The Guide
Approaching Catholicism for the first time can be overwhelming. The teaching, the texts, the practices—mastering it all is like learning a new language. This page exists to help you along that journey, offering practical tips about how to investigate, as well as entry points for aspects of Catholicism that Protestants often find most challenging. I’ll also include the nuts and bolts of how to actually become Catholic.
Wherever you are on your journey, know that you are not alone. I went through this process, as have many others. Thus while the bulk of this page is dedicated to Your Investigation, I also share the details of My Investigation, and even a little from Others’ Investigations.
As you begin to explore, keep this basic principle in mind: Catholicism includes everything. Various Protestant traditions look down on one another for being “too charismatic,” “too focused on doctrine,” “too formal,” “too passionate,” etc. The Catholic is not permitted to reject anything that God has put into the human heart. If Christians are filled with passion, well, God made the passions. If they desire to know and understand, well, God made the intellect. If they crave the gifts of the Spirit, they can cite St. Paul as their teacher. Taking Catholicism seriously means letting God enlarge your soul to make room for it all. Those who rely exclusively on their intuitions will be satisfied in the Catholic fold. They will also be taught to enjoy the meat of Truth, and the soaring vistas of beauty. Those who come with a dry interest in bare fact will meet Truth Himself, and be taught to love as well as to know. To that end, I encourage you to push yourself. God has made many good things, and He wishes you to come to love them all even as He does.
Your Investigation
Burn the Paper Tigers: On the many and varied misconceptions about Catholicism.
Relentless Christocentism: A Rant: Let’s get clear on what Catholicism is really about.
First Contact and How To: Beginning your investigation well.
Don’t Settle For Salvation: Forgiveness of sins is not the point. What is?
Wary Of Mary? The Mother of God in the works of C.S. Lewis.
On Sunday Mornings I: Incarnation: This article and the follow-up (On Sunday Mornings II: Narcissism) invite you to consider and compare elements of the Catholic Mass with the standard Protestant worship service.
Gregory of Nyssa’s “On the Baptism of Christ”: An annotated walk-through of a sermon from an ancient theologian who played a pivotal role in drafting the Nicene Creed and the doctrine of the Trinity.
“I Could Be Catholic If It Weren’t For…”
Recommended Reading - Coming soon; here is an old, outdated version.
My Investigation
The Essay: My own flagship essay on why I became Catholic, and my vision for Reformation Catholicism. See also Epilogue: 100 Days Catholic
Approximate Timeline of My Journey