Jump to a Teaching

Foundations

  1. 1 Sola Scriptura vs. Scripture & Tradition
  2. 2 Sola Fide vs. Faith & Works (Justification)
  3. 3 Mary & the Saints
  4. 4 The Eucharist (Real Presence & the Mass)
  5. 5 Papal Authority & Apostolic Succession
  6. 6 Purgatory & Indulgences
  7. 7 Church of Christ-Specific Issues
  8. 8 Calvinist-Specific Issues (TULIP vs. Grace & Free Will)
  9. 14 The Canon of Scripture (Why Catholic Bibles Have 73 Books)
  10. 22 What “Justified” Means (and Paul vs. James)

Sacraments

  1. 9 Confession & Reconciliation
  2. 15 Baptism (and Why Catholics Baptize Infants)
  3. 19 Holy Orders & Priestly Celibacy
  4. 20 Confirmation (Is It an Extra Ceremony?)

Pastoral

  1. 10 Salvation Outside the Church

Practice

  1. 11 Images & Repetition (Statues & the Rosary)

Marian Dogmas

  1. 12 Immaculate Conception & Assumption
  2. 18 Mary’s Perpetual Virginity (and “the Brothers of Jesus”)

Capstone

  1. 13 The Nicene Creed, Line by Line

Church History

  1. 16 The “Great Apostasy” Claim (Did the Church Fall Away?)
  2. 17 The Abuse Scandal (Can This Be Christ’s Church?)
  3. 21 The Church Fathers (Who They Were and How to Cite Them)
Deep in History

Understanding Catholicism

“To be deep in history is to cease to be a Protestant.”John Henry Newman, An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine (1878 edition), Introduction §5
Portrait of John Henry Newman by John Everett Millais, 1881 (public domain)

A study guide for understanding Catholic teaching and talking about it kindly, written for someone raised Protestant. Each Teaching sets out the strongest objection first, then the Catholic reply.

Not sure where to start?

Four Teachings that the others build on, in this order:

  1. Sola Scriptura vs. Scripture & Tradition
  2. The Canon of Scripture (Why Catholic Bibles Have 73 Books)
  3. The Church Fathers (Who They Were and How to Cite Them)
  4. Papal Authority & Apostolic Succession

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