About Cooperating with the Truth

My name is James McLean, 

 

I was received into the Catholic Church along with my wife back in February of 2024. Prior to this I served as a staff pastor in two Protestant churches while also working on my seminary degree. It was during these seminal years of theological formation that I came across the writings of the early Church fathers and became convinced that the Christianity I had always known was not as ancient as I had once believed. This began an extremely rigorous three year process of studying the church fathers and various streams of Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox apologetics to try and find the ancient Christian Faith. In the end I became personally convinced that the Roman Catholic Church was in fact the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church professed in the creed. It was with the help of my great intellectual heroes Saint John Henry Newman & Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (Benedict XVI) that I was finally able to reach this life altering conclusion. 

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The name of this website, Cooperating with the Truth, is taken from Pope Benedict XVI’s episcopal motto Cooperatis Veritatis because it sums up my life's mission to live in cooperation with the truth revealed in the person of Jesus Christ. Ever since beginning my theological education I have had a desire to write and since becoming Catholic that desire has only increased. The goal of this website is not to write apologetics, although some of what I write will inevitably fall into that category. Instead, the goal is to give theologically robust answers to important questions I encounter in my job as a parish catechist. In pursuing this goal I hope to produce like Benedict the XVI a theology that is intensely biblical while also deeply rooted in the Church’s ancient patrimony. My hope is that what I write will provide theological clarity to the faithful who are hungry for a deeper understanding of their faith.

 

Education

1. Bachelor's Degree in Theology & Pastoral Ministry - Houghton College

2. Masters Degree in Theology & History - Asbury Theological Seminary

3. Masters Degree in Philosophy & Ethics - Holy Apostles College (In Progress)