Book Description
To read and understand the forty-six books of the OldTestament is a daunting challenge for most Catholics. The Old Testament canseem overwhelmingly lengthy, and the books that comprise it are a diverseand often confusing collection of poetry, prophecies, fables, andhistorical texts, written in a style and form unfamiliar to modern readers.

Jim Campbell's The Stories of the Old Testament turns this otherwiseintimidating task into an eminently achievable and highly enjoyablejourney. Campbell gently leads the reader through the central texts,essential stories, and major figures of the Old Testament in one hundredcarefully selected readings, each designed to be completed in just onesitting. He provides a guide for each reading, and, throughout the book,dozens of short supplemental essays supply the background and commentaryneeded to properly understand the stories from Genesis to Malachi.

By reading this book, the reader will not only gain an understanding of andappreciation for the people and events of the Old Testament, but also cometo see his or her own place in the ongoing and ever-growing story of God'sprovidence and grace. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Best product I bought from Amazon.com
Excellent purchase. I bought one for myself and my father. Nice read if you do not want to read the old scriptures in latin in the Bible. I would reccomend this book to anyone wanting to know about the Old Testament. I would consider making other purchases along these lines. price was a winner too!

A candid and insightful discussion, highly recommended for self-study or as a supplementary resource for bible study groups.
Theologian Jim Campbell presents The Stories of the Old Testament: A Catholic's Guide, a guide for Catholic readers to the central texts, stories, and figures of the Old Testament. One hundred carefully chosen readings from the Old Testament are discussed at length. "When Job's friends tell Job that he is refusing to admit his wickedness, Job replies that his complaint is bitter: he has not made the violence that stalks the earth. Job's friends ask how anyone can stand in a right relationship with God. Job replies that God's ways are a mystery no one can fathom. What is fascinating about the dialogue is that Job's friends seem so sure that they know the answers to Job's dilemma. They do not for an instant consider Job's side of the story or ask questions of either Job or God. Without questioning or listening hearts, they cannot begin their own journey into the heart of God." A candid and insightful discussion, highly recommended for self-study or as a supplementary resource for bible study groups. ... Read more

Book Description
In this provocative work, which could not be timelier, Garry Wills, one of our country's most noted writers and historians, offers a powerful statement of his Catholic faith.Beginning with a reflection on his early experience of that faith as a child and later as a Jesuit seminarian, Wills reveals the importance of Catholicism in his own life.He goes on to challenge, in clear and forceful terms, the claim that criticism or reform of the papacy is an assault on the faith itself.For Wills, a Catholic can be both loyal and critical, a loving child who stays with his father even if the parent is wrong. Wills turns outward from his personal experiences to present a sweeping narrative covering two thousand years of church history, revealing that the papacy, far from being an unchanging institution, has been transformed dramatically over the millennia -- and can be reimagined in the future.At a time when the church faces one of its most difficult crises, Garry Wills offers an important and compelling entre into the discussion of the church's past -- and its future. Intellectually brisk and spiritually moving, Why I Am a Catholic poses urgent questions for Catholic and non-Catholic readers alike. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (45)

Why popes need the Church and vice versa
Garry Wills is a paradox. He viciously attacks some of his Church's most public teachings, harshly questions the competence and motives of its leadership and challenges its image of itself. He is also madly in love with it, appreciating it for what it has managed to retain of its mission and calling. He is liberal and old-fashioned - a pre-Vatican-II-born Catholic who wields a pen-sword of truth in one hand, a rosary in the other and knows how to use both.

"Why I Am a Catholic" is Wills's response to the criticism he received from some quarters about his previous book, "Papal Sins." Many (including this reviewer) saw that book as an attack on celibacy, priesthood and the papacy. Not so, says Wills. A more careful reading would have shown it to be an attack was on the "structures of deceit" that the Church has built into itself. These structures defend celibacy, for instance, by knowingly twisting the meaning of scripture to fit pre-conceived conclusions. Wills doesn't seem to care whether the Church teaches celibacy, opposes contraception or reserves the priesthood to men. He detest the Church when it relies on untruths, selective history, outdated philosophy and bad scholarship to do so. Wills argues loudly and persuasively that using lies to sell truth is ultimately a losing proposition. And, I might add, even a diabolical one.

