Product Description
With 1 billion Catholics in the world -- and 57 million in the United States alone -- Catholicism is the world's most familiar religion. Yet many facets of this varied and dynamic tradition remain unknown or poorly understood. Now The HarperCollins Encyclopedia of Catholicism offers a one-volume comprehensive and authoritative guide to the people, doctrines, history, worship, art, spirituality, literature, theological developments, and changes that have shaped the Church over nearly two millennia.

Customer Reviews (16)

Great reference book
This is a great reference book for anyone really wanting to understand the what's and why's of the Catholic religion as well as it's history.There's a lot of background information to Catholicism that you get during catechism, but at that age who remembers it?As an adult, you start to question things and need the background information to find out how your faith fits you.This is a good book to help you with those questions.I also recommend "The Essential Catholic Catechism" (which is an easy-read version of the Catholic Catechism) and "Catholicism For Dummies" for anyone with an interest in getting to know your Catholic faith.The Essential Catholic Catechism: A Readable, Comprehensive Catechism of the Catholic Faith, Catholicism for Dummies.

EVEN SELF-CONTRADICTORY CAPITALIST CATHOLICS MUST FIND 1400 PAGES FOR TEN BUCKS A GOOD DEAL
My problem with this book is putting it down. Not that a three and a half pound book is normally physically difficult to drop, but this tome is so engrossing that long nights quickly pass in the reading of it.

If you must work the next day, struggle not to declare an old night prayer vigil with it, especially if you operate heavy machinery in my area. Seriously, faithful, this large and comprehensive study deserves it requisite ten by seven by three inch space on your bookshelf next to the New Jerome Biblical Commentary and the REv. Father McBrien's other well-known magnus opus Catholicism, along of course with all your hagiography by Sr. Ita Ford, Dorothy Day, the Jesuit Most Rev. and learned Fathers Daniel Berrigan, John Dear, Fr. Ellacuria and Jon Sobrino, alongside of course Fr. Thomas Merton, Fr. Matthew Fox, Fr. Gustavo Gutierrez, the Brothers Boff, Father Ernesto Cardenal, Father Hans Kung (represented here with his wonderful questioning in this great Encyclopedia), Sr. Joan Chittister, etc. etc., all available here on amazon for less than the price of shipping (except for one of Fr. Sobrino's most intriguing brief articles which here costs over ten dollars a page!). At under ten bucks this Encyclopedia is the best buy on the mighty amazon, as well as the most orthodox and comprehensive work on Roman Catholicism. I only wish the Search Inside service were active for this tremendous tome.

Briefly this great Catholic reference work is similar to any Encyclopedia in that it contains items on just about every related to the topic, which is Catholicism, apparent from the title of this work. Not only are there brief items on just about every topic having to do with Catholicism, but there are also extended articles which run several pages on major topics. There are also mid sized items as well. Each of these items are written by a renowned and recognized expert in the field; in fact there are hundreds of contributers as well as the Reverend Father Richard P. McBrien who serves as editor in chief for this essential Catholic reference work, which is a joy in itself to read. Get lost in it!

extraodinarily comprehensive and thorough
If you are a fundumentalist/ radical Mother Angelica type catholic you will be hard pressed to appreciate the truth presented in this book about the Roman Catholic Church.As a masters level student in Theology, I am familiar with Mcbriens other publications and I commend Mcbrien et.al. for their courage to continue publishing "truth" even at the risk of medieval magisterial papal suppression.This book is an excellent resource for parish catechists and all lay ecclesial ministers.

If you can handle the truth, buy this book.Otherwise spend your money on beads and leaflets

A waste of money
I own two of McBrien's books (Catholicism & Encyclopedia). They look very serious on Catholicism, but they are NOT. They contain a lot of McBrien's thoughts about what should be Catholicism. In other words, McBrien wishes the Catholic Church to conform to his opinions. A waste of money. If you want to know about Catholicism, buy the Catechism of the Catholic Church instead. For more detailed review on McBrien's books, go to catholicculture.org and search for McBrien.

McBrien and His Team Have Performed a Great Service
Since I received this book from Amazon last week, I have had real trouble setting it aside.Not only does it contain a staggering amount of information; it also is beautifully produced and intelligently written.

It is huge, a good thing for any encyclopedia -- 1300 pages and over 4,000 entries.It is full of pictures: photos of important individuals and sites, reproductions of famous artwork, and explanatory drawings.Major topics, such as each of the sacraments, are covered in long, well-organized essays.And all the details indicate that this project was undertaken with the seriousness and dedication it deserves: the entries are cross-referenced, helpful bibliographies follow many entries, boldface subheads break up and organize the longer entries, bylines are provided after the more analytical entries, a complete list of contributors with their affiliations is provided, pronunciations are given for unfamiliar terms -- I could go on and on. ... Read more

Product Description

Well–known authors and researchers John Ankerberg, John Weldon, and Dillon Burroughs have updated and revised The Facts on Roman Catholicism, an important title from the popular Facts On Series (more than 1.9 million copies of books from this series sold).

Presented in a convenient question–and–answer format, readers are given a general overview and detailed information based on a biblical evaluation of the Roman Catholic Church. They discover similarities and differences between the basic theologies of Catholicism and Protestantism. Topics include:

• Have the basic doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church changed?
• What are the sacraments, and how do they function in the life of a Catholic believer?
• What does the Catholic Church teach concerning salvation?
• What unique role does Mary have in Roman Catholicism, and is it biblical?
• Can the differences between Catholics and Evangelicals be set aside?

Customer Reviews (15)

Half-truths and Lies more like it.
I am a born-again Christian, and a convert to the Catholic Church and I can promise you that this book is nothing but half-truths and lies. Don't waste your money because if you know nothing about the Catholic Church, this book isn't going to help you.If you disagree with the Catholic Church, this book isn't going to tell you anything new.If you ARE Catholic, this book is just going to make you laugh at how ridiculous they *try* to make us sound... and then when you're done laughing, you'll probably be angry.So honestly, don't bother.

Just the facts...
Just the facts...
John Ankerberg, JohnWeldon, and Dillion Burroughs continue their The Facts series with a look at the Roman Catholic Church, it's beliefs, and its origins.The authors answer 14 questions concerning the faith.One section discusses the most recent changes in the Catholic faith.I found the discussion on the Pope and Mary most interesting. Is the Pope infallible? Do the Catholics worship Mary and why?

I knew very little concerning the beliefs of the Catholic Church when I began reading this short book. I found it both informative and interesting.It is written from a Protestant viewpoint.

Good book, Wrong title
This is a great little book but unfortunately the authors have the title of the book wrong.A more fitting title would have been "The facts on a make-believe Church".The so called "facts" have nothing to do with reality.Most of their "research" it seems, has been done internet websites without much credibility.

The authors have gone as far as blatantly adding their own opinion and presenting it as a "fact".For example, the book states something like this:

"Mary may be venerated in the Catholic Church and any Catholic will tell you that worship is given to God alone, but to us it looks like Catholics worship Mary".

This is laughable and pathetic methodology.

Other places of the book has blatant lies, for example, in the section of the dogma of Papal Infallibility and the history behind it.There is not a shred of truth in the way they have presented this and if I were the authors I would be embarrassed to have such a weak straw man book out bearing their names as the authors.

The saddest thing about this book is that it is on sale and multitudes of less informed Protestant Christians will read it and accept it as "fact".

If I want the facts on Islam, I won't go to a Jehovah's Witness and likewise if you want facts on the Roman Catholic Church, don't go consulting Protestant books.Especially not this one.

Two thumbs down for this book.

Just another form of anti-Catholicism
When people are going to tracts for their information on the Catholic Church, they are begging to be misinformed. This booklet is 58 pages and it claims to present "facts" on the Catholic Church. The obvious problem with that is that 58 pages is probably not sufficient for some of the single issues dealt with in a half a page (which are about half the size of normal book pages).

The book is full of lies and half truths. Papal Infallibility is "demonstrated" false, because of what August Hassler said. The section on papal infallibility ends with the author saying the history of the Church has demonstrated that it is not infallible. That is literally what the last sentence says That is a decieving line, because any serious Catholic knows what Ankerberg and Weldon are getting at. They are implying that because the Church has acted immorally it must not be infallible. No, the Church teaches that it will not teach error, not that it's members won't sin. Beyond that, the authors do not give one example of how the history of the Church proves the pope to be fallible when speaking ex cathedra.

They also give blatant disregard to the standing of Mary in the Church. They devote about 2 mini pages to her. Volumes have been written on the topic, but we are supposed to be convinced with 2 pages. The fact that they do not understand the Church's position does not bother them either.

Basically, Weldon and Ankerberg do not know what they are talking about. They claim the Church errs, because it accepts tradition over the Bible, even though it is only through Church Tradition that we even have a Bible. Regardless of what the authors want to tell themselves, the Church established by Christ made the Bible. The Bible did not make the Church.

There is a reason they didn't write a book on the topic, only a large tract that can be read in about an hour. It is because these little books are generally not taken serious by serious Catholics, but people who know nothing about the Catholic Church will be convinced that it is not the True Church.

Only read this if you are already convinced that the Catholic Church is wrong and you will do anything to support you view. Otherwise, this is a good fire starter.

