When I converted from Protestantism to Catholicism, the unanimous reaction was “That’s okay, as long as you believe in Jesus! Everyone worships in different ways.” It broke my heart and still sorts of haunts me but I feel like it’s too late to rehash that discussion. Thank you for this Trent!

As a Protestant considering Catholicism and currently reading the Case for Catholicism, I approve this message.

I grew up nondenominational Christian because my father grew up Catholic and for some reason fell out of the faith. It basically meant we were luke warm Christians that didn't really go to church. But I know all these fallacies and I'd honestly say that laziness might be the reason for my lukewarm feelings toward Christianity. It can be hard to get behind something that has vague answers or even I don't know answers. Nobody wants to hear four different answers from Protestants while talking about something you are supposed to be following for salvation. I started studying Christianity more during COVID and essentially decided to become Catholic after reading John 6. It just made sense to me. And after that making sense, many of the bread verses in the old testament and new testament make even more sense now. My decision to become Catholic happened last year and I left for deployment to Iraq. My biggest problem was I hadn't talked to my wife about it and didn't want to do it across the world. So the first time we attended Mass was during Lent this year and we are hoping to attend RCIA class whenever that happens.

Historian Ryan Reeves makes the valid point that most heresies originate with attempts to over-simplify the mysteries of the faith.

I grew up in the confusion of Protestantism. It made me an atheist. I suffered many years because of this. Eventually God Himself took pity on me and started talking to me personally. The first time, “no Michael, you are wrong” is all He said, in a voice that sounded like thunder and rushing water. That’s all it took and my atheism was utterly obliterated. I returned to Protestantism and wandered from one Protestant tradition to another while the Holy Spirit continued to point out the errors of each. After a brief stint in orthodoxy, I was finally driven to Catholicism, the last place I believed God would want me to go, given my antiCatholic Baptist upbringing. At my first mass I had an emmaus road experience, during the liturgy of the word my chest was filled with a burning sensation, which I found weird, but ignored. During the liturgy of the Eucharist though, God exposed Himself to me at the breaking of the bread. I cried for an hour and a half afterwards, Sobbing and weeping. See, I suffer from reactive attachment disorder and up till that moment I had never in thirty plus years felt loved, ever, by anyone.

I'm becoming Catholic. The Journey in Faith programme begins next week at my local Catholic cathedral. I'm a bit nervous but also excited. I wanted to start last year but they only did it online and I couldn't participate.

Speaking as a former protestant, I remember that, inasmuch as a living faith was necessary for salvation per James, I was often satisfied with a vague sense that I was "improving", even if I was still committing grave sins. I believe the catholic distinction between mortal and venial sin provides a much more solid framework for knowing whether your faith is dead or not. I've since become much much holier.

I have a mother with this mind set who I try to get through to. She recently met with a priest I know to talk about getting back into the church, and it went very well and she talked about how good it felt. Recently, though, she backed off of it again (because of the Pope's meet with Biden and Pelosi, but that's a whole other topic) and fell back on her "I just love God and Jesus" mantra. Please pray for her. Her name is Lisa Stagliano.

Thank you as always for the great work. I always learn something from you Trent. God bless you and yours.

I agree with this (non-Christian theist here) and "just believe in Jesus" is an escape hatch. Once you're in you find out there's WAY more involved. Catholics are at least much more honest about the strict rules you have to follow upon conversion.

I see myself in a lot of what you're talking about. Salvation by Allegiance Alone by Matthew Bates, and his other book Gospel Allegiance, are great. I'm technically protestant but really don't ascribe to sola scriptura anymore and find myself drifting more and more toward catholicism, mainly because of historicity. The more I look into the history of our faith, the more it appears to me that the church Christ and the apostles established was the catholic church, despite its flaws.

Non-denominational Christian is a denomination in and of itself.

Thank you Trent, for all the answers I didn't know I needed!

not everyone who says lord, lord will enter heaven.

