I'll become Catholic when...

The parallels between the issues of the Pharisees (the good and the bad) and the Roman Catholic leaders is shocking.

[wapper]

Sadly my church is getting dangerously close to phariseeism and I am doing my best as one man that is outspoken against it. They don’t like me very much because I speak out. Prayers would be appreciated brothers and sisters in christ

[GabrielChristtiane]

I'd like to say one thing. I am a Catholic and yet I like to watch and listen to Mike's videos because he interprets the scriptures according to the truth and from the heart. Sometimes I disagree, but we are only human and we all make mistakes. I don't know and no one knows if Mike is right or if I am right when I disagree with something...and obviously we can't fully know. But we believe. As St. Paul wrote, we are justified by faith(not by knowlage)..if I don't know then I pray afterwards. I pray for understanding, and I pray for Mike... Our Lord said we should pray for one another. And doctors are not needed by the healthy, but by the sick. So I don't understand why I so often see in the comments a certain hostility and hatred towards other branches of Christianity... if you think of us Catholics as heretics, Pharisees, hypocrites, even pagans! Please pray for us! As many of us pray for you. Let us not seek strife but what unites us...and what can unite us more than sincere prayer to God for each other... Praise the Christ! :)

[AraceliSpeed]

I’m a Protestant who is studying the Catholic church and I’ve got to say that Sola Scriptura is starting to sound unconvincing to me. It’s a self refuting statement because the Bible doesn’t teach that everything we believe must be explicitly found in scripture and early Christians didn’t believe in this either.

[melodygn]

Theres a lot of people becoming catholic lately, (artist, actors, comedians etc.) and you know what?, Praise The Lord! Im protestant, and I know the problems with protestantism, and the problems with catholicism. But more than that, Im happy that Christ is attracting people to Him.

[twiggledy]

My biggest obstacle is Catholics saying "its not the job of the lay person to study the Bible and study theology". It is absolutely the job of every Christian to know what they believe and why they believe it. Nobody can just give that to you.

[carolinepatrick]

I would love to see Mike and Jimmy Akin have a gentle discussion on this subject

[ekatrinya]

No Catholic in the back of their head is thinking "you're not the Pope"

[KFish-bwom]

Something I've been thinking a lot about since my conversion. Track this for a moment. What if it's not just that Roman Catholicism looks a lot like the Pharisees? What if that's the whole point? This is hard to wrap your head around completely, and I may be wrong in my understanding, but the more I take in scripture, specifically Jesus' words to the Pharisees and to the church, church history, and the observable reality of these traditions today. The more I see what appears to be a massive lesson that reflects really the whole teaching of scripture, being written right into our own history. I can't help but see it, and I genuinely don't know if this is something that God has revealed to me, or if I'm reading some of my own presuppositions onto the text. I struggle with that. When I read what Jesus said to and about the Pharisees, and to and about the church. He seems to be speaking with a foreknowledge of everything we (the whole church) would end up doing in His name, the good, the bad, and the ugly. It seems like the revelation of this lesson is left somewhat unspoken in scripture, so that it can be revealed in the unfolding of our own history. The division of the Body of Christ by our traditions is something that weighed heavily on me as a new believer, but I think that it was both necessary and inevitable, for the fullness of this lesson to be revealed. That's not to say that it's a good thing, but rather that we were always going to do it, and Jesus knew that. This is all dealing with pride, and it cuts to the heart of the most important lesson in scripture, and the most important lesson in the history of the relationship between God and man.

That's as best as I can articulate these thoughts at the moment. Hopefully that makes sense to people, and I'm not just off in the deep end by myself on this.

[NorCalGospelPreacher]

I came out of Roman Catholicism, but I'm now a born again Christian. Yes you're right brother Mike about Roman Catholicism looking similar to the Pharisees.

[HrvojeSL]

Pastor Winger I grew up broadly speaking evangelical protestant in a heavily Catholic country, Croatia. Now live in america. Was received into the Catholic Church in September of 23. I say all that so you know where im coming from when I say this. I love the Bible so much more now as a Catholic than I did as a life long evangelical. We evangelicals always talk about the context of Scripture. Well the ultimate context of Scripture is the Church that compiled it. Without the Church we wouldn't know what the Scripture is to begin with

[DeerUNIT]

Idk how Catholic & Orthodox channels got up into my algorithms lately, but it seems to be summed up with "Trust me bro" explanations from "Traditions" and Papal Infallibility..

[isaiahdeck]

Sacred Scripture wasn’t the only reason why I converted to Catholicism, but because of the Eucharistic miracles and Marian apparitions that take place. Even Tammy Peterson was healed of a rare stage four kidney cancer while praying the Rosary asking for the intercession of St. Josemaria Escriva and the Blessed Mother.

Witnessing these things and more, I have no choice but to be Catholic. It is either the truth or demonic. And that doesn’t take the lives of the saints into account too. One thing I’ve never seen Mike or James White or Gavin Ortlund do is wrestle with the miraculous claims (that have studies behind them) and the proof of life change in the lives of many saints.

The story of St. Maria Goretti, St. Charbel, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John Bosco, Blessed Carlo Acutis, and so many others have the mark of God’s grace in ways that need to be recognized.

Either we Catholics worship a wafer, or we are right to adore Jesus Christ substantially present in the Eucharist. Either the children of Fatima were talking to a demon, or they were talking to the Mother of God.

500 were witnesses to Jesus resurrected. But 70, 000 were present at Mary’s apparition and many witnessed the dancing sun at Fatima. These historical events must be taken into consideration!

[lekat]

At 71 I came out from RC. I was in multiple ministries and was blessed by them. But God moved me on. I will hold them in the highest of respect as that is where I had formation. God wanted me there for a time. He is sovereign. So much beauty and teaching. I have kept what was valid as guided by Scripture and the Holy Spirit. You really hit the nail on the head. As a person on the spectrum of autism, it began to get confusing and a burden I could not bear. We must pray for everyone in the universal church. Some are in RC ♥️🕊

[Gunthusiest]

This is exactly what I've been trying to say. Thank you for articulating it. Very well put

[derekrobinson]

Been going through the Gospels with my church and this truth has been coming up. Pharisaism is so much like today’s Catholicism. Thank you

[Coffee]

God gave us free will, self-awareness, and the ability to think for ourselves. I can't trust anyone who tells me that I need someone else to think *_for_* me.

[deedavis]

I could almost be persuaded to Catholicism but I have reservations over the infallibility of the Pope and the Mary thing is a little out there.

[joespeers]

You're making these shorts at the same rate as I'm listening to the mark podcast, this is great and a helpful recap!

[krazoChrist]

"I'm not rebellious by nature."

**Reformed gasp**

[lucillerenaud]

I was born and raised into the Catholic ways. As an adult, I turned away from it because I found too many contradictions in it from what the bible actually teaches.