Excellent summary on the difference between C & P
I am an ex-Catholic, youngest of 11 children, went to mass every Sunday of my youth, confirmed etc.Then I was saved and learned the difference between religion and faith, fear and grace, history and truth.When Chist said "it is finished", it really was.We are justified by Christ work on the cross, nothing else, we are saved by grace, nothing else.There are good Christians in the Catholic church, but one will have a very hard time growing in their relationship with the Lord, by staying within a doctrine that places church history and papal perfection on par with the word of God.Just try and find a Bible in a Catholic church and that tells you pretty much what you need to know.This book is wonderful and absolutely accurate on revealing the false teachings within the Catholic church and how they clash with SCRIPTURE.No matter what I say, you will not understand until God has removed the scales from your eyes, and only he can do that. ... Read more

Product Description
What is so special about Sacraments?

How did the rituals and traditions of the Mass get started?

Why do we have a pope?

What's the point of going to confession?

Father Joe Classen has heard all these questions and more from parishioners, fishing buddies, neighbors, and acquaintances. They seem to recognize right away that this straight-shooting and approachable young priest speaks a language they understand.

You will find real questions and direct answers from a passionate, engaging priest who wants nothing more than to share his love of the Faith in real life terms. Get to know what the Church teaches and why, and discover Father Joe's secret recipe for a happier, more fulfilling life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Very human approach to a divine subject
Father Classen has written an excellent book that really reaches out to believers and non-believers alike.

He shows that priests are very human indeed, and along the way does an excellent job of explaining the basics of the Catholic faith.One valuable aspect of the book is his reaction to the behavior of some parishioners--I found it refreshing for a priest to express his appreciation for some, and impatience with others.

And while I am second to none in my admiration for the Catechism of the Catholic Church, but I readily concede that reading it can be a challenge.Father Classen has taken its basic precepts and presented them in a very readable and approachable way; one of his influences is Fulton Sheen, and it shows (that's a very good thing).

Father Classen's faith, humor, loving nature, and sheer humanity leap from every page; it's a joy to read.In fact, I devoured this tasty work in just two sittings.

My parish priest recommended this book to me; after reading it, I suggested to him that everyone who goes through RCIA should read it.But that doesn't give the book enough credit.The fact is, everyone would benefit from a healthy portion of Meat and Potatoes Catholicism.

Awesome book
Fr. Classen writes clearly and makes it easy for anyone to understand this book.I thoroughly enjoyed it.Once I started reading, I couldn't put the book down.I highly recommend this book for teens on up. This book is a great guide to follow and learn from. It answers many questions you may have, but don't know how to ask for answers. Many people forget information regarding the Sacraments and the teachings of the Church and Fr.Classen refreshes you on them.You won't regret getting this book, it feeds your soul. Can't wait to get his next book.

Down to earth, easy to understand.
THis book is very good. This avid hunter/outdoorsman writes in an easy-to-read and understand style. Tells exactly what CAtholics believe and why we believe as we do. I strongly recommend it.

Easy, clear and ENJOYABLE
I hope Father keeps these books coming; he writes clearly, simply and yet never watering down the fullness of Truth found in the Catholic Church. We need more AUTHENTIC MEN like this not only in the church but in the world. ... Read more

Product Description
For more than two hundred years American Catholics have struggled to reconcile their national and religious values. In this incisive and accessible account, distinguished Catholic historian Jay P. Dolan explores the way American Catholicism has taken its distinctive shape and follows how Catholics have met the challenges they have faced as New World followers of an Old World faith. Dolan argues that the ideals of democracy, and American culture in general, have deeply shaped Catholicism in the United States as far back as 1789, when the nation's first bishop was elected by the clergy (and the pope accepted their choice.) Dolan looks at the tension between democratic values and Catholic doctrine from the conservative reaction after the fall of Napoleon to the impact of the Second Vatican Council. Furthermore, he explores grassroots devotional life, the struggle against nativism, the impact and collision of different immigrant groups, and the disputed issue of gender. Today Dolan writes, the tensions remain, as we see signs of a resurgent traditionalism in the church in response to the liberalizing trend launched by John XXIII, and also a resistance to the conservatism of John Paul II. In this lucid account, the unfinished story of Catholicism in America emerges clearly and compellingly, illuminating the inner life of the church and of the nation. For more than two hundred years American Catholics have struggled to reconcile their national and religious values. In this incisive and accessible account, distinguished Catholic historian Jay P. Dolan explores the way American Catholicism has taken its distinctive shape and follows how Catholics have met the challenges they have faced as New World followers of an Old World faith. Dolan argues that the ideals of democracy, and American culture in general, have deeply shaped Catholicism in the United States as far back as 1789, when the nation's first bishop was elected by the clergy and approved by the pope. He also examines the tension between democratic values and Catholic doctrine from the conservative reaction after the fall of Napoleon to the impact of the Second Vatican Council. Dolan explores grassroots devotional life, the struggle against nativism, the impact and collision of different immigrant groups, and the disputed issue of gender. In this lucid account, the unfinished story of Catholicism in America emerges clearly and compellingly, illuminating the inner life of the church and of the nation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

This has happened before....
Jay Dolan's history of the church in America makes one overwhelming point--that the crisis in the church today is part of a long struggle lasting over 200 years by the American church to define itself as part of and in opposition to both Rome and America at the same time. Dolan examines the collision between the traditional, European, immigrant, authoritarian church and the modern, American, democratic society in which it found itself from several perspectives. The issue of local control of churches has been a long-standing one, and indeed the early church in the US experimented with lay trusteeship of parishes. Immigrants coming to the US with a thirst for freedom also struggled to retain local control over the parishes they built and supported. Sometimes these arguments erupted among immigrant groups, sometimes with Rome.

Devotional practices for Catholics were also very different from those of their Protestant neighbors, used to more austere practices, who were likely to regard Catholics as superstitious and of the Old World. For a long time, a debate raged over whether one could be both Catholic and American; much anti-Catholic sentiment arose from Catholics' efforts to distinguish themselves from their neighbors. These slowly changed in the 20th century of course in response to Vatican II, but also as Americans moved away from Old World traditions. The emergence of women as important players in American society, at the same time as women argued for equality in England, also put pressures on the church still being felt to this day to an extent much greater than some more traditional Catholic countries.

Perhaps the greatest argument is a philosophical one--is the church part of or apart from society; should the church embrace or reject modernity; should the church respond to the times or remain unchanged for all time? These arguments went on at the very beginnings of the US 200 years ago and are still being argued today as the church fights off the biggest crisis in its history in this country. Perhaps these issues are more intense in a country that considers itself among the most democratic, the most open, the most modern in the world.

Dolan's work is a bit slow-going at times, and maybe a little too scholarly for the casual reader.But the points are valid, and caution against expecting an easy, prompt resolution of the current crisis. As ties to Western Europe weaken, and fewer and fewer Americans identify themselves as having two nationalities, obedience to a foreign, Roman hierarchy, which seems not to understand American culture and society, feels more and more alien. How it will be resolved remains to be seen. ... Read more

Product Description
Counter Reformation, Catholic Reformation, the Baroque Age, the Tridentine Age, the Confessional Age: why does Catholicism in the early modern era go by so many names? And what political situations, what religious and cultural prejudices in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries gave rise to this confusion? Taking up these questions, John O'Malley works out a remarkable guide to the intellectual and historical developments behind the concepts of Catholic reform, the Counter Reformation, and, in his felicitous term, Early Modern Catholicism. The result is the single best overview of scholarship on Catholicism in early modern Europe, delivered in a pithy, lucid, and entertaining style. Although its subject is fundamental to virtually all other issues relating to sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Europe, there is no other book like this in any language.More than a historiographical review, Trent and All That makes a compelling case for subsuming the present confusion of terminology under the concept of Early Modern Catholicism. The term indicates clearly what this book so eloquently demonstrates: that Early Modern Catholicism was an aspect of early modern history, which it strongly influenced and by which it was itself in large measure determined. As a reviewer commented, O'Malley's discussion of terminology "opens up a different way of conceiving of the whole history of Catholicism between the Reformation and the French Revolution." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Good historiography overview
John W. O'Malley since the early 1990s has advocated the use of "Early Modern Catholicism" to identify the "Catholic side" of the Reformation.That is, however, not his primary goal in Trent and All That.For those who are familiar with his earlier efforts, he puts forth the name as, yet another, alternative to "Catholic Reformation," "Counter Reformation," and their many counterparts.The main purpose of his book is to illuminate the inadequacies and inherent problems in the current nomenclature for the beliefs, thoughts, and actions of Catholic leaders and laypersons during a not-yet-accurately-designated period of time that includes all or parts of the sixteenth century.

O'Malley's goal in Trent is to "help us view `the Catholic side' [of the Reformation] with new eyes, so that we become more aware of a breadth, depth, and complexity that earlier historians frequently either missed or, more often, forced into an inappropriate or inadequate interpretive framework--by inadequate naming."(p. 9)He argues, accepting that the damage of misnaming has already been done, "we need to accept the multiplicity of names as a good thing," yet "apply these name more reflectively," and "add `Early Modern Catholicism' to the list.(p. 5)

O'Malley does little to refute previous criticism that "Early Modern Catholicism" is chronologically indeterminate and does not add much to the widely-accepted "Early Modern History".I believe the church historian to be well aware that the vague reasoning supporting the term in the last few pages of the book will not silence his critics.His modest defense lends more space for O'Malley to address his principal interest in this book: the errors in the historiography of the Reformation because of the names applied to the Catholic side of it.

