#59: Catholicism, Ecumenism, and Offensiveness—Tim Staples

In most social circles today, if you announce that you’re a Buddhist, that’s cool; you’re like a celebrity. If you say you’re into yoga retreats, that’s wonderful. Even if you say you’re a Christian (understood as Protestant) everything is still more or less groovy, unless you’re one of those fundamentalist types that believes Jesus really rose from the dead.

But announce you’re Catholic? Better get ready for the inquisition. Tim Staples knows all about it. Tim was raised Southern Baptist, later became an Assemblies of God youth pastor, and is now the director of apologetics and evangelization at Catholic Answers.

In this interview, Tim goes off-road to talk about life as a Catholic in a post-modern culture. How has the papacy of Pope Francis been a game changer? Some have implied or accused Pope Francis of being a heretic. Tim weighs in with his take.

Last year was the commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the revolt now called the Protestant Reformation. How can Catholics talk about about the breakaway that had led to constant, and predictable, splinterization of so many different denominations, each contradicting the others is various ways?

And what is ecumenism, anyway? What should the endgame be for our prayers “for Christian unity”? Tim Staples has been debating, writing about, and pondering all these questions for 30 years. Listen and learn.

In this episode you will learn:

• Specific examples of how to interact with people who disagree
• How life as a Catholic is, in a certain sense, different under the unpredictable papacy of Pope Francis
• Why ecumenism can’t possibly mean merely being nice and collaborating on projects
• How to recover from an awkward start to an interview!
• That Jesus Christ founded one Church

Much more!

Recommended Reading

Behold Your Mother: A Biblical and Historical Defense of the Marian Doctrines   by Tim Staples

Catechism of the Catholic Church 

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