Becoming Catholic Blog
Becoming Catholic Blog
The “Becoming Catholic” blog is a multi-part, multi-year, bite-size, fact-focused attempt at describing the journey of a lifelong protestant to the Catholic Church. Each post is numbered according to when it was authored, but organized on this page by topic.
General Topics
Becoming Catholic #2—The “Big ‘C’” Catholic Church in the Church Fathers
Becoming Catholic #11—Which “gospel”? Which “biblical”?
Becoming Catholic #12—Why Acts 15 Led Me to the Catholic Church
Becoming Catholic #15—“To be deep in history is to cease to be a Protestant”
Becoming Catholic #28—Former Calvinist Theologian and Historian Set out to Disprove the Catholic Church, and Becomes Catholic—The Story of Dr. David Anders
Becoming Catholic #38—Protestantism’s Mormonism Problem (to be re-posted soon)
The Heresy of "Sola Scriptura"
Becoming Catholic #17—How I Concluded “Scripture Alone” Was False While Still a Protestant
Becoming Catholic #27—No One in Scripture Interpreted it On Their Own
The Eucharist
Becoming Catholic #1—The Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist in the Church Fathers
Becoming Catholic #9—The Church Fathers, and the Christian Sacrifice of the Eucharist
Becoming Catholic #13—St. Justin Martyr, the Mass, and the Church’s Early Eucharistic Doctrine
Apostolic Succession
Becoming Catholic #39—The Biblical Roots of Apostolic Succession, Infallibility, and the Indefectibility of the Church, Part 1: When Jesus Began to Reign as King
Becoming Catholic #45—St. Augustine: Apostolic Succession Prophesied in the Psalms (Exposition of Psalm 45)
The Papacy
Becoming Catholic #35—Victorian Protestant Scholar Praises the Papacy as the Most Enduring Institution in World History
Becoming Catholic #44—Papal Snapshot: Origen Repents to St. Pope Fabian (mid 200s)
Becoming Catholic #40—Papal Snapshot: Pagan Historian Acknowledges “the higher authority of the bishop of the Eternal City” (c. 355)
Becoming Catholic #41—Papal Snapshot: St. Jerome, and the One True Church Built on the Rock of Peter and His Successors in Rome (c. 376/77)
Becoming Catholic #42—Papal Snapshot: St. Peter Chrysologus Says the Pope is Required to Settle Doctrinal Disputes (448)
Becoming Catholic #43—Papal Snapshot: Papal Authority Affirmed in Emperor Justinian’s Civil Code of Law (533-34)
Where is the true Church?
Becoming Catholic #29—Where is the True Church? St. Augustine, Part 1: Against the Fundamental Epistle of Manichaeus
Becoming Catholic #31—Where is the True Church? St. Augustine, Part 2: Of True Religion
What did the ancient Church believe?
Becoming Catholic #18—What Did the Ancient Church Believe? The Unity and Necessity of the Church for Salvation
Becoming Catholic #21—What Did the Ancient Church Believe? Baptismal Regeneration
Becoming Catholic #22—What Did the Ancient Church Believe? The Catholic Church is the One True Church
The Jewish roots of the Catholic Church
Becoming Catholic #19—The Jewish Roots of Catholic Authority, Part 1: Moses and the Priesthood Speak for God
Becoming Catholic #20—The Jewish Roots of Catholic Authority, Part 2: Urim and Thummim
Becoming Catholic #26—The Jewish Roots of Catholic Authority, Part 3: “Apostolic Succession” in the Old Testament
Becoming Catholic #24—Where is the True Church? A Typological Connection Between Ancient Israel and the Catholic Church
Becoming Catholic #34—Jewish Roots of Catholic Authority, Part 4: What Was the Jewish Understanding of Jesus’s Words About “Binding and Loosing”?