He presents a critique of the historiography involving Catholicism in the Reformation that is credible, persuasive, and unimpeded by undefined terminology.From the outset, O'Malley puts forward a linear, clearly telegraphed argument that historians' implementation and acceptance of names has contributed to a view of Catholics before, during, and since 1517 that lacks necessary sophistication.He faults Protestant, Catholic, and secular scholars for this deficiency.Protestants took hold of the name "reformed" early on and have since written Reformation history from the position of their changing of a church desperately in need of repair.It is reasonable that from 1692 when Viet Ludwig von Seckendorff used "reformation" in the title of his response to the Jesuit Louis Maimbourg's history of Lutheranism that the word became identified with a Protestant response to Catholicism and eventually took on anti-Catholic meanings.Catholic historians have not only been unable, until recently, to refute this view, but have also been complicit in its propagation.

In his review of the historiography's development and the underestimated consequence of names in that development is where O'Malley focuses most energy and emphasis in the book.It is also here that he demonstrates mastery of the field, alerting his Academy colleagues--perhaps yet again--to the dangers of inattention to language and the biases and assumptions underneath well-intentioned, objective nomenclature.He highlights two terms that hold the most currency among historians: "Counter Reformation" and "Catholic Reformation".

Johann Stephan Putter first used "Counter Reformation" in 1776 and Leopold von Ranke cemented its longevity in the field.O'Malley appropriately notes that the German setting of the term's origin produced "concerns and prejudices consistent with [German] religious and political history."(p. 24)The term took on prejudices of diverse settings as it gained international acceptance."Counter Reformation", for O'Malley, too narrowly views the scope of Catholic efforts and assigns a post-1517 start date to those efforts, often connecting them with the Tridentine reforms.Such analysis relegates Catholic activity of the period to a reactionary position.The term implicitly undervalues the achievements in spiritual discipline of Ignatius of Loyola, the spread of the Christian faith by the Jesuits, and Theresa of Avila's example of personal piety and mysticism.Those practices have contributed to Protestant and Catholic spirituality.The anti-Protestant inference of "Counter Reformation" is probably warranted, but not all efforts to better Catholicism were directed by the papacy and church leadership to thwart the efforts of Protestants.

"Catholic Reformation" captures the sense that pre- and post-1517 Catholics perceived the need for change within their church and links Reformation-era Catholicism to the church which had been consistently transforming itself since the eleventh century.The term attempts to locate efforts of church improvements alongside--and antedating--Protestant reforms, which inherently implies an assessment of a church in need of repair.Historians often link "Catholic Reformation" and "Counter Reformation" to the church hierarchy, and this association prevents more liberal use of the terms to focus attention on the improvement efforts of spiritualists, confraternities, and mystics.

O'Malley honors to the work of Hubert Jedin, the German priest and scholars, who challenged the problem of naming in a 1946 essay "Catholic Reform/Reformation and Counter Reformation."He joined the above monikers to demonstrate their combined ability to capture the origin, direction, and results of the sixteenth-century Catholic movement.He redefined the term to argue against previous, damaging, designations."The Catholic Reformation is the church's remembrance of the Catholic ideal of life through inner renewal, [and] the Counter Reformation is the self-assertion of the church in the struggle against Protestantism."(p. 55)Jedin's thesis provided a needed voice on the subject, but he repeated familiar hermeneutical errors.According to O'Malley, "although the terms of the Catholic side of the early modern epoch arose from historians' honest efforts to generalize about their subject, they also were radically conditioned by the secular and religious politics of the historians' milieux.They are not neutral."(p. 4)Jedin wanted to make Protestantism the aggressor.

Though Jedin's article did not immediately stimulate major changes in historiography or naming, but it shifted some focus to the Catholic side.Few noticed his 1946 work outside of Germany and Italy.But later historians underscored the problems that naming presents for the Catholic side.Trent is an addition to that ongoing discussion.O'Malley praises Jedin's effort, but in the end, the forerunner of modern-day thinking on naming focused too closely on internal church reforms (in part because of his incredible access to papal documents), presented the Council of Trent with an unwarranted status, and left little room for the work of laymen in creating "the miracle" he saw in the church's renewal.

O'Malley concludes that no name is good enough to describe the complex, multi-faceted, spiritual, ecclesial, cultural, and political changes that the Catholic Church has undergone--and is undergoing.But O'Malley already knew that.The point of Trent and All That is to defend the legitimacy of renewal stemming from within the Catholic Church.To view these achievements merely in reference to Luther, Calvin, and other Protestants subordinates the dynamism of the Catholic Church's 2,000-year existence to the era-centered changes of the Reformation.Naming causes, facilitates and perpetuates this problem.

O'Malley concedes that the plethora of names for the Catholic side of the Reformation is the best we can hope for.So why not add "Early Modern Catholicism" to the list?Each name has its usefulness, within the appropriate parameters.But we must recognize and respect the limitations of each.Overextending the utility of any one term lessens the quality of scholarship on the Reformation and clouds our understanding of its influence on modern-day Christianity.

O'Malley's attempt to correct the historiography presents some problems.In his effort to show the "good" on the Catholic side, he, to some extent, downplays the actual need for repair within the sixteenth-century Catholic Church.The church's deficiencies were well-known and acknowledged by future Protestant reformers as well as those who remained Catholic.His effort to draw focus away from 1517 leaves some open questions: What kind of reform, if any, would the Catholic Church have experienced without the drastic measures of the Reformation?Would we have had Trent?Perhaps the problems with naming not only revolve around when and by whom the Reformation commenced, but also around the questions of the urgency for reform in the sixteenth century and the appropriate measures for effecting those changes.

Trent and All That is a solid, straightforward call to scholars for a revised look at the historiography of the Reformation by a respected colleague who has perforce offered sufficient rationale for his proposal.Though the book's dearth of detail about pertinent events and debates may limit the author's aim at popular appeal and utility, its compact size and interesting subject may very well entice a glance from the general readers.

Naming Catholicism in the Era of Reform
By what label should historians refer to the "Catholic side" during the era of the Protestant Reformation? In John O'Malley's, Trent and All That: Renaming Catholicism in The Early Modern Era, the reader is introduced to the complexities surrounding the nomenclature of distinct historical era's, and more specifically, to the problem of naming the Catholicism of the late medieval/early modern era.Throughout the work, the author argues that terms are not neutral; they invite investigation in certain directions but they also direct attention away from other avenues of inquiry.In other words, they filter and exclude just as much as they allegedly describe.O'Malley proposes a three-fold solution to this taxonomic dilemma: 1) a welcome acceptance of the multiplicity of names that have arisen as positive descriptors of the era; 2) a more careful reflection in the employment of these terms by historians; and 3) the addition of "Early Modern Catholicism" as a more comprehensive designation than the others.He attempts to persuade the reader to accept his proposal principally by tracing the history of the various terms for the Catholic side, and indeed this review of the naming process constitutes the vast majority of the book.

The book begins with a survey of the semantic landscape of the term "reform."O'Malley argues that the term "reform" has a rich Catholic tradition that antedates the Protestant Reformation by approximately 500 years.In spite of the Catholic heritage of this term (and it's close association with an emphasis on the centrality of canon law), O'Malley argues that with the passage of time, the word "reform/reformation" came to be appropriated by Protestants and given a new sense (particularly since they divorced the term from any connection with canon law).By the late 17th century (especially in Germany) the term "Reformation" was firmly established in Protestant historiographical vocabulary as a distinct historical epoch and, as a term, it was equated with Protestantism.Following closely was the emergence of a dependent concept - that of "Counter-Reformation," which was equated with the Anti-Reformation efforts of the Roman Catholic Church.When these terms were used by Protestants, they were freighted with many assumptions and biases that were overtly hostile to the Catholic communion (particularly the assumption that the late medieval church was utterly and thoroughly corrupt and that there could be no genuine reform except Protestant Reform).

It was in this context that Roman Catholic scholar Hubert Jedin published his seminal essay in 1946 entitled "Catholic Reformation or Counter Reformation?"Jedin's influential essay argued for the legitimacy of the term Catholic Reform together with the term "Counter Reformation," although when he used this term it reflected a primarily defensive Catholic posture against the "Protestant attack."The tension that Jedin struggled with, however, was how to properly apply the term "reform" to the Catholic Church of the 16th century while still emphasizing the strong continuity with the past that was the hallmark of 16th century Catholicism.

Although Jedin's stature as a scholar of international prominence gained the nomenclature of Catholicism during the Reformation a new hearing, his proposal concerning the utility of "Catholic Reform and Counter-Reform" ultimately failed to gain international currency for a number of reasons that O'Malley highlights. Since Jedin's proposal failed to gain ascendancy, new terms were proposed which began to compete for acceptance.An emphasis (particularly in the French academy) on the importance of the study of the history of practicing Christians, and away from the history of great men and institutions led to the prominent emergence of the "social history" of Christianity, and new terms which reflected this wider perception of reality.As a result of the favorable acceptance of the category of "social disciplining" as an effective tool of historical analysis, the term "Confessional Age" has been slowly supplanting (in France and Germany at least) what has traditionally been otherwise referred to as the "Age of Counter Reform."

