Raised pentecostal, became Catholic Easter 2023. Best decision of my Life. Praise Jesus!

This conversation went from "why they're leaving" to "why they're wrong to leave" in record time.

protestant my entire life, about a year ago started bible in a year with FR. Mike Schmitz. Asked "why do Catholics believe what they believe" found Trent Horn, Jimmy Akin at Catholic answers. Learned about historical documents and early church fathers which finally convinced me at least 70% which is enough to seek out a priest. Found an FSSP Latin community/priest, began catechesis under him and got confirmed Easter 2024! Best decision and experience ever! Since then I've experienced incredible increases in many areas in my life. personal miracles if you will. Things I never thought possible. I can finally say i am truly on the road to Sainthood here in the Church. Confession and communion are POWERFUL gifts from God that I never had as a protestant and am so grateful that God chose me to be able to receive them when I could have easily stayed blind to it. Praise GOD!

Redeemed zoomer is acting like people wake up and say "I'm Catholic now." Every convert I know, myself included, went through a serious discernment process (mine took years actually), not to mention that the fact that RCIA is required for new entrants is a guardrail against that.

I'm a millenial (32), raised Baptist, and became Catholic seemingly right before this trend apparently started. It wasn't for ideological reasons. I just studied the history of the biblical canon which lead to broader church history, which lead to sacramental theology and apostolic ecclesiology. I really didn't want to become Catholic because of biases I was raised with, so I seriously considered Orthodoxy and visited liturgies and made friends with good priests and laity. After a few years of uncomfortable fence sitting I relented and became Catholic, right in the middle of 2020. Now I'm on parish council and have a little Catholic family of my own lol. Anyways, that's my reason. I still greatly value the low church tradition I was raised in and the love of Christ and scripture it gave me.

People are tired of evangelical motivation speaker Ted talks without any substance sermons and for some reason they are resonating with the tradition and history of RC and EO churches

As a Catholic, I think you're misrepresenting confession. "The priest does the heavy lifting" is incorrect. First, confessing our sins, as is COMMANDED in James, is not an option, Biblically speaking. Then there's John 20, where Jesus gave the apostles the power to forgive sins. Then there's the power to "bind and loose" sins, also given by Jesus to the apostles. Through confession I have been able to break habitual sins. It doesn't mean that I stopped being tempted by those sins. I have helped conquer those sins and get them under control. So it is a fantastic gift. Now, let's talk the logistics of it. Confession is not optional. It is a command in scripture. So how do we implement it effectively? Well, there is a Methodist pastor who converted who shared how he wrestled with this. He saw that Catholics implemented a system that was private, would provide pastor's guidance, and would avoid some pitfalls of the things he was thinking about. He said that if he went for a group setting, you could easily have disagreement over what is a sin or what isn't. But a system where people could come to him and he could keep it private and provide guidance was ideal and he realized that this is exactly what Catholics had put in place. A practicing Catholic doesn't see confession as a "get out of jail free" card. It is tough. It take humility to go in and verbalize how you failed God. The priest acts as a vessel. The confession is made to Jesus, not Father X. But here's the one big thing you guys aren't discussing that is THE reason to be Catholic/Orthodox: the Eucharist. We don't go to church on Sunday to be entertained. We don't go because we can't wait to hear what the sermon of Father X is going to be. We don't go for the music. We go to receive Jesus in the resurrected form in the mass. We go to unite with the Church Militant (here on Earth), and the Church Triumphant, which are the saints in heaven. When I go to mass I am united with the saints in heaven, who are celebrating that very mass at my side (as is illustrated in Revelation). No smoke and light show or great preaching will ever compare to that. There is reverence in our worship while the evangelical churches focus on entertainment and smoke and light shows with a very shallow theology. I remember going to a "non-denominational" service and it was a rock show with preaching and I left feeling totally shallow. I'm not a convert, I was just exploring at that time. You guys made some very good points, but Protestantism started splitting from itself the moment it came into reality. Catholics consider Orthodox to be in communion with Rome, though schismatic. And there are Orthodox traditions that are in full communion with Rome.

I grew up a United Methodist, believing in choir specials and covered dishes. In high school I had a profound spiritual experience that my Methodist pastor could not help me with and was completely lost. I became Catholic, later I became a priest, and was so happy that the Lord led me to a place that I found I could have faith in real spiritual experiences. I met the Lord in the Methodist Church but really came to believe in His awesome love for us as a Catholic.

I was raised agnostic by my Muslim mother and Baptist father and became an evangelical non-denom protestant in 2020. I was baptized in the Orthodox Church in March of 2024. Glory to Jesus Christ!

I was raised evangelical. Now orthodox for 5 years. Glory to God☦️

I was raised evangelical and I converted to Catholicism in 2015. I’ve never felt closer to Christ.

For me, it was because I decided to honestly engage with what the Catholic Church teaches with an open mind. I wasn’t looking to accept or disprove, just understand. And I was blown away. It was so much deeper than anything I had learned as a Protestant. And it was not the cartoonish “unbiblical” church evangelical preachers had made it out to be. I felt like I had been lied to about Catholicism my entire life…

I just got confirmed into the Catholic Church today! On the feast of Corpus Christi too!🕊️❤️ feeling beyond blessed

Matt, I really appreciate your empathy and compassion for the "other" - you speak about people from other Christian perspectives in a way that affirms their dignity. I really admire and respect that!

