Why a Former Atheist Found Protestantism Unconvincing (Interview: Dr. Alan Fimister) | Ep. 13

CULTIVATING SAINTS, SAGES, AND STATESMEN THROUGH THE GREAT TRADITION OF CHRISTENDOM

In our first full-length interview, we host Dr. Alan Fimister, a renowned theologian and seminary professor, to discuss his conversion to the Catholic Faith from atheism, and why he found protestantism so unconvincing. Not only did he find it unconvincing, he concluded it played a decisive role in the rise of secularism. We also discuss issues of political theology, Christendom, and the rise of liberalism (both "left" and "right" wing varieties).

Dr. Fimister is a member of Eternal Christendom's Advisory Board. We hope to host him as a regular guest on the Eternal Christendom Podcast. You can find his bio here: https://eternalchristendom.com/advisory-board/

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EPISODE CHAPTERS

00:00 - Intro

02:32 - Bio: Dr. Alan Fimister

05:13 - Interview: Dr. Fimister's Atheist/Communist Childhood

20:01 - Anglicanism, and the UK's "Christian" State of Apostasy

24:17 - More of Dr. Fimister's Non-Christian Childhood

25:38 - Dr. Fimister's Earliest Memories of the Blessed Virgin Mary

28:52 - Dr. Fimister's First Consideration of Religion/Christianity

35:24 - His Atheist Father Reading Him C.S. Lewis's "Chronicles of Narnia" as a Child

36:13 - Pictures of Hell in a Friend's Family Bible

37:50 - Asking His Mother if He Could Become Anglican

39:13 - Attending Catholic School

44:45 - Those Who Know the Catholic Faith is True But Don't Convert Go to Hell

46:12 - Dr. Fimister Asks His Mother to be Baptized

48:23 - Dr. Fimister's Favorite Biblical Character as a Child

48:50 - Receiving a Beautiful Gift from His Catholic Teacher, and Being Baptized

51:24 - Why So Many Catholic Friends Fell Away from the Faith

56:14 - Why Catholicism Was the Only Viable Option

01:01:09 - The Rise of the "Celebrity" Papacy

01:05:04 - Why Protestantism Was Not Convincing

01:11:00 - Facing Protestant Opposition at University

01:12:33 - Is Catholicism Pelagian or Semi-Pelagian?

01:15:36 - Valid Protestant Points on Good Works, and the Church's Actual Teaching

01:26:24 - Why Protestantism and Eastern Orthodoxy are Fairly Easy to Refute

01:31:11 - Protestantism and the Rise of Secularism

01:37:08 - Why an Infallible Magisterium is Necessary, and Not Above Scripture

01:49:09 - How Protestantism Inadvertently Paved the Way for Secularism

02:32:53 - Conclusion

Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/eternal-christendom-podcast/id1725000526

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3HoTTco6oJtApc21ggVevu