This is a well-written book that concisely states the problem of historical nomenclature especially as it relates to naming Catholicism during the Reformation.O'Malley is correct in noting that the prevalent terms that have gained international currency have, in fact, been conditioned by the religious and secular worldviews of the historians' who proposed them - that is, they are not neutral.Because each of the terms examined incompletely describe the greater reality of Catholicism, O'Malley seems correct in commending them each as proper referents for Catholicism of the Reform era, provided that historians heed his call to be self-conscious in their employment of them.
A difficulty with his proposal, however, involves the new term (Early Modern Catholicism) that he has proposed as another term to consider in this discussion.To begin with, O'Malley argues that he is not suggesting that this term replace the other terms.Rather, he states, it is intended to serve a complementary role.Yet the fact that he suggests that this term should serve as a more comprehensive term for the Catholicism of the era (indeed it invites the other terms under its own "umbrella") may belie a more ambitious agenda.If "Early Modern Catholicism" becomes the comprehensive umbrella term which denotes the broader reality of the Catholicism of the Reform era, presumably this name will head the titles of all subsequent literature, and if this is the case, it is difficult to see how this term is not being offered as a replacement for the other competing terms.In what sense will these other terms have currency if O'Malley's proposal is adopted? Further, As O'Malley himself has argued - terms filter, exclude, and direct attention away from certain avenues of inquiry.What does "Catholicism of the Early Modern Era" direct attention away from?In the mind of this reviewer, it (improperly) directs attention away from the significant definitional impact the Protestant Reformation had on the Catholicism of this era.In the final analysis, O'Malley may have some more work ahead of him if he is to convince some readers of the ultimate utility of his alternate term.

A good basic introduction to the problems involved
This book provides an excellent introduction to the basic historiographical problem involved in studying the early modern Catholic Church: what should we call the period?The author reviews the various solutions, (Counter-Reformation, Catholic Reformation, Catholic Reform, Catholic Confessionalization, Catholic Revival) and the history of the use of those terms.Then he proposes an additional term: "early modern Catholicism," which should be used besides all of the others.This begs the question, of course, of what exactly "early modern" means--a not entirely uncontroversial term in itself.The best part of the book is the reviews of where the current terms came from historically and why they were used.The solution is less compelling, simply because words like Counter-Reformation and Catholic Reformation are not only well-dispersed and easily understood, but they are still meaningful to the people who are using them.Also, the writer intentionally stays out of evidential debates by saying "that's material for a longer book".This is really a book about historiography--if you want info about the Catholic Ref., check out Bireley or Hsia or Mullett.On the other hand, this would be a really great book for graduate students who need a quick update on this info for their exams. ... Read more

Product Description
In the past several months negative reviews of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Understanding Catholicism have begun collecting on Amazon.com.They seem to emanate from the same neo-conservative position that would like to roll back the reforms of the Catholic Church made at Vatican II.Since these reviews are in such sharp contrast to the heart-warming reports received during the first three years of the book, and since some are simply incorrect, I would like to take the opportunity, as one of the authors to respond.

Most of these critics have asserted that the book does not represent Catholic teaching.I want to assure the reader that each and every teaching in the text and in the glossary of terms is correlated with the latest version of the Catholic catechism. Some have questioned the absence of the Catholic imprimatur, which is the Latin word meaning "let it be printed," and is a bishop’s seal of approval reserved for official Catholic teaching.To have the imprimatur used for books published by a secular press and intended for the general audience, is not necessary or appropriate.

The publishers of the Idiot’s Guide series insist on hiring an expert in the particular field who is paid to read the book and edit it from his or her authoritative knowledge.Our book was reviewed by a priest who holds the Doctor of Jurisprudence, Master of Church Administration, and Licentiate in Sacred Theology degrees.He has served as Vicar General and presently serves as General Counsel and Censor Librorum for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Nashville. Censor Librorum is the office of the theologian a bishop appoints to read and advise him on which Catholic books to grant his imprimatur.We acknowledge him in the front pages of the book. Both authors have their credential as qualified teachers in religious education. I hold a Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame and am full professor of Pastoral Studies at Loyola, Chicago’s Jesuit University. Additionally, I have a mandatum from the Cardinal Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago to teach Catholic Theology.The mandatum is an acknowledgment by Church authority that a Catholic professor of a theological discipline is a teacher within the full communion of the Catholic Church.

We have received numerous letters from Cardinals, bishops and priests praising the book, especially for making the Catholic Church so accessible. We have received no letters of disapproval from church authorities. Our stated purpose isn’t to present a theological study of the church, but to portray the experience of being Catholic. In taking this approach, we openly discuss the struggles as well as the joys. The viewpoint we present cannot be portrayed by clergy—whose life and formation has not only focused them on the institutional aspect of the Church, but has also separated them in a particular restricted class of the church that makes up less than 1% of church members. It is the cumulative identity of this Church that is the focus.

We spotlight this religion historically, theologically, philosophically, symbolically, sociologically, doctrinally, and institutionally. We assess its significance for the third millennium. This book presents Catholicism as a two thousand year old faith that is anything but monolithic and certainly not perfect. It is the ongoing story of how Jesus as the Christ walks with the people. This story is as diverse and complex as the people who live it. There are differences of opinion within the hierarchy of the church, different interpretations of cannon law, and different theologies—often conflicting with one another. To present Catholicism as a simple matter of law and prescribed church practices it isn’t what we set out to do—that would miss a complete understanding of Catholicism. Our point is that the continued presence of Christ on earth exists in the ever developing lives of this people! There are thousands of books the reader can consult on matters of church law and doctrine—few that talk about what it is like to dynamically live the religion.

One writer complained about the section title: "Abortion, It’s a tough choice," saying that for Catholics there is no choice. This section clearly and unequivocally lays out the Catholic Church’s present teaching on abortion. The church is against it. At the same time, the church teaches that without choice there can be no morality. The individual is obliged to think about his or her action and freely make a choice according to conscience.So yes, for many Catholics, abortion is a tough choice—it presents a moral struggle.

In 1966 the U.S. Catholic Bishops declared: "No one is free to evade his (sic) personal responsibility by leaving it entirely to others to make moral judgments." Yet many people in the church continue to seek the security of law rather than accept the responsibility that comes with freedom—the onerous task of wrestling with moral dilemma—to seek perfection is to fall short of the mark many times in a lifetime.

To read the viewpoint of the clergy, there is now a popular book in another series by two priests that gives it to you. Many of our critics have recommended it. However, to understand the complexities of Catholicism, as our title suggests, this is the book. We are Catholic authors who in our twenties, beginning our families and adult life were shaped by the foundation of Vatican II.Having spent our childhood and adolescent years in the pre-Vatican II Catholic Church, we are well aware of what radical changes were recovered in Vatican II – social justice, ecumenism, an embrace of the signs of the times, and the dignity and value of the informed individual conscience. Reader, be aware there are organized forces who speak against the spirit of reformation of Vatican II.

Robert T. O’Gorman
Professor of Pastoral Studies
Loyola University Chicago
Co-author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Understanding Catholicism ... Read more

Customer Reviews (99)

Completely lacking.
I bought this book years ago and finally got around to reading it about six months ago. Even with as little as I knew about the Catholic faith, I knew something was off. Finally I saw so many contradictions between what I was learning from it and what I was learning from real Catholic sources that I tired of it and the simplistic way it talked down to the reader and put it down. It now holds up a wobbly end of a table, that's how little I think of it. I'm just glad to find some practical use of it.

Do yourself a Big favor and get Catholicism for Dummies by Father John Trigilio and Father Kenneth Brighenti instead of this, it was extremely well written and very, very useful, I'm way ahead of the game in my RCIA classes now.

Warm, with Gusts of Subjectivity
Seaching for books to recommend to my Why Catholic/Renew class, I was initially attracted to this book, but upon closer reading I saw its flaws and chose another.

The "Complete Idiot's Guide" has the virtue of being warm and accessible and containing much interesting information. O'Gorman and Faulkner are to be commended for taking 2,000 years' worth of history and millions of people's lived Catholicism and cooking it down to something compact and more or less palatable.

Nevertheless, the book too frequently reflects the biases and opinions of the American Church Middle-Management Class. On some topics-- like, sigh, the area of sexuality --- the biases cause a certain distortion of message and are occasionally cringe-worthy.

All in all, a subjectively-colored and biased book like this can still be useful, and may merit a place on your bookshelf.However, because of its narrow and somewhat dated "spirit of Vatican II" provincialisms, I could not consider it reliable enough to use in any phase of parish adult eduction.

This Book Contains Serious Errors
This book contains serious errors regarding Catholic dogma and discipline. For a book which presents Catholicism accurately, read "Catholicism for Dummies."

An example of a serious dogmatic error is the section on the perpetual virginity of Mary on pages 164-165. This book does not explain at all that the Church clearly teaches that Mary never had sexual relations. Rather, it presents a vague and historically-conditioned virginity which has little to do with historical fact. This is coupled with the book's gravely flawed "historical context" regarding the Church's thoughts on the relationship of the body and the soul. The book makes it sound as if the Church up until very recently considered the body to be sinful and as if the Church taught a radical dualism of body and spirit. On the contrary, the Church battled many heresies which taught these false doctrines.

Perhaps the most serious dogmatic error in the area of morals is the statement from page 273 on abortion, "However, the official teaching remains that the only time abortion is permitted when it is necessary to preserve the mother's life, which is covered under the concept of the lesser of two evils." This is not the Church's position. The Church's clear teaching is that abortion willed either as a means or an end is intrinsically evil.

An example of one error regarding Church discipline is on page 12 where it says, "Many spiritual practices--such as fasting before receiving the Eucharist and Lenten fasts--that once were mandatory are now optional." This is incorrect. Fasting before the reception of Holy Communion is still obligatory as is fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

This book is not useful to anyone who understands the Catholic faith, and it will be very misleading to anyone who wishes to learn more about Catholicism.

Not for Idiots
Concise.Funny. Insightful. Irreverant. A good quick introduction. Buy it for everyone in your RCIA program.

STOP BEING SUCH A COMPLETE IDIOT AND ACQUIRE FAITH IN ACTION: READ ITA FORD AND DOROTHY DAY
If you claim to be Catholic but fail to subscribe to the Catholic Worker newspaper you are not Catholic. (available here)

If you claim to be Catholic yet support directly or indirectly the Iraqi war, you are not Catholic (read Gaudium et spes, Pacem in terris, Father John Dear)

Forget this externalist formalist farcical treatment of the one holy catholic and apostolic Church.

