Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
“The truth isn’t assessed by disqualifying every possible wrong answer. It’s based on finding the right answer.”
Support the channel by visiting: brianholdsworth.ca/help
Joe Schmid’s return to the Catholic Church has generated a lot of of backlash from atheists and agnostics online. But how much of that criticism actually engages with his reasons for becoming Catholic?
In this video, I look at two of the most common objections: that Schmid’s conversion is suspicious because he was raised Catholic, and that he cannot rationally choose Catholicism without first exhaustively investigating every other religion. Both objections reveal serious problems in the way religious belief is often discussed.
From the genetic fallacy and C.S. Lewis’s “Bulverism” to the unreasonable demand that someone eliminate every possible alternative before accepting a conclusion, the question is simple: if Joe Schmid’s arguments are wrong, why not actually refute them?
00:00 Joe Schmid returns to Catholicism
01:13 Why does his conversion bother people?
02:09 Atheism, morality, and the problem of “ought”
03:49 Why religious conversion provokes such hostility
05:35 “He was raised Catholic” — the genetic fallacy
06:55 C.S. Lewis and Bulverism
07:59 Motives don’t refute arguments
08:59 “But did he examine every religion?”
10:08 An impossible standard for rational choice
11:22 Finding truth vs. eliminating every alternative
11:58 Are there really thousands of competing religions?
12:37 What the world’s religions have in common
13:32 Catholicism, atheism, and the search for truth
Music written and generously provided by Paul Jernberg. Find out more about his work as a composer here: pauljernberg.com
Podcast Version: brianholdsworth.libsyn.com
“The truth isn’t assessed by disqualifying every possible wrong answer. It’s based on finding the right answer.”
Support the channel by visiting: brianholdsworth.ca/help
Joe Schmid’s return to the Catholic Church has generated a lot of of backlash from atheists and agnostics online. But how much of that criticism actually engages with his reasons for becoming Catholic?
In this video, I look at two of the most common objections: that Schmid’s conversion is suspicious because he was raised Catholic, and that he cannot rationally choose Catholicism without first exhaustively investigating every other religion. Both objections reveal serious problems in the way religious belief is often discussed.
From the genetic fallacy and C.S. Lewis’s “Bulverism” to the unreasonable demand that someone eliminate every possible alternative before accepting a conclusion, the question is simple: if Joe Schmid’s arguments are wrong, why not actually refute them?
00:00 Joe Schmid returns to Catholicism
01:13 Why does his conversion bother people?
02:09 Atheism, morality, and the problem of “ought”
03:49 Why religious conversion provokes such hostility
05:35 “He was raised Catholic” — the genetic fallacy
06:55 C.S. Lewis and Bulverism
07:59 Motives don’t refute arguments
08:59 “But did he examine every religion?”
10:08 An impossible standard for rational choice
11:22 Finding truth vs. eliminating every alternative
11:58 Are there really thousands of competing religions?
12:37 What the world’s religions have in common
13:32 Catholicism, atheism, and the search for truth
Music written and generously provided by Paul Jernberg. Find out more about his work as a composer here: pauljernberg.com
Podcast Version: brianholdsworth.libsyn.com
