In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Dr. James Prothro to talk about the historical and biblical roots of the Catholic Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Where does the idea of the Sacraments come from? Where do we see the roots of repentance, reconciliation, and forgiveness in the Old Testament? What about penance? And how do these historical roots connect to how Catholics practice the Sacrament of Reconciliation – commonly called Confession – today.

Dr. Prothro gives a through treatment of this incredibly important sacrament linking it all the way back to the Garden of Eden and the beginning of mankind and explaining – all the way to today – why confessing our sins to a priest is one of the greatest gifts God gave his followers, and mankind.

For more from Dr. Prothro you can follow him on Twitter and his published material on Academia.

Check out his book The Bible and Reconciliation: Confession, Repentance, and Restoration from Baker Academic.

He also recommended The Sacrament of Reconciliation by Dr. Robert Fastiggi and the following Scriptures, for context: 2 Corinthians 5-6 and the Gospel of Luke (focusing on the Parable of the Prodigal Son).

For more, visit The Cordial Catholic. Send your feedback to [email protected].

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A very special thanks to our Patreon co-producers who make this show possible: Amanda, Elli and Tom, Fr. Larry, Gina, Heather, James, Jorg, Michelle, Noah, Robert, Shelby, Susanne and Victor, and William.

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In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Gerard Figurelli, a former pastor, radio host, apologist, and a student under some of the very best Evangelical minds in North America, to tell his incredible story of his return – his reconciliation – with Rome.

Raised Catholic, Gerard received all of the sacraments but never really felt connected to Christ until a radical encounter in a Baptist church. From there, Gerard spent decades working in pastoral ministry and studying under some of the greatest Evangelical teachers including the late Dr. Norman Geisler at Southern Evangelical Seminary and Dr. Francis Beckwith at Baylor University.

Both Dr. Geisler – and SES itself – and Dr. Beckwith figure prominently in Figurelli's journey – Figurelli was working as a Teaching Assistant under Beckwith when Beckwith had his own return to the Catholicism of his upbringing.

In this episode we dig into what prompted Figurelli and his wife to begin re-examining their Evangelical faith, how learning about Christianity drew them both deeper towards Catholicism in particular, and the role of Scripture and the Early Church Fathers. It's a fantastic conversation!

For more from Gerard visit his YouTube channel.

For more, visit The Cordial Catholic. Send your feedback to [email protected].

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For more information visit the Patreon page.  All patrons receive access to exclusive content and if you can give $5/mo or more you'll also be entered into monthly draws for fantastic books hand-picked by me.

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Thank you to those already supporting the show!

A very special thanks to our Patreon co-producers who make this show possible: Amanda, Elli and Tom, Fr. Larry, Gina, Heather, James, Jorg, Michelle, Noah, Robert, Shelby, Susanne and Victor, and William.

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In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by one of my heroes, Early Church scholar Dr. Thomas Scheck to unpack his amazing story of growing up Catholic, leaving the faith for Evangelical Christian, and then coming storming back to the Church after 17 years away. It's a great journey!

Listen as Dr. Scheck explains why an encounter with two Baptist roommates in college fired him up for a relationship with Christ, his time as an Evangelical missionary with his wife in Germany, and his struggles and successes as an Evangelical pastor for almost ten years.

And, of course, what ultimately led Dr. Scheck, his wife, and many of his children back to the Catholic Church.

I'm so grateful for a chance to have this conversation and Dr. Scheck is a wonderful storyteller.

For more from Dr. Scheck visit his page at the St. Paul Center for Biblical Studies.

For more, visit The Cordial Catholic. Send your feedback to [email protected].

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For more information visit the Patreon page.  All patrons receive access to exclusive content and if you can give $5/mo or more you'll also be entered into monthly draws for fantastic books hand-picked by me.

If you'd like to give a one-time donation to The Cordial Catholic, you can visit the PayPal page.

Thank you to those already supporting the show!