To know what it is to be Catholic in the flesh and heart and spirit, study the writings of Sister Ita Ford, or her bio by Sr. Noone. Study Benedictine Sister Joan Chittister, or Monica Hellwig.

Be a true (not just practicing) Catholic and study deeply the great American CAtholic theologian and scholar, the Rev. Father Richard McBrien's comprehensive tome: Catholicism, well received and respected for a generation.

Continue with other great Catholic and American theologians and scholars and saints and contemplatives such as Jesuit Fathers Daniel Berrigan and Father John DEar who dare ask the hard questions with intelligence, insight and spiritual orthodoxy to the Gospel of Jesus. In particular illuminating is Jesus the Rebel by the Rev. Father Dear, and the commentaries on the Old Testament prophets such as Job and Ezekial by the Rev. Father Berrigan.

Then neither Dummy nor Complete Idiot shall you be, but Catholic in mind, heart, spirit and soul. Continue with the great Saint, MArtyr and Confessor of the Faith, Archbishop Romero, and of course the other Salvadoran martyrs and confessors like Fr. Ellacuria and the still living (when last seen) Father Jon Sobrino.


Such a telling shame cornerstone Catholic texts such as Pope John XXIII's PACEM IN TERRIS and Pope PAul VI's POPULORUM PROGRESSIO or even the US Conference of Catholic Bishop's ever-more-important treatise on Just Cause/Just war entitled GOd's Challenge and Our Response are out of print and no longer available, as they truly call us to put our faith into concrete action for Christ. As the great St. James wrote: Faith without works is dead.

Please check my other reviews for further excellent sources as well as warnings about the ill sectarian and shallow observances.
... Read more

Product Description
With a Foreword by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI

This book first appeared just over fifty years ago. It is the pilgrimatic work of one of the 20th century's greatest theologians. Deeply rooted in tradition, it breaks ground and sows seeds which will bear their fruit in the Second Vatican Council's central documents on the Church. Here, Henri de Lubac, one of the giants of 20th century theology, gathers from throughout the breadth and length of Catholic tradition elements which he synthesizes to show the essentially social and historical character of the Catholic Church and how this worldwide and agelong dimension of the Church is the only adequate matrix for the fulfillment of the person within society and the transcendence of the person towards God. This book is a classic that deserves to be read and reread by every educated Catholic.

"For me, the encounter with this book became an essential milestone on my theological journey. For in it de Lubac does not treat merely isolated questions. He makes visible to us in a new way the fundamental intuition of Christian Faith so that from this inner core all the paricular elements appear in a new light."


Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI

"Few of our living authors have given us a work at once so profound, so apt and so persuasive as this of the great French Jesuit. Certainly, few could have written the book on the basis of such a rich knowledge of the Christian tradition.... De Lubac's thought has the originality which springs from the contact with a great tradition of a brilliant, deep and charitable mind. And it has a contemporaneity that bears witness to a profound, all-embracing, human concern."


-Dom Christopher Butler, Abbot of Downside

"We cannot leave it without referring to its almost incredible comprehensiveness of view. De Lubac writes of the Church in such a way as to allow fully for the truth there is in Protestant or Liberal views of the Christian society."
-Church Times ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Restoring the Faith
Henri de Lubac may just be the father (although unsung) of modern Catholic theology. "Catholicism: Christ and the Common Destiny of Man" is clearly an example of this.Jesus Christ is not some long gone historic figure, but lives on in the Church - the Mystical Body of Christ.The common destiny of man is to live on in this living Christ.

Criticism of the difficulty in reading de Lubac are somewhat unfounded in that, the important nuances that separates simplistic understanding of Church, theology, and doctrine from a more profound understanding often require complexity.I welcome the difficulty should it provide a greater insight into the meaning of Church as the Living Body.

Although written from a Catholic perspective, de Lubac's engagement of the patristic teachers transcends the Orthodox-Catholic-Protestant divide.I would challenge all those who are serious about faith, doctrine, theology, and ecumenism to explore this book and "entertain" the possibility of the meaning of Church - that which our fathers and mothers in the faith deeply understood and embraced.

Reviewed by:Dr. Jeffrey Wincel (D.Min), author of "Climbing The Mountain of God, The Path to Mystical Discipleship" and "Defying the Trend, Business Ethics and Corporate Morality from a Faith Perspective."

Great and Important Book
Considered one of the most important books of 20th Century Catholic theology, this book is incredible. I was amazed at De Lubac's knowledge and handling of the Church Fathers. I came away with a deeper understanding of the social nature of Catholicism and the underpinnings of Communio theology. The only complaints I have are that a) there are too many footnotes and b)as someone whose Latin is very rusty and wasn't that good to begin with the Latin in the footnotes was almost worthless. I hope they come out with a translation that includes translations of the footnotes. The Appendix with excerpts, mainly of the Fathers, is great too.

Pick this book up and savor it.

amazon book purchase
theres some underlinging through out the book, but not much at all. its in really good shape for a used book.

Back to the Patristics
Fr de Lubac is known for his "rebellion" (tongue-and-cheek) against scholasticism, opting instead for a reading of early Church Fathers and doing theology through that lens, so-called Patrisitic theology.This book is essentially a synthesis of that concept, touching briefly on almost all areas of theology using the early Church fathers as guidance.Topics include the more standard ones like the Eucharist and the doctrine of God and Jesus, but there are also other ones that are less well known like the doctrine of salvation outside the Church.de Lubac has many quotes and whole chunks of writings from Origein, Cyril, Augustine, and many other Church fathers.

One aspect of the book that I was particularly interested in reading was a short section that de Lubac has on the interior life.It is my understanding that Fr. de Lubac had planned for most of his religious life to write an entire book devoted to the interior life, but never got around to doing so.This short section gave me a small glimpse into some of his ideas concerning the interior life and our relationship with God, though it could be argued that the whole book discusses our relationship with God in the sense of the interior life.

Although the book is a hard read (like all of de Lubac's books), it is very good and well worth it to devote some time to the writings of one of the greatest theologians of the 20th century.

A treasure which leads us to a deeper understanding of the nature of the Church


"He who beholds the Church really beholds Christ" says St Gregory of Nyssa; "Any soul, in cultivating its vineyard, cultivates that of his neighbour as well. The two are so closely united that no one can do good or evil to himself without doing good or evil to his neighbour at the same time. Together you form but one single, universal vineyard" (Saint Catherine of Siena). These are but two of the many many quotes of the patristic age and of the middle ages that De lubac cites and explains to lead us to an inner understanding of the mystery of catholic and orthodox christianity. The effects of subjectivisim and individualism, so prevalent in our culture, can affect us all in insidious ways. De lubac points to the deep mystical social nature of the ecclesia catholica. This is a treasure to be read and re-read with the wisdom of the centures at one's finger tips, so to speak. The one irritant is that some of the footnotes are in latin, which is a little off putting.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (102)

This book was FULL of Errors!!! What a waste of my time!!!
There are inumerous errors in this book! 100s in fact! Where do I start?...it leads me to ask the question, what in the world was this publisher thinking? Boettner's book stands upon the rantings of unhappy Catholics and the anti-Catholic works of people such as Paul Blanshard and his ilk. Relying upon such people is like relying upon your political candidate to tell you all the great stuff about their opponent! Blatantly unbalanced, Boettner theatricizes a parody of the Catholic view and simply refutes that. Sadly deficient.
It is unfortunate that this man did NOT do his homework when writing this unbalanced work. In the words of Karl Keating, "But he was not as interested in accuracy as in sensationalism, which is always the enemy of truth. This story is such a great blow against the Catholic Church-why spoil it with the facts?"
In my fact finding perusal at the library, I came across Karl Keating's book CATHOLICISM AND FUNDAMENTALISM. I suggest to all who are reading or have read Boettner's book to consider the sources Boettner uses, look up the facts and read Keating's book.

Roman Catholicism
Was so pleased to be able to purchase this excellent documentary book that is easy to read, yet contains so much good information.
Roman Catholicism

A great classic.
This work is truly a masterpiece!It is a classic that is full of facts.Not all the reviewers like this work, the truth hurts.

Academic Disaster
Being torn (and Protestant) I read this AND Keating's "Catholicism and Fundamentalism" and I have to say - Boettner would have gotten a firm "F" in a Divinity School for this.His Bibliography appears to be a random selection of books that may or may not have anything to do with the text.He makes claims that can be easily refuted by actually opening the texts he claims (very badly) to quote.Footnotes are required for a reason - if you take a quote, you must note the exact text and page.He relies on academic laziness in the hope that people won't actually go hunting and fishing to find some of his secondary heresay.If he doesn't botch the quote completely, he mis-attributes it or worse.His phenomenally bad grasp of Italian and Latin is the equivilent of claiming that because you eat at Taco Bell qualifies you to be Ambassador to Spain.His understanding of English is worse.This book has more mistakes than text.Simple examples:
1. The "chair" of St. Peter isn't a piece of furniture - it's like being a "Committee Chair."
2. To claim a the Bible was banned at a Church Council in Valencia in 1229.Problem: There never was a Church Council in Valencia, or that in 1229, Valencia was in Muslim control.
3. Boettner seems to confuse Connotative and Dennotative English ad-nauseum.He finds what he wants to find without regard to the context or intent of what the writer was trying to convey.

This is less an academic analysis of the Roman Catholic Church as a ranting blog with no accountability.