This volume attempts to set the record straight. But as the Church has allowed such an overgrowth of pietism, nonsense and superstition to flourish, Wills is compelled yet again to wield his machete of truth-telling with his characteristic vigor.

This book, which should have been called "Why Popes Matter," is written in three-parts. Part I details Wills's childhood and education. Raised in difficult economic times in the Midwest, he received his education at the hands of the Jesuits. At the time, this order was a fusty version of its old vigorous self, relying more on fleshly mortifications and [...]-retentive rule-mongering than on the innovative spiritual experiments of its founder, Ignatius of Loyola. Wills loved his teachers, though the curriculum was a straightjacket that forbade forays into secular literature, something suffocating to a nimble mind like Wills's. Still, he felt enough of a pull to consider joining the Jesuits, though he soon dropped out before making vows.

Part II, the longest, is a fairly detailed exposition of the history of the papacy. Wills makes it clear throughout that the term "papacy" is a misnomer for the institution, a modern concept retrojected into the history of the bishops of Rome to legitimize their rule and position. Wills starts with Peter, the bumbling disciple of Christ, his denier, his misunderstander, but ultimately, the one to whom he entrusted his sheep. Wills follows Peter to his likely execution in Rome, but makes the now-familiar case that Peter was no bishop of that city, even less so a pope. The same can be said of a number of men who followed Peter as leaders of the local Church. Not until the start of the first century can anyone be said to have possessed the self-awareness of being a bishop of Rome. Wills provides a fascinating glimpse into the relationship between the bishop of Rome and the rest of the Church. From its earliest days, Rome was an apostolic church, along with Alexandria, Jerusalem and Antioch. But it was a weak sister. The Council of Nicaea in 325 was dominated by the intellects of the Eastern Church, with a few stragglers from backwards and intellectually unsophisticated places like Rome.

From this inauspicious beginning, Wills traces the history of the papacy (still a misnomer, but useful shorthand) through its early years, through the glorious fiasco of the Middle Ages and into the modern time. Wills paints the institution as having been sometimes in serious error, even heresy; beholden to some princes (Constantine, Charlemagne and Otto) and imperiously superior to others; land-holding and land-broke; alternately dismissive of and dependent on councils; lashing out at modernity (and democracy and free speech) and embracing those same values. Wills spends much space on the more well-documented recent history of the Church -especially with the landmark Second Vatican Council. He ends with the papacy of John Paul I (still alive as Wills went to print this book in 2003) and with tantalizing glimpses of a certain "bete noir," Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI. These latter two men are seen rightly by Wills as attempting to undo the "liberalizing" tendencies of Vatican II. Where V2 stressed the collegiality of bishops, JP2 and BB16 have worked hard to neutralize the autonomy of bishops and impress their own autocratic vision of Church "unity".

Ultimately, Wills ends this section with the idea to which the entire book has been leading. This is the idea that the papacy is part of the carsism of Peter" - the gospel-based leadership that Christ bestowed on Peter. But he innovates by counterbalancing this centralizing tendency with the need for the Church as a whole to correct Peter. Having laid out the history of the popes, it is very easy to see where the Church - through individual bishops like Augustine, to councils and even the tendency of the laity to resist dangerous innovation - have pushed the papacy. Together, both the papacy and the Church have corrected each other, and have ultimately kept each other on the narrow path. Wills see this kind of corrective action in the resistance of the laity to papal edicts attempting to limit discussion of birth control and male priesthood.If the laity only knew the power that it had.

Part II of the book, is a short excursus on the Apostle's Creed. This material is interesting, but not central to Wills's thesis.
Garry Wills empbioesb the best in Catholic scholarship. He is devout without being obsequious; a son of the Church not afraid to warn his Mother she is driving the family over a cliff. His gift is to cut through thr cloying and self-serving faced that Church officials construct for themselves, blasting away until he gets to the Rock - not Peter in this case, but Christ, whose spirit continues to enliven the Church.

Very moving, yet deeply wrongheaded, book
Gary Wills has written many excellent books on American history.His accounts of the Federalist Papers, the Declaration of Independence and the Gettysburg Address are all very solid and useful contributions.

