Catholic Apologetics, Aquinas, and Following Jesus as a Catholic (w/ Matt Fradd) 

I’m a cradle Catholic, and no matter what denomination you are, you’re ALL my brothers in Christ.

Austin, first Trent and now Matt Fradd. You’re just here making my dreams come true.

I'm a Baptist ,and your mass videos is how I found this channel. I was JUST as (probably even more) confused as you!! Excited to understand the Catholic Christian faith more !!

Haven't read Aquinas but I adore hymn he wrote for Eucharistic adoration called "Adoro te Devote". It's probably the most holly and beautiful hymn ever written.

Great interview! Love the dialogue, no judgment. Often as Catholics, we feel very judged and misunderstood by Protestants and you are not like that. Much appreciated

Great interview, you have a new follower. I grew up in a pentacostal church and then lutheran, I am now Catholic for life. All love and respect for you. /Brother in Christ.

You mentioned how there's an emerging trend of Catholic and Protestant dialogue and collaboration in the last 30 years or so. I'm glad you brought that point up. We no longer have the luxury of division within the Church in the West with the rise of militant secularism and atheism. We will disagree and shouldn't force compromise or promote false ecumenism, but it's time that the Church gathers together to spread the Gospel and turn back the tide of the "nones."

I could listen to you guys talk all day. The Holy Spirit was definitely moving in this conversation! Thank you guys! I use to be addicted to porn and it was destroying my life in all kinds of ways. I didn’t even realize I was addicted until I started praying the rosary which was the beginning of my faith journey. After a few months of asking the Blessed Virgin Mary to pray for me via the Rosary, the Holy Spirit showed me that I was addicted and that I needed to stop watching it. Eventually after A LOT of failure Jesus in all of his incredible love and mercy saved me! Thank you Jesus!

This is my fav episode with Thomas Aquinas ... just tells a little about his character: Aquinas avoided social gatherings, but King Louis IX (the St Louis) invited him to a formal dinner. Aquinas hadto be pressured to attend. At dinner, gowns, formal settings with gold and silver. Thomas Aquinas was set just on the corner next to the King..... Aquinas had a rep all over Paris as this feared, intimidating priest. Sure enough. Thomas Aquinas ate little and was not engaged with anyone. All could tell he was formulating something in his head. Suddenly, Thomas Aquinas slammed his fist right on the table right in front of the King and yelled out “That will settle the manichees !”. The King had paper and pen brought to Thomas who wrote out all his thoughts in the silence of the entire dinner table.

Two very awesome disciples on screen right now. My son just asked, "These two don't use bad words, right? No need to worry about that!"

Catholic convert from the Jehovah's Witnesses over here!

I am devoted Catholic, and i love to watch your channel, God bless you always brother in Christ.

Great video. I'm my own journey from Protestant to Catholicism, I began to ask myself what if the anti catholic view I held was actually of a anti christ spirit? That convicted me. Coming from a Calvary Chapel where the Pastor was very anti catholic I began to see things different and while the Pastor was sincere and well meaning I began to see how his bias was actually a form of insecurity. Not trying to judge anyone just sharing my thoughts.

Excellent interview Austin. I found Gospel Simplicity via Matt's youtube channel Pints with Aquinas. It is so refreshing to see respectful and courteous conversations between Protestants and Catholics. I converted to the Catholic faith in 1994 from the Pentecostal faith. I read approximately 1,000 books in private study prior to attending my first Mass. Although I chose to convert, I still know many Protestants who are completely in love with the Lord and I'm respectful of their beliefs and practices. I'm happy to discuss and share my beliefs when it is welcomed, but attempting to force something on another or falling into the "I'm right and every else is wrong" mentality is absolutely unfruitful. I greatly appreciate the love and respect with which you conduct interviews and in the conversations you have. I also enjoy and understand your desire for knowledge in the quest for truth. Have a wonderful Christmas and enjoy your break from the internet; everyone needs to disconnect at times. Silence is truly a wonderful thing. You may have experienced this in your visits to some of the beautiful churches in walking distance from your dorm. There is nothing better than praying alone in silence before the Blessed Sacrament. I will keep you in my prayers as you pursue your personal spiritual journey.