Romantic Anti-Romanism
The author, anti-dispensationalist postmillennialist Loraine Boettner, began his analysis (pp. 4-7), hit-job, on Roman Catholicism, published in July 1962 and October 1989,by insisting that the Papacy can not be considered a good bulwark against Russian communism and its expansion in Eastern Europe. Hmmm, kind of like Pope John Paul II was not a good ally of President Reagan ? John Paul II and his support of Solidarirty was not at all helpful ? It begins with intellectual incongruity and regresses on each page. Good laugh for those who read anti-Catholic propaganda. Read Boettner's anti-dispensationalist postmillennialism in his Millennium. ... Read more

Product Description
The Vatican. The Inquisition. Contraception. Celibacy. Apparitions and miracles. Plots and scandals. The Catholic Church is seldom out of the news. But what do its one billion adherents really believe, and how do they put their beliefs into practice in worship, the family, and society? This down-to-earth account goes back to the early Christian creeds to uncover the roots of modern Catholic thinking. It avoids getting bogged down in theological technicalities, and throws light on aspects of the Church's institutional structure and liturgical practice that even Catholics can find baffling: why go to confession? How are people made saints? What is 'infallible' about the Pope? Topics addressed include: • scripture and tradition • sacraments and prayer • popular piety• personal and social morality • reform, mission, and interreligious dialogue Lawrence Cunningham, a theologian, prize-winning writer and university teacher, provides an overview of Catholicism today which will be indispensable for undergraduates and lay study groups. ... Read more

Product Description
From the Pews in the Back is a book filled with questions about Catholic identity. How do young Catholic women see or define themselves? What is their relationship to the church? What are their struggles and joys? In a church that often consigns them to the pews in the back, what place are young women claiming? This collection of twenty-nine essays approaches these questions from a multitude of angles. These brief memoirs, together with the insights of editors Kate Dugan and Jennifer Owens, offer a glimpse into what it means to be young, Catholic, and female in today s church. These women wrestle with the Catholic faith and with the church. They ask hard questions of the institution and are not willing to take easy answers.
From the Pews in the Back is a new chapter in the dialogue about the role of women in the church. The voices of these women range from inspiring and energetic to challenging and wounded. Ultimately, though, these women are stubbornly hopeful. They are claiming a place in the church and are calling other Catholics to talk with them about this claim. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Lapsed but not lifeless
In the interest of full disclosure, I am friends with one of the contributors. Other things that bind me to this work are the facts that I am a Catholic since birth, not being given a choice at the time, and haven't bothered to change it since. But this isn't about me, it is about the brave women who took their faith seiously enough to expose their concerns, fears and yes, non-Catholic America, their hopes. While it is not mainstream and certainly even among Catholics might be on the outer edge does not diminish it's value. We are a nation of opinions, even those from arrogant talk show hosts or people on either side of the political spectrum, even Red Sox fans. Yet what makes this collection of essays so valuable to those of any faith is that these women were secure enough in their faith, however they define it, to put pen to paper, finger to keyboard or quill to papyrus.

I recommend this cornucopia of ideas to all those, again of any faith, to read, digest and apply to their own religious beliefs. This is a book that will provoke discussion, a frank exchange of ideas in a non-confrontational way which is what my Catholic Jesus would have wanted in my humble opinion. No opinion is wrong in this world. It is valued for it is a reasoned piece of one's soul bravely shared with the world which, in the last analysis enrichs us all. ... Read more

Product Description
This book is a readable, concise, and accessible introduction to the riches of the Catholic faith. It is both engaging and practical, gently leading the reader to a deeper knowledge of Catholicism and toward a loving encounter with Christ. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Basics Explained
My husband and I both use this text - him for the Jail/Prison ministry he coordinates and me for RCIA inquirers before we begin session in the fall.If the people who read this understand it, they're better catechized than most of the people sitting in the pews.

Good book
Excellent book, grew up catholic and strayed from the church in my late20's, now in my lated 30's I was looking for help in the faith dept. and in the knowledge of the church.I have a 7 yr old who is attending religous education and I felt I should have known more than I do.So I was also looking for some education. This book helped me see the catholic church thru different eyes.It's not hard core catechism, but it is factual.Just what I needed.

Excellent Overview
As a former RCIA student, and current practicing Catholic, I found this book an invaluable introduction to the Catholic faith. Pennock writes in a style that is very approachable, and provides concise answers to questions that a neophyte is likely to ask.

One may quibble with the organization, or dissect particular statements that Pennock makes, but I think that this misses the point. The books is meant to be a quick reference, not an exhaustive commentary on the entirety of the Catholic Faith.

I guess that the best recommendation that I can make is that Pennocks words were probably what most inspired me to become a practicing Catholic. Few other works, with the possible exception of Raymond Brown, whose works I also highly recommend, have done son.

The slacker's catechism
Reading the reviews of others on this page, I eagerly sought Pennock's little catechism.I was especially drawn to its Q&A format.

Right off the bat, however, I came across a fairly serious error.On page 39 under the question "What is papal infallibility?", Pennock states "Only once in the last one hundred years has the pope proclaimed an infallible teaching."

Pennock conflates ex cathedra pronouncements with the infallible teachings of the Ordinary Magisterium. The Pope has the gift of infallibility whenever he explicitly defines a matter of faith and morals (usually by using the locution "We define ...).So infallible teachings can be found in encyclicals and other Church documents that fall short of ex cathedra decrees.

Since the book has the imprimatur of Cleveland Bishop Anthony Pilla, I'm surprised this error made it through the censors.

"The Seeker's Catechism" also contains unenthusiastic phraseology like "The Church has taught ..." or "The Church claims ..."Relatedly, Pennock lapses into distracting inclusive language, e.g., using the word "human" instead of man.

Most alarming, though, is his depiction of Christ.In the chapter "Jesus: Lord and Messiah", we are first told that Christ is compassionate, self-giving and humble, but Pennock doesn't get around to addressing his divinity until the last page and then only places it in a list of dogmas.

Similarly, when answering the question "What is meant by the 'real presence'?", Pennock states that Jesus is present in the "assembly", the priest, and "the word", but he lists Christ's presence in the Eucharist - what the Catechism of the Catholic Church calls the "source and summit of the Christian faith" - last.

If what one "seeks" is a short catechism that is faithful to the teachings of the Church, purchase Bishop David Konstant's "The Faith of the Catholic Church."

The Entire Catechism - In 150 pages or less!
Michael Pennock once again provides the "basics" of the Catholic faith in a highly approachable format.Like his earlier text, "This is Our Faith" (also from Ave Maria Press), he reviews the teachings of the Church - the Trinity, the Sacraments, Prayer, you name it - without getting bogged down in too many details.Unlike his earlier work, he gives us the barest of the essentials without sacrificing scope."The Seeker's Catechism" is simply that - a tool for catechesis (teaching), R.C.I.A., and general reference to Catholicism.

The very size of this text - it can fit in your back pocket - matches its accessibility of the text.Anyone working in parish offices or programs - clergy, religious, religious educators - should own a copy, at the ready for those inevitable questions which come from visitors, students and the occasional detractor.

By making frequent reference to the "Catechism of the Catholic Church" and several important Church documents, he enables his readers to refer to the larger texts.This is important for those in catechetical programs (R.C.I.A. for example) as well as those Catholics looking for more information.One minor criticism here - Pennock makes reference to official Church documents by their English titles.Most publishers and Catholic church employees refer to the Latin titles of these publications, which could lead to some confusion.Also, I would have liked more scriptural references - a necessity when working with evangelicals and other Christians - but this does not detract from the strength of the text as a whole.

Given the near-vacuum of many Catholics with regard to many topics of the faith, not to mention the need of so many others who are seeking to join the Church, Pennock's text is a much-needed and highly usable instrument.I recommend this text to anyone and everyone. ... Read more

Product Description
Mere Catholicism explains in easily accessible, non-technical language the fundamental doctrines of Catholicism. It also shows how these doctrines follow naturally from the fundamental doctrines common to orthodox Christiansmere Christianity .Catholicism can mystify or even repel other Christians, while its complexities can confuse Catholics themselves. Ian Ker s stimulating book makes Catholicism come alive as the fullness of Christianity. ... Read more

Product Description
Spread The News, The Tide Is Turning. Many In The Media Are Full Of Doom & Gloom. Don't Believe Their Hype. The Facts Are In The Book & Outlined Below. This Book Is Simply Not Wishful Thinking. Below Are The Reasons Why The Tide Is Turning Vocations Are Increasing! The Laity Is Defending The Church In Many Ways The Youth's Faithfullness To The Church, Her Traditions & The Holy Father Has Undergone A Profound Resurgence Catholic Communications Such As Catholic Radio & Catholic Web Sites & Blogs Have Increased Profoundly A Deep Interest In Mary Is Being Witnessed Across The World Interest In The Eucharist & Eucharistic Adoration Is On The Rise Catholics Are Defending Their History & Teachings That Some In Secular Society Mock Or Don't Understand Need To Understand Your Catholic Faith, Her History & Her Teachings? This Book Is For You! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Great enthusiasm but stretches it a bit!!
The author starts with a convincing documentation of the effects of the ministry of John Paul II and Benedict VI on youth and vocations in selected places throughout the world and in the US. These are the strongest points. As he proceeds to make these linkages in other parts of the Church (education, lay involvement, etc), his argumentation devloves, somewhat into "de uno dicit omnes" (from one thing you conclude all things) and although the examples cited are interesting, they require much further analysis before conclusions of a significant turnaround can be made. One example of the stretch, in my humble opinion is in the return to classic church music.I think the point is that some modern music does not stimulate spiritual reflection,to which most can agree; however, the urging of a return to spiritual music is not meant to impy that all modern music fails the reflection goal. I think there is a very good idea in the theme of the book, but it needs much tightening

TURNING AWAY
If the tide is truly turning then why is the Vatican bemoaning the fact that so many Catholics are leaving the church to join protestant denominations.Until the church heirarchy starts facing the fact that their laws and prejudices are really turning Catholics away from the church, the tide will in fact be turning the other direction.

