Ravenscroft mentored several priests who later became pioneering southern bishops, including Green and Otey, although he also unsuccessfully opposed the consecration of William Meade as Moore's assistant in Virginia in 1829 on the grounds that Meade compromised too much with other Protestant denominations. In December 1824, Ravenscroft gave a sermon to the annual meeting of the Bible Society of North Carolina which caused much controversy because he asserted that the Bible could not be properly studied without a qualified teacher. Ravenscroft then engaged in a theological duel of sorts over the content of his sermon with Presbyterian theology professor John Rice. Not one to mince words, spoken or printed, Ravenscroft published a defense of his beliefs and character in 1826 as "The Doctrines of the Church Vindicated from the Misrepresentations of Dr. John Rice, and the Integrity of Revealed Religion Defended against the "No Comment Principle" of Promiscuous Bible Societies." Ravenscroft also criticized Lutheran theology, and Baptist theology, as well as the notion that a clean life alone assured salvation.