Ascension Press - Catechism of the Catholic Church - From a Protestant Perspective

As a Pentecostal pastor, the movement as a whole is not very credal. We also to my knowledge, have no formal catechism. While I appreciate our commitment to the spirit of God and the accompanying gifts, I often wish we were more committed to the ancient creeds, confessions, and had a catechism to call our own. Since we don’t, I utilize what we have from our brethren in Christ from other faith traditions. The Catechism of the Catholic Church aka CCC (this one is from Ascension Press) has areas where I completely disagree, but there’s value in exploring the traditions of faith throughout the centuries.

This particular CCC has many features that are exclusive to this edition that make it easier to navigate and makes it more visually appealing.
Watch to the end to see exactly why I review Catholic and Orthodox books and bibles.

Here’s a link to the Ascension Press CCC:

Paperback:

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Faux Leather:

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[JosephAlanMeador]

Love that closing statement Tim. If we disagree with Catholics we should criticize what they actually believe. A loving and firm approach grounded in scripture is needed. God bless you brother, Jesus on!

[rosalynforte]

Hi Tim! Thanks so much for for wonderful honest review of the Ascension Catholic Catechism.
I bought this beautiful catechism several months ago and I think it absolutely amazing. I’m a Roman Catholic, & I have a paperback edition of the Catholic catechism, but this gorgeous Ascension edition is beyond awesome in every way.
I respect your feelings being a Protestant of things you disagree with, but you explained it so well & thank you for that.
I recommend this catechism for every Catholic like I am and non Catholic too.
God bless you! 💜✝️🙏🏻😊

[cardbunny]

Thank you so much for reviewing this Catechism of the Catholic Church and all the Catholic Bibles you review. We own this Catechism and it is so much easier to follow than previous editions we purchased when we converted in 2001. We are enjoying Fr Mike podcasts of the Bible (Great Adventure) and the Catechism in a year. We have learned so much from these podcasts and become excited about studying/reading the Bible more and more each day. Thank you again for such a charitable review.

[kainech]

I thank you for reviewing Roman Catholic materials.

I'm not Roman Catholic but Orthodox, but it's very hard to find Bible review channels that will cover the Apocrypha. The fact that you review Roman Catholic Bibles means you will review Bibles with Apocrypha, and I can learn about them. I have found having beautiful Bibles that are complete have changed my children's attitudes from "I don't want to do Bible study!" to running to grab me a Bible. What changed was that they found the Bibles beautiful, so now they want them read. Therefore I'm thankful to hear about new complete Bibles coming out.

[V.Valentine]

We appreciate that you do! When I first converted I was taken aback when one of the RCIA mentors said to have read the entire bible was an immense accomplishment and that he never had and another mentor agreed. That isn't to talk down on him or any other Catholics but that sentiment seems relevant. If I'm investigating a new bible 9 times out of 10, it is a protestant reviewing it. lol As far as folks I've met since my conversion, I'm the only one I've met with a bible shelf almost full at home. Even my wife doesn't fully get my fascination with all of the translations, presses, or just down right beauty. Also, appreciate your honesty and approaching it with respect! Mark 9:38-41, May the Lord bless you.

[RogerBesst]

I found the review of this edition of the Catholic Catechism to be very detailed, and your comments, as a Protestant, to be honest and kind. Also, your reviews of Catholic bibles are superb. I use some of those "bad boys" also!

[JonStallings]

Great review Tim. I have been listening to Father Mike Schmitz podcast on the Catechism in a year that uses this resource. I am firmly Protestant but I have family and friends who are Catholic. And as you said, there is still a lot we can learn from their Catechism

[anthonypetrozzelli]

Thank you, Tim, for your review. As a traditional Catholic, I appreciate your unbiased review. Keep up the great work, brother.

[AmberFaganello]

I am a Catholic Christian and I LOVE all of your videos. I love that you are truthful about where you disagree, or where there are differences, but you speak with GENEROUS KINDNESS and if all the faithful followed your lead we could be united, not the same, but united as Jesus asked us to be. Thank you brother.