A very different take on things
Sick of hearing about the sexual scandals in the church, sick of Leno's unending swipes at our priests?Then you will enjoy this book, which brims over with cheery news about the state of Catholicism.

There was a decline in vocations, a very steep decline, in places where nuns tossed out their habits and seemed to lose their faith as well. But there is a growth spurt today in convents where orthodoxy is preserved. And in places like Asia and Africa, seminaries and convents are flooded with applicants.

When Pope John Paul "lay dying..an estimated five to seven million people came to Rome.It was the largest throng ever to attend a funeral...Some 70 percent of those mourners were younger than 25" (p 2). The secular press seemed perplexed that so many young people loved Pope John Paul. Andrew Sullivan, "the openly homosexual...editor..went on a literary rampage against the Pope...Against all the evidence...Sullivan said the late pontiff's papacy was a failure" (p 5).

In the United States, Catholicism seemed in grave trouble following the social upheavals of the 60's. Yet even here there has been a true turnaround. Much of this is due to one nun who had $200 and decided to found EWTN, the Catholic network.

This is a cheerful book with a lot of interesting information.

A Growing Grass-Roots Revolution Is The Source Of Good News
A grass-roots revolution is occurring within the United States Roman Catholic Church. I believe it is the result of several trends and events which includes: the aging of the population with a spiritual awakening of the "boomers" who are now trying to make sense of their lives; young adults who have not been impressed with secularism and all that it does not offer; the failure of relativism; Pope John Paul II (JP II); the sex abuse scandal involving Catholic clergy; the shortage of clergy in the US; and the rise of protestant fundamentalism.

Author David Hartline in his "The Tide Is Turning Toward Catholicism" highlights this grass-roots revolution by providing an overview of the visible signs marking its existence. He begins with Pope John Paul II's papacy, his death, the election of Pope Benedict VI, and the collective impact these have had on the Church.

The rest of the book expands on themes established by JP II with chapters on:

The Defenders of the Faith - Laity
Youth Embrace Catholic Traditions
The Growth of Orthodoxy in the Clergy and Religious Orders
Defenders of Faith - Clergy and Religious
There's Something About Mary
The Eucharist and the Catholic Embrace of It
Catholic Schools
Catholic Higher Education
Catholicism and Popular Culture
Catholic Athletes and Coaches
Mega-Churches, Salvation, and Other Debated Issues
The Decline of the Liberal Church
The Catholic Crusades - Mean Old Catholic Bullies or Defenders of the Faith
The Catholic Vote
Catholic Social Issues, Social Action and Good Works

While Hartline does a very good job outlining existing trends, "The Tide Is Turning Toward Catholicism" is not a quantitative work so it will be vulnerable to critics. Whether these trends continue to grow, strengthen and reshape the US Catholic Church is open for discussion. They do, however, exist.

Any orthodox Catholic seeking good news about the US Catholic Church will find "The Tide is Turning" to be very good news.

Good News for a Change
Tired of hearing what's wrong with the Church or listening the doomsayers predictions of a bleak future? In The Tide is Turning Toward Catholicism you will find an accurate account of what really is going on in the Catholic Church--and it is good news.
Author of the highly informative The Catholic Report blog, Dave Hartline shows that he has his finger on the pulse of the Church and sees a different picture than what is often portrayed in the media in the United States. One has only to think of the media's surprise at the overwhelming turn out for the funeral of Pope John Paul a few years ago, or the record breaking crowds that turn out to hear Pope Benedict XVI's weekly audiences and Angelus messages--much to the confusion of the popular media to see that not only is the tide turning as Hartline argues so convincingly but it threatens to be a tidal wave that will baptize an entire generation of undercatechized young people with an explosion of faith that would have seemed inconceivable only five or six years ago.
Hartline's book gives us all the positive message we've been missing out on. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Book is outstanding for RCIA students
I orginally bought this book to help me understand my religion while I was going thru the RCIA class to receive my sacraments. I realized how much I had forgotten or didn't know or understand. Once I completed my sacraments, I was asked to assist in the RCIA program, part of my responsibility was to find aids in assisting new students to feel more comfortable and to familarize themselves with Catholicism. This book has been used extensively to help the class with the basics. I will give you an example as to how well this book worked. A group consisting of two sisters, a brother and a fiancee (fiancee was converting to catholicism, a decision that was not easy for him because he was getting alot of backlash from his family) took turns reading from this book every night before dinner. It helped them to embrace their committment by understanding more their religion and what they were doing at Mass; what Holy Days of Obligation were about; Rosary, etc... They loved this book as much as I did because it was a great starter book. This made it easier for them to continue their studies with a better understanding of Catholicism.

The Everything Catholicism Book
Excellent overall view of the Catholic Church - very readable.Books were in very good condition as well.Thanks

I really want to give 0 star for this book
This book has given me a bad impression not only on the author but also on the whole "The Everything" series in general. I felt bad for myself because this negative impact almost made me miss a precious chance to read another book on Catholicism: "Catholicism for Dummies" by John Trigilio and Kenneth Brighenti. "Catholicism for Dummies" is the greatest book on Catholicism I have read so far: Catholicism for Dummies

Disappointing
I, like other reviewers, found this book to be biased and unreadable, but for different reasons.

I was raised Protestant, specifically, in a Presbyterian church, and then a non-denominational one, and am now agnostic.My boyfriend and his family are Catholic, and I found myself frequently confused by some of their beliefs and practices, so I bought this book. I was looking for something that would explain the Catholic doctrine in an unbiased manner.However, this book fails miserably.

I understand that the authors are both strong, active Catholics, and therefore, their writing will be affected.I found some of their statements insulting and demeaning to other faiths, and because their focus seems to be not on Catholic doctrine, but how other Christian faiths are wrong and they are right, I question the accuracy of the information in this book. And if the other reviewers, who ARE Catholic, find this book to be inaccurate, then I'm not sure that I want to be informed by these authors.

If you are a non-Catholic trying to understand the religion, DO NOT buy this book.

Good, unbiased read for the truly uninitiated!
The book does not have everything about the religion, but it has the basic information that I needed to understand Mass -- and I had never been to Mass before.I was able to learn about the traditions and history and beliefs of the church in an unthreatening way, without feeling "preached at."This book introduced me, helped me feel more comfortable at Mass,and inspired me to learn more, and to consider conversion. ... Read more

Product Description
For a long time, Christians have tried to bridge the divide between Christianity and secular liberalism with philosophizing and theologizing. In The Priority of Christ, Father Robert Barron shows that the answer to this debate--and the way to move forward--lies in Jesus. Barron transcends the usual liberal/conservative or Protestant/Catholic divides with a postliberal Catholicism that brings the focus back on Jesus as revealed in the New Testament narratives.

Barron's classical Catholic post-liberalism will be of interest to a broad audience including not only the academic community but also preachers and general readers interested in entering the dialogue between Catholicism and postliberalism. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Learned, passionate, profound
In this very ambitious book, Robert Barron tries to reconstruct Christian theology, so that it gets beyond the sterile dead ends of modernity and liberalism.The book is learned, profound and passionate.He gives a very well-reasoned analysis of modern philosophy and its limitations. That story, of course, begins with Descartes, Hume and Locke and comes down to Derrida. The problem with all of these thinkers, argues Barron, is that they focus only on the individual.Descartes, of course, argued that the only certain knowledge that we have is the self-knowledge of the thinking individual.The line of logic cuts off the individual from God, and from tradition.As the modern world developed this logic, it has essentially destroyed all certainty, leaving us with this postmodern mush of most educated people believing that all morality is relative and that even truth itself is fundamentally subjective.

The problem, Barron argues, did not start with Descartes.It started with Duns Scotus and William of Occam.Scotus argued that God and creatures (us, the world) share the same type of being.God, in this view, is a bigger, better and more powerful being, but still a being, not fundamentally dissmilar to the rest of us.This view contrasts sharply with that of Thomas Aquinas, who argued that God is not just bigger and better than creatures; God has a fundamentally different type of being.

This sounds like a hair-splitting medieval argument, of no concern to modern times.Barron strongly argues to the contrary.If God is fundamentaly the same as the rest of us, he argues, we get into all kinds of difficulties.That sort of God competes with us.That sort of God tends to be a tyrant, or, alternatively, a deist, watchmaker God with no real involvement with us.That sort of God, in short, is no damm good, in alot of ways, and it is precisely these problems with the view of God that have lead us to all of the intellectual sterility of our own era.

Barron argues that we need to return to a Thomist view of God, as having a being fundamentaly different from the being of creatures.This God does not compete with, or tyrannize over, the world. Because God has a being that is entirely different than ours, God and us can co-exist.Indeed, not only do we not compete with God; we are at our best, when we are closest to God.

Barron makes a very serious argument that, as a matter of rational philosophy, we need to start with the Gospel.The New Testament, of course, makes some very radical claims for Jesus.It says that he is the way, the truth and the light. Barron argues that we need to take this quite literally, that we can not reason successfully unless we start with Jesus.(This is, of course, a return to Anselm.With Anselm, Barron argues that we do not reason, in order to find faith, but rather faith comes first; without faith, we cannot reason.)