I enjoyed this so much! I was really interested in the bit where you asked Matt why he thinks many are converting to Catholicism. As a former Protestant, now Catholic, I think there must be others like my husband and I..Sometimes dissention or schisms within a Protestant denomination cause people to reassess everything. I know that was a big part of it for us. We realized that authority is needed, but not just authority that can constantly be changed and reinterpreted. That was just one piece..John chapter 6 was crucial as well. The whole interview was great. Thank you again and have a very Merry Christmas!

Hello Austin, I am new on your channel, I really love your work, I am so happy that you bring what we call today, catholics, orthodoxes, protestants, non-denominations brothers together in your journey and make a safe place of dialogue. I salute all my bothers, christians or not! As a French (I am 26) with parents from Hong-Kong and China, and baptized this summer in Lebanon in the Catholic Church by our maronites brothers, I hope one day you explore the beauty of Catholic Eastern churches. It's tremendous to listen the consecration words in aramaic/syriac the tongue of our Lord in the maronite mass. It was a long journey for me to the day of my baptem and just started a new chapter, it's just the beggining! All I can said, enjoy yours! whatever your choice of church. It will be unforgettable! And thank you so much to invite us with you! I have no doubt that our Lord is with you. God bless you, your family, you loveones.

As Catholics, we are okay with messy. Life itself is messy. Perhaps our messiness, our delightful, flawed humanity is precisely the reason some people choose to convert to Catholicism. To paraphrase Teryl Givens, a wonderful Mormon writer and apologetisist, maybe God chooses those who are so obviously flawed to witness to the gospel so that no one will mistake the messenger for the message.

Thank you, this is encouraging to me as a weak Christian, especially the first part

Thank you! Thank you for your vulnerability and straightforward honesty men! Looking forward to the future for both your channels! Blessings on 2021, Fr. Peter

I am falling in love with the Catholic faith more n more day by day. Thanks to you

I've been watching a lot of Matt Fradd lately, this is awesome!

Aw yay I love Matt fradd!

For me I developed an interest in apologetics 12 years ago. As a cradle Catholic I didn't learn my faith - bad catechesis. I had some protestants mention things like "Oh, you're Catholic, you can't read the Bible." Other comments also. I realized I didn't have an answer and I started to investigate and learn. I realized just how little I knew of the teachings. I've been learning ever since. I found out there's more to being Catholic than going to Mass alone.

Austin, what about an interview with Dr. Scott Hann?

This was such a great conversation. 💜

Hi Austin, I'm a Catholic sub to your channel because I see that you're sincerely looking for Truth (Truth is Jesus Himself). Just continue to be led by the Holy Spirit in your search for Truth. God bless you.

This was a refreshing and civil conversation, it was pleasant to hear. Thank you

St Thomas of Aquinas more than deserves His spot as a Doctor of the Church Also loved the video, it's already one of my favourites

Thank you for this! 🙏💛 Merry Christmas!

Wonderful, honest dialogue. God bless and Merry Christmas to both of you.

Austin, thank you so much making these interview videos; they've been 1) TREMENDOUSLY encouraging (this episode in particular) and 2) helpful to me as I further explore my Christian faith. I love that your channel seeks knowledge and understanding not for its own sake, but for the sake Christ and the Gospel. Thanks again, and peace be with you heading into the new year, my dude.

Austin, you’re doing a good job. Even if you’re not convincing a single person, you are getting people to think about and question why they think thanks. I think that’s a wonderful thing to have someone do. To get someone to understand how or why they believe something and the way they got to the conclusion they got to. Well done.

Love to listen and watched both of you. I also watched Matt's interview with you. God Bless you both and may Virgin Mary keep holding your hands to the path of salvation. Glory be to God.

I just watched Matt’s video with you. Can’t wait for this one!