I’m becoming Catholic, I was always a Protestant. I got tired of the bands and non denom churches, and the just feel good about Jesus theology. I want the church that has stood the ages, I feel I can glorify Jesus the best in the Catholic Church.

Maybe Protestants are becoming Catholic because they came to recognize Him in the breaking of the Bread.

As someone who used to be Protestant and is now Catholic I would like to answer the question about what draws people to it. There are so many reasons to believe in Catholicism but what really drew me in was reading early Christian writings and recognizing the Catholic Church and Catholic teachings in them, and the fact that the Church acts like a Mother hen that gathers Her chicks under Her wings. She guides us and teaches us in such a clear way!

I'm yet another Baptist-to-Orthodox Christian convert, and the reason for my conversion is simply because Orthodoxy provides the theological depth and the practical tools of repentance that I've found necessary to attain my salvation. I have known far holier Christians than me who've thrived off crumbs of the Lord's Truth, but in my weakness, I need the entire loaf of Truth to not starve.

I became Orthodox because no one could square what we were being taught with a method of Living. I was slandered, ridiculed and belittled constantly for my desire for any sort of Doctrinal Unity by both Pastors and people in my Evangelical Church. I spent 3 years "Seeking", some of that coincided with the Coof, and eventually I decided that once I could attend Church again I would join LCMS or WELS. I ran away from home and fell in with not so great people. I started attending Liturgy at a Greek Parish and realized I could never go back. One thing Evangelical Protestantism gave me was a deep love for Scripture and becoming Orthodox completed that Love.

Redeemed Zoomer was not the best person to interview and ask questions such as "why are young people turning to the Orthodox (or Catholic) church?" His answers were uncharitable and came from the perspective of an upset outsider looking in. Outside of those questions this was an interesting conversation

I became Catholic in 2022, but my journey started in 2018. I jumped around churches, Baptist, Methodist, nondenominational, etc, but none of them felt right. Add the slow slip into Liberalism and continued fracture of Protestantism, I say the Papacy and Magisterium as a authoritative voice guiding the Church. Adding the support from the Early Church Fathers and rich philosophical and theological traditions, the Catholic Church just makes sense.

Lutheran-to-Catholic convert, class of 2017. It’s simple: once you realize that sola scriptura is anti-biblical, sola fide is anti-biblical, and sola gatia is a false dichotomy, there’s really nothing left of theoretical Protestantism to salvage. And then once you look at history and realize the early church was so clearly more similar to modern RC and EO Churches, that there’s a clear line of logical apostolic succession and theological development, that most of history is either left out of history-according-to-Protestantism or a gross mischaracterization of the truth, that most Protestant practices are alien to historical Christianity, there isn’t was of practical Protestantism left to salvage either. At some point, you just realize that you have to be RC or EO; Protestantism is simply indefensible.

As a side note on confession, yes confession feels very satisfying but that is not just because you can get a sense of absolution on something that was bothering you, but a large aspect to the fulfilling nature of confession is the humility it requires. It is relatively easy to confess your sins to God, he already knows you sinned, he knew you were gonna sin before you even did it! Not to say you shouldn't repent your sins to God, but what is "humanly" difficult is to humble yourself and exercise true contrition enough to confess your sins to another person who doesn't already know what you did. That is not an "easy" thing to do. And getting yourself to do that feels fulfilling.

I was an anti-Catholic Calvinist for a long time. Very thankful to have converted to Catholicism about a year ago after a couple years of studying the early church and hearing Catholic side of things

I and my husband, now priest and long-time catechist, became Orthodox 25 years ago along with many other Protestant converts, into a convert church. This is not a new trend. It’s just that Protestants are now noticing. The influx we’re seeing now is not necessarily a net growth, as many since covid have also left Christianity. As you said, Tradition and apostolic succession are surely reasons, but if I had to say, from the hundreds of catechumens we’ve encountered over the years, you’ve really underestimated the draw to the Sacraments (excepting Matt’s mention of the benefits of Confession). Partaking of the Mystery of Communion is certainly the number one reason anyone becomes Orthodox. When one becomes Orthodox, one begins to understand it as the height of our Union with Christ, a way he provided for us that’s beyond our understanding but so necessary. This is the best tool for Christian growth, not to mention all the other disciplines in our Tradition. When we become Christians, yes, we are saved, but we still sin. That makes us sick. The Church is a hospital and we need its medicine. Simply put, I think it has better, tangible tools for living the Christian life. This is the number one reason we see from countless converts over many years. I think this is largely overlooked by Protestant commentators because they just don’t understand how this could be the case, IMO.

Raised nondenominational, now a TLM-loving Catholic. Praise be to our Lord Jesus Christ!

I think what’s missing from this discussion is that if you are convinced that Christianity is true, then the most important thing is the Eucharist. As a lifelong Protestant, soon to be received into the Orthodox Church, I knew that the treatment of the “Lords Supper” was not in keeping with early Christianity. There is an incredible continuity between the Orthodox practice and Biblical Judaism. The centrality of the sacrifice, the priests, liturgy. It all represents an unbroken chain that, once experienced and taken seriously is completely absent elsewhere and is totally convincing, at least for me!

