The Catholic Brothers

18/07/2024

Comments like these make all the difference and keep the project moving forward.

Thank you to our extremely thoughtful, and very kind, listeners.

We’re bringing more episodes very soon, just hang tight!

20/05/2024

Our friends Ben Bollinger and Erick Ybarra released a banger on the logic of papal infallibility.
Be sure to give it a listen!

What is the logical rationale of Papal Infallibility? Is it just a scheme to augment the worship of 1 single man? Is there any evidence for it in the histori...

14/05/2024

Our friend Joshua Charles is doing some great work over at Eternal Christendom, be sure to check out his first podcast episode surveying the unsolvable dilemmas he faced when he was a Protestant. Be sure to subscribe/support as well.

Though our channel *is not* based around Catholic apologetics, per se, this is the type of apologetics that we welcome and encourage. Intellectually generous, nuanced, sincere, and historically grounded.

IN THIS FIRST EPISODE of the Eternal Christendom podcast—the first of our Five Masterpieces—our founder Joshua Charles recounts one of the biggest dilemmas h...

04/05/2024

Is the God we read of in the Old Testament the same God that Jesus proclaimed ??????

In this installment of the First 500 Years series, we take a journey through the life and thought of the church’s first major Heresiarch: Marcion of Pontus. Along the way, we propose fresh ways of understanding the origins of his doctrine and explain why he proved a formidable enemy for the earliest apologists as they began their struggle to preserve apostolic tradition.

In this installment of the First 500 Years series, the brothers take a journey through the life and thought of the church’s first major Heresiarch: Marcion o...

23/04/2024

Sola Scriptura was a rational principle of sixteenth century rationalists who wanted to maintain the divine inspiration of Scripture while removing the divine inspiration of the Church (so that they could justify separating from her).
But that is not the arrangement or schema Jesus left on the earth when (1) he breathed onto his apostles first and then (2) poured forth the Spirit generally on pentecost after He ascended to the Father. He instead inspired His Church to both write, compile, and eventually define the canon of the inspired Scriptures so that both Scripture and the Church would be eternal, reciprocal, infallible, and joint witnesses to the trustworthy revelation of the God-Man. You cannot sharply bifurcate the authority of Scripture (as witness to revelation) and the authority of Tradition (as interpreter of revelation) or you will lose both, because they formed each other and sprang from the same activity of God in history.

Within Sola Scriptura were the seeds of the destruction of Christendom, and it is in the rejection of Sola Scriptura and affirmation of Catholic teaching that the seeds of Christendom could grow again.

19/04/2024

Gavin Ortlund recently posted a video—similar to his Nicaea 2 argument— asserting that, because the early church fathers did not claim seven sacraments, then it is Catholicism, and not Protestantism, that has innovated on the Christian faith.

We offered some thoughts in the comments section of his video, and just posting them here to stir some conversation and provide (the beginnings of) a Catholic response.

30/03/2024

THIS WAS OUR FAVORITE DISCUSSION YET!

As we meditate on the death and resurrection of the Son of God, we wanted to offer you this episode. Here we revisit the fundamental question: “Why did God become a man?”
Only, here, we focus on the incarnation/death/resurrection from the perspective of Satan and the demons, with the help of ancient biblical and apocryphal sources.

You won’t want to miss this one. 🤯

Why did God become a man? We’re used to hearing what Christ’s incarnation/death/resurrection did for us, but we don’t often hear what His work did to the dem...

29/03/2024

Just wrapped up filming— what Dan and I would consider— our favorite discussion yet about the “apocalyptic” view of the atonement and what Jesus’ Incarnation, death, and resurrection did to the unseen realm.

Hoping to release tomorrow on YouTube, so keep a look out! Have and blessed Good Friday!

26/03/2024

Had a commenter on our Ybarra episode come along and state my position better than I did in the video lol. (Don’t know him, so blocking out his name for his own privacy)

This is precisely the issue I came to find with Protestantism and constitutes, I believe, the crux of the Protestant-Catholic divide. Any debate that skips over this issue is simply missing the point.

24/03/2024

What Erick Ybarra believes is Gavin Ortlund’s greatest weakness. 👀🍿

What do you think??

As part of an answer to a question from our audience, Erick Ybarra comments on what he believes is Gavin Ortlund’s greatest Achilles heel: ecclesiology. What...

19/03/2024

Head over to our YT to see the full episode! Erick Ybarra recounts his reversion story and explains why, in the final analysis, Catholicism was the right move.