Thank you! Prayers for all of us that we will know the Truth and recognize His voice.

Great interview!

Can't wait!

Fair play Austin just catching up with this interview with Matt. Great job as usual. You are on track opening discussions for everyone to think about, talk about. question etc. The Holy Spirit will keep you right. Keep up the great work. #Love #Gratitude #Faith

Love PwA- looking forward to the show!

Great testimony!! Great interview!!

Been watching your videos for a while ever since the one about going to That Man is You with your uncle. Thank you for bringing christians together great job.

fabulous interview...well done

I know you said this is your last interview for the year. Take time for your family and self. The first RU-vidr Catholic apologist that I came across was Lizzie Reezay and her conversation story. If you haven’t done so already, she would be a great interview. God bless and please keep at your work.

I truly appreciate your channel Austin. I love how kind you are, and I admire your honesty. Even the push back against our faith, I appreciate watching an honest wrestling match with Catholocism. It looks exhausting! ;D Thanks Austin, and keep up the great work.

Firstly, a thank you to both of you. I appreciate your videos. I can understand Matt's and your thoughts around the number of people you are reaching through youtube. But this is the era that we are living in and you are just using the tools available to reach out and share Christianity - nothing wrong with that! As far as keeping the focus on Jesus, the bible, etc and not on you (as Matt mentioned), I think this is being human and something we all experience at times. It's the struggle of being human, with all our potential fallibilities, etc., etc. It's just you reflecting, asking questions, trying to find some kind of truth. For me, it's in that struggle/conflict, that we find our faith, meaning, what really matters and so on. Try to be self-compassionate for just being human ! You are doing great and I am personally grateful for yours and Matt's videos.

Really loved this whole interview! Very thought provoking and well balanced. Am a recent discoverer of Matt’s channel and gain so much insight into parts of my own journey and that led me to your channel as well. I look forward to perusing it. The final few minutes’ discussion about porn’s “showing too little” brought to mind JP2’s Theology of the Body series of lectures, which is stunning in scope and truly eye-opening. Highly recommend Christopher West’s teachings on this, if you’re unfamiliar. Thanks again for this great video!

God bless you both

Great Great show! Thank you!

What a Christmas gift this is!

Great video, Austin! Also, I love your sweatshirt!

54:12 would be the hardest and sincerest question one can ask Austin. I'm glad someone as respectable and candid as Matt asked it.

Austin such a great video! I also never had met passionate Catholics until I went to Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio. If you ever get the chance and find yourself in Ohio you should go to a Festival of Praise (FOP) there or watch a live streamed one. So many passionate Christians praising God!

If you like "simplicity" you'll love Aquinas

Really enjoying the content and the honesty with which you approach these questions. Keep asking those questions searching for the truth. Speaking of "simplicity" (your channel's name), I wonder if you could ever get another great Thomist, Edward Feser on your channel and ask him about divine simplicity (or anything on the proofs for God's existence).

My two favorite youtubers!

Enjoy your channel because you ask so many questions. The driving force away from Protestantism personally, was time and time again was instead of receiving an answer to my questions was to simply have faith.

17 days of torture...would love to be a patreon to get the benefits one day :’D

If you tell the Lord you’ll follow Him wherever He leads, and beg Him to make it obvious and give you the courage, you can’t go wrong. That prayer really helped me in ‘98 when I was sweating bullets about where I thought He was leading and what it could potentially cost.

17 days! I don’t want to wait lol

Lay Catholics have suddenly found a great resource about our faith in the internet.

Did anyone else notice, Austin looks like a younger version of Matt?

Yes! Proud Filipino Youth for Christ! (10 years ago✝️)

Hi I just watched your episode about the true presence in the eucharist and realised it was 11monhts ago I found you did not connect the old testament and the fulfilling in the new scott hahn is brilliant in explaining the connection and in doing so makes the eucharist more enlightening !

AUSTIN. There is NOTHING in this world like receiving the Eucharist !!

