Shameless Popery

Joe examines Thomas Aquinas’ Christmas reflection, and why Christmas and the Nativity weren’t actually necessary. Transcript: Joe: Merry Christmas and welcome back to Shameless Popery. I’m Joe Heschmeyer. And today I want to talk about a Christmas sort of isn’t necessary because the incarnation sort of wasn’t necessary. Now that might sound heretical, might sound insane for a Christian to say, but I think it’s actually an important thing for us to get right. And for support, I would point to the arguments made by people like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aqui...

Joe gives his opening statement from his debate with LDS apologist Jacob Hansen on The Great Apostacy. Transcript: Joe: Welcome back to Shameless Popery. I’m Joe Heschmeyer. Catholics, Orthodox, Protestants, and Mormons all agree that Jesus Christ founded a church. After all, he tells us that he’s founding a church. But most of us also agree that people can fall away from the faith. This falling away in Greek is apostasia, which is where we get words like apostate and apostasy. But Mormons and many Protestants believe that not only can individuals fall away from the church, but tha...

Joe reviews a reflection by Pope Benedict XVI on “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” on how wisdom and knowledge help us encounter Jesus Christ. Transcript: Joe: Welcome back to Shameless Popery. I’m Joe Heschmeyer and as we end the advent season, it’s crazy to say that already and approach the Christmas season. I wanted to share a pair of beautiful reflections from Pope Benedict the 16th, and the launching point is this line. He has, what is this wisdom born in Bethlehem and he’s going to explore this theme. If that doesn’t make any sense to you, that’s okay r...

Joe examines the debate over whether you should lie to your kids about Santa Claus. Transcript: Joe: Welcome back to Shameless Popery. I’m Joe Heschmeyer, and today I want to tackle a controversial question even amongst Christians should parents lie to their kids about Santa Claus? My position is simple. If you want to tell them the true story of St. Nicholas, that’s great. If you and your kids want to play Santa, go for it. But lying is always wrong. You shouldn’t lie to anyone. You definitely shouldn’t lie to the kids. You are meant to be teaching right from wrong, an...

Joe debunks common belief that Jesus’s virgin birth was borrowed from pagan sources across the ancient world. Check out the article on the topic by Jon Sorensen here: https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/cleaning-up-the-horus-manure Transcript: Joe: Welcome back to Shameless Popery. I’m Joe Heschmeyer, and as Christians prepare to celebrate the virgin birth of Jesus Christ, many non-Christians are preparing to tell their Christian friends and neighbors that actually the virgin birth is a pagan story that Christianity stole. CLIP: Does it ever bother you that the story of...