Wills is also a Catholic.He is the sort of American Catholic who is always waiting for the "next Pope" or the "next Vatican Council" which will once and for all sweep away all of the medieval nonsense and make the Catholic Church indistinguishable from the more liberal "mainstream" churches.As Wills describes in this book, he went to seminary for a few years, lost his vocation and ended up as a writer who was still very interested in Church issues. His perspective is distinctly liberal.He hated John Paul II and he hates Benedict XVI with a passion.He wrote an earlier book, Papal Sin, that basically trashed the papacy as much as possible.

That book, not surprisingly got Wills a fair amount of abuse from Catholics who regard him as a traitor.One of the purposes of this book is to explain why Wills never left the Church.(Hence the title.)This part of the book is, to me, quite moving.He gives a very passionate defense of the virtues of remaining in communinion with the Church even when you disagree with her.This part of the book is an absolutely classic statement of some of the central Catholic virtues.

He then goes off the rails to spend the rest of the book attacking the papacy, again, and trashing John Paul II and his evil German Panzer Cardinal Ratzinger.I am sorry, but on this I am totally out of sympathy with him.He acts as if the problems with the Church are all caused by the Pope.In my view, it is the inspired leadership of John Paul II and Ratzinger/Benedict XVI who have kept the Church from collapsing.All of the other mainstream churches have all gone liberal, gone secular and fallen apart. Thanks to the rock-like leadership of John Paul II, the Church came into the modern world, but never became of the modern world.

I do not understand Wills' generation.My parents were the same way.They are all hellbent on liberalizing the Church, and they do not undertand that, if the Church did what they wanted, it would cease being the Church, and it would fall apart.If you disagree, look at the recent history of the Episcopal Church, which took the path that Wills urges upon the Catholic Church.While one can certainly make good political arguments for all of the reforms of the Episcopal Church, the net result is a deeply secular church which is losing all of its members at a rapid rate.Why go to church, if all it teaches is a re-affirmation of secular liberal values?What is the Church for, if it capitulates entirely to the modern world?

Wills and his generation will never understand any of this.Thank God, they never took supreme power in the Church.They did, however, do a tremendous amount of damage.Despite all this, Wills is an intelligent man and a powerful writer and there is alot here.

An objective account written in honesty and love.
Garry Wills describes the long and difficult journey of a 2,000 year old church, much like the Old Testament Hebrew writers approached the complex tale of the Israelites -- stories of courage, faith, struggles, pain, persecution, vanity, sinfulness and redemption.

In order to see the Holy Spirit at work, sometimes we have to step back and give ourselves a little time for contemplation and reflection. By pulling all of the pieces of history together for us in one continuing narrative, Garry Wills reaches far richer conclusions than might first be grasped -- and for that gift, this catechist is forever in the author's debt.

Perhaps Wills only error in judgment was that he presupposed a significant degree of psychological, academic, and spiritual maturity on the part of his largely Catholic audience.

If you did not approach this book within that context; read it again.

What being a Catholic really means
Garry Wills has a vast knowledge of the history of the Catholic Church, and uses it to great effect in this book. He says "The job of a loyal Catholic is to give support (of the Church) that is not uncritical, or unreasoning, or abject, but one that is clear-eyed and yet loving." And he does just that in this book. "Why I Am A Catholic" makes fascinating reading.

Wills' Take On Catholic History
Garry Wills' WHY I AM CATHOLIC examines the history of Catholicism and how it correlates with Wills' own Catholic belief. The book is divided into three sections, which begins with Wills' explanation of the writing the book, he proceeds to provide an extensive and chronological examination of the history and the hierarchy of the Catholic Church (a crash course to Catholic history 101) from its inception to the present state, and concludes with the Apostles creed and how it relates to his core theme of the book, why he remains loyal to the Church and its creed.

WHY I AM CATHOLIC is not an autobiography of Wills' religious life. However, he provides minimal accounts of his association as a young man who once studied to become a priest, but preferred scholarly pursuits towards Classical studies.Furthermore, his Catholic beliefs and loyalty towards the church remains an important aspect in his life in spite of the current overtones of corruption and sexual abuse that has existed throughout its history.