This is perhaps slightly different from the normal type of content you produce; but a video on Christian Arts & Culture through the ages would be fascinating. For Art for example maybe exploring the development all the way from the earliest examples in Roman Catacombs to Byzantine, Insular, Carolingian, Ottonian, Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Rocco, Pre-Raphaelite artwork. Or perhaps examining poetry by such greats like Gerard Manley-Hopkins.

I agree u do great stuff. I love how compose you are in handling these tough topics. Just by observing u on RU-vid I can see the Holy Spirit in u :)

Great

Austin! I love your channel, im Catholic. Pray man! I know you know this but I want to say it again, there is an answer to your search for truth! Pray, you won't ever find it looking for it using only your reason and intellectual with God's guidance through prayer and devotion. I have a suggestion, pray the Chaplet of the Sacred Heart. It is completely Protestant friendly to my knowledge. And if its not you can find so many different devotional prayers that all have their unique promises for Jesus or Mary to those who are devoted to them. And if you dont believe in the promises, it still doesn't hurt to pray them

Are there any joint catholic/protestant Bible studies on Facebook or joint fellowship groups?

I really want to know what that episode was that Fradd mentioned

My two favourite Christian yt channels coming together.... I'm so happy lol

Next is Jimmy Akin or Tim Staples... keep inviting more catholic apologetics Austin, God bless 🙏

Amazing. Austin. When are you going to cross the tiber? I hope soon. Church is waiting for you. God bless you

Grace to you my brothers and sisters, and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I suppose this is a testimony of sorts, I doubt it's a very exciting one at that but its here if you care to read about it. As a late teenager, I found myself called to take a necessary but also complex journey along the pathway which leads to the Kingdom of Heaven and to God himself. At this moment in my life I came across my first stumbling block. Which god/gods are true? Was it the Sumerian gods? Was it the Egyptian gods? Was it the Greek or Roman gods? Perhaps the Norse or Hindu gods? Is there one god or many? Perhaps then it is the Jewish God? Perhaps it is the Islamic God? Or maybe the Christian God? After a period of studying I found myself gravitating towards the latter three. After all they appear to be so similar and yet so different all the more. It became clear to me that the New Testament was a continuation of the Old Testament, although I did not realise at the time that it was much more than just a continuation but also a fulfilment. So after seeing the connections between Judaism and Christianity I began to feel as if Christianity was the fulfilment of Judaism. Christianity never appeared to be a different religion to Judaism, at least not in my eyes but rather a complete or final version of Judaism; (Judaism in its fullest and truest form). So now that my heart was set upon believing Christianity was the fulfilment of Judaism there was never any doubt in my mind to suggest otherwise. But that left me with one loose end to tie up. If Christianity is the fulfilment of ancient Judaism then that leaves Islam. Now I understood Islam to be very similar to both Judaism and Christianity but also quite contradictory at times, in fact big contradictions that became concerning to me as it proved one or the other had to be true or false. But after much studying between the two, there was something captivating about Christianity. No other way of life and understanding of God resonated with me in the way that Christianity did. The One True Sovereign GOD becoming man in the form of Jesus Christ and taking it upon himself to be flagellated, mocked and tasked with carrying the burden of which he bore on the cross throughout the streets of Jerusalem, down the Via Dolorosa and to His final stop... Golgotha. The cross on which He died upon, but by the shedding of His innocent blood we have the hope of salvation if we believe and live right by Him who so gives us this gift that we don't deserve. Yes Jesus who fulfilled the prophecies of the Jewish Old Testament, now knowing that He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords... the Messiah, hence why I say Christianity is the fulfilment of ancient Judaism. Now that my heart is set on Christianity, my next stumbling block would soon follow and catch up with me. Which form of Christianity was true? I chose Protestantism to be true, my understanding of Catholicism was influenced by the words echoed by the men and women throughout the Protestant world. In this they all had to be right, there must of been truth to this for so many different denominations to agree on one point so strongly, when they disagree so strongly on others... at least enough to separate from each other over and over again. Yes there must of been truth to this one agreement, and so my life as a Protestant began. After a long time I found my denomination which I agreed with most, which at that time aligned with my interpretation of the Bible. But after a year or two I started having doubts about this particular denomination, I could see faults in their teachings and beliefs. Sabbath was a big deal to them. I will not mention them by name but they were very anti Catholic... perhaps from these clues alone you can guess who they are. Eventually I left and was adrift so to speak believing in Christianity but not associated with any particular denomination or church. And in my early 20s, at the beginning of this year infact I left Protestantism altogether. Still believing that Christianity is true, surely there can only be one true form/denomination and no more... not two or three or thirty thousand plus. My decision was made based upon my carefull studying of Catholicism. For so long I allowed outside sources to cloud my judgement of the Catholic (universal) Church, to cloud my understanding of Catholicism and I took it as truth when in reality what I allowed to enter my mind was misjudgment and lack of understanding leading to a false understanding to persist in my thoughts. What I found amazing about Catholicism is how closely it resembles Biblical Judaism, and of course you wouldn't expect nothing less; I mean the apostles and Christ Himself were Jewish after all. It's only natural that the Jewish culture made it into the Church. I will say though, that I am grateful to God that he has lead me to the one original Universal Church through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, there really isn't much more I could say but thank you! And now I give my life to Christ... now my journey truly begins as I begin to walk the pathway that leads to the Kingdom of Heaven, but this time God walks with me keeping me from going to far to the left or to far to the right. With this said I am very aware that I am only young and don't know that much but appreciate what I do know, and one thing I do know is that I am a fool and a fool for Christ who seeks understanding and yet knowing this I know I could die an old man understanding and knowing nothing. Grace be with all who love our lord Jesus Christ with love undying.