A very special thanks to our Patreon co-producers who make this show possible: Amanda, Elli and Tom, Fr. Larry, Gina, Heather, James, Jorg, Michelle, Noah, Robert, Shelby, Susanne and Victor, and William.

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In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by one of the most remarkable guests I've ever had on the show, Daniel Dinneen, an Instagram evangelist, to talk about his amazing journey through addiction, loss, and a sinful lifestyle into his total dedication to Christ, His Church, and the work of his online ministry.

Once you begin this episode you aren't going to want to stop. Daniel's story is amazing and his honesty in telling it – his not holding anything back – will leave you speechless. To hear how God has worked and what Daniel has come through, what lessons he has learned, and what he hopes to share with others – it's amazing stuff.

We also talk about dispelling misconceptions about Catholics online, what obstacles Daniel has encountered most often in his work (spoiler alert: it's kind of demons), and where Daniel sees points of unity and hope and how God is working in the unique space that Daniel finds himself.

It's a truly remarkable conversation and I'm so glad to be able to bring it to a wider audience.

Please find and follow Daniel on Instagram.

For more, visit The Cordial Catholic. Send your feedback to [email protected].

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For more information visit the Patreon page.  All patrons receive access to exclusive content and if you can give $5/mo or more you'll also be entered into monthly draws for fantastic books hand-picked by me.

If you'd like to give a one-time donation to The Cordial Catholic, you can visit the PayPal page.

Thank you to those already supporting the show!

A very special thanks to our Patreon co-producers who make this show possible: Amanda, Elli and Tom, Fr. Larry, Gina, Heather, James, Jorg, Michelle, Noah, Robert, Shelby, Susanne and Victor, and William.

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In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Chris Kellam, a former pastor, an Evangelical seminarian, and a Catholic convert to share his absolutely amazing journey of conversion.

Chris' story is one of a serious Evangelical Christian – a pastor, working on his Master's degree at seminary – realizing that not every Christian agreed on some of the theology and belief he took for granted.

It began, for Chris, when he started working as a youth pastor at a church that practised infant baptism – something he'd never considered before – and began a deep biblical search into baptism, a search which led Chris to the Early Church Fathers, the practice of the very first Christians, and the beliefs of the Protestant Reformers – all to try and track down where Chris' own beliefs came from and why other Christians believed differently.

And that's just the beginning.

Questions about baptism led Chris to questions about what the "essential" beliefs were for Christians, why some of these beliefs were missing from the Early Church, and exactly what he ought to believe as a Christian after all.

Oh, and the conversion of a close friend and fellow seminarian to Catholicism comes out of left field, too!

It's such a remarkable story.

You can find and follow Chris on Twitter.

For more, visit The Cordial Catholic. Send your feedback to [email protected].

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Please consider financially supporting this show!

For more information visit the Patreon page.  All patrons receive access to exclusive content and if you can give $5/mo or more you'll also be entered into monthly draws for fantastic books hand-picked by me.

If you'd like to give a one-time donation to The Cordial Catholic, you can visit the PayPal page.

Thank you to those already supporting the show!

A very special thanks to our Patreon co-producers who make this show possible: Amanda, Elli and Tom, Fr. Larry, Gina, Heather, James, Jorg, Michelle, Noah, Robert, Shelby, Susanne and Victor, and William.

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In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by the wonderful Dr. Mark Giszczak from the Augustine Institute Graduate School of Theology to talk about suffering.

It's a perennial topic and, as I suggest in this episode, one of the top reasons that I hear about for people leaving the Catholic faith. Why does God allow so much suffering? What's the difference between human-caused suffering and natural disasters and sicknesses? How is suffering just? And, incredibly, how does the Catholic faith actually propose the best framework for understanding evil and suffering – something that atheists simply can't explain.

This and much more in this week's episode.