Wills' expertise in Classical studies and an interest in religious history placed the history of the Catholic Church within the context of World history. This was the informative part of WHY I AM CATHOLIC.However, if Wills' intention was to convince readers of his loyalty to the Church, his discussion of the Catholic religion, and how it relates to his personal view was somewhat buried in the mix.
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Product Description
Color Artist illustrated boards First Ed hardcover 1960 Imprimatur is Francis Cardinal Spellman high quality paper private press beautiful book ... Read more

Book Description
CARNEYVILLE is a controversial novel recounting the indelible memories of Patrick Kelly from 1959 to 1967 in a strict Catholic seminary. In reconstructing the past, he can't help but comment on the current travails of the Church, specifically those deviant priests who had reputations for victimizing youth or engaging in sexual liaisons with men or women. Kelly speculates about the deep and multi-faceted psychodynamics of sexual abuse by priests and the enabling institutional factors that permitted this evil to become so pervasive and long-lasting. Specific cases are cited of former colleagues and senior clerical personnel in the religious order he had joined.

The thrust of the book is, however, on the young man's memory of those times, his idealism and ambition to succeed, the beliefs and expectations he brought to the seminary experience, his bitter disillusionment and his eventual turning away after eight years. His entry into so-called civilian life was in the mid-sixties, a time rife with events that probably fueled his propulsion from that cloistered place.

Throughout the story Kelly remembers a priest who influenced him. He traces the evolution of this model priest, who gained some power and reputation, but eventually fell far because of his own weaknesses. But he resurrected himself within his faith and continues today, a kind of symbol of the survival of the priesthood, albeit heroically. The contrast of our protagonist to this priest over the years, how they both, for better or worse, faced the harshness of cultural, psychological and spiritual challenges, makes for an fascinating story.

The narrative is at times irreverent, an obvious channel of great anger toward the Church for the writer, but it takes our now-aging author to task as well. Although he is not saved in the traditional Christian sense, he is at peace with that chapter of his life. His recollections have forced him to look deeply within himself for the meaning of his own life, and he realizes an awakening of compassion, sensitivity and forgiveness. What he considered lost years of youth are now a source of self-discovery that liberate him from his long resentment. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Interestingbut bitter
As a product of the seminary system myself, albeit 15 years after our hero, I was stunned by the similarity of experience. Despite the passage of time, and the historic changes in the Catholic Church, the seminary system, with its petty rivalries and repressed sexuality, survives intact.
This book,although chronicling the passage through a very confused and destructive formation system, has deep flaws.
First, Jim Murphy, carrying around deep anger and resentment even after all these years (I can only hope he felt purged after writing this, otherwise it's very disturbing!) would have been far better to write an autobiography rather than pen this as "fiction".The transparency of the main character reveals Jim Murphy just below the surface. The interlaced journaling thoughts throughout the story are rife with anger and resentment that would be more appropriate for a private counseling session.
The conclusion of the story is disappointing.Murphy glosses over years of theology training in just a few pages, as if there were nothing there to really discuss as it wasn't powered along by anger.
Finally, the book is filled with misspellings and grammar errors (fax pas?The Beetles?).Whoever the editors were for these pages deserve to have their licenses revoked!
A fun, fairly quick read for former angry seminarians, and those wanting some glimpse of the origin of sexual abuse in the priesthood, but otherwise take a pass. ... Read more

Book Description
For 2,000 years, Catholicism—the largest religion in the world and in the United States—has shaped global history on a scale unequaled by any other institution. But until now, Catholics interested in their faith have been hard-pressed to find an accessible, affirmative, and exciting history of the Church.
Triumph is that history. Inside, you'll discover the spectacular story of the Church from Biblical times and the early days of St. Peter—the first pope—to the twilight years of John Paul II. It is a sweeping drama of Roman legions, great crusades, epic battles, toppled empires, heroic saints, and enduring faith. And, there are stormy controversies: Dark Age skullduggery, the Inquistition, the Renaissance popes, the Reformation, the Church's refusal to accept sexual liberation and contemporary allegations like those made in Hitler's Pope and Papal Sin.
A brawling, colorful history full of inspiring pageantry and spirited polemic, Triumph will exhilarate, amuse, and infuriate as it extols the glories of Catholic history and the gripping stories of its greatest men and women.


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (39)

Great history and very entertaining
A very good historical record of the Church that pulls no punches and is a very fun and witty read. Triumph reads more like a novel than a history book. One word of caution however this book is not for "liberal Catholics". Mr. Crocker speaks the truth without worrying about "ecumenical" and other feel good I'm okay your okay gobledeegook
A must read for any serious Catholic who wants to know about the Triumph of Christs church through the ages.