"I believe in Jesus and that is really all I need. Everything else is secondary". The introductory premise on which Trent is framing his argument is really a simplification of what it means to believe in Christ for your salvation. This may come as a surprise to many, but there will be millions upon millions of "protestants" who will receive and accept the gift of salvation and live eternally in heaven with Our Father. However, there will also be many protestants who will not make it to heaven. This is also true for many Catholics. To believe in Christ, to truly believe in Him, is to be called to faith, understand what it means to have faith, and to obey, thank, praise and glorify God for this gift. Having faith is a part of that gift because God calls us to Himself. Baptism is a step or progression in our faith. It is a continuation of our faith in God as well as a public declaration of that faith. Simply to be baptised without a foundation of faith cannot save. This idea could be compared to non-Catholics saying they only need to believe in Christ to be saved. But what kind of belief or faith do you have? Is that faith only an intellectual faith or is it a true belief in Christ? Likewise, can someone be saved by baptism if they do not have faith? (Infant baptism or adult baptism for that matter) We are called by God to faith. Being called to faith is the starting point on our road to salvation. Baptism is an affirmation and public declaration of that faith. Acts 10: 42-48 explains that belief in Christ is what saves and should be followed by baptism. In the aforementioned verses, Peter is preaching to a group of Jews and Gentiles. Many of the Gentiles that were present received the Holy Spirit and believed. Peter then asks why they shouldn't now be baptised for they had recieved the Spirit just as they had. No one objected and the new believers were baptised. We can also look to Mark 1:4-4 where it also teaches that people should be baptised as it " 'shows' that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven." (NLT) Trent also referenced James 2 where it is said that the demons believe in Christ and they shuttered. Very true! But what Trent neglected to say is that demon belief is and never was a saving faith or belief. Their "belief" is just the opposite! They know who Christ is (belief) but they hate Him and would never follow Him. Faith in Christ, true faith for your salvation, is what saves you. This is taught repeatedly throughout Scripture. Just look up the words "faith" and "belief" in your Bible concordance and read all the corresponding verses. It is a tsunami of revelation. There will always be discussions, debates, arguments and wars over religious beliefs. The reason for this is that we are humans. And, unfortunately, we are stuck with ourselves. It is true that some protestant churches disagree with one another over beliefs and practices. But the core beliefs of the main line Protestant churches are consistent. This is also true within the Roman Catholic Church. The RCC has the Magesterium and Catholics are said to rely on its interpretation of Scripture. But the Magesterium has only definitively interpreted a few verses within Scripture. To address this conundrum, the Catholic Church teaches that the laity may interpret the Bible but their interpretation must be consistent with the Church's teachings. But in reality, does this occur and how can it occur? So many Catholics have differing ideas, beliefs and practices in a variety of areas. Church traditions can vary from country to country. Holy days of obligations, for example, can differ in different countries. Also, look what is happening in the Catholic Church today. It is in a state of turmoil. Arguments over the Latin Mass, some Bishops' teachings are not in keeping with Church beliefs, and sects within the RCC stating that Pope Francis should step down because he is a heretic. The list of conflicts is rather lengthy. My point, and that of Scripture, is simply this. Faith in Christ is what saves you (See John 3:16 among many, many other verses ... again check out your bible concordance) It is not as simple as believing in a smiling, pointing and winking caricature of Jesus as displayed in Trent's video. A sincere believer will face many challenges and difficulties. It will not be easy. It is narrow road. As stated by Christ, we are to pick up our crosses and follow Him. Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life. There is no other way. Here are just a few verses from Scripture about salvation through belief in Christ. Mark 5:36 Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” John 8:24 unless you believe that I am who I claim to be, you will die in your sins. John 7:38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. 1 John 5:5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. Romans 10:9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 2 Corinthians 5:7 For we walk by faith, not by sight. 1 Corinthians 2:5 That your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. Matthew 21:22 And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith. Luke 1:37 For nothing will be impossible with God. 1 Corinthians 16:13: Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. Romans 5:1-2 Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. Psalm 119:30 I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I have set my heart on your laws.

Thank you for this video! My grandmother said this to me the other day! Been trying to explain this to her.

Minor correction: the Westminster confession is not foundational to the Anglican Church. The people who wrote it certainly wanted it to be, but it only took hold in Presbyterian churches (and some puritans also liked it somewhat). Anglicans use the 39 articles, which I’m pretty sure do not have anything like the Perspicuity doctrine that you read from the Westminster. However article 6 in the Anglican confession does have sola scriptura. I only mention this so that a catholic doesn’t get embarrassed when talking to an Anglican about this or something.

I think the 'Just believe in Jesus' fallacy is ultimately the fall back when it comes to your average lay person being confronted with the sorts of doctrinal questions that you brought up. Can you really expect your average layperson to have the time and expertise to objectively look into Calvinism vs. Arminism debate, the Baptismal Regeneration debate, or the Once Saved Always Saved debate ? As lay people we have to accept our limits which is why it's a blessing to have the Magisterium.