For more from Dr. Giszczak check out his book Suffering: What Every Catholic Should Know from the Augustine Institute and Ignatius Press.

And visit Dr. Giszczak's website, Catholic Bible Student.

For more, visit The Cordial Catholic. Send your feedback to [email protected].

Sign up for our newsletter for my reflections on episodes, behind-the-scenes content, and exclusive contests!

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Please consider financially supporting this show!

For more information visit the Patreon page.  All patrons receive access to exclusive content and if you can give $5/mo or more you'll also be entered into monthly draws for fantastic books hand-picked by me.

If you'd like to give a one-time donation to The Cordial Catholic, you can visit the PayPal page.

Thank you to those already supporting the show!

A very special thanks to our Patreon co-producers who make this show possible: Amanda, Elli and Tom, Fr. Larry, Gina, Heather, James, Jorg, Michelle, Noah, Robert, Shelby, Susanne and Victor, and William.

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In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Izabela Ciesinska to talk about her incredible faith journey and her wonderful new book.

Raised nominally Catholic, Izabela wandered into the New Age movement as a young adult and eventually into atheism, deciding that there can't possibly be a God until she was struck by incredible, natural beauty on a road trip with some friends. Suddenly confronted by inexplicable beauty Izabela began a winding journey to discover its source, journeying back through the New Age movement, through Prosperity Gospel preaching as a Protestant, and finally back to the life-giving sacraments found in the Catholic Church.

Izabela's story is fascinating and her perspective – as a filmmaker, author, and creator – is a profoundly interesting one.

In addition to her journey we talk about the role of media, how to reach and impact children with rich stories, the role of ego, darkness, and evil in the media we consume, and the power of prayer.

It's a great conversation.

For more from Izabela visit her website. And check out her wonderful new book from Ascension Kids, The Little Donkey and God's Big Plan.

For more, visit The Cordial Catholic. Send your feedback to [email protected].

Sign up for our newsletter for my reflections on episodes, behind-the-scenes content, and exclusive contests!

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For more information visit the Patreon page.  All patrons receive access to exclusive content and if you can give $5/mo or more you'll also be entered into monthly draws for fantastic books hand-picked by me.

If you'd like to give a one-time donation to The Cordial Catholic, you can visit the PayPal page.

Thank you to those already supporting the show!

A very special thanks to our Patreon co-producers who make this show possible: Amanda, Elli and Tom, Fr. Larry, Gina, Heather, James, Jorg, Michelle, Noah, Robert, Shelby, Susanne and Victor, and William.

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In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by the incredible Louis Damani Jones. A revert to the Catholic faith with an incredible story to tell, an African American Catholic with a rich experience of Catholicism to talk about, and a social justice leader in the community, deeply rooted in Catholic social values and the work of some of the best and bright Catholic theologians.

You don't want to miss this episode.

Raised in an activist household Louis had to learn quickly what it meant to take action against oppressive structures from a Catholic point of view. After drifting away from his faith as a teen and young adult, Louis began to dig more deeply into Scripture, the Early Church Fathers, and Church history – and an amazing conversion journey unfolds there, too!

This is a spectacular episode about Catholic social teaching, justice, race, what it means to be an African American in today's North American Catholic Church, and what the Church, says Jones, is the absolute best vehicle for mounting social change and has the best vision of a just world too: with Christ as its centre.

For more from Louis check out the fantastic podcast we recommended Ark and Dove (on all podcasting platforms).

You can also follow Louis on Instagram and check out The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, recommended by Louis.

For more, visit The Cordial Catholic. Send your feedback to [email protected].

Sign up for our newsletter for my reflections on episodes, behind-the-scenes content, and exclusive contests!

To watch this and other episodes please visit (and subscribe to!) our YouTube channel.

Please consider financially supporting this show!

For more information visit the Patreon page.  All patrons receive access to exclusive content and if you can give $5/mo or more you'll also be entered into monthly draws for fantastic books hand-picked by me.

