# Articles, lectures, and podcasts on Roman Catholicism



## Reformed Covenanter (Mar 6, 2022)

I am looking for any entry-level articles, lectures, or podcasts on Roman Catholicism and why we must stand apart from it. I am looking for material that I may share with relatively recent converts who may be wondering why we are not Romanists.


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## Ethan (Mar 6, 2022)

This lecture by Dr. Tipton focuses on our differences in anthropology. It’s been a while but I found it helpful at the time.

Reactions: Like 1


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## PuritanCovenanter (Mar 6, 2022)

You might try here. 

https://bereanbeacon.org/roman-catholicism/

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## ZackF (Mar 6, 2022)

Though he has been under the gun lately around here, James White has many debates on YouTube spanning decades. I find he debates steelmen rather than straw men.

Some ministries directed at Roman Catholics are so vitriolic I wouldn’t support them. Roman Catholicism is similar to Islam and even lgbt whereas it is a culture and lifestyle- even a kind of ethnic identity. These types often have worldviews more in common with liberal Protestants yet baptisms, first communions, weddings and so on have residual meaning in their lives.

Some convert for marriage and others for conviction. The latter are often in lust with the Catholicism of the past. Pius XII and Fulton Sheen are what conviction driven converts hope to get but the hierarchy is way to the left of contemporary larpers. This sounds like what you may be dealing with.

I wish there were greater numbers of irenic yet firm basic resources. The key is knowing the audience and it sounds like you do. I’ll do some digging.

Reactions: Like 3


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## Wonderkins (Mar 6, 2022)

John Macarthur has an in-depth, but easy to follow 8 part series on this subject. I feel sermons like this are where he excels. I've listened to it all more than once. Called Explaining the Heresy of Catholicism.








Explaining the Heresy of Catholicism


Praying to Mary, celebrating the Mass, venerating the Pope—you won’t find those doctrines in the Bible. And yet more than one billion Roman Catholics throughout the world follow such practices in li




www.gty.org

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## Rome2Geneva (Mar 7, 2022)

James White's debates with various Roman apologists were an instrumental "final push" for me when I left Rome. As an RC I could tell that White actually understood what Rome teaches as well as the history of Roman development of her doctrines and dogmas. I remember watching and marveling at how the things I was raised believing really didn't stand up under intelligent scrutiny. 

RC Sproul did a series on the RCC as well. 

I began listening to "Renewing your Mind" almost 20 years before I left Rome. What I always appreciated about Sproul's approach is that he had charity when addressing aberrant theologies, including Rome. I would actually listen rather than turn it off in anger, such as when I would listen to someone breathing fire about the "Romish Whore of Babylon."

Those who were never Roman Catholic have to understand that the things which seem so obvious to us never really make sense for many Catholics. The Bible played almost no role in my upbringing. A Catholic child's early religious training is saturated with those very dogmas which are so odious to Protestants. I was raised with the old Baltimore Catechism. Almost as soon as a child learns the first few questions about God he is immediately inundated with Papal supremacy and the various dogmas concerning Mary. Add to this the primary, and sometimes exclusive means we are taught regarding prayer is the Rosary. By time a Catholic child is about 7 years old he knows practically nothing regarding the Gospel. What he knows is that Jesus died for him (though what exactly He accomplished is confusing at best), that if he misses Mass on Sunday or has a single lustful thought about a girl he will go directly to Hell if he dies before being able to get to Confession. He knows that the priest is the ultimate authority and "another Christ." Most Catholic adults have these very same ideas and never matured past them. They never questioned what they were raised with and even now the idea that Rome could err is a ridiculous thought. I sometimes debate Catholics and I recognize the same impenetrable shields that I also used to raise against objections. It is truly a work of the Spirit to get a Catholic to even start to question his faith.

I would also note that the above is becoming less frequent as the RCC becomes more and more liberal. In some ways this is beneficial but the essential question of the Gospel is still completely absent from Rome's official teaching. All this is to say that when it comes to apologetics regarding Catholics it is imperative that it is approached with respect. It's vitally important to have a good knowledge of what Rome teaches as per her primary resources such as the various catechism and papal encyclicals over the centuries. Catholics have a built in disgust of Protestantism and typically won't listen to any Biblical objections. The "foot in the door" is charity.

I truly believe that as the RCC continues to fracture into various camps such as Traditionalists (who themselves have splintered into various sects), Conservative types and your full blown Modernists that more will, in their more reflective moments, start to question how this could be and will perhaps start to ask the right questions.

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