Thank you oh man. I’ve been thinking about this lately and had trouble putting a refutation into words...

Your message is very timely for me. I am non-denominational but I am becoming very concerned with what I am seeing coming from some protestant denominations. Because they teach OSAS, dispensationalism, sola Scriptura and sola fide, they are starting to change the grace of God into lasciviousness. They even now say repentence just means going from unbelief to belief. They say if I say we need to obey to retain salvation I am adding to Christ's sacrifice and teaching a false gospel. They even say the Holy Spirit doesn't convict us of sin that is just our conscience and if we truly believe on Jesus we should have no more conscience of sin and they are "free in Christ" etc. These people think unless something is strictly forbidden in Scripture we are allowed to do it. If I speak up against the dangers of yoga or new age practices or certain secular music they accuse me of legalism and ask for Scripture clearly refuting those. Otherwise they say I am just forcing my own unbiblical convictions on others. I thought we are meant to edify one another but this is the issue with teaching Hypergrace or easy-believism and OSAS I guess. Anything goes and any holiness teachings get shunned as being legalistic. I am currently reconsidering the importance of baptism and I am starting to doubt "faith alone" which I guess means I am reconsidering Protestantism as a whole. The only issue I have with baby baptism is that I see too many who were baptised as babies but are currently atheists and definitely not living in the faith or obeying any of Christ's teachings so I am not sure it washes them from sin if they are still unregenerated in their adult lives.

I've gotten in semantic debates with Protestants after I said something like Christianity was complex (specifically philosophy, theology and Biblical/magisterial exegesis) and they said "actually Jesus' message was SIMPLE." It seems to be a conversation-terminating quip and an insult to people who dedicate their lives to studying the Bible, philosophy and theology. I'd say Christianity can be distilled into something simple but can also be very deep and complex if one so chooses to dive into it So this is helpful

Protestants revel in their irreverence. Reverence is seen as “ReLiGiOn!” & “tRaDiTiOnS oF mAn!”. It’s a race to the bottom to see who can be the most casual jeans & flip-flops congregation. I was Inter & Non-Denominational for 15 YRS. Knocked it out the park, Trent! Godbless you for the role you & Catholic Answers played in my conversion. Catechized in the FSSP. My first Latin Mass attendance as a curious Prot converted me, along with John 6 & Luke 1:48, a prophecy that Prots don’t fulfill. Swam the Tiber on Holy Saturday, 2021-At age 33! Blessed be God!!! Ave Christus Rex, Ave Maria.

I've had a non-denom with a historic claim i.e. the first churches were all non-denominational but somehow Bible believing. It was hilarious but sad and he banned me when I cited the Church Fathers

Sir I think you are by far one of the best apologists today. Thanks for the videos.

Steve Ray explained the idea of faith best for me... A tightrope walker said "I will now walk the tightrope blindfolded with a person on my back with no net. Who believes I can do it?" The crowd shouts "We believe!!!!" The tightrope walker said "Great! All I need now is a volunteer"

For me personally, I grew up protestant and had a great protestant upbringing. Very straightforward, and I have always felt very close to God. However, in all the going to church, praying and talking to God on my own, I still felt something was missing in each area. For quite awhile I just couldn't quite figure it out.Then as a teenager I would listen to contemporary Christian music and there were songs that talked about what the blood of Jesus can do for us and that we have access to it. However, for many years, I couldn't for the life of me figure out how. I also always felt there was something missing when they said we can confess our sins direct to Him. I would always think, "How do I know He is really listening?" Then in my mid 20's I met my now husband and his family who are Catholic and found all of the pieces that were missing 😁

I am an LCMS Lutheran and I agree with almost everything you've said here. Well put.

Matthew 7:21 seems to demand more than simply believing in Jesus. Thank you Trent for your work on your channel, a very helpful part of my formation as a Catholic (received Confirmation three weeks ago 😊🙏)

The people who bought into this idea or fall back on it despite seeing evidence to the contrary while I am sure they are good people in day-to-day life, frankly when it comes to religion and spiritual matters they are lazy and are looking really for an excuse to not hold faith to anything. The great thing about dismissing the question of church authority or tradition and relying on the notion that if one just believes in Jesus that they'll be satisfactory is that you are basically free to manipulate Christ's message whichever way you chose to see fit.