I became a Protestant at age 11. I’m now 33 and converted to orthodoxy last summer.. was baptized this past May as well as my husband and four children! ☦️☦️☦️

I was raised Baptist and have been Catholic for three years now. The more I studied historical and traditional Christianity, the less sense Protestantism made. My first Mass completely blew my mind, it was so alien from the four white walls, worship bands, a TV with hymn lyrics on it, and a 45-minute rambling chloroform-in-speech sermon about three verses of scripture that I grew up knowing as Christianity. I found Catholicism (and by extension, Orthodoxy) to be the most authentic and worthwhile expression of Christianity that would guide me to grow closer to Christ. I didn't convert to get in on a fad or do the edgy based thing, and the Church has safeguards in place (RCIA/OCIA) to prevent insincere converts from coming in. In short, what I seek I couldn't find in any expression of Protestantism.

The thing about Catholicism (I don’t know about Eastern Orthodoxy) is that you can’t “identify” as Catholic whenever you feel like it. You have to go through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA), which is basically a rite of Bible study, community service, and constant reaffirmation of your faith. It’s a long process, but you will be sure of your faith, and you’ll learn to keep what is sacred, sacred. It's not a costume you can take off when you feel like it.

Southern Baptist seminary grad and pastor, confirmed into the Catholic Church 2 years ago.

I was raised Christian & Missionary Alliance (a Wesleyan Holiness Protestant tradition), became Catholic because of a mystical experience that was backed up by subsequent study.

I became Catholic last year. The Holy Eucharist is the Source and Summit of my worship and faith. I never believed in Sola Fide, and I no longer believe in Sola Scriptura. I guess those are the main reasons. There is also the focus on Church history and the Church Fathers...I have so much to learn that we just didn't talk about in Protestantism.

Baptist to Catholic and glad I left the American religion and came home to the universal church.

For me it was Covid, almost died from pneumonia, i think I was miraculously healed, then was able to from one day to the next quit one of my bad addictions, i’m not even tempted anymore. Praying the Rosary, Confession, the Eucharist, and following the Calendar in the Catholic Church has been amazing. I’m more of a revert btw. But overall it just seems like there’s so much purpose now thanks be to our Lord and Savior.

Here's 11 honest reasons why I started to look into the Roman Catholic Church as a Non-denominational Christian and am still wresting through.... 1. Grieved by commercialism/"branding" of 'action-verb' Churches. 2. Grieved by 'Big Personality/Showmanship' Culture and the pride it fosters. 3. Grieved by doctrinal disunity on almost everything (soteriology, eschatology, communion, baptism, spiritual gifts, on and on and on. 4. Grieved by a culture of triumphalism. 5. Frustrated by the neglect of the meaning of objectively beautiful art and music vs KLove. 6. Grieved by the business model of church. 7. Grieved by cheap communion (a tic tac wafer and a plastic thimble of Welch's grape juice). 7. Having thoughts like, "Is this it...?" 8. The frustration/bewilderment of such low 'success' in my narrow evangelical Christianity that assumed Catholics/Orthodox are wholesale unsaved but yet comprise of the majority of believers presently and obviously historically. 9. Evangelistic/Charismatic "Holy Spirit Russian Roulette" in public and realizing that the Sacraments are Holy Spirit bound in a consistent/predictable way by faith. 10. Realizing that many protestant doctrines.beliefs are new (dispensationalism/cessationism/calvinism, symbolic communion, rapture, etc) and not found in the Church for 1500 years. 11. Catholics/Orthodox aren't Calvinist and have never been. . . . Then I've realized so many things I love happen to be of Catholic origin/influence/inspiration....we as protestants are eating the fruit but neglecting the tree its from. 1. Frank Capra's "Its A Wonderful Life" 2. The Passion of the Christ 3. Jonathan Roumie of 'The Chosen' 4. J.R.R. Tolkien and 'The Lord of the Rings' 5. Rich Mullins desiring to receive the Eucharist and his Franciscan Vow of Poverty shortly before his untimely death 6. Christ's-Mass on December 25th 7. Christmas Carols 8. Culture of Chivalry 9. Christendom 10. Enya 11. G.K. Chesterton . . . Then you have to deal MAJOR 'wrenches' in the protestant system.... 1. Tammy Peterson (Jordan Peterson's wife) gets miraculously healed through praying the Rosary and wearing the Scapular. Do we just write it off? Just 'demonic healing'? 2. Fatima. Just didn't happen? It was demonic? 3. Marian Apparition "Our Lady of Guadalupe" during the Prot Reformation/Western Schism. Again, just demonic? I could go on...but there you go.

Unity is why outsiders find truth in the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. It is also the church where Christ is literally present with us in the Eucharist. Anywhere you go in all corners of the world, there are catholic churches, and all together, we are one body and one mind, with Christ as our head, and the pope as His vicar on earth. The Lord Jesus Christ's prayer to the Father ‭John 17:22-23 "I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me." Romans 15:6 "So that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" Christ remains in the Catholic church because we are the church that eats His flesh and drinks His blood in the Eucharist. The Lord Jesus Christ said, ‭John 6:56 "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him."