19/03/2024

NEW EPISODE!!

Boy, a lot of ground covered in this one with our friend and brother Erick Ybarra. From Erick’s conversion story, to the intellectual and spiritual conundrums one wrestles with as they consider Canterbury vs Rome vs Orthodoxy, to Pope Francis, to Gavin Ortlund, and beyond. This was truly a fun, yet deep, discussion of all the issues involved when one is on a long faith journey from Protestantism to Catholicism. Don’t miss it!

We’ve all seen him in action—debating Protestants and Orthodox, writing incredible books, or podcasting on his own channel, Classical Christian Thought—but w...

07/03/2024

Stop what you’re doing and go subscribe to this new apostolate from Joshua Charles and his team. This is a much-needed project for the work of evangelization in our generation, and we want to support it 100%!

Welcome to Eternal Christendom.In the midst of a collapsing civilization that has forgotten its heritage, we are preserving and reviving for future generatio...

07/03/2024

**MY BOOK IS OFFICIALLY UP ON AMAZON**

In honor of the beloved Sts Perpetua and Felicity, my new book on the rise and fall of the Montanist movement in the early North African Church is now available on Amazon, in both kindle and paperback.

If you do purchase and read, PLEASE consider leaving a review on Amazon, as this will help support the project.

I thank you all in advance for your support, and I sincerely hope you enjoy the book. 🙌🏻

22/02/2024

In honor of the Feast of the Chair of St Peter, pasting in the comments here all of our episodes on the early papacy, thus far. Grab some popcorn tonight and have a little marathon. You’ve all earned it 😉

21/02/2024

Good things coming in the next few weeks!

If you have not yet subscribed to the channel on YouTube, head over there now and lend us your support!

17/02/2024

EXCITING NEWS!!!!

Steven’s new book, “Prophets and Councils,” comes out on Amazon March 7th (in honor of Sts Perpetua and Felicity!). In this work, he traces how the early North African episcopate developed in the midst of the rise and fall of the Montanist movement in the city of Carthage. Major themes include: development of the Roman papacy, concepts of authority in early Christian communities, Tertullian, Cyprian, early prophetic ministry in the church, development of monepiscopacy in North Africa, Montanism, rebaptism controversy, laxist vs rigorist controversy, and more!

Pre-order for kindle edition here:

https://www.amazon.com/Prophets-Councils-Montanism-Church-Carthage-ebook/dp/B0CV3VHYZ4/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=3NNG42W15CSWF&keywords=prophets+and+councils&qid=1708212094&sprefix=%2Caps%2C392&sr=8-1

Here is the book’s synopsis:

The New Prophecy (ie ‘Montanism’) was firmly planted within the Carthaginian church in the early years of the third century, influencing the theology of Tertullian (the most notable Christian thinker of his city) and the spirituality of St. Perpetua (Carthage’s most beloved martyr-saint). The early writings from Tertullian’s ‘Montanist’ stage reveal a movement that grew up within the Carthaginian community and had become an influential moral voice among Christians there. However, in the latter half of Tertullian’s corpus, it is apparent that the movement had somehow begun to lose its prestige among the Carthaginian churches, giving way to an emerging ecclesial structure with a more ‘catholic’ focus, a conciliar tradition, and an increasingly monarchical organization. By the time of Cyprian’s bishopric (ca. 247 AD) the Montanist movement seems to have all but vanished in the city, and any remaining prophets had become secondary voices underneath the bishop and the African councils. This little volume therefore explores the movement’s rapid decline in third century Carthage.

06/02/2024

EXCITING NEWS!

My book on early North African Christianity and the Montanist movement is now available for pre-order for kindle (paperback is currently being reviewed and approved for print)!

Official release date for both formats is MARCH 7th (feast of Perpetua and Felicity 😉)

If you’re interested in the early roots of Christianity in North Africa, Montanism, and/or the development of monepiscopacy, this book is right up your alley.

This work explores the reasons why the Montanist movement rapidly declined in the city of Carthage. The New Prophecy was firmly planted within the Carthaginian church in the early years of the third century, influencing the theology of Tertullian (the most notable Christian thinker of his city) a...

29/01/2024

Pray for us Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

This is a new shrine to the Mother of God at our parish. So beautiful!

24/01/2024

We reached a little milestone on YouTube this last week: 6k subs!

Thanks to all of you who have graciously given us your support!

