The Acorn and the Oak: Development of Doctrine, Part 1.

In this first part of our conversation with Cory, we explore the beautiful Catholic understanding of how doctrine develops. Far from “making things up” or changing with the culture, the Church deepens her grasp of the unchanging deposit of faith handed on by the apostles. Greg and Cory unpack Saint John Henry Newman’s classic idea, trace its roots to the early Church, and walk through clear, non-controversial examples like the Trinity, Christ’s two natures, sacramental theology, and the Marian dogmas. Using the acorn-to-oak image and Newman’s seven notes, they show how the faith stays the same while growing richer and more articulate over time. Perfect for Protestants wondering about “Catholic additions” and anyone wanting to understand how the Church avoids both fundamentalism and fluidity.

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Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Christus imperat.

In Episode 3 of the series Mary in the Dock: Ordinary or Extraordinary?, host Greg Smith puts the Catholic doctrine of Mary as the New Eve on trial. Protestants often object that it’s typology overreach with no explicit New Testament warrant, risks elevating Mary at Christ’s expense, and developed too late under possible pagan influence. Greg gives the strongest objections a full, fair hearing, then delivers a robust Catholic defense rooted in Genesis 3:15 (the protoevangelium of total enmity between the woman and the serpent), the Annunciation in Luke 1 (Mary’s fiat of obedience undoing Eve’s disobedience), and the clear teaching of the early Church Fathers like Justin Martyr and Irenaeus writing already in the second century. Far from competing with Christ, the New Eve doctrine is thoroughly Christocentric—it magnifies the redemption won by the New Adam and sets the stage for every other Marian teaching. Listeners serve as the jury in this conversational courtroom discussion that asks the key question: is Mary simply an ordinary woman God used for a moment, or the extraordinary New Eve the Church has proclaimed since the apostolic age? Perfect for curious non-Catholics, Protestant pastors investigating Catholicism, and cradle Catholics deepening their faith.

SUPPORT THIS SHOW Considering Catholicism is 100% listener-supported. If this podcast has helped you on your journey, please become a patron today! For as little as $5/month you get: • Every regular episode ad-free and organized into topical playlists • Exclusive bonus content (extra Q&As, Deep-Dive courses, live streams, and more) • My deepest gratitude and a growing community of like-minded listeners

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Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Christus imperat.

In Episode 2 of the series Mary in the Dock: Ordinary or Extraordinary?, host Greg Smith puts the Catholic doctrine of Mary as Mother of God (Theotokos) on trial. Many modern evangelicals recoil at the title, calling it blasphemous or idolatrous and unknowingly echoing the ancient Nestorian heresy that split Christ in two. Greg gives the strongest Protestant objections a full, fair hearing — the lack of an explicit Bible verse, the risk of deifying Mary, and the historical cautions from Calvin — then delivers a robust Catholic defense rooted in Luke 1:43 (“mother of my Lord”), the Council of Ephesus (431 AD), and the affirmations of classical Reformers like Luther (“she is rightly called… the Mother of God”), Zwingli, and the Anglican Articles. Far from Marian excess, the doctrine safeguards the full reality of the Incarnation and the infinite value of Christ’s atonement. Listeners serve as the jury in this conversational yet intellectually sharp courtroom discussion that asks the key question: is Mary simply an ordinary woman God used for a moment, or the extraordinary God-bearer the Church has proclaimed for two thousand years? Perfect for curious non-Catholics, Protestant pastors investigating Catholicism, and cradle Catholics deepening their faith.

SUPPORT THIS SHOW Considering Catholicism is 100% listener-supported. If this podcast has helped you on your journey, please become a patron today! For as little as $5/month you get: • Every regular episode ad-free and organized into topical playlists • Exclusive bonus content (extra Q&As, Deep-Dive courses, live streams, and more) • My deepest gratitude and a growing community of like-minded listeners

➡️ Join now: https://patreon.com/consideringcatholicism (or tap the Patreon link in your podcast app)

One-time gift: Donate with PayPal!

CONNECT WITH US • Website & contact form: https://consideringcatholicism.com • Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com • Leave a comment on Patreon (I read every one!)

RATE & REVIEW If you enjoy the show, please leave a rating (and even better, a review) on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen — it really helps new listeners find us.

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Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Christus imperat.

