being revealed. It emptied many churches, some forced to close. There many old cases showing many shady practices where things were kept under wraps by the RCC and moving around troubled priests to new dioceses. The press was very bad at that time and the consequences showed.
@@anthonym.7653 it was bad and lots of lives were ruined. I will say that when you look at molestation in the Catholic Church compared to the national average amount institutions it is about the same and even happens more in the public schools. The biggest issue with the Catholic Church is they didn’t handle it well.
@@Ajas0810 agreed. The cover up over the 60's thru the 80's was staggering. And yes, it happens on large scales elsewhere...see Jehovah Witnesses.
There were many more in the 60's that quietly left after Vatican 2 reforms, those two events have caused many to fall away.
Hi Austin, I want to recomend " the interior castle, by st Teresa of avila". Please give it a try.
Protestant Denominations need to unite first before saying the Catholic Church is false. You csn have over 40000 Denominations yet get angry at a church eith singular purpose and unity spreading all over the world
This is interesting and helpful.
However, elucidating the psychology of conversion and identifying sociological reasons for conversion to RC or EO doesn't invalidate the truth claims being made. Understanding these factors can help enhance our understanding of human behavior and Christian truth, but it doesn't mean protestantism is the answer.
That's certainly true! I hope we didn't imply that understanding context invalidates the reasoning
@@GospelSimplicity I'm not sure if you did. I don't think so. But I think that it is the conclusion many make. I.e. if I understand the psychology of conversion this somehow invalidates the need to for conversion. I hope that makes sense.
I just hope you talk with Dr. Brant Pitre. I ❤ his way of explaining the faith. Im sure you will ❤ him too
Love your show here in the UK, Austin!
I was wondering, could you do more videos about Catholics who become Protestant? Or perhaps recommendations for people considering converting from Catholicism to Protestantism?
People act like conversion isn’t a two way street, but often time the people who become Protestant are people nobody has heard of, or who people who didn’t do so for theological reasons.
I am a Catholic that has looked into Protestantism, and I do feel attracted to it often. I love Catholicism but sometimes I feel like some beliefs don’t make sense.
Im not sure if out standing factors are enough to cause conversion.
I love the church I came from. They are a godly, tight knit, reverent comutity of loving people. There are plenty of young beautiful women my age. All my family that is christian, is that denomination. My friends are all that denomination, I grew up there and never had a problem until I read the bible where it spoke of having an answer for the hope which lieth within you.
In my search i rapidly went through the stages of liberal christianity, darwinian athiesm, evolutionary diesm, conspiratorial knostic christian, conservative american gun toting christian, to finally almost were I started, non resistant anabaptist.
In the proscess I gained a respect for catholisim, but it became clear quickly what the church taught 100 years ago is not what they teach now.
Then I found orthodoxy. Othordoxy took hold of my heart almost imediatly. It took 4 years of resisting the draw for my mind to catch up with my heart, then another year to realize, and comit to leaving my friends family and hopes.
Next week I hope to become a catecumen in the OCA. I am afraid, I feel like Im leaving a million blessings behind to gain one. I cannot yet believe this could ever benefit me, but despite my best efforts I cannot believe otherwise.
Lord have mercy on me. I have made the leap of faith, and hope the Lord will catch me before I splat on the ground.
"what the church taught 100 years ago is not what they teach now. "
You are referring to???? Note, the Church has never changed doctrine. What can change are practices and disciplines.
Thats quite a journey, I am glad you found a deep well of grace within the OCA
Wish you peace on your journey. Growing up in the RCC, I have some friends & acquaintances that went from RCC to EO mainly because of Francis.
@@anthonym.7653Gotta love Francis... 🙄🙄🙄
Literally. We're forced to. 😑
Could it be that’s it’s True?
I asked him that :)
You make a good point of there being generational shifts. At my church people of my parents generation left the RC church and mainline protestant churches to join the evangelical church. Now in my family 2 of my siblings are Anglican and another uses the Book of Common Prayer. And last week someone at my church shared that his son who is a few years older than me just joined the RC this Easter. So yes, I have seen this shift. The older generation does not understand why their children do this because they did not experience depth in the older churches.