A future classic
This book is an easy to read history of the Church.He shows all our flaws as well as the good.Our beautiful Catholic Church has humans and that said, will have many flaws, but it will always stand as the true Church.This is a good book for someone who doesn't like to read heavy historical information.There's a bit of humor as well.I hope to see more of Mr. Crocker's writing in future.

The worst history of Catholic church ever penned
This is quite possibly the worst history of the Catholic church ever written: it is a tale told by an idiot, an idiot too stupid to appreciate the intellectual depths of his own church, while trying to simultaneously pander to the American Protestant sects he despises so much.

Try Paul Johnson or Eamon Duffy.

Crocker is either stupid, a fool, an idiot, or a hypocrite. You can do better.

A very good popular history!
John Henry Cardinal Newman (a convert to Catholicism) said, "to be steeped in history is to cease to be Protestant".

Well, start here...this is a smart, engaging read!

Fun read
As a faithful, orthodox, Catholic this book was a fun read for me. It presents an entirely factual and pro-Catholic view of the history of the Church. It is unapologetically triumphalist (just see the title!) and well footnoted.

It is, however, not a serious work of academic history. It is more of a "'History of Christendom' for Dummies." (more on the History of Christendom later) In its defense, it doesn't pretend to be anything else. However, I wish the book had more academic heft. Writing a book like this will engage people. When they are engaged, it is nice to prevent them from having ready and easy criticisms.

Several reviews here (all protestant and/or secularist and stinging with righteous indignation) point out the books flaws. Crocker uses secondary sources too much. He engages in too much polemic. He doesn't tell both sides of the story. These criticisms, while they contain some validity, are overblown.

Writing an unbiased history was not Crocker's purpose. Pick up the dust jacket, look at the design, and read the flaps and the book itself tells you that. Unlike several anti-Catholic "history" books regarding the reformation I have picked up, this book does not pretend to be unbiased. Peruse the reviews of Crocker's book and one sees that many Protestants still have the gall to claim that only fellow Protestants can write unbiased histories of the reformation.

Writing a pro-Catholic history of the Catholic Church was Crocker's purpose. If one can't deduce that from looking at the jacket, then one has poor deductive reasoning skills! Interestingly enough, despite the books flaws, his case is relatively strong. Even critics of Crocker point out that he doesn't share any false information in this book.

The use of secondary sources is not as inappropriate as one reviewer claims. MANY, MANY modern histories of ancient times rely on secondary sources. There just isn't that much primary source material out there for some events. Historiography would not exist as a discipline if everyone just went to the primary documents and told the limited tale they could find there.

So why just 3 stars? Despite the fact that I will defend Crocker's right to make a case regarding the history of the Church to anyone, I simply don't like the book's approach. It is fun and funny; yet it is supposed to be history. Crocker can write, but he is no historian. He writing style is flip, irreverent, and arrogant. I often feel that books written in this manner are insulting my intelligence. For instance, I don't care much for Ann Coulter either. She and Crocker have a similar writing style, and a similar taste for polemics.

Furthermore, Crocker has his culturally protestant leanings which are left over from before his conversion. Too often I have seen him in interviews criticizing the Magesterium he proclaims to defend. The grounds of his seemingly constant criticism of the last two popes? They failed to support the US invasion of Iraq. Just read his sections on the Crusades in this book to see Crocker's pro-war bias. Crocker is so pro-war that it makes my eyes hurt to read his stuff.

Because of these flaws, I am forced to give Crocker's book 3 stars out of five; I would recommend alternate readings to get one started on Catholic history that do not suffer from Crocker's weaknesses.

Warren H. Carroll for instance is a scholar of serious weight. He holds a Ph.D. in history from Columbia University and is the founder and past president of Christendom College.

His EXCELLENT multi volume series on the History of Christendom (each volume roughly 500 pages or so) is the real deal. It tells much the same history Crocker tells, but he tells it with SERIOUS scholarly ammunition: the best sources, the best argumentation, and the best writing. He has counterarguments against other scholars at the ready and engages his colleagues in his copious footnotes. Even though Carroll's books are LONG, they are engaging and read easily. He stays away from using too much academic jargon; any reasonably educated person could read them.