Faith, Works, and Justification
Becoming Catholic #7—The Day of Judgment, and Works, Part 1
Purgatory
Becoming Catholic #32—Purgatory in the Bible, Part 1: Purgatory in a Parable of Jesus
The deuterocanonical ("apocryphal") books of the Bible
Becoming Catholic #30—The Prophecy That Convinced Me the “Apocrypha” Was Part of the Bible
Church authority, and Saint Ignatius the red pill (five parts)
Becoming Catholic #3—Church Authority, and Saint Ignatius the Red Pill, Part 1
Becoming Catholic #5—Church Authority, and Saint Ignatius the Red Pill, Part 2
Becoming Catholic #6—Church Authority, and Saint Ignatius the Red Pill, Part 3
Becoming Catholic #8—Church Authority, and Saint Ignatius the Red Pill, Part 4
Becoming Catholic #10—Church Authority, and Saint Ignatius the Red Pill, Part 5: Roman Finale
Family matters: Marriage and sexuality
Becoming Catholic #33—Family Matters, Part 1: Christ and the Apostles Forbade Divorce and Remarriage
This looks familiar: Protestantism and ancient heresies
Becoming Catholic #14—This Looks Familiar: Protestantism and Ancient Heresies (#1: St. Athanasius)
Becoming Catholic #16—This Looks Familiar: Protestantism and Ancient Heresies (#2: St. Epiphanius of Salamis)
Becoming Catholic #37—This Looks Familiar: Protestantism and Ancient Heresies (#3: St. Isidore of Seville)
Wicked shepherds
Becoming Catholic #4—Wicked Shepherds: A Comedy on Why a Medieval Jew Became a Medieval Catholic
Becoming Catholic #23—Wicked Shepherds: St. Augustine on Remaining in the One True Church
Setting the record straight: The Truth vs. Anti-Catholic myths
Becoming Catholic #25—Setting the Record Straight: The Pope Repents of the Priesthood’s Sins, and Predicts Disastrous Consequences of Luther’s “Evangelical Liberty”
Becoming Catholic #36—Setting the Record Straight: How Protestantism Laid the Foundations of Modern Secularism (atheist convert Dr. Alan Fimister)
Angels and demons, signs and wonders
(Coming Soon)
The great mountain: The history, philosophy, and the theology of Christendom
(Coming Soon)
A new thing under the sun: America in the shadow of Christendom
(Coming Soon)
The foolishness of God: The end times
Becoming Catholic #46—Most Christians, Including Catholics, Already Embrace Antichrist’s Agenda
Quote archives
Becoming Catholic Quote Archive—The Catholic Church and Faith
Becoming Catholic Quote Archive—The Canon of the Scripture
Becoming Catholic Quote Archive—Apostolic Tradition
Becoming Catholic Quote Archive—Apostolic Succession
Becoming Catholic Quote Archive—The Offices of Bishop, Priest, and Deacon
Becoming Catholic Quote Archive—Baptismal Regeneration
Becoming Catholic Quote Archive—The Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist
Becoming Catholic Quote Archive—The Sacrifice of the Eucharist
Becoming Catholic Quote Archive—The Sacrament of Confirmation
Becoming Catholic Quote Archive—The Sacrament of Confession
Becoming Catholic Quote Archive—Mortal Sin: Christians Can Lose Their Salvation
Becoming Catholic Quote Archive—Intercession of the Saints
Becoming Catholic Quote Archive—Purgatory
Becoming Catholic Quote Archive—Holy Mary, Mother of God, New Eve, Ever-Virgin
Becoming Catholic Quote Archive—Development of Doctrine
Study banks
Becoming Catholic Study Bank—“Grace” in the New Testament
Becoming Catholic Study Bank—Baptism in the New Testament
Becoming Catholic Study Bank—Justification in the New Testament
Becoming Catholic Study Bank—Church Unity Commanded in the New Testament
Becoming Catholic Study Bank—The Holy Spirit
Becoming Catholic Study Bank—The Kingdom in the New Testament
Becoming Catholic Study Bank—The Ancient Lists and Testimonies of Popes Succeeding from Peter
Becoming Catholic Study Bank—The Kings and Queen Mothers of the Davidic Kingdom in the Old Testament
Becoming Catholic Study Bank—The Davidic Covenant in the New Testament
Becoming Catholic Study Bank—The Parables of Christ
#2 | The “Big ‘C’” Catholic Church in the Church Fathers
#11 | Which “gospel”? Which “biblical”?