Man I love you! And I love being Catholic! UGH SOOO much better. Life is good! Praise God!

Very helpful. Thank you. I have Protestant friends and now I will be able to give an answer to some of their comments.

As a convert im extremely disturbed by this fallacy. Millions of people are being done a significant--and potentially eternal--disservice when they are told that all you have to do is feel some sort of way and say one prayer today and for the rest of your life youre saved as long as you feel that you really believed it regardless of how you live. Even more disturbing is the teaching that, even if you walk away from the faith entitely, youre still saved for life if youve ever said the sinners/romans road/ ABC (admit, believe, confess) prayer and think you really meant it then. Its intellectually dishonest and i dont think any serious person really believes this, will admit they dont when specifically pressed, but still tells this to visitors of their congregation every sunday morning, wednesday night, etc. Young people leave church camp after having that one emotional night and may spend the rest of their lives feeling an assurance of salvation and are never told how to live as a Christian. When i was coming back to faith after spending a decade as a degenerate i knew one thing for sure: if Christ is Lord and the Bible is true then it is necessary that justification works as the Catholic Church teaches. There is no other way. God bless you all

“The just believe in Jesus” was picked to make it easy for themselves.They just want to believe in Jesus but don’t want to do what He says.

Believing in Jesus actually means obeying and following what Jesus did and said. Since Jesus started the Catholic Church then one must belong to it because we are intended to be part of it.

excellent video, helps a lot in trying to explain this fallacy respectfully to family and friends💛

Trent and all may God's peace be with you. I did not hear in your explanations what I would consider the most important piece which genuinely following Jesus's Lordship in a relationship with him where true communion and love flourish. I found myself agreeing with much of what you said but also feeling that the core of having that relationship with Christ being not covered. Would love to hear about that.

Part of the problem is that people who hold these views are not inclined to be excellent people. The pursuit of virtue is what drives the desire for definition. Part of the problem with Protestantism is that it permits if not encourages mediocrity by its doctrine. Nobody can accuse Catholicism of encouraging mediocrity.

If you don't divide the moment of salvation and the Christian walk you will be extremely fouled up. Don't be like the person in Matthew 7:21 pointing to your many wonderful works to enter heaven, do the will of the father in John 6:40 and believe on Christ. There will be many people who went to church, read their Bible's and lived a moral life who are in for a big surprised when they die all because they didn't understand the simplicity in Christ.

Thank you, Trent. The most important duty for each of us is, in life, to conduct a constant, thorough, and honest religious discernment. Examples of poor or non-discernment include items such as, "I was born into this religion, so that's what I am," or, "All branches of Christianity are essentially the same, so what does it matter?" Applying just a little honest discernment will reveal to the open minded the truths of many aspects of Catholic Dogma, including the Chair of Peter, the Magisterium, Purgatory, Mary-ology (Immaculate Conception, Visitation, Assumption, Lourdes, Fatima, Guadalupe, etc.). The flip side of this coin is that if someone does a very honest and thoroughly researched discernment with no inherent biases (like anti-Catholic or anti-Orthodox sentiments) and arrives at a conclusion that they should truly be Mormon, or Muslim, or other religion, then eternity for them will rest on that decision. As long as their discernment is also on-going, then the Catholic invitation to them is eternally open, and then there is always individual hope.

Very interesting episode! Thank you.

One thing I hope changes in Christendom in response to quarantine is to see that going to church faithfully every Sunday is better than staying home.

You can believe in Jesus, but if who you think Jesus is becomes heretical, how could you be correct? Great video

Trent - outstanding. Thank you

YOU, my friend, are speaking some TRUTH 🙏

Trent, a friend of mine aurgues that the word "belief" had a different meaning at the time of the reformation when old english was changing. The original meaning meant to live in obediance to the new covenant and now it only means something along the lines of an acknowledgement or an intellectual assent. Curious to know what you think about this. Thanks for doing what you do!

That they can say “Catholicism is wrong, but Catholics can still be saved if they just trust Christ,” is evidence of what you’re talking about here! Good stuff I never would have understood before.

