About
My name is Benjamin John, I’m a Catholic layman with a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Religious Studies. I started my journey in the classical Christian tradition in 2017, and while I’ve gained much knowledge over the years, I’ve also learned just how much I don’t know. As such, everything I write is an attempt to increase my own knowledge and love of God, strengthen the faith of His people, and share with others the beauty that I have come to know in Christ and His Word.
I’ve appeared on several podcasts, including The Catholic Brothers, Classical Christian Thought, and Intellectual Catholicism to discuss my conversion, church history, and the papacy. I’ve also written for Catholic Answers on theological tensions that exist between Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. My old writings can be found on my other blog, Ancient Insights.
If you’re interested in why I hold the convictions I do, check out this interview I did on The Catholic Brothers’ YouTube channel, “Orthodox Christian Blogger Converts to Catholicism!,” and the following articles I’ve written.
“Did Jesus Really Rise From the Dead?”
This article goes over one of main reasons (though not the only) why I’m a Christian. I truly believe that the physical resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth is the best historical explanation for the claims made by the original eye witnesses of His ministry. My argument for Christ’s resurrection is based entirely on the reliability and truthfulness of the Gospel accounts, and as such, it tends to cover a lot more ground than standard apologetic arguments do.
“Apostolic Succession in the Early Church.”
Once it’s been established that Christianity is true, the next question is naturally, which version? This article explains why I believe that only the churches that retain material apostolic succession, e.g. Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, Assyrian Church of the East, and Anglicanism, are in the running for “true Christianity.” If a divinely instituted hierarchy, one with transferable sacerdotal power, is necessary for being a valid Church, then almost all forms of Protestantism can be discounted as illegitimate versions of the Christian faith.
“St. Peter: The Rock of the Church,” “Papal Infallibility in the First Millennium,” and, “What Eastern Orthodox Apologists Miss About the Papacy.”
After arriving at the so-called Apostolic Churches, one now has to choose between them. In these articles, I explain why I believe that the Roman Catholic Church alone retains the specific hierarchical government established by Jesus Christ. While the various Eastern Churches, and some Anglicans, can claim that they possess apostolic succession, and even some kind of Petrine succession, none of them truly have the Petrine office that was established by our Lord at Caesarea Philippi.