I wonder what Austin would think when he meets Steve Ray or Dr. Scott Hann

Love your channel God bless brother 🙏🛐🗝️🗝️😇💯 Catholic 🛐📖

This is the first time I’ve seen your address! Lol. You live on La Salle Drive. 🙂 Which, I’m sure means nothing to you but in Chicago and you were a young catholic man you were taught either by the Jesuits, the French Christian Brothers (The De La Salle Brothers) or the Irish Christian Brothers (The Brothers of Edmund Rice). Everyone will debate who gives the most rigorous education, my uncles and cousins were taught by Jesuits at St. Ignatius, but the Christian Brothers are pretty strong.

Love your channel.❤ Please interview Bishop Barron.🙏

Hi Austin. Can we meet your uncle who brought you to the Catholic bible study? We'd like to how he's doing and how he's doing with his faith.

👍

Austin what do you think about the lives of Saints. Did you know St Francis had the stigmata, the five wounds of Jesus. Did you know St. Padre Pio bilocated, can read souls, could fly into the air. He confronted battalions of air forces about to drop bombs in his town. These are actually recorded accounts.

Is Matt comfortable with sharing what it is that Trent called him out on?

Try to get in contact with Charles Coulombe. Great catholic speaker

Lizzies Answer Next

GREAT exposition on what pornography is and why it’s wrong by its very nature.

Thanks for having Matt on your show, Austin. One word which kept coming up is the word 'truth'. We should all love and seek the truth and, even when we have found it, continue to dig deeper because He Who Is the Truth is inexhaustible. In this spirit, I recalled this talk given a few years ago by Catholic apologist John Martinogni in which he describes an earnest search for the truth beginning with scripture and following it to a conclusion about where it can be found today. You may have seen this before but, if not, I offer it as more food for thought to anyone wishing to sort it all out. After all, in this complex world, the truth can be elusive. So, with the best hopes, here it is: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-m_27LGJxOk0.html

Austin, about the current (and sad) state of the Catholic Church, this was already foretold by Saint Paul in 2 Tess 2:3. There are some important Marian apparitions talking about this as well (Our Lady of Good Success, Our Lady of La Sallete, Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Akita, ...). But these errors are men's faults, not God's.