In the powerful opening episode of the new series Mary in the Dock: Ordinary or Extraordinary?, host Greg Smith puts the Catholic practice of Marian devotion on trial. Are prayers like the Hail Mary and the Rosary, asking for Mary’s intercession, and venerating her images really idolatry — or are they biblical, Christ-centered honor for the Mother of our Lord? Greg gives the strongest Protestant objections a full, fair hearing (sola scriptura, the one-mediator objection, and claims of late pagan corruption), then delivers a robust Catholic defense rooted in Scripture, the Greek of the New Testament, and the earliest Church Fathers — including evidence of Marian prayers from the third century, long before Constantine. Listeners serve as the jury in this conversational yet intellectually sharp courtroom-style discussion that tackles one of the most common stumbling blocks for Protestants investigating Catholicism. Whether you’re a curious non-Catholic, a Protestant pastor wrestling with these issues, or a cradle Catholic wanting to explain the faith more clearly, this episode will challenge you to decide: is Mary simply an ordinary woman, or the extraordinary New Eve the Church has always proclaimed?

SUPPORT THIS SHOW Considering Catholicism is 100% listener-supported. If this podcast has helped you on your journey, please become a patron today! For as little as $5/month you get: • Every regular episode ad-free and organized into topical playlists • Exclusive bonus content (extra Q&As, Deep-Dive courses, live streams, and more) • My deepest gratitude and a growing community of like-minded listeners

➡️ Join now: https://patreon.com/consideringcatholicism (or tap the Patreon link in your podcast app)

One-time gift: Donate with PayPal!

CONNECT WITH US • Website & contact form: https://consideringcatholicism.com • Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com • Leave a comment on Patreon (I read every one!)

RATE & REVIEW If you enjoy the show, please leave a rating (and even better, a review) on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen — it really helps new listeners find us.

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Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Christus imperat.

In this unscripted, freewheeling conversation recorded at the secret compound, Ed shares the profound shift happening in his heart as he prepares to enter OCIA and come into full communion with the Catholic Church. He reflects on how years of Protestant experience left him with a flattened faith — where baptism, communion, and even basic Christian practices became optional or merely symbolic — and how rediscovering mystery has brought wonder, weight, and meaning back into his life.

Greg and Ed explore the difference between modern “mystery” as unsolved puzzle and the New Testament mysterion — the transcendent, supernatural realities that point to realities beyond what we can measure or fully explain. They discuss the enchanted universe of medieval Catholicism, the flattening effect of the Enlightenment, and how stripping away divine mystery leaves a void that gets filled with everything from simulation theory to razor blades under pyramids.

Along the way they touch on cathedrals, real presence in the Eucharist, marriage as sacrament, C.S. Lewis, Owen Barfield, Chesterton, and why so many today are hungry for a Christianity that is big, bold, substantial, and deeply rooted in the supernatural. If you’ve ever felt that modern life (and modern Christianity) has lost its magic, this episode will speak to that ache and point toward the ancient answer.

SUPPORT THIS SHOW Considering Catholicism is 100% listener-supported. If this podcast has helped you on your journey, please become a patron today! For as little as $5/month you get: • Every regular episode ad-free and organized into topical playlists • Exclusive bonus content (extra Q&As, Deep-Dive courses, live streams, and more) • My deepest gratitude and a growing community of like-minded listeners

➡️ Join now: https://patreon.com/consideringcatholicism (or tap the Patreon link in your podcast app)

One-time gift: Donate with PayPal!

CONNECT WITH US • Website & contact form: https://consideringcatholicism.com • Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com • Leave a comment on Patreon (I read every one!)

RATE & REVIEW If you enjoy the show, please leave a rating (and even better, a review) on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen — it really helps new listeners find us.

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Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Christus imperat.

Pope Leo XIV released his first encyclical today — Magnifica Humanitas — addressing the dignity of the human person in the age of artificial intelligence, transhumanism, and rapid technological change. In this short update episode, Greg reflects on the long anticipation for this document (echoing Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum), shares what we’ve already covered on the podcast and in our adult education academy, and explains why he’s choosing to read, mark up, and prayerfully reflect on the full 42,000-word text before offering in-depth thoughts in a couple of weeks.

He also gives important show updates: switching to interactive Zoom webinars for supporters, plans to resume regular Patreon content, and a sneak peek at the upcoming new podcast The History of Christendom.

If you want to join the live webinars walking through the encyclical together, become a Patreon or PayPal supporter today — links below. Thanks for your patience and support during a busy season!