Thank you for your interesting commentary, Trent! To be honest-at least, at the moment- I don’t follow any specific religious path, although I’m certainly not an atheist. One obvious reason for this is the fact that I grew up in a secular home where religious matters were never being discussed or mentioned. However, especially since my early twenties, I have felt quite a strong need to lead a spiritual life (I hope you don’t mind this expression…), so that I started exploring yoga and other popular or “trendy” belief systems. For different reasons, which I can’t list here in detail, after quite a few years, I began to focus on Christianity, but then discovered that it is necessary to first understand the so-called Old Testament or the Jewish Scriptures in order to comprehend the Christian teachings… Yet, today, I must admit that I’m (desperately) confused about which of these two religions is “right”, so that it seems impossible to make a clear, reasonable, and definite decision-all the more, because of the tremendous number of denominations in both cases! No matter how much I struggle, I find it extremely difficult to determine which of all these traditions (i.e. denominations) is the “right” one, in other words, which one of them interprets the biblical text in the most appropriate and correct way. Sometimes I even think that the main reason for my inability to take a definitive decision is precisely the huge amount of different denominations. And-as though this wasn’t enough-their respective adherents constantly argue with each other… Despite this, I’d like to express my gratitude for all the interesting as well as insightful comments you share on your KZfaq channel, Trent! Kind regards, Anna

I never got baptized as a protestant because all I had to do was say this simple prayer. I said the same simple prayer for the next 18 years heads down eyes closed. Every single week I accepted Jesus into my life. Every single week I began again as a new convert. So I got baptized Catholic and I would much rather be baptized Catholic than baptized protestant and then convert, which I were 2014 Easter Vigil.

If I could ask you a question that’s been weighing on me sir. I grew up Protestant and married a woman who was divorced from her unfaithful husband, not by her choice but his. I married her and she had children already. Now we have a couple of our own together. I am now drawn towards the Catholic Church now but she is not, yet. Would I be considered as living in adultery and in sin? Or would I have mercy for my ignorance? I really do desire to live godly and also join the Church. I was not taught about marrying a divorced woman before this and I am concerned for all of our salvation and future. If you could help me with this I would really appreciate it. God bless you

I agree I think the eastern idea of giving infants the full hat trick of sacraments is a good idea. More sacramental graces early in life the better.

Thank you Trent 🥰❤🌺🐳

Thanks I am not a catholic listener appreciated the shout out and think you’re super smart

As a non-denominational, leaning Lutheran Christian, I approve this message.

Your story about the Protestant who wanted to stay back and read his bible rather than go to a church of another denomination made me wonder: If a Catholic is in that situation, in a location where there is no Catholic church but there are a bunch of Protestant churches around, is it better to attend a Protestant church or stay back and make a spiritual Communion (maybe even watch a televised Mass)?

Biblical Unitarian/Christadephian here! Appreciate this channel, and your thoughts. Currently, I think the Biblical distinction between INTERNAL and EXTERNAL covenant keeping is really important. The Mosaic covenant was EXTERNAL (written of tablets of stone), whereas the Messianic covenant is INTERNAL (written on hearts). I think this makes a HUGE difference to the "What is necessary for Salvation?" question. Here's just one passge that deals with this: 2 Corinthians 3:3-6 (NASB95) 3 being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. 4 Such confidence we have through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, 6 who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Regarding the baptism-first communion-confirmation all at once question: I think it’s best to do them separately. I was baptized as an infant, had my first communion at 11, confirmed at 18. I think it was good to have them separately so that I could understand the value of my Catholic faith and my devotion.

Tbh I had this view “just believe In Jesus “ until this year and yeah I think it kinda is a lazy way out type of thing for most Protestants including myself (I started watching Trent a few months ago as I have been delving more into apologetics/philosophy and listening to aquinas and Chesterton via audible this year) 🤣 I’ve been raised “nondenom” Christian and pretty much my idea of baptism is that it is a declaration of faith (as in when you get baptized Jesus knows what’s on your heart and that’s the power in it ) but a standard prayer and acceptance that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and that he is lord and savior and that no one gets to the father except thru him gets you to heaven (My reason for baptism when I got baptized around 10 was declaring that faith ) and that’s pretty much what my pastor teaches/taught… now I am more of the opinion (not so much a Catholic yet though I guess I’ve been edging that way) that confessing my sins (to God directly not to the whole priest level of it (though I understand why confessing to others could be impactful and having them pray over you too ) frequently is super important and I am even more happy I’ve been baptized

I have never been to fully articulate this roadblock, but this fallacy seems to be the main push back from my Evangelical friends. It is an incredibly difficult hurdle to overcome, to agree on what the main things even are, the weight of their importance, and whether the Church is visible or invisible. "Just believing in Jesus" is so broad, and in a qualified sense Catholics can believe in that sentiment in the same way "Justification by faith alone" can be championed by a Catholic in a qualified sense.