It's because they threw out the mass that the Church used for over a thousand years no wonder they left they said if they can change this they can change anything
Has Dr Castaldo ever had a dialogue with a catholic? I would appreciate if someone could point me to a link of that please. Great dialogue. Keep it up!!
I'm not sure if they've been recorded, but he's been involved in official ecumenical dialogues in the past
@@GospelSimplicity thanks for that. Ahh that’s a real shame! Would be nice to see! Maybe you could organise one?
Very interesting topic! In general, there are indeed a lot of psychological motivations for all conversions (in all directions), mostly in our social media era, when the feeling of belonging - to something more solid than the unrooted self - can offer a way out of the sort of emptiness and shallowness people are possibly dealing with in their lives, spiritually or otherwise. That’s specially frequent among Zoomers, I guess. But it’s also IMPOSSIBLE to ignore the societal repulsion that the anti-Catholic prevalent sentiment, specially in the USA, signifies inside Protestantism (specially Evangelicalism): people can REALLY lose cherished friends, families, careers, universities/ faculties, etc. for the mere fact they became Catholic. So I don’t believe this socio-ideological complexity can ever be put aside in an oversimplified equation or analysis. Most Gen-Z and Millenials who are former Protestants I dealt with will surely consider converting to Eastern Orthodoxy at the very minute they lose confidence in Evangelicalism, mostly to the very EO “online version” ignited by the adversarial/ angry rhetoric that always moves adolescents and young male adults (as more appealing to them), granted that they can and will carry the same ideological anti-Catholic background from their previous communities there too, so that they don’t feel uprooted, but just then NOT suffer the kind of consequences they envision they would if they embraced the Catholic Church (in comparison to the consequences they will have to face as a declared EO, personally and collectively, if any at all).
Therefore, I sense many (not everyone, but lots of) people - specially Gen-Zs- can be quick to decide, announce and instantly militate around a conversion to Eastern Orthodoxy online, even though some cases can be truly different (sure!), but I’d argue that is NOT the general experience of the numbers of converts to Catholicism for the very reason I mentioned, at least in the psychological perspective. For all the individual and collective costs, those processes in general tend to be actually done through an authentic intellectual and spiritual quest for truth, processes that usually bring anxiety to them - and, in my judgment, it tends to be the specific case of former Protestants who become Catholics. The bright side of this phenomenon is how “on fire” those converts can be and how enriching they are to the Catholic faith, whereas they can be alienated and really treated unsatisfactorily elsewhere. If someone wants to put my opinion to check, then think of the “quality” of the average Catholic convert from Protestantism and compare it with the “quality” of the average Protestant convert from a Catholic familial background. Of course I’m talking about averages, not all individuals. The case can also be made with all conversions, as far as the psychological aspect goes - and I humbly think the argument stands. Catholic converts from Protestantism are usually precious and they are just like that in the average, judging precisely for the maturity and theological knowledge required and consumed in the process, not in an exceptional basis. So I hope the idea of the personal and societal costs to get through a conversion from Protestantism to Catholicism - in the psychological realm - gets to be talked about too, Austin, because that’s an impressive phenomenon.
*EDIT (after):* the video, as I suspected, didn’t exactly touch what I assumed it needed in order to at least be fair. And Dr Castaldo kind of implied Catholicism perceivably fails to offer a “biblically-centered” Christianity or “a personal relationship with Jesus”, which is, unfortunately, part of the strawmanning machine that makes operative the sort of accusation Protestantism will necessarily and existentially make about Catholicism, I guess. There are some other Catholic caricatures too (which can be specially common to former Catholics who happened to become Protestant pastors).
God bless!
Touch grass dude
@@countryboyredI don’t even know what that means.
@@masterchief8179 you strike me as someone who is chronically online.
@@countryboyred Then that’s frankly bizarre, since I’m a married man with a baby son and I only post after he sleeps (if ever). The only platform I use is UA-cam for podcasts I appreciate. I don’t even have social media like Instagram or Facebook (or whatever). So the probable “problem” for you is that somehow you see posts from me on certain topics I like to discuss and, let me guess, you don’t like them. I would put my money on you being a convert to EO on the exact conditions I talked about. In that sense, I honestly don’t believe my supposed “presence online” (I’m not a teenager, I’m not even American nor live in the US and I’m not even an English native speaker) is the real problem I pose to you, kid. God bless your paths, my friend.
