Cradle Catholic here, born the son of a Catholic school teacher I never questioned my faith as a child - it's just what we did. In retrospect, that probably wasn't the best foundation because in college it was easy to let other pursuits fill that space. To make matters worse, my education in Engineering didn't leave much room for beliefs that I couldn't see, touch and prove.

Fast forward into my 30's, starting a new family and getting back into Church. Admittedly it was still largely a ritual without a foundation. I wanted to believe but my house was built on sand, I still had my doubts...

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It wasn't until I discovered apologetics that I learned that science, logic, even math actually support the concept of a creator. The funny thing about science is that a little of it will make you an atheist, but a lot of it will return you to the creator!

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This isn't the space for apologetics, but if you find yourself with science based questions, please check out Frank Turek's book "I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist".

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Anyway, with my questions largely answered and my foundation strengthened, my faith was finally able to grow with confidence. The apologists that I followed were largely non-Catholic. Through them, I learned to dig deeper into the Bible. I also joined a group called Alpha - a non-denominational, judgment free zone where people of all beliefs come together to learn more about Christianity, starting with "Why believe anything?".

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And after this process, I came full circle back into Catholicism, understanding it deeper and appreciating it better. ​Although I still follow Frank Turek and other Protestants online

(I even attend their conferences!), I find more insight and a deeper understanding of the scriptures from Catholics such as Father Bishop Barron, Father Mike Schmitz, Father David Michael and others. You can find links to all of my favorite channels,

videos and books in Resources.

 

My lesson learned is that as Catholics I think that we can learn a lot from Protestants, especially their knowledge and emphasis on scripture. Equally, I hope that Protestants can learn from Catholicism - it's traditions and beliefs are founded on the beliefs of the original disciples and founders of Christianity. We can both strengthen each other.

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John answered, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name,

and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.”

But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him; for whoever is not against you is for you.”

[Luke 9:49-50 NKJV]