I say do it in regards to doing Confirmation during Baptism. I'm Chaldean and that's what we do and then when the child is 7 or 8 they take communion. It's wonderful!

I love your point about Protestants and Church because even my wife wasn't too keen on going to church. To be honest, we aren't really people persons. So when we talked about becoming Catholic she immediately asked about going to church...So I was annoyed. But I asked her why people are supposed to go to church and her first response was "fellowship with other Christians." I was like no. That's a byproduct and obviously not a bad thing yet worshiping God is the reason. Once she understood Jesus is at every Mass in a literal and physical way I haven't heard her say anything bad about it. And I've liked certain Protestant services before yet Mass worship is something on another level. I don't think going back to a Protestant service is even an option for me.

"Let us here observe, that a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things, never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation."

Wonderful video. You asked in it though about our feelings on infants receiving the Eucharist. As an ex-lutheran I respectfully disagree and in fact feel sorry your son. Not saying you made the morally wrong choice, but I would worry that your son does not grow up to fully understand the true nature of the Eucharist. This is coming from someone who first received communion before the age of reason. As a result I never truly understood the significance of it. I never understood it’s true place at the mass. It was just something that happened, no more or less important than anything else. In fact I still don’t quite know how my Lutheran church sees communion because we never talked about it. We never thought it was holy because we never learned to treat it that way. Reminder that this is a sacrament in our church. Although I don’t fully understand it, I now understand the true nature of it. Mainly because I have been denied it in the Catholic Church. It’s no longer treated like a simple meal like in the Lutheran church, but as the body and flesh of Christ. This is something you don’t just administer to anyone. In fact, believing in the true nature of the Eucharist is the standard we hold adults to. Why not treat kids the same way and only administer it to those catechized. I’m not even going to comment on having an infant confirmed. Confirmation without education. Our Lutheran church doesn’t even allow that. Besides, what are you confirming? Am open to hearing other opinions on the matter though. I am fresh and eager to learn.

Hi Trent. You are awesome. Could you make a video about the sins of the popes to discern between the human fallacies and the Holy Church and His Infallible Vicar? Thanks from Hungary.

Trent, great and important points. Reading scripture the last thing I would have ever imagined was that "this book is perspicuous." Au contraire!!! After listening to so many debates it finally dawned on me that Protestantism is not a real religion. Primarily, it is an ideology with no positive or definite common content. I have never heard a Protestant make the critical distinction between fiduciary faith and dogmatic faith. But if we look at the great commission what we find is fiduciary faith is used by Christ as a means to dogmatic faith. But the Protestant ideology blinds Protestants from seeing that and making the needed distinction. Why? Because to do so sets up the necessity of the works of obedience to Christ's commands.

I am A Born Again Christian.......

The understanding and definition of holy is even different.

Thanks much for this video.

