Philip Melanchthon was Luther’s right-hand man, the author of much of the Lutheran Confessions, and a brilliant theologian—and yet history remembers him more for his compromises than for his faithfulness. In this episode of Weighed in the B...

In this episode of Weighed in the Balance, Jonathan Brooks continues his walk through the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, where Philip Melanchthon dismantles Rome’s teaching on merit. While Rome no longer openly teaches that...

In this episode of Weighed in the Balance, Jonathan Brooks reacts to a series of Catholic “shorts” that make bold claims about Scripture, the Eucharist, Peter, and authority. Are these arguments really as airtight as they sound in 60 s...

Rome’s doctrine of merit sounds complicated—dividing works into “congruent” and “condign” categories—but the outcome is always the same: it either puffs up the self-righteous with false confidence or crushes tender consciences under unbearable ...

Catholic apologist Trent Horn often claims that Protestants can’t make sense of James 2, but the Protestant position he attacks isn’t the one we actually hold. In this episode of Weighed in the Balance, Jonathan Brooks unpacks Horn’s misreprese...

At the heart of the Reformation was a simple but world-shaking question: is salvation something we earn by doing more, or something Christ has already finished on our behalf? In this episode of Weighed in the Balance, Jonathan Brooks t...

In 1530, the Lutheran princes presented the Augsburg Confession before the emperor, boldly declaring their faith. But Rome didn’t accept it quietly. In response, Philip Melanchthon penned the Apology of the Augsburg Confession—a carefu...

Catholic apologist Trent Horn loves to bring out Martin Luther quotes that sound shocking or extreme, especially when trying to argue that Protestants can’t make sense of James 2. And to be fair—we’re happy to admit that Luther sometimes got Ja...

In 1530, a group of Protestant leaders stood before the most powerful man in Europe—the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V—and refused to back down. Their bold stand became known as the Augsburg Confession, a declaration of faith that would shape the...

James 2 is often called the “Protestant problem passage,” and Catholic apologist Trent Horn argues that it proves faith alone can’t be true. But is that really what James meant? In this episode of Weighed in the Balance, Jonathan Brooks walks t...

Catholic apologist Trent Horn argues that Protestants can’t really know which books belong in the Bible without an infallible Magisterium to define the canon. But is that true? In this episode of Weighed in the Balance, Jonathan Brooks pushes b...

Many people treat the Reformation as a historical event locked in the 1500s, but its impact didn’t stop with Luther, Calvin, or the early Protestants. In this episode of Weighed in the Balance, Jonathan Brooks and guest Matthew Duraski...

Too often, apologetics gets reduced to an intellectual arm-wrestling match—who’s the smartest, the quickest, or the best at dropping “gotcha” questions. But that’s not what biblical apologetics is for. In this episode of Weighed in the Bala...

Did God set humanity up to fail in the Garden of Eden? Was the Fall inevitable—or even unjust? In this episode of Wade in the Balance, Jonathan Brooks and Josh Howard respond to a popular atheist objection: that God gave Adam and Eve an unfair ...

Do Roman Catholic doctrines like purgatory, indulgences, or papal supremacy reflect the organic development of early Christian teaching—or are they later additions with no real roots in Scripture? In this episode of Wade in the Balance, Jonatha...

Martin Luther wasn’t trying to start a new church—he was trying to start a conversation. In this episode of Wade in the Balance, Jonathan Brooks and Matthew Duraski break down the real story behind the 95 Theses, challenge the myth of a fully-f...

Martin Luther didn’t set out to start a new church—so how did we get here? In this episode, Jonathan Brooks is joined by fellow PCA minister Matt Duraski for a no-holds-barred look at the Reformation, the myths surrounding Luther, and t...

Was Peter really the first pope? Or have we misread one of the most famous passages in the Gospels? In this episode, Jonathan and Alex take a deep dive into Matthew 16 and the Roman Catholic argument for papal authority. They...

What really happened on the floor of the 2025 PCA General Assembly? Was Teaching Elder Timothy Brindle unfairly cut off? Did Moderator Kevin DeYoung cross a line—or keep things from crossing it? In this special edition of Weighe...

In this second installment of our three-part series on Matthew 16 and the Roman Catholic claim to papal authority, Jonathan Brooks and Alex Lott take a deep dive into the controversial question: Is Peter really the rock on which Christ buil...

In this episode, Jonathan Brooks and Alex Lott begin a three-part series responding to a video by Cameron Riker, who argues that Matthew 16 supports the Roman Catholic claim to papal authority. While acknowledging Riker’s sincerity and catechet...

Weighed in the Balance returns with a critical response to Cameron Rieker’s so-called “insuperable” argument against Protestantism. Rieker claims that without an infallible magisterium (i.e., the Roman Catholic Church), all of Protestant...

In this episode, I respond to Joe Heschmeyer’s recent presentation of what he sees as the best and worst arguments made against the Catholic Church. As a Presbyterian pastor, my goal isn’t to attack but to engage—graciously, clearly, and with a...

In this episode, Jonathan Brooks is joined by cohosts Josh Goodwin and Alex Lott to respond to a recent video from the Catholic Truth channel (watch it here). The original video...

In this episode, we respond to a recent video by Cameron Rieker (watch it here) in which he argues that Roman Catholics can "win" the Sola Scriptura debate by demonstrating Catholic doct...