If you'd like to give a one-time donation to The Cordial Catholic, you can visit the PayPal page.

Thank you to those already supporting the show!

A very special thanks to our Patreon co-producers who make this show possible: Amanda, Elli and Tom, Fr. Larry, Gina, Heather, James, Jorg, Michelle, Noah, Robert, Shelby, Susanne and Victor, and William.

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In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined once again by my good friend Catholic convert, author, and historian Rod Bennett to propose a really interesting thesis he's been chewing on these days: that the "unwritten tradition" often criticized by non-Catholic Christians was actually written down.

Maybe you've heard this claim before? That as Christians should rely on the Bible alone and that Catholics have heaped up all kinds of unwritten traditions – barnacles on the once-pure Ark of Christ – that just get in the way of good old fashion Bible Only Christianity. This is certainly the argument that Rod and I would've heard, and believed, as former Evangelical Christians.

But what happens when those so-called "unwritten traditions," those things that Catholics apparently "added" to the once-pure Christian Church, were actually there from the beginning and can be found in the writings of the earliest Christians, those that learned their faith from the apostles?

This week not the who's, Rod tackles that very idea: that the so-called "unwritten tradition" criticized by Christians who claim Catholics have added to the faith, actually existed from the very beginning. 

For more from Rod Bennett, check out his numerous previous appearances in the archives of the show including conversations about Catholic Witnesses to the Early Church (Episode 141) and Were the Early Christians Catholic? (Episode 089).

And check out These Twelve, Rod's latest book from Catholic Answers Press.

For more, visit The Cordial Catholic. Send your feedback to [email protected].

Sign up for our newsletter for my reflections on episodes, behind-the-scenes content, and exclusive contests!

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Please consider financially supporting this show!

For more information visit the Patreon page.  All patrons receive access to exclusive content and if you can give $5/mo or more you'll also be entered into monthly draws for fantastic books hand-picked by me.

If you'd like to give a one-time donation to The Cordial Catholic, you can visit the PayPal pa

A very special thanks to our Patreon co-producers who make this show possible: Amanda, Elli and Tom, Fr. Larry, Gina, Heather, James, Jorg, Michelle, Noah, Robert, Shelby, Susanne and Victor, and William.

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In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by former White House speaker writer, New York Times #1 best-selling author, Bible scholar, historian, and Catholic convert Joshua Charles to talk about his simply incredible conversion story.

A lifelong Protestant, Joshua was steeped in Scripture from an early age, collecting study Bibles as soon as he could read and it was his love for Scripture that began to find him asking some uncomfortable questions about the Evangelical faith he was practising.

Questions about authority, biblical interpretation, what "binding and loosing" meant, how to understand Baptism, and many more questions like this.

When Joshua began digging into the Bible professionally, and was tasked with researching the Early Church, he began to find himself asking even more uncomfortable questions and finding a Christianity, at its roots, that looked very different from what he had experienced in his time as an Evangelical.

This incredible story told by a prolific writer and wonderful storyteller and it's utterly captivating. What truly happens when someone abandons themselves to searching for the Church Christ founded, at its very beginning? Well Joshua is here to tell you.

For more from Joshua follow him on Twitter or check out his website.

Send your feedback to [email protected].

Sign up for our newsletter for my reflections on  episodes, behind-the-scenes content, and exclusive contests.

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Please consider financially supporting this show!

For more information visit the Patreon page.  All patrons receive access to exclusive content and if you can give $5/mo or more you'll also be entered into monthly draws for fantastic books hand-picked by me.

If you'd like to give a one-time donation to The Cordial Catholic, you can visit the PayPal page.

Thank you to those already supporting the show!

A very special thanks to our Patreon co-producers who make this show possible: Amanda, Elli and Tom, Fr. Larry, Gina, Heather, James, Jorg, Michelle, Noah, Robert, Shelby, Susanne and Victor, and William.

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