I found the Cleaving Of Christendom: History Of Christendom Vol 4, which is the volume that deals with the reformation, most engaging and informative. If one finds Crocker too simplistic, too flippant, too over the top, I would check out Dr. Carroll's work. ... Read more

Book Description
Capturing the heartbeat of the Roman Catholic way of life, Conversations with Catholics provides an insightful glimpse into the way Catholics think about God, the Church, getting to heaven, and the practice of their religion. With a compassionate heart, Jim McCarthy shares real-life stories that contrast Catholicism with biblical Christianity and point the way to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Discover:? How tradition has shaped what Catholics believe ? The challenges a born-again Catholic faces in leaving the Church ? Key insights for sharing the life-giving gospel with Catholics Cross-referenced with the Catechism of the Catholic Church.Includes subject and scripture indexes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK!
This book is so ignorant that it is offensive.Don't waste your money or your time.I just threw my copy in the trash after spending time reading at least half of it.Don't bother...

Catholicism from an Anti-Catholic!
An absolute waste of money and time to read this pack of lies.
Do yourself a favor, if you're really interested in learning the truth of Catholicism, pick up a Catholic Bible and a Catechism of the Catholic Church and study them. Reading this book to learn anything about Catholicism is like a devout Muslim teaching what Jews believe.

Intellectually dishonest
Even among evangelicals and fundamentalists, the usual anti-catholic crew are finding that they have lost all credibility. Combine his inability to write a proper sentence, with intellectual dishonesty, and lack of any worth while scholarship, this book proves once again that anti-catholics have no business speaking about or judging the Catholic faith. They are not qualified. The author contradicts himself throughout this book and shows that he lacks even a very basic understanding of the Catholic faith. Sure, fundamentalists can continue to sustain themselves in their own little closed circle, refusing to have their claims examined, refusing to engage in discussion and think with intellectual honesty, but they will continue to ever be taken seriously by theCatholic community, and much less, by the academic community. This book is an insult to people who do real work in theology and biblical studies, both Protestant and Catholic alike.

Please
Relatively easy to order. The only problem found, product offering should be updated before getting into the order processing "as is". It forces the user to start up the finding process, that may create customers to leave site.

Hilarious! You mean people fall for this book?
A friend who converted from Roman Catholicsm gave me this book hoping to help "save" me from the church I left.

I was visiting his house and read the first chapter while there.I never laughed so hard in my life.I have since been re-reading each chapter and sending him rebuttals.

The author seems to wish to subsitiute the infallibility of the Pope with the infalibility of his own interpetation of scripture, and from the text many weak Catholics are falling for it.He talks of Satan's plan to use the Church yet his misses Satan's actual plan, I quote from my rebuttal to Chapt 4:

"The basic plan is simple:First divide the church, (the initial reformation) then divide the dividers.This is why there are thousands of different denominations. They are copies of copies of copies each one losing a bit of the truth along the way.Think of it this way:Luther said in the initial break that there are only two sacraments (Baptism & Communion), Your denomination only recognizes Baptism although it may not call it a sacrament.The Jehovah's Witnesses don't recognize the divinity of Christ and so it goes.This is how some protestant churches have reached the point where married gay clergy is a point of discussion instead of a settled known sin."

C.S. Lewis warned of this:

"You will say that these are very small sins...remember, the only thing that matters is the extent to which you separate the man from the Enemy. It does not matter how small the sins are, provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing." (screwtape letters chapt 12)

Maybe Mr. McCarthy doesn't understand what he is doing when he attacks the Church but he sure isn't going to convert any but the very ignorant or very guilt ridden looking to blame the church for their sins.(again the easy way out) with this thing.








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Book Description
Treating Southern Catholicism in functional and symbolic terms and relating it to the culture of the region, this study indeed represents a pioneering effort, a comprehensive examination of what it was like to be a Catholic in the slaveholding, predominantly Protestant South. In the editors introduction (Miller) and afterword (Wakelyn), they provide an incisive overview of a heretofore neglected field. ... Read more

Book Description
The Old Catholic Church of the United States is a Catholic Family of Faith, based within the United States. As inheritors of Apostolic Succession from the Western Latin (Catholic) Church