Im mormon to babptist to orthodox. Orthodxy feels like home, its calling me to work harder and be better to fight my passions. Its a spirtual battlefield im called to be a soldier for christ. The depth and the saints in orthdoxy are amazing guides and examples for us to follow

I'm a millenial evangelical, graduated from a Bible college with a background in the Restoration movement, and will soon get my master's from another Restoration Movement university. My interest in Orthodoxy started at the beginning of last year, when God confronted me with some grave sins of mine that I had not been dealing with. As I searched for hope and felt condemned, Protestant preachers/teachers would say things like, "After the study I've done, this is what I believe this Scripture passage means." An Orthodox priest I started listening to came more from a perspective of "This is what the Church teaches (and has historically taught)." And as I dove into learning about Orthodoxy, leaning into some of their practices, and occasionally attending the liturgies, I found the Orthodox Church to have answers to so many issues I have had with my Protestant background for years (e.g., non-sacramentalism, offering "Communion" for individuals who want it in a prayer room on the Sundays it isn't taken corporately). So in a nutshell, for me it comes down to authority and worship. The Orthodox Church has seemed to me to have the authority and worship that the Church is supposed to have. But I'm still seeking and learning. May God guide me and my family.

I grew up nondenominational, but my grandmother is Methodist. Once I started driving I decided to go to the Methodist church. My wife is Catholic and we would go to each others churches. Over the past few years I’ve watched demagogues take over most Protestant faiths for the sole purpose of politics. Something finally clicked for me that made me realize the importance of our ancient rituals and so I’ve shifted to the RC and EO camp.

I've never heard so much talking about going back to what's important while actually ignoring going back to what's important

Bible is ready at every Mass so that's on the Evangelicals who said they did not get the Bible as a Catholic. They did not pay attention.

I’m was a American Evangelical now a Eastern Orthodox Christian ☦️ Christos ANESTI 🎉

For me I had never heard of the real presence in the Eucharist growing up and it is something I have yet to find a convincing argument against now. That is the main appeal to me at this moment.

The modern, materialistic world has wounded many. The Orthodox Church teaches that salvation is healing and this is what I have experience since my conversion from atheism. I have healed and transformed so much since diving into the Church that my sister barely recognizes me. Orthodoxy, to me, has offered me the deep meaning that my life was lacking and through the church I have begun to know the Living God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob Who has been working to return Adam to paradise since the fall. By becoming a part of His life, I have already begun to experience the Resurrection. To put it simply, I converted to Orthodoxy because Christ is there and it is to Him that the Holy Spirit led me.

Well said Matt. Appreciative Canadian Catholic.

The discussion in the middle about continuity is fascinating. I kinda feel like Matt sorta misses the force of Redeemed Zoomer's point. I became Catholic at Easter, after spending the first 37 years of my life bouncing between nominally non-denom (though usually baptist) churches and, while I think there's something to the idea that conversion's partly happen because people were bored in a previous tradition they never really understood, that just elides the continuity question. I still attend a lovely reformed non-denom church. And the passionate pastor cites post-reformation thinkers about 20 times as often as pre-reformation figures. And if you exclude Augustine, you could count the citations, in the past 5 years, on 1 hand and still have enough fingers to catch a ball. That's an actual lack of continuity, not an imagined one. It'd be one thing to say, "we want to focus on the Bible alone" and then really just focus on the Bible alone. But functionally, everywhere I've been, other authorities are mustered in sermons to emphasize a particular theological argument and, if none of those authorities are from the early church, no wonder people think these arguments are not connected to the Christian tradition. I also think Matt makes an excellent point around the 34 min mark which I'd make a little differently. His point is, basically, "you can be a Catholic and not be that into it and that's ok, for awhile". From the convert's perspective, the point would be, "I like that my perception of my faith life isn't so down to how I happen to be feeling emotionally". If you're not experiencing the spirit working it's easy, within certain forms of Protestantism, to wonder if he is. The rhythms of the calendar and concrete sacraments level some of the highs and lows inherent to faith.

Former Protestant to Orthodox here and you Matt played a part in it when you began touring the Orthodox Churches. Exposure to the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church is what’s driving people to convert. We have realized that Protestantism cannot bring the fullness of the Faith.

It's not necessary to speculate as to the reasons so many evangelicals are coming home to the Catholic church. There are countless testimonies of converts on The Coming Home Network, The Journey Home, etc. where they give detailed accounts of their journey. You will not find many (if any) saying it's because of beautiful buildings or traditional liturgy, etc. Most of them read/studied their way into it. For myself, I was born and raised baptist, spent 30 odd years in a non-denominational evangelical church where I was the worship leader (so I was all-in on contemporary worship) and about 15 years as a PCA Presbyterian. When my wife, who was born Catholic but joined me in the Baptist church when she turned 18, returned to the Catholic church about 5 years ago I was alarmed. I of course made all the standard anti-Catholic arguments. But over time, as I dug more-and-more into what the Catholic church actually teaches (as opposed to what I'd been told all my life from Protestant churches) I was forced to realize that the man-made doctrines (like Sola Scriptura and Sola Fide) were not only unbiblical but simply crumbled under academic rigor. So I finally stopped protesting and was confirmed into the Catholic Church at the Easter vigil this year. Soli Deo Gloria!

funny story, I am a (former) Evangelical in the process of becoming Catholic. One of the people who's content pushed me away from Evangelical non-denom Christianity is Redeemed Zoomer. I know he wants to lead people to Mainline Protestant churches, but my research journey led me home to Rome. I'll expand a little bit, I did the denomination hopping and studying, but I actually did study. I read Concordia and Studied the 39 Articles of Faith, read works of the Church Fathers, and attended a variety of Churches for a little while. My initial dive into Catholicism wasn't intellectual, but rather spiritual. I attended a Mass and had a profound feeling of awe and fear that I had never experienced towards the Eucharist. Once I had that experience I dove into Catholic Apologetics and have attended every Sunday since and will be in R.C.I.A. this summer to officially join the Church family.