Wow, Austin, having read all the Catholic writers and the Church Fathers, why aren’t you already Catholic? I have watched many of your videos and am amazed you have not come to the Church! God Bless You!

Great conversation Austin and Matt. Some observations and conclusions (for me at least -- some will be upset!): 1. Orthodox and Roman Catholics have so much in common and so few differences that reunification is inevitable and is more a matter of the mutual wills to get it done and less a matter of theology. Differences over the filioque, papal authority, purgatory, as 3 examples, are highly solvable and may have already been solved but are simply not acceptable to congregants on both sides yet. 2. Catholics (as well as anyone) are comfortable in their faith until someone criticizes that faith, especially out of total ignorance. That is one factor in any rise of lay Catholic apologetics. 3. Catholics believe, generally, that all Christian denominations stem from their faith, which is correct. Therefore, they believe all other denominations have some but not all elements of the original true faith. 4. Catholics offer their sacraments to the Orthodox, which is wonderful, because Catholics see the mutual agreements in dogmatic theology. Orthodox offer none of their sacraments to Catholics because they see the differences in non-dogmatic practices. 5. Scandals in the Catholic Church, due to its human implementation on earth, is cited so often by non-Catholics, almost like no other churches have scandals. I can recite falls of very many non-Catholic pastors, usually due to dalliances with money, women, material items, or all three. 6. Any scandals in the Catholic Church do not affect its dogmas. Anyone who is Catholic and leaves the church due to disgust with scandals rather than staying and fighting for truth might as well toss their integrity and souls out the window. If however a person has non-scandal-related issues with Catholic dogmas and then leaves, well then best of luck to you.

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May I suggest interviewing Fr. Chad Ripperger, an exorcist priest relatively famous also in youtube 😊 his website is www.sensustraditionis.org

Are you going to interview an Eastern Catholic priest or tour an Eastern Catholic church?

It's nice that you guys are trying to help people with spiritual life. However, it's vital to remember that incessant talking about all that is "out there," picking and choosing what seems to suit us personally, will not help us reach our goal. That is not the way to grow spiritually, but in stillness and quietness, with one focus, Christ, our goal and prize; by listening carefully to those who are truly wise; and cultivating a true spirit of discernment, since there are many false teachings that may have some truth mingled in them (corrupting them). And, in order to have unity, we must submit ourselves to the elders and sound teaching. An example of this is how children who become wise do so by listening to and obeying their parents (whom we hope are wise). We cannot all be leaders, or make "new foundations." There is one Church, and in it there can be found unity (notwithstanding tares among the wheat). As a Father wisely said, many do not want to adhere to the disciplines of the Church, and that is why they run here and there, but are never established in the truth. Spiritual light and understanding is beyond any of us acquiring fully. We will still be learning throughout eternity, since God is infinite, and we are created. As for maturing in prayer, there are excellent Orthodox prayer books to help us in this vital endeavor, as well, which also aid in unity. God bless you all! "For God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few." Eccl. 5:2b; Matt. 12:37 (KJV)

Matt Fradd how come your are a byzantine from Australia? 🤔

Austin do you prefer Playstation or Nintendo

Jesus, John Lennon and Matt Fradd meet in the afterlife... Discuss their relative popularity...

Jan z Kęt (John Cantius) rules! ;-) John Paul II, Faustyna Kowalska, Jan Kanty, Izajasz Boner, Kazimierz Jagiellończyk (Prince), Zofia Czeska, Jacek Odrowąż, Szymon, Jadwiga (female King of Poland), Stanisław - all saints and blessed conected with Cracow. And now it suffers from pro-choice rallies. Please pray for us!

True that many Protestants become Catholic,many also join the cults. The reason is that they are poorly taught and are not saved because their pastor or some evangelist said just come down and "pray this prayer" and that didn't work and they didn't receive and they didn't experience God and His forgiveness, so yes some will try something else. However, once I knew God for myself, then i had no more use for ritualistic religion and for a human priest/mediator.

Q: Have you picked up any icons?

HOLY CATHOLIC faith is very beautiful