SUPPORT THIS SHOW Considering Catholicism is 100% listener-supported. If this podcast has helped you on your journey, please become a patron today! For as little as $5/month you get: • Every regular episode ad-free and organized into topical playlists • Exclusive bonus content (extra Q&As, Deep-Dive courses, live streams, and more) • My deepest gratitude and a growing community of like-minded listeners

➡️ Join now: https://patreon.com/consideringcatholicism (or tap the Patreon link in your podcast app)

One-time gift: Donate with PayPal!

CONNECT WITH US • Website & contact form: https://consideringcatholicism.com • Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com • Leave a comment on Patreon (I read every one!)

RATE & REVIEW If you enjoy the show, please leave a rating (and even better, a review) on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen — it really helps new listeners find us.

SHARE THE SHOW Know someone who’s curious about Catholicism? Send them a link or share an episode on social media. Thank you!

Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Christus imperat.

Greg dives into a surprising pattern that keeps surfacing in Catholic-Protestant conversations: why so many objections to Catholicism quickly circle back to sex, sexuality, and gender. From the intense pushback on Mary’s perpetual virginity and clerical celibacy, to contraception, the male-only priesthood, divorce, and the endless cultural tropes about “sexy nuns,” repressed priests, and naughty Catholic schoolgirls, these issues generate unusually visceral reactions. Greg asks the provocative question: Does this fixation tell us more about certain Protestant assumptions about the human body than it does about Catholic teaching? He traces how a quiet but seismic shift during the Reformation—and the cultural currents that followed—created two genuinely different visions of what it means to be embodied, sexual, male-and-female creatures made for communion. The result is a fascinating, charitable look at why these flashpoints keep dominating the conversation and what the Catholic vision of the body actually offers in a world that’s more confused than ever about sex, marriage, and human flourishing.

SUPPORT THIS SHOW Considering Catholicism is 100% listener-supported. If this podcast has helped you on your journey, please become a patron today! For as little as $5/month you get: • Every regular episode ad-free and organized into topical playlists • Exclusive bonus content (extra Q&As, Deep-Dive courses, live streams, and more) • My deepest gratitude and a growing community of like-minded listeners

➡️ Join now: https://patreon.com/consideringcatholicism (or tap the Patreon link in your podcast app)

One-time gift: Donate with PayPal!

CONNECT WITH US • Website & contact form: https://consideringcatholicism.com • Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com • Leave a comment on Patreon (I read every one!)

RATE & REVIEW If you enjoy the show, please leave a rating (and even better, a review) on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen — it really helps new listeners find us.

SHARE THE SHOW Know someone who’s curious about Catholicism? Send them a link or share an episode on social media. Thank you!

Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Christus imperat.

In the final part of this three-part series, Greg takes the philosophical foundation from Episode 1 and the moral schematics from Episode 2 and applies them directly to four very ordinary, everyday situations: money lending and usury, lying versus legitimate deception, disciplining children (including spanking), and gambling. Using the categories of intrinsically evil acts, prudential judgment, and authentic development of doctrine, he walks through concrete examples—medieval usury versus modern payday loans, the Nazis-at-the-door dilemma and broad mental reservation, parental decisions about spanking, and state-sponsored gambling—so you can see exactly how the object of the act, the privation of the good, and the virtue of prudence work in real life.

You’ll come away with clear, practical tools for reasoning through complex moral questions with the mind of the Church instead of slogans or partisan talking points. Whether you’re a Protestant pastor sorting through moral theology, a curious investigator exploring Catholicism, or a Catholic wanting to think more precisely about everyday decisions, this episode shows how the Church’s two-thousand-year habit of careful moral reasoning equips us to love God and neighbor with both clarity and charity.

SUPPORT THIS SHOW Considering Catholicism is 100% listener-supported. If this podcast has helped you on your journey, please become a patron today! For as little as $5/month you get: • Every regular episode ad-free and organized into topical playlists • Exclusive bonus content (extra Q&As, Deep-Dive courses, live streams, and more) • My deepest gratitude and a growing community of like-minded listeners

➡️ Join now: https://patreon.com/consideringcatholicism (or tap the Patreon link in your podcast app)

One-time gift: Donate with PayPal!

CONNECT WITH US • Website & contact form: https://consideringcatholicism.com • Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com • Leave a comment on Patreon (I read every one!)

RATE & REVIEW If you enjoy the show, please leave a rating (and even better, a review) on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen — it really helps new listeners find us.

SHARE THE SHOW Know someone who’s curious about Catholicism? Send them a link or share an episode on social media. Thank you!

Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Christus imperat.