Raised Presbyterian. Been orthodox for 23 years now. The depth of the faith continues to unfold as I move through life.

Important to note that you can't just "become Catholic" after watching social media. New potential converts have to take months of classes before being brought into full communion. It can never be a spur of the moment uninformed decision ultimately.

Your channel introduced me to orthodoxy, glory to God!

Was raised evangelical, wife was also evangelical . . . in our 40s we became Roman Catholic after reading the Early Church Fathers.

Im an evangelical to Catholic convert. Too many reasons to describe in a KZfaq comment, but the movement is definitely a thing. My wife, and two best friends are all evangelical to Catholic converts

Well, if former Catholics turned Evangelical are suggesting they "never got the Bible as a Catholic", then either they just weren't going to Mass at all, or they weren't paying attention, OR most often the case is, they are not wanting to practice the Faith the way it is structured: "I don't need to confess my sins to a priest." or "My wife is a divorced woman, and refuses to get her former marriage anulled." Or, "My wife and I use artificial contraception and I don't want ten kids."etc. They know truth and reject it. The claim they don't get the Bible at Mass is a false claim. Three reading three year cycle on Sundays and two year cycle daily Mass. Almost the entire Bible.

When I was coming back to Christ from several years of following the New Atheists, I took a fair look at most denominations (thanks largely to your videos Matt!), and what I found was that the only churches/denominations that were holding the line against modernism and seemed best able and willing to resist the influence of the modern "progressive" world all I found were Catholicism and Orthodoxy. After looking into it I was more convinced by the Catholic claims for Papal supremacy than the Orthodox arguments against it. That was enough for me to want to become Catholic. I don't know if Redeemed Zoomer cares as much about Apostolic Succession as some do, but I think he does this discussion a disservice by downplaying the influence and importance of it. I know that lots of young people LARP as Catholic and Orthodox online, but I also wouldn't overestimate that population in comparison to genuine converts to Catholicism and Orthodoxy.

I grew up in the Presbyterian church. When I turned 29 I researched deeply into Christianity, theology, history etc and I now attend the Catholic Church. I stopped attending the protestant church every sunday when I turned 18 and for a decade would try to go to many different protestant denominations and got so SICK of the ted talk motivational feel good rock concert. It never felt like I was getting the fullness of the Christian faith. It drove me away from God and into gnosticism. Until I turned 29 and read the Bible and read the writings of the church fathers and saints and had to accept the fact protestantism is not found in the ancient church. I feel the fullness of the Christian faith in the Catholic church and the Eucharist truly heals my mind body and soul every week I take it now. Orthodox and Catholic churches is where you will find the fullness of Christianity. the Catholic mass is where I am truly worshipping God how He wants to be worshipped. Protestants need to humble themselves and GO BACK to how the early Christians practiced Christianity. Solas are not Biblical. Mary is the mother of God. Accept this. to be a student of history is to cease being protestant. Notice how yourcalvinist gentlement always refers back to “ME ME ME” “I I I” the absolute ARROGANCE. You are not the authority sir. All the degeneracy we see in western society today comes from the protestant reformation 500 years ago no coincidence.

Should change the video title to 3 Protestants discuss Catholic conversions.

Fascinating video. Thank you all for discussing this and uploading

(Have not completed the video yet Matt) but for me in my conversion to Catholicism, in reading the early church fathers, and the Holy scripture thru the interpretation of them as well as the Church, my experience as an evangelical didn’t even seem Christian in comparison. And to those martyrs and evangelists who spread the word thru worse persecution than we’ll ever experience; they probably would not consider evangelicals Christians at all. Just some heresy they were in the process of combating. I initially leaned heavily orthodox but after 6 MORE months of research I found a home in the Catholic Church and was confirmed this past Easter. God bless you Matt, you were a friend along the way whether you know it or not and I pray for Gods protection over you and your family. I love you and your mission very much

Your channel helped my conversion to Orthodoxy

I really think Matt's characterisation of Catholicism about the 35 minute mark is way off. Life as a proper Catholic is way more difficult than protestant life, I have lived both ways. If you sin, you have to go and confess to that sin out loud in front of someone. If you get divorced, you must live celibately or forego the sacraments. Sunday Mass is an obligation, along with the feast days. I could go on and on.

All this video did was show me why I should become Catholic or Orthodox. Thanks guys!

I'm one of those "young men", age 29, and I was raised Baptist and still hold many Baptist beliefs, but I hunger for a richer and deeper high church form of worship. I'm drawn to Church history and many Orthodox ideas and theology, yet I'm apprehensive about joining the Ortho Church. I feel like a mix of both, and frankly it feels liberating yet lonely. Anyways, great video as always! Your channel is such a blessing!