@@countryboyredHe is seldom on UA-cam.
What was the original reason given for withholding the cup from the laity? What year was it? 1100s? Why did the practice continue till this day?
Good question!
There are several things to note about this.
1. The practice was not universal. Eastern Catholics have always communicated under both kinds.
2. From what I've heard about it, there doesn't seem to be a clear idea why the practice began. Some have said it was in response to heretical teachings about the Eucharist.
3. This practice doesn't seem to have continued till the modern day. The Latin Church has permitted the distribution of the chalice since the Second Vatican Council. Of course, local practice may vary.
@@StoaoftheSouth It's still practiced in most of the Catholic churches in my town.
@@pigetstuck Which practice are you referring to?
The official teaching of the Catholic Church is that when you receive under one form you receive both.
This definitely comes off more as a "what a protestant pastor imagines people become Catholic for" than an actual examination of the reasons people become Catholic. An easy study of that would be to listen to the reasons people convert - I have listened to a large number of conversion stories (in addition to my own of course) on shows like "journey home" -- ua-cam.com/video/AnJGikoyYGM/v-deo.html and have never heard emotionalism as a reason that they converted. If you pay attention it is much more intellectual (especially than most protestant conversions) and often Biblically based. Often the lack of Biblical evidence for Sola Fide and Sola Scriptura are core reasons, in addition to seeing Biblical structures of authority. Learning about Catholicism helped the Bible to make more sense to me. I could make more sense of scriptures that most protestants gloss over, like when Jesus gave the apostles the authority to forgive sins (John 20:23) or how Paul could "fill up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions" (Col. 1:24).
Furthermore, he criticizes a couple of things which affect Protestants just the same as Catholics - "Conversionitis" and people who convert because of their spouse. Both are equally common among Protestants, but I doubt that he is criticizing them.
Also, I think it is important to recognize the difference between what causes someone to begin their search and the causes of conversion (thinking of St. Newman here). They are not necessarily the same things.
The only Church not founded by Man, The Catholic Church ❤
I think the Real Presence/the Eucharist is a core reason.
The Catholics and Orthodox offer spiritual union with Christ PLUS a physical union.
The Catholics and Orthodox believe that the Eucharist is truly and substantially Jesus Himself in the flesh in the most real sense.
Once a person becomes convinced that the Real Presence is an authentic belief in the early church and is the authentic interpretation of scripture, that is a tough one to get around.
People will accept a lot of ambivalence and even doubt in other areas but Christians will go where they think the fullness of that unity with Christ can be found.
We become one with what we eat.
There's just nothing like it.
It would be nigh impossible to walk away from Christ in the flesh/the Eucharist if one really believed that - despite the all too human foibles so embarrassingly on display in the Catholic Church. One would instead stay and work to make it better.
"Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
For My flesh is real food, and My blood is real drink.
Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in him.
....the one who feeds on Me will live because of Me."
"...many of His disciples said, “This is a difficult teaching. Who can accept it?”
...From that time on many of His disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him....
Jesus asked the Twelve, “Do you want to leave too?”
Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go?"
Are there protestant churches that teach the real presence?
Lutherans teach a spiritual real presence, but not literal like the Catholic and EO do. @@pigetstuck
@@inspiers69 can you link me to a source on that?
@@pigetstuck There are in fact a number of denominations who hold various shades or versions of the Real Presence BUT... people then realize that even if a protestant denomination does teach the Real Presence in some form, it was not a doctrine they continuously held from the early church but someone's latter day conclusion from their understanding "in the flesh" of what scripture or tradition means - that's why they are kind of all over the place. Like how Francis Chan for instance came to hold that belief. We know he simply figured that out that understanding for himself unlike the Catholics or Orthodox who say that is what they have always believed. Gavin Ortland has a video on the real presence in the Protestant traditions.
The Anglo cathloic church where I attend teaches that at the words of consecration during the liturgy the bread and wine become the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ.