Preaching the Bad News
Christians are called to evangelization – which means preaching the “Good News.” But do we need to first preach the Bad News before people will accept the Good News?
Does Doctrine Change?
The historical record of Church teaching does pose a challenge: Christian doctrine is unchanging, yet history has shown that changes do occur.
The Scandal of the Church
In the second century, the Church faced its first great heresy: Gnosticism. This confusing and eclectic system of beliefs threatened to destroy the Church in its infancy. Among Gnosticism’s tenets was the conviction that the material world is...
Sharing the Good News When the Daily News Is Bad
Many years ago, a couple of Mormon missionaries came to my door. My policy has always been to invite them in for a chat. I do this for two reasons: 1) I’m able to evangelize them about Catholicism, and 2) they can’t be knocking on anyone else’s...
The Power of Jesus’ Name
When I converted from Evangelical Protestantism to Catholicism, I made a lot of theological changes in my life. I expected this, but I didn’t expect that I would be making a lot of sociological changes, too. Every group has its own subculture...
When It’s Time to Stop Evangelizing
Allison came up to me after my talk. She was distraught. Her co-worker Christina was a fallen-away Catholic, and nothing Allison said or did seemed to help her return to the Faith. For years, Christina was indifferent to her religion. She wasn’t...
Situational Evangelization
A few months ago I wrote of the emphasis many Christians, both Catholic and Protestant, give to “having a relationship with Jesus.” My point was that overemphasizing one aspect of Christian discipleship to the neglect of other important aspects...
The Five Circles of Evangelization
In my quarter-century of Catholic evangelization efforts, I’ve been asked many questions. But one of the most common is: “Do you have a system for evangelization I can follow?” I can understand the intention behind this question. A lot of...
Don’t Forget the Second Mark
When I was first investigating Catholicism, a Catholic friend was explaining to me the importance of the four marks of the Church—that, as the Nicene Creed tells us, the Church is one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. As an Evangelical Protestant...
When the Parish Next Door Doesn’t Work
What do you call a Calvinist who attends Mass whenever he’s traveling? That’s my friend Andrew. We’ve been friends since high school, back when we were both Protestant. Now I’m Catholic but he’s still a committed Calvinist, although he’s not only...
Jesus Isn’t Your Buddy
“Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus?” If you have ever moved in Evangelical Protestant circles, you’ve probably been asked this question. A fundamental presupposition of Evangelical theology is that each person is called to a...
Are You Ready for the Singularity?
If you’re over forty, picture life when you were a child: no cell phones, no email, no Alexa…and self-driving cars were on The Jetsons, not the nightly news. Even those who grew up this century have seen incredible changes in their lifetimes...