Redeemed Zoomer can learn so much from Matt. Matt is full of compassion, gentleness, and empathy. Redeemed Zoomer's smug approach, twisting of historical facts, and strawman arguments make him no different from ortho-bros and other zealots on the internet. Matt is more emotionally intelligent, and it shows. Great video :)

It’s not just wanting tradition and beautiful church aesthetics. It’s far, far deeper than that. However, I am glad to see this topic being discussed. A convert myself, my RCIA class was full of former evangelicals who yearned to be in the church Christ established, and we saw the glaring issues in the Protestant world. I’m curious as to why an evangelical Protestant convert to Orthodoxy or Catholicism wasn’t brought on. Seems like if you want to know why people are converting… talk to a convert. Also, Redeemed Zoomer comes off as very bitter and arrogant and was difficult to listen to.

Hi Matt, I am a Catholic revert from non-belief. Thank you for your ongoing conversation. I have learned a lot about other Christian groups from your channel.

Former Protestant, here. Al-Mashie qam! Christos anesti!

I used to be evangelical and converted to Catholicism. Matt’s channel helped me on my journey 4-5 years ago. I think Redeemed zoomer is just caricaturing a lot of the banter involved in online theological debates. I’ve met many sincere people in their conversions. I would say most are sincere. Hes probably not the best person to represent this sphere. I have yet to meet a Catholic steep in church history and classical theology convert to evangelicalism.

I am very thankful Jesus left us the Church. I was a devout Protestant who converted to Catholicism on Easter Vigil 2024. My pursuit for Christ is the pursuit of Truth. My prayer is always to be where Christ is, in fullness and to not believe in anything that is wrong (His Church cannot error on faith and morals). As a Protestant I did not have the Eucharist and we know what Jesus says about those who do not eat his body and drink his blood. Reading church history also showed me how Christians have worshiped in the Mass. I didn't have any connection to the early Church as a Protestant and I was truly robbed of the fullness of the faith as a Christian. Thanks be to God for His Holy Catholic Church. It seems incredibly dishonest to say the Protestant church existed in Acts 2 knowing that the teachings the Apostles handed down (and the earliest Church Fathers) are far different from both "historical" Protestantism and modern day Protestantism.

I was baptised Anglican as a baby (I'm English), fell away from the church, and have just been received into the Catholic Church. For me, it's as Matt said. The utility of confession helps keep me on the straight and narrow very well! I also draw a link between confirmation and the laws about sick people going to see the priest to be 'deemed clean' in the Torah. (apologies if this is a tired justification. I came to it independently). Also. Comment for the algo!

I am one such former Evangelical Protestant. For me, I discovered that there was such a thing as a post NT early church that lasted until the 1500s. My Evangelical church just didn't want to hear my questions and weren't interested in providing answers. Catholicism won me by forfeit. I have been Catholic for a number of year but somethimes I wonder if I had met a knowledgeable high church Lutheran or Anglican pastor who could have given me the best case for Protestantism being in continuity with the church of the First Millenium as to whether I would have been able to remain within Protestantism. In short, reconcile that there was a church for 1500 years pre-Reformation and that God was in charge even them. Also the role of creeds and tradition-- confessional Protestants (I have now learned) give a lot of authority to these things even of scripture alone is technically infallible. Third, liturgical worship. You cannot find mega church style worship in the early church. It doesn't exist.

Fancy churches aren't "the Tradition" we're talking about. Tradition is much much deeper and has to do with the Eucharist, which I feel no one in this conversation wants to touch. What is the Lord's Table? What does it mean for our lives? The Tradition preserves this.

I was a passionate evangelical until 2023. I spent every waking minute investigating the Church and watching this channel and so many others to help navigate my questions. After talking to my pastor and going through RCIA, I was confirmed Catholic at the 2024 Easter Vigil. I’m so grateful for the Good things that I was given from that tradition, but I’m so much more thankful that I’m receiving all those things in their fullness as a Catholic. Praise God!!

Evangelical turned Catholic here 🙋🏼‍♀️

I think you guys scratched the surface on a big reason that wasnt fleshed out. I'm an evangelical protestant. In protestant circles, having the right theology and beliefs is of great importance. Growing up and attending various protestant denominations and groups I have become so confused because there are so many differing views in the faith. Then theres so much fighting and wildly different beliefs that it gets so confusing for a normie like me. What I love about Catholics/Orthodox is that I dont need the trendy, intellectual pastor who has figured out the bible. The Catholic and Orthodox churches have rich tradition and a catechism. Ive reached a point in my life where I want to check my brain at the door while participate in a communal service with fellow believers with a church body that spreads to all the nations.

I fell away from Catholicism as a young man and went through a roughly 20 year journey through atheism, agnosticism, universalism, and what I observed in myself was a downward shopping-around spiral into whatever accommodated a progressively deeper self justification of things I just thought made sense to me or that I just wanted to do. Then life hit me like a train. And everything I thought I knew about life management didn't work. Strangely enough they weren't the most tragic things but they all hit me in my deepest held convictions of pride about myself. It was like tailor made disaster year for me. It wasn't until I restarted taking my heritage faith seriously and delving more deeply than ever into the prayers, novenas, and personal practices that the miracles started coming. And boy did they come. Im definitely home again and understand my interdynamic relationship with God better than ever. I might be bionic catholic if that ever becomes a thing. It was never about the persuasive arguments /exigesis but since Ive been back the biblical basis for all things Catholic has never clarified itself more strongly. Ive never had more to say about Catholic theology than now. I can't believe Id ever say this but Im kind of grateful for the chastisement Ive received, if only because of how Im being led out of it. God be praised! Christus vincit Christus regnat Christus imperat Ave Maria

I can only speak for myself, but as a former Baptist/Nondenom, it was a million small data points converging. I had a profound experience with the Eucharist, had real success against lifelong sin struggles with the Rosary, read a few of the early Church Fathers and became convinced of Apostolic Succession, etc. One big thing, though, was coming to the conclusion (which I think is objectively true) that liberalism was a consequence of the Protestant Reformation. Locke proposed tolerance as a solution to the widespread religious wars resulting from a newly fractured Christendom. The Reformation was followed by a diminishing of the institutional Church's influence on public life, separation of Church and state, political revolutions and the downfall of Christian monarchies, and the gradual secularization of the West. And we see the roots of liberalism even in how we discuss theology: If there's no divine interpreter of Scripture, we can never have absolute certainty about any doctrine. Only your interpretation and my interpretation; Your truth and my truth. Even the very first Reformers disagreed on the Real Presence in the Eucharist, iconoclasm, the necessity of baptism, predestination and so on. The core argument of the Reformation was that Scripture is perspicuous, and yet there was never a point where the Reformers agreed on what the Bible says about sacramentology or soteriology. Protestantism just became completely untenable for me. As it stands, I can definitely understand why a person would go Orthodox, though I personally went Catholic. But I simply could not find any more reasons to protest the Catholic Church. I've been watching your videos through it all. Thank you for your sincere Christian charity, Matt.

I was raised in the evangelical free church. Never really felt connected. Explored Catholicism changes my life. Actually found Jesus.

Last 2022 I converted to Catholicism from being anti-Catholic Baptist/Evangelical. 🇵🇭

Baptist to Cathoilc. Tiber swim team 2007

A driving factor is that many evangelicals propel false “beliefs” that they say Catholics and Orthodox hold to, and then when one investigates these traditions many realize that what they were told was incorrect from their evangelical background

As comedian Jan Fulwiler says “ In no haunted house movie will you hear ‘quick, find me a non-denominational worship leader’ or ‘only a Unitarian can save us now’”.

I'm a Catholic convert because i wanted God's 100% truth. My sister nearly went Norse paganism because of protestantism. Why? So many splintering sects and cults made her think that God couldn't keep his house in order. Only Jesus came in when she was about to verbally renounce him as false for Odin did he stop her. She is also Catholic today by God alone.

Pastor Matt, apostolic churches are not bearing the "heavy lift" of faith of their congregants. When one goes to Confession, for example, YOU must be of CONTRITE HEART. The confessor cannot be contrite for you. After confession, YOU make a vow to AMEND your life.

I'm not sure why Redeemed Zoomer get's so much publicity. He is arrogant, brash and inconsiderate. He clearly has zeal for God but he needs a healthy dose of humility, grace and brotherly love before he promotes himself as a public authority representing Christianity.

Perhaps it’d be most beneficial to ask those who are converting or assisting to those converting to Catholicism or Orthodoxy in order to understand why people are going in that direction, rather than kicking tires and spitballing why people are leaving evangelical Christianity. As someone who converted to Catholicism from Protestantism, I was looking for a framework to follow Jesus through the sacraments, rather than being “in” a denomination that can wildly vary based on the pastor. I disagree wholeheartedly with RedeemedZoomer about the comparison with denomination hopping being like changing gender identity and pronouns for youth (not to mention how offensive that comparison is to both sides of the comparison), but I found that my beliefs were already Catholic the whole time, and joining the RCC made sense to me. Catholicism and Orthodoxy have beliefs you have to have to truly identify as them, and having attended a Mass or Divine Liturgy or not does not mean you cannot have a 90%+ overlap with either.

Former presby of the OPC and RPCNA for 8 or so years. Just Recently confirmed Roman Catholic. So thankful for the Church. Grace by Garrigou-Lagrange and St Thomas Aquinas were both immensely helpful on the sacraments and justification coming from the duplex iustitia lane of reformed justification.

I’m Episcopal. Been visiting and considering the Catholic Church. It’s mostly because the folks at the Episcopal church don’t really believe. One afternoon, during a group discussion, I discovered that no one else at the table (including the Priest) believed that Mary was a virgin. The Priest said to me something like: you don’t really believe that do you? Us modern people know how conception works. And last week I got backhanded comments because I believe that Jesus is present in the Eucharist. I tried to defend myself quoting the Bible and Thomas Aquinas. And was told by the Priest until I went to seminary, I had no right to an opinion. Receiving the Eucharist every week changed my life radically and I believe in the power of God. I work every day with unbelievers. Do I really want to go to church with Christians who are essentially unbelievers too? The answer is ‘no’. So, I have been investigating options.

For me, protestantism led to a great deal of theological anxiety. I defended sola scriptura my whole Christian life and debated Catholics regularly. I read the Bible daily cover to cover, invested countless hours into reading apologetics and understanding my faith. I could never understand how many protestants were able to consider doctrines on salvation as "secondary" issues. For instance if baptism saves, it isn't a secondary issue... if we can lose our salvation this is not a secondary issue. So in my experience as a protestant, I was overwhelmed with the lack of solidarity even in individual churches having splits, denominations fracturing, etc. I was confident that what I understood the scriptures to mean was obvious and should be obvious to others. Childishly, I was surprised that many others didn't see the scriptures like I did. If you gave me a title, it'd be reformed except being carefully charasmatic. I didn't fit in either camp, both camps devoured one another, therefore I was continously rejected by both camps. Regardless of rejection, I was confident in what I believed so I kept going. It seemed the only thing that protestants agreed on was that getting to far into the weeds on theology was wrong, and that everything was a secondary belief besides have faith in Jesus. In the scriptures I began to be confronted with the book of Hebrews, the priesthood, the saints and the eucharist. The church I went to considered it legalism to have communion weekly. Suddenly francis Chan starts having conversations with the eastern orthodox on the eucharist, and that opened my eyes to something I had missed. I was skeptical of eastern orthodoxy thinking it was catholic lite, but there seemed to be so much there to learn that I didn't know before about a group I hadn't studied. The more I learned the more I began to realize that I was wrong about many things with out a single debate. (This learning took place in person with various priests) Teetering between joining a Presbyterian church that believed in the eucharist (to an extent) and being an inquierer in the EO church, I settled in inquiring because it couldn't hurt. This turned to catechesis and so many of my well established presuppositions shattered. Maybe someone else in my position wouldn't have let it shatter, but I chose to follow the truth where it took me. I am grateful to be eastern orthodox today. That theological anxiety is gone because I was not meant to lean on my own understanding, which sola scriptura unfortunately results in. Protestants dismiss this by saying "yeah but didn't you have to lean on your own understanding when choosing between protestant and orthodoxy" I have yet to see any protestant actually answer to this major flaw in the protestant paradigm without dismissing it with a "yeah but".

People yearn for tradition, continuity, apostolic legitimacy and most importantly, Christ.

Growing up a Methodist, I later discovered I was lied to about Catholics, how they live their lives, their teachings, etc. I think most prots are lied to about the Catholic/Orthodox Church stemming from their ancestors from the time of the Deformation. The internet or algorithms weren’t a cause for my conversion, the Holy Spirit opened doors for me, little miracles happened that showed me I needed to look into Catholicism. When prots find out this faith going back to Christ himself exists we want to be part of it. Reasons prots become Catholic/Orthodox: the Eucharist, early church fathers, sacraments, the liturgy, the Scripture coming alive through the life of the Church, AUTHORITY. The Church has the authority, not the individual man. It was never supposed to be “Jesus, me and my Bible”. If you’re part of any church who is centered on the pastor or is named after a man (Luther, Calvin, Wesley, etc.), run because it’s a sect, it’s a heresy. Peace and love.

The beauty of a traditional church is not just superficial. It matters more than modern people understand. When we don't celebrate beauty in the sacred places it pops up in other places. We begin to celebrate beautiful people or build beautiful temples to mammon (banks and government buildings.) The church should be as beautiful as we can make it or we begin to build idols and celebrate them instead. At the very least, to quote Jonathan Pageau, "Your church should at least be more beautiful than your home." What we make beautiful is often what we value most. What we value most is what we worship. It's as simple as that.

I think this conversation would have been more authentic with an actual convert to Catholicism and Orthodoxy.

Interesting topic. I was an Evangelical Protestant until I left the faith and spent a couple of decades as a non-believer. I returned to the faith and joined the Catholic Church - along with my wife and kids - after a brief flirtation with Anglicanism. The main motivation for me to become Catholic was to get back to the original Christian church that Christ founded. I also was tired of the constant splitting off of various Protestant denominations as well as the ever Leftward drift, emotionalism and YEC. We are now happy active Catholics with our kids in the church's school.

I think it is also true that the Reformation would never have kicked off unless the printing press had been invented. Technology plays a major role in cultural (and religious) changes. Kind regards from an IT-engineer, 50 yrs, convert to RC.

Wow, "an Orthodox Church with icons of the Saints plastered everywhere..." I guess we are diving down the condescension and non-open mind rabbithole with that dude. EO and Catholic actually CAN claim to have started in 33 AD. Luther was not following his church leaders. It is true that Luther's ideas were a "new innovation". Sorry, but that is truth. He may have had some good ideas but they should have been fought for within the church. Oh BTW, for Redeemed Zoomer I am far from 13 and have been 6 or 7 denominations before I found Orthodoxy. It isn't just a whim of a 13 y/o as implied here that anyone who seeks a return to RCC or EO must be.🤦‍♂

New Orleans had almost 600 converts to the Catholic Church this year! It was unbelievable. My husband was one of them. I am a cradle Catholic. We both left evangelicalism!

"The difficulty in explaining 'why I am a Catholic' is that there are ten thousand reasons all amounting to one reason: that Catholicism is true.” -G.K. Chesterton