Former Protestant and Orthodox debater Erick Ybarra shares his journey to the Catholic Church, from Baptist to Anglican to Catholicism. Topics include trauma at the Baptist church, studying early church practices, doubts about Anglicanism, exploring Eastern Orthodoxy, and finally embracing Catholicism with his wife.
Erick Ybarra's journey involved exploring Baptist, Anglican, and Orthodox traditions before embracing Catholicism.
Erick's intellectual journey included studying church history, papal authority, and early Christian writings.
The podcast discusses Pope Francis's approach to maintaining doctrine while allowing pastoral flexibility and the struggle between Protestantism and Catholicism.
Deep dives
Challenging Journey to the Catholic Faith
The wife and author embarked on a challenging journey from Pentecostalism to the Catholic faith, navigating theological differences and intellectual exploration.
Book Writing Process
The author started writing manuscripts and books around 2018, delving into topics like the papacy, justification, and church history, aiming to contribute to scholarly conversations and seek the truth.
Reason and Theology Platform
The author joined the Reason and Theology platform in 2019, seeking engaging dialogues on theological subjects and scholarly debates outside traditional academic confines.
Understanding the Papacy's Flexibility Within Church Teaching
The discussion delves into the nuanced approach of Pope Francis towards church doctrine, highlighting his emphasis on maintaining the letter of doctrine while exploring pastoral flexibility. Through examples like the reinterpretation of church teachings in complex circumstances, the conversation sheds light on the concept of maintaining dogma while evolving pastoral practices, illustrating how Francis reaffirms traditional beliefs while allowing for new understandings within the church.
Navigating the Decision Between Protestantism and Catholicism
The conversation addresses the listener's struggle between Protestantism, reformed faith, Anglicanism, and Catholicism. By emphasizing historical continuity and consensus-building in early Christianity, the speakers encourage a spiritual journey beyond mere intellectual analysis. They underscore the living tradition of the Catholic Church, contrasting it with the archaeological approach of Protestantism, urging trust in the Church's ability to guide believers towards truth and fulfillment.
We’ve all seen him in action—debating Protestants and Orthodox, writing incredible books, or podcasting on his own channel, Classical Christian Thought—but we rarely get to hear about his personal journey of faith. In this special episode, we sit down with our friend Erick Ybarra to explore his story and all of the reasons why, in the final analysis, he ended up in the arms of the Catholic Church. This is a fun, lively, and deep conversation that you will not want to miss!
0:05 Introduction
2:44 Steven’s new book
5:17 Erick’s story/upbringing
8:45 Baptized Catholic as a child
9:53 Teenage doubts
12:20 College encounter with a Baptist
14:08 Erick begins to investigate Christianity
16:19 He attends a Baptist/Calvinist church
18:55 He is (re)baptized and wipes Catholicism from his mind
23:46 Trauma and scandal at the Baptist church
25:10 Erick excommunicated and becomes a penitent
28:22 He begins to study early church disciplinary practices
29:25 Erick leaves the Baptist church
31:12 Studies Protestant options and becomes Anglican
33:15 questions about justification
37:05 Anglican theology begins to form his thought
40:25 Diving into Patristics
44:53 Doubts about Anglicanism, exploring Eastern Orthodoxy
51:50 Erick discovers Orthodox divisions as a catechumen
53:21 Begins to study Catholicism seriously
55:30 Catholic priest confronts Erick!
58:22 Erick and wife become Catholic, devotes time and energy to studying East-West divisions
1:00:06 Erick searches for a good Catholic parish……and STRUGGLES
1:01:00 Stumbles upon the Ordinariate
1:02:18 Three questions for Erick and open discussion
1:06:46 Starting Reason and Theology with Lofton and writing his Papacy book
1:11:46 A golden age of Catholic apologetics under a difficult pontificate
1:13:54 What is Pope Francis really up to?
1:15:24 Catholic confusion and internet divisions
1:20:40 Doctrine vs Pastoral Praxis. Is the Magisterium “working?”
1:24:38 Things Erick wishes he covered in his book on The Papacy
1:27:52 Papal Failure and how to understand it
1:30:00 Question from a listener of TCB
1:33:07 Erick’s challenge to Gavin Ortlund’s view of the Church
1:40:07 How to break out of intellectual deadlock.
1:44:10 Conclusion
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