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:03 🌐 *Overview of Protestant Diversity* - Protestantism is a diverse umbrella term, primarily defined by not being Catholic or Eastern Orthodox. - Within American Protestantism, there's considerable diversity, with terms like "evangelical" offering more specificity. - Core doctrines like sola scriptura and sola fide are shared, but interpretations vary, even within denominations. 02:27 🛤️ *Non-Denominational Identity* - Many Protestant Christians identify as non-denominational, seeing denominational disputes as secondary. - "Just believe in Jesus" becomes a unifying principle among non-denominational Protestants. - Non-denominational identity often emerges from a desire to avoid theological disputes and focus on a shared belief in Jesus. 04:30 💔 *Challenge in Catholic-Protestant Unity* - The idea of "just believing in Jesus" poses a significant hurdle to Catholic-Protestant unity. - If belief in Jesus is seen as sufficient, there's little urgency to explore other doctrinal differences. - Overcoming this hurdle is crucial for meaningful dialogue and understanding between Catholics and Protestants. 05:26 📖 *Perspicuity of Scripture* - The concept of the "perspicuity of scripture" asserts that essential teachings for salvation are clear in the Bible. - This idea contributes to the belief that one only needs to believe in Jesus, with other doctrinal matters being secondary. - The tension arises when interpretations of scripture diverge, leading to disagreements even among Protestants. 07:44 📜 *Challenges to Perspicuity* - Biblical passages, like Acts 8:30-31 and 2 Peter 3:16, challenge the idea that scripture is always clear without guidance. - Disagreements among Protestants on crucial issues like baptism and salvation demonstrate the lack of unanimity on what should be clear. - The absence of a unified interpretation challenges the doctrine of the perspicuity of scripture. 11:12 🤔 *Disagreements Among Protestants* - Disagreements on topics like baptism's role in salvation and the security of salvation illustrate internal diversity among Protestants. - The similarity in outward practices may mask significant theological differences among Protestants. - While actions may align, the reasons behind them can diverge, highlighting the importance of underlying beliefs. 14:11 🌊 *Impact on Sacraments and Traditions* - Doctrinal differences, such as views on baptism, influence practices like infant baptism and the timing of sacraments. - The importance of answering questions beyond "just believe in Jesus" is evident in sacramental practices. - Beliefs about the role of the Church, sacraments, and moral teachings stem from foundational doctrinal positions. 19:24 🚥 *Beyond Belief: Obedience to Jesus* - Emphasizes the distinction between merely acknowledging facts about Jesus and obeying His teachings. - Raises questions about lordship salvation and the necessity of faithful adherence to Jesus's commands. - Explores how interpreting and following Jesus's instructions impact beliefs on salvation, morality, and sacraments. 21:56 🙏 *Call for Gracious Dialogue* - Encourages non-Catholic and Catholic listeners to engage in respectful dialogue. - Expresses the desire for mutual understanding and collaboration rather than confrontational debates. - Emphasizes the importance of unity in sharing the truth while acknowledging differences.

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

Please do “just believe what the bible says” fallacy next.

The real reason I'm roman Catholic. I am chosen jn 6,65 Trent is right Jesus is infinitely greater than an idea. He's the master of personal communication. Eucharist = Communication Sad but you rightly point out jn 6,53 Trent please do a video on the Sacrament of Humility Confession every three weeks same priest with frequent Eucharist changed even me Alleluia Peace of Christ Happy Thanksgiving

My dad divorced my mom after 23 years because he just didn’t want to be married anymore. He already was planning to cheat on my mom and moved my step mom in soon after. She didn’t know he was married. Now that I’ve been researching becoming Catholic, I understand that’s a grave sin. He still hasn’t treated it as such. I have to pray for him because he has issues with Catholics and wouldn’t even be happy about me converting. Growing up as a “non denominational” Christian, this message is so important. I didn’t ever think about this point that your speaking of because I was taught that just believing in Jesus is enough.

Ah yes, the non denominational denomination.. classic

The pope says you don’t even have to believe in Jesus to be saved! Your own “vicar of Christ”!

Great explanation!

As a practicing Latter Day Saint, I really like the idea of thinking of faith as incorporating allegiance to Christ. I often use the old definition of "To trust, to believe, to obey"

Non-denominational = sola scriptura protestant

I’m Baptist. The Holy Spirit leads the way, and Jesus saved me. The Bible instructs me. All I need.

Love your videos! Just as Protestants assume beforehand that all they have to do is believe, Catholics have an a priori assumption that "allegiance to God" means adherence to "church" tradition. Just a thought.

Today, I talked to a Protestant who believes this and that religion is not necessary. By religion, he meant rules. He was shocked when I explained that religion is important, otherwise if rules were not important, then following the Eightfold path would be okay as long as you believe in Jesus. By dialoguing with him I found out that his disagreement is with following rules to be saved. Really wish I could of talked to him more but we met for an AC service call. He agreed with this premise to a point.

Besides the “believe in Jesus” thing, there’s one other thing that all Protestants agree on. Every single Protestant denomination agrees that the Holy Roman Catholic Church isn’t the One True Faith established by Christ and the 12 Apostles.

It’s great to be magnanimous and all that with prots, but we need to realize the heresy of protestantism has led millions to spiritual ruin. All 47,000 different denominations believe in different things and yet they all reject the truths of the Holy Catholic Church. We need to be more direct with them in order to save them from their hubris and man-centered belief system.

@The Council of Trent when trying to bring Truth to those who are of other faiths, who are very set in their ways, I often struggle with the concept of should I keep trying to nudge them or knock the dust from my sandals and move on. We are not the savior of our brothers and sisters; we are only an instrument of delivering a "nudge". But how do you know when it's God's nudge and when it has become your nudge? Yes, I know take it to prayer. That's a whole other topic.