10/01/2024

Photo 1: Ruins of St Augustine’s Basilica in Hippo 🥹

Photo 2: Floor mosaic from St Augustine’s Basilica in Hippo 😧

Photo 3: Dr Catherine Conybeare sitting in the episcopal throne of St Augustine in Hippo. 😵

So…..yea….. Those ruins are just sitting over there in Algeria.

06/01/2024

The only disappointment we have about this new series on Vatican 2 by Larry Chapp is that he can’t release an episode every single day 🙌🏻

In all seriousness, these discussions of the texts of Vatican 2 between Chapp and Howsare are so refreshing, challenging, stimulating, and entertaining. Spread the word about this new series on Dr Larry’s channel, Gaudiem Et Spes 22.

Whether you are Catholic or Protestant, if you have a desire to better understand the texts of the council, this is a fine place to start.

04/01/2024

Let’s continue to flip the table and see the early Christians through the eyes of pious Romans.

A Superstition? Funerary society? Guild? A philosophical school? What the heck was this “Christian” thing?

In this episode, we complete our discussion of the vitality of Roman Religion and then analyze various ways in which Roman writers politically and culturally tried to classify the novel Christian movement throughout the second century.
How Christians were politically classified by various Roman authorities have serious implications. It would determine whether or not they were free to debate in the public square or merely destined for ostracization and ex*****on.

A Superstition? Funerary society? Guild? A philosophical school? What the heck is this “Christian” thing? In this episode, we complete our discussion of the ...

03/01/2024

Ironically, it is times like these, when the papal office is ostensibly abused and misused, that Christendom appears to longingly coalesce around a common, inner recognition of what the Holy Office was created for and why it continues to be so precious and essential to the proper composition of the Church. It is the fact that it is a gift of such divine proportion that its abuse could be the cause of such unfathomable discouragement, fragmentation, and chaos while its proper exercise can topple the strongest empires, civilize the known world, and convert whole continents to Christ. For better or for worse, there is simply no inconsequentiality or mediocrity when it comes to the exercise of the Office of Peter, and so we cling to the Chair ever more tenaciously in times like these, when its dignity is being sullied.

31/12/2023

Happy Feast of the Holy Family and a Happy and healthy New Year to you all, from TCB!

Extremely excited for 2024’s content and some of the growth goals we have for the channel. Thanks again to all of you who have subscribed (and for those of you who haven’t officially subscribed yet, GO TO YT NOW AND DO SO, PLEASE 😁)

Cheers!

#2024

27/12/2023

As we approach Epiphany and celebrate the Christmas season, figured it’s a good time to dust off this oldie but goodie.

WHAT DID THE MAGI REALLY SEE IN THE SKY as they approached Bethlehem?? There have been many theories up and down the centuries, but a closer look at the written sources and some modern star modeling can….shed some light!
(See what we did there? 🥴)

Enjoy, and Merry Christmas!

In this special episode for the feast of Epiphany, the brothers present the argument for September 11, 3 B.C. being the birth date of Jesus and pinpoint just...

08/12/2023

We simply have THE best listeners and followers. These Spotify stats for 2023 are far beyond anything we could have expected when we started this podcast a few years ago. Our expectations going in were that we would help a few people within our parish circle think through some modern issues. It’s incredible that today, somehow, our First 500 Years Series is streaming in over 33 countries 😳
God bless you all and thank you for your support for this labor of love. Our hope is that it blesses you and helps you appreciate the history and story of our beautiful Christian faith.

We have some exciting things ahead for 2024 that we can’t wait to share with you! 🎉

07/12/2023

Latest episode on Roman Religion is up now! This topic is such a vital stop off on our First 500 Years journey.

Please support this substantial project with a simple listen, like, subscribe, and comment!

07/12/2023

NEW EPISODE!

“Rome and Her Gods”

This will be a two-parter, so buckle up!

After our last episode on Exorcism where we analyzed Roman religion from the perspective of the earliest Christians, here we flip the table a bit and try to understand Rome’s relationship to her gods *from the inside out* so that we can paint a fuller picture of the religious landscape of Christianity’s rise in Late Antiquity.

Heretofore, many scholars have argued that early Christianity was able to spread so rapidly because the religion(s) of the Roman Empire had increasingly lost vitality and failed to fulfill emerging soteriological hopes of Late Antique peoples. But, is any of this true? Is this merely the residue of centuries of anti-pagan bias and propaganda? What was Roman religion *really* like?

In Part One of this episode, we flip the table a bit and try to understand Rome’s relationship to her gods *from the inside out* so that we can paint a fulle...