Sifting through thousands of years of Church history, complex exegetical debates, and recondite theological distinctions can be overwhelming. Especially when you toss in the emotional toll of trying to take ideas seriously that simultaneously challenge what you’ve been taught and threaten great spiritual-social upheaval in your life. This page exists to help the curious make their way through the ideas, texts, and history required to understand Catholicism, Protestantism, and what’s at stake in the choice between them.
The ancient Greeks gave us the notion that the Good, the True, and the Beautiful thread the very being of everything that exists. Interestingly, my observations so far suggest that individuals gravitate towards one of these over the others (but not necessarily to their exclusion). When it comes to investigating Catholicism, I encourage you to think about which of these draws you most. To that end, I’ve organized this page with the Good, the True, and the Beautiful in mind. In addition to guides for each of those emphases, I’ll also give practical guidance about the nuts and bolts of becoming Catholic.
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. Whether the Good, the True, or the Beautiful calls to you most, taking Catholicism seriously means letting God enlarge your soul to make room for them 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. If they come with a dry interest in bare fact, they 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.