Doing all the sacraments as a child is interesting because I think the Charismatic Renewal would say you get extra graces if you have the desire at the time of receiving the sacraments.

It’s by faith alone, but faith is never alone!

15:20 You're telling me that if a child dies before being baptized that it's unsaved. Therefore, the child, what, goes to hell? Or purgatory? A child, that was too young to choose faith, an innocent, is punished for a choice it could not make? No. That has no basis in scripture and the ludicrous belief that baptism is the mechanism for salvation is also non-scriptural. also, this whole video is ludicrous. The fact of the matter is that you belief certain things and disagree with others. Arguing that disagreement, in and of itself, is a fallacy is, in turn, a fallacy. You can't say that having a different belief is not valid. one belief may or may not be correct, but you can't call the whole thing null just because you disagree. Your argument is fundamentally an appeal to authority fallacy, citing magisters and proper guidance. it doesn't matter that the Bible is hard to understand and that some people, many even, will be wrong. That doesn't mean that I cannot believe in a sound doctrine by reading and trying to understand on my own. This is the fallacy of the Catholic church, both of them. You're not an expert just because you have a title. Nor does going to college or seminary mean you actually understand what you read. People must make their own choices and come to their own understanding. "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." Not a priest. Ironic that this whole argument is ostensibly about sound doctrine, when it isn't built upon sound doctrine at all.

Am I the only one who zooms in to read the book titles on Trent’s shelf?

I grew up in what I would describe as an Anabaptist household/house church. Putting the light of Scriptures up to their teachings on salvation make sense, considering the early church writers unanimously taught that you could in fact be cast out of salvation if you did not repent. The biggest hurdle to overcome now is the modern interpretation of "repentance." Most of the nondenominational churches now teaches that repentance is just saying in your head that Jesus died for your sins.

this is the fallacy that my protestant friends make to justify their church and to justify being ignorant to the truth. it honestly hurts me because the truth is already in front of them, but they are deliberately being ignorant of it.

For my part Trent, I wouldn’t mind having baptism, communion and charismation combined like we used to. I don’t have a problem with how they do it now either but I definitely love the idea of my kids being in more complete union with the Lord

As a believer in a non-denominational church, No one I know believes that "just believing in Jesus" is all it is about. Fruit of the Spirit must be present, and remember, the devil himself believes Jesus to be real. You see where that got him. Obedience to show we belong to Him, not to earn our salvation is key. Your relationship must be life changing.

Catholics: you need the papacy to understand the Bible Also Catholics: it’s ok to have different opinions on creation, predestination etc. and let’s see what the new pope thinks about homosexuality

"I'm not a Protestant, I'm a Christian".

I think baptism being a choice makes it more powerful for the baptized. It's a willful turning away from sin and to becoming a new person in the image of christ. Without that, what does it do? Especially if salvation can be lost.

As a former evangelical there were very many of these issues which Simply couldn't be definitively defined. Nor could they be dealt with, due to a general lack of biblical instruction. True, Jesus proclaimed that marrying a divorced woman is adultery. Yet if all sin is forgiven to the repentant, why now condemn her to a life of solitude? Especially if it wasn't her who divorced her husband. Even now as a practicing Orthodox I don't actually understand this. But trusting God I can accept it. This is a common type of protestant error. Scripture alone simply doesn't address many of the problems we faced daily. So we just did the best we could.

Just believe in Jesus and smoke some weed - Trent Horn , 2021 -

Longtime Anglican in RCIA right now, and I'm wondering about my children being allowed to receive the Eucharist if we convert at different times. They receive now in our Anglicanparish, even the 5yo who has not yet had a First Communion class, but understands it is Jesus. If Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me," why would that not apply to His body? I am mainly concerned with a length of time between the end of our communion in the Anglican Church, and being welcomed at the table of the Catholic Church. The break in Communion during Covid had a significant effect on my family. I'd like to avoid another long stretch without the Eucharist for any of us.

I was born and raised Catholic. Got all my sacraments up to Confirmation. I started to fall away from Catholicism when I read the NT in its entirety about 7-8 years ago. Recently, I’ve been watching more Catholic and Orthodox content that had me reconsidering my position. Then the pope “blessed” LGBT unions and said it’s ok for transgenders to be baptized. Nope. I cannot follow a religion who’s leader goes completely against what the Bible teaches.

Trent Can you please do a rebuttal on the Justin peters video where he interviews an ex catholic on the dangers of Catholicism

We need a Cliff and Trent debate