Barron also focuses a good deal on the specific content of what it means to reason through the lens of the Christ mind.First, this is why the Universe is understandable and intelligible.The Universe was created by the divine Logos, which is Jesus and which is reason incarnate.The Universe, in short, has an intelligent pattern, which we can find, because its basic nature is to be based upon the divine logos.

Second, the divine nature is to exist in relationship, and according to the Law of the Gift.If we grasp greedily at things, we end up with nothing.If we, on the other hand, accept the gifts of God, and pass them on to others without ego, then we perpetually have more than enough.Barron discusses this in a very profound way, starting with the parable of the Prodigal Son and, along the way, discussing and refuting Derrida's attack on the idea of the gift.

I strongly urge anyone intrested in either religion or philosophy to read this book.I think it is important that this book find an audience beyond Catholics.To Catholics, of course, the book is important, as a defense of and an elaboration upon traditional Thomist and Augustinian thought.It is more than that, though, because it shows how the Church can escape the bind it is so often in, of, on the one hand, defending an undemocratic past in a rigid way (think, Franco), and, on the other hand, launching itself into a modern world that seems to be nothing but mushy left-wing politics and has forgotten God (sorry, but think most of what the Jesuits teach these days.)Barron shows us a way out of this bind, toward a Church which is engaged with the past, the present and the future.It is a real tour de force.

To others, though, I think this book could give a great deal.Many of our Evangelical friends believe that being a Christian means that one is in opposition to much of the modern world and its high culture.In one sense, that is profoundly correct; many things in the modern world are quite corrupt and Godless, and Christians must oppose them.In another sense, however, this is not correct.Christians should not be afraid of philosophy and higher education.This is one of the great gifts of the Church to the rest of the Christian world; it shows how to reconcile the highest and most advanced forms of science and philosophy with the truth of the Gospel.Barron is an excellent guide to that.

On the other side, many of our athiest friends see religion as unalterably opposed to reason and freedom.It has been common, since the Enlightenment, for educated people to believe that religion enslaves men's minds and oppposes science. That view is correct, with regard to certain types of religion.It is not correct, however, with regard to the authentic Christian tradition of the Church.Even for non-believers, Barron's book is important, in that it shows that Christian though is of the utmost seriousness philosophically, and it deeply challenges other ways of thought. ... Read more

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Romantic writers had found in Christianity a poetic cult of the imagination, an assertion of the spiritual quality of beauty in an age of vulgar materialism. The decadents, a diverse movement of writers, were the climax and exhaustion of this romantic tradition. In their art, they enacted the romance of faith as a protest against the dreariness of modern life. Ellis Hanson teases out two strands--eroticism and aestheticism--that rendered the decadent interest in Catholicism extraordinary. More than any other literary movement, the decadents explored the powerful historical relationship between homoeroticism and Roman Catholicism. Why, throughout history, have so many homosexuals been attracted to Catholic institutions that vociferously condemn homosexuality? This perplexing question is pursued in this elegant and innovative book.

Late-nineteenth-century aesthetes found in the Church a peculiar language that gave them a means of artistic and sexual expression. The brilliant cast of characters that parades through this book includes Oscar Wilde, Charles Baudelaire, J.-K. Huysmans, Walter Pater, and Paul Verlaine. Art for these writers was a mystical and erotic experience. In decadent Catholicism we can glimpse the beginnings of a postmodern valorization of perversity and performativity. Catholicism offered both the hysterical symptom and the last hope for paganism amid the dullness of Victorian puritanism and bourgeois materialism.

Customer Reviews (2)

Flawed but fascinating work that fills important gaps
People today will know far too well for discussion the vehement condemnation of extramarital sex by the Vatican, whilst those with a broad reading like me will have an idea of how they can defend their position on practical and historical grounds. What will surprise people, then, is how sensual many nineteenth and early twentieth-century aesthetes found Catholicism's rituals, and the result that people who were (and sometimes remained) by the Church's standard extremely sinful in their sexual behaviour at times could see such sin as useful and even as concordant with the rituals involved in Catholic and High Anglican faith. It is thought that they managed to discover grace in the heart of such sins. There is also the element of mysticism that often was very shocking to readers of the time the writers wrote.

"Decadence and Catholicism" is essentially a study of the modernist literary movement, popularly descried as "art for art's sake" and involving a fascination with the pagan, mystical aspects of Catholicism even as it professed atheism. What Ellis Hanson shows (and I knew from Elizabeth Kantor) about the attraction of High Church ritual for such literary modernists as Rimbaud, Paul Verlaine, Oscar Wilde and especially J.K. Huysmans, who of the lay writers studied was the most full-fledged covert to Rome is that it was related to the surprising beauty inherent when a Catholic knows of sin. There is also curiously a sense of the Church as a corrupt ("decadent" in another sense) but wondrous institution in many of these writers.

"Decadence and Catholicism" begins with Poe and Baudelaire, neither of whom ever converted to Christianity but whose work nonetheless is filled with a mixture of sensuality and highly Christian symbolism. The point that the erotic satanism for which Baudelaire was so controversial in his heyday was a back root to the Church is one I can particularly relate from my experience listening to Kate Bush and Bryan Ferry, whose work in many places carries this theme. This is also true of Paul Verlaine, whose moving from sensual to explicitly religious subjects reminds me of the above-mentioned musicians, and whose public behaviour remained controversial even after he attempted to convert to Catholicism as a prisoner.

Huysmans, as mentioned earlier, was a much more reliable convert than Verlaine, but Hanson shows quite easily that the "decadent" and "Catholic" parts of his career overlap with quite good detail, and Oscar Wilde, noted heavily by Kantor as a decadent attracted to Rome, is also very well-described, especially with respect to his meetings with Pius IX and Leo XIII and his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. The last full chapter, "Priests and Acolytes", looks at a number of decadents who actually became Catholic priests, the best-known being John Gray and Frederick Rolfe. One at times wonders why the Church hierarchy did not censor them given what they were apparently writing, and the detail given is not as good as with the better-known writers earlier in "Decadence and Catholicism".

There are quite a few flaws in the book. Many have noted that the origin of the "decadent" movement is not clearly defined, nor (since High Anglicanism is covered deeply) is "Catholicism". There is also the point that the root of the idea that sin is useful lies, as Sara Maitland (perhaps the nearest modern writer in spirit hereto) points out, in the mystical theology of Julian of Norwich and other medieval mystics. The way in which the movement ended is also treated poorly: the fact that such Catholic and High Anglican converts as Evelyn Waugh, Graham Greene and W.H. Auden had a faith that was highly moralistic and without room for decadence. Another factor is that whilst "Decadence and Catholicism" points out that the authors concerned saw extramarital sexuality as generally sinful, it does not emphasise this, describe how they sublimated their sexual desires, or contrast it with the already nascent movement to eliminate sinfulness from sexuality. Another point which I can note myself is that High Church ritual may be an attraction to cope with psychological problems quite different from what Hanson thinks. Having spoken about Eric Gill to autism expert Michael Fitzgerald, I think it possible that part of the attraction of "Catholicism" may relate to someone lacking in empathy through autism being perversely attracted to an institution that requires qualities diametrically opposed to those associated with autism. Gerard Manley Hopkins, briefly mentioned in the book, is widely though of as having Asperger's Syndrome and my point may apply to some others in this book. Although the way in which Hanson likens the homoeroticism he describes in early twentieth-century High Church life it to gender-bending gives me doubt, it is an omission nonetheless.

All in all, "Decadence and Catholicism" is a fascinating read on topics that appear to be contradictory. They can I feel be linked by the desire to symbolically revive the mystical "right" brain in an industrialising Western culture (Leonard Shlain could have used this book in writing the latter parts of The Alphabet Versus the Goddess). though the books ends are not very well-tied to the body of the volume, it is very easy for me to relate what Hanson shows here to both medieval mysticism and the 1960s counterculture. Combined with the information it provides on important writers, it stands as quite a good read.

Decadence or Incarnational Reality?
As the editorial reviews state, those of orthodox stripes will likely dismiss this book out of hand, especially those uneasy with homo/sexuality.After re-reading the text, to me the author appears to have unwittinglyidentified the uneasy tension in Catholicism between having an otherworldlyoutlook and being an Incarnational faith.Most interesting were theconnections between liturgical norms and sexuality, with the elaborateliturgical choreography and vesture of both Catholic and Anglican"High Church" as an expression or sublimation of sexual energies. Overall the book is interesting for its stories and implications--and ifthe book offends, readers must sort out if offense is caused 1) by the textwith unwarranted assumptions or 2) the tension existant in Christian lifeabout whether to best express sexuality through ascetism or an artisticappreciation of the senses. ... Read more

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Product Description
In today's ecumenical world, Evangelicals need to understand what Catholicism is and how easily it mixes with non-Christian religions. That's why "Is Catholicism Biblical?" was written.Some Evangelical pastors are promoting Catholic mysticism and contemplative prayer. But where do such things lead? At the end of the road, we find Catholic monks who say that they want to be good Buddhists; and Catholic priests who act like gurus, call Hindu temples a "sacrament," and say that non-Christians are their brothers and sisters in Christ."Is Catholicism Biblical?" reveals what is hiding behind Rome's modern, ecumenical image. It presents complex subjects in a clear, straightforward manner that is easy to understand. It confronts troubling issues with compassion and objectivity.Come explore the world of Catholicism, where grace can be "merited" and Mary is said to have a "saving office." Then be like the Bereans and compare what you see with Scripture. ... Read more