It's been over five hundred years since the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, and tensions within the Western church haven't abated. However, the 20th century saw renewed efforts to open communication between the two largest branches of Christianity. Catholics began to refer to Protestants as "separated brethren" rather than heretics and schismatics. The formation of the document Evangelicals and Catholics Together was approved in 1994 which communicated a new era of ecumenicism. Yet the division remains, and there is little hope for further reunification in the near future. For many, this is no bad thing. 

In many Evangelical circles, accusations against Catholics are rampant: the worship of saints, extra-biblical heresies, and works-based salvation. Are they true? What do Catholics actually believe? What are the walls separating us, and are our battles better spent fighting the growing secularization of the West? Or would such an alliance ultimately prove harmful?  Here to discuss these increasingly important topics is Prof. Jonathan Reimer, the John H. Van Gorden Assistant Professor of History at Eastern University. Prof. Reimer is not only an expert in the Protestant Reformation but is himself a convert to Catholicism from Protestantism. As such, there seems to be no better person to talk for both sides and help illuminate us on the truths about the one billion-strong church next door. 

For those curious about what actually goes on behind those giant Gothic doors, this episode is for you.