[Rorschached]

"If we are going to criticize the Catholic Church, then we need to at least understand what they actually believe."

As a Catholic, thank you so much for this! I see so many critics online criticizing positions that the Church doesn't actually hold.

[sarahisatitagain]

Thank you for this review! I'm catholic and I really appreciate that you are criticizing by actually reading from the CCC and with a truthful heart on understanding our faith and beliefs.
Wish you a good reading and may God bless you and your family.

Ps: if you find a doubt I really recommend you to discuss it with a catholic theologian, they will be happy to talk to you and answer anything. You can find the e-mail of them if you don't feel like meeting in person.
Sometimes the CCC have some words or concepts that are hard to understand even for cradle Catholics.

[kriskoletar]

I always appreciate your reviews of Catholic Bibles, and this was a nice surprise as well. I grew up Catholic myself (and still consider myself like… 80% Catholic) and have finally decided to read the entire scripture for the first time (so I’ve watched a LOT of your reviews). Nice to see that reasonable people can disagree on theology from an informed perspective instead of just on stereotypes and assumptions.

[Coteincdr]

I appreciate your closing statement. I as a Catholic have many protestant study bibles, and even though they have stuff that I disagree with, there is also great material to help me grow in the understanding of the bible.

[GarthDomokos]

As a Catholic, I never fully understood purgatory ... Until I meditated on scripture. In a water treatment plant, the impure water gets purified through a process of deep backwashing or another word purgation. One needs to keep this word in mind, to purge. Christ himself said "blessed are the pure in heart", again the same word used. To purify something is to use a process of purgation. For Catholics, to grow in virtue and holiness, is essential. When Christ was scourged, his flesh was ripped from his body. For us confession, Eucharist, and prayer, especially prayers like "lord have mercy on me a sinner", helps purge us to purification. For myself, its a no brainer, however I do understand the difficulty others would have in this.

[jasonnemes]

Thank you for doing this review, Tim. I am doing the Catechism in a Year program and it is great. Also, my mother is Pentecostal and father is Catholic, so it is always great to hear that we can learn from—and love—one another. John 3:16 is the same in the Douay Rheims and NAB as it is in the KJV and CSB.

Oh, and Go Cards!

[celestin]

Sir, I absolutely love your spirit and openess but also the charity while giving your reviews, thank you for taking your time to publish such detailed reviews and go straight into the content, may God bless you and all my Orthodox and Protestant brothers and sisters and may He keep you all safe during this year. "May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all." - 2 Corinthians 13:14

[louisepayumo]

I’m so happy that I found your channel Tim! I am Catholic, and I appreciate your perspective on trying to truly understand what another tradition teaches, rather than building straw man arguments and critiquing misconceptions. I also enjoy watching your reviews on Protestant bibles, and do experience some bible envy over the number of options for study bibles, and well laid out heirloom pieces that seem to only be produced in Protestant translations. God bless!

[byrondickens]

Very interesting and fair.

It is important to understand that this was the Church prior to the Reformation and throwing it all away means willfully ignoring much of our shared heritage. We all have more in common than we didfer and I think you did a good job of putting that out.

I do like the Episcopal Catechism better: it and the 39 articles of faith only take up a few pages in the BCP. Strips everything down to the essentials.

[megalyon]

Very fair! Father Mike Schmitz Bible in a year podcast is popular so I have the Great Adventure Bible. I thought about following along with his Catechism in a year podcast but decided that might be too much for me as a new Pentecostal (formerly “high church” Anglican). That said my best friend for 20 years Catholic so I have a soft spot for Catholics. I don’t agree with the Vatican or the Pope but I don’t mind Mother Mary so much. I don’t know a lot about the Saints. I’m impressed that you are open minded enough to even do this 🙏🏾 Cheers, Keep Calm, Jesus on

[mijuajua]

I’m becoming Catholic and I’m not changing my mind but thank you for this. I’d like to know when I’m criticized once I become Catholic or my Catholic faith becomes criticized. I understand why God bless us all.✌🏼🙏🏻