#12 | Why Acts 15 Led Me to the Catholic Church
#15 | “To be deep in history is to cease to be a Protestant”
#28 | Former Calvinist Theologian and Historian Set out to Disprove the Catholic Church, and Becomes Catholic—The Story of Dr. David Anders
#38 |Protestantism’s Mormonism Problem (to be re-posted soon)
#35 | Victorian Protestant Scholar Praises the Papacy as the Most Enduring Institution in World History
#44 | Papal Snapshot: Origen Repents to St. Pope Fabian (mid 200s)
#40 | Papal Snapshot: Pagan Historian Acknowledges “the higher authority of the bishop of the Eternal City” (c. 355)
#41 | Papal Snapshot: St. Jerome, and the One True Church Built on the Rock of Peter and His Successors in Rome (c. 376/77)
#42 | Papal Snapshot: St. Peter Chrysologus Says the Pope is Required to Settle Doctrinal Disputes (448)
#43 | Papal Snapshot: Papal Authority Affirmed in Emperor Justinian’s Civil Code of Law (533-34)
(Coming Soon)
#19 | The Jewish Roots of Catholic Authority, Part 1: Moses and the Priesthood Speak for God
#20 | The Jewish Roots of Catholic Authority, Part 2: Urim and Thummim
#26 | The Jewish Roots of Catholic Authority, Part 3: “Apostolic Succession” in the Old Testament
#24 | Where is the True Church? A Typological Connection Between Ancient Israel and the Catholic Church
#34 | Jewish Roots of Catholic Authority, Part 4: What Was the Jewish Understanding of Jesus’s Words About “Binding and Loosing”?
#3 | Church Authority, and Saint Ignatius the Red Pill, Part 1
#5 | Church Authority, and Saint Ignatius the Red Pill, Part 2
#6 | Church Authority, and Saint Ignatius the Red Pill, Part 3
#8 | Church Authority, and Saint Ignatius the Red Pill, Part 4
#10 | Church Authority, and Saint Ignatius the Red Pill, Part 5: Roman Finale
(Coming Soon)
(Coming Soon)
Quote Archive | The Catholic Church and Faith in the Church Fathers
Quote Archive | The Canon of the Scripture
Quote Archive | Apostolic Tradition
Quote Archive | Apostolic Succession
Quote Archive | The Papacy
Quote Archive | The Sacrament of Baptism
Quote Archive | The Sacrament of Confirmation
Quote Archive | The Blessed Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist
Quote Archive | The Sacrament of Holy Orders, and the Authority of the Priesthood
Quote Archive | The Sacrament of Confession
Quote Archive | The Sacrament of Last Rites
Quote Archive | Mortal Sin: Christians Can Lose Their Salvation
Quote Archive | Intercession of the Saints
Quote Archive | Holy Mary, Mother of God
Quote Archive | Purgatory
Quote Archive | Development of Doctrine
Quote Archive | Antichrist, Katechōn, Jerusalem, the Jews, and the Temple
Quote Archive | Abortion
Study Bank | “Grace” in the New Testament
Study Bank | Baptism in the New Testament
Study Bank | Justification in the New Testament
Study Bank | Church Unity Commanded in the New Testament
Study Bank | The Holy Spirit
Study Bank | The Kingdom in the New Testament
Study Bank | The Ancient Lists and Testimonies of Popes Succeeding from Peter
Study Bank | The Kings and Queen Mothers of the Davidic Kingdom in the Old Testament
Study Bank | The Davidic Covenant in the New Testament
Study Bank | The Parables of Christ
Study Bank | Pagan Attempt to Rebuild the Temple Thwarted