An Irish personal evangelistic site. I'm not representing a particular church, but it's broadly evangelical in tone. My aim is to cover topics I've encountered in discussions I've had over the years, mainly here in Ireland..
I mentioned in my last post, that I started attending Cork Baptist Church in the autumn of 1980. Unlike the Pentecostal and charismatic groups in Cork at the time, Cork Baptist Church had been there for hundreds of years. It goes all the way back to 1640. But, unlike other Protestant churches in the city, … Continue reading Hymns: 1981 Memories
I date my conversion to Sunday August 17th, 1980, about a month after I bought Saved, by Bob Dylan, in Pat Egan’s record store in Patrick Street Cork. I initially attended The Upper Room, which at that time was in a street off Camden Quay in Cork, above some sort of a fruit warehouse. I … Continue reading Hymns: 1980 Memories
In this series, I’m remembering hymns from different eras of my life, starting with childhood. I was a Roman Catholic up to 1980, when I turned 18. In this post, I’ll look back at hymns that we sang at Mass, back in the 1960s and 70s, and some I was familiar with outside of church. … Continue reading Hymns: Childhood Memories
From an evangelical perspective, the true Catholic church consists of all true believers everywhere and throughout history. We’ll all be in heaven together, regardless of the denomination. In that sense, we’re already one in Christ. Throughout the New Testament, you do see many verses encouraging unity, even among those who have different views, but you … Continue reading What do you think of ecumenism?
In my discussions with evangelicals, all those years ago, I often raised this question. Very often, people told me that it’s not about what church you’re in. It’s about having a personal relationship with Jesus. But when I dug deeper, it was clear that most of them felt better for having left the Catholic Church. … Continue reading Could you not have remained a Catholic?
For some, the Bible is associated with Protestantism and particularly with evangelicals. Many mainstream Protestants have lost faith in the Bible. It’s seen as a mishmash of legends. Evangelicals, by contrast, see it all as inspired by the Holy Spirit, even down to the very words. In my experience as a Catholic, the Bible always … Continue reading Why do you emphasize the Bible so much?
In the New Testament, the only mention of priests is in the context of Judaism and various practices associated with the temple. All this ended in AD 70 when the temple was destroyed. The Book of Hebrews deals extensively with how we no longer need priests or sacrifices. Jesus made a once for all sacrifice … Continue reading Do evangelical churches have priests?
Confession, as practiced in the Catholic church, is something that developed over centuries. Evangelicals don’t follow the Catholic pattern. But the New Testament does speak of confession in more general terms. For example, we should confess our sins to God.In the Lord’s prayer, we say “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass … Continue reading Why don’t you practice confession?
When I first met evangelicals, I used to take them to task on this issue. From a Catholic point of view, it just sounds too good to be true. In fact, I first heard this notion in history class in school. Martin Luther said that we’re saved by faith alone. If this is so, from … Continue reading Why do evangelicals say that they’re sure of going to heaven?
Well, as a Catholic, I was always told that the Catholic church was the official church. Jesus told Peter that he was the rock on which he would build his church. Peter was the first pope, and all the Catholic bishops were the successors of the apostles, and bishops of Rome were the successors of … Continue reading Didn’t Jesus make Peter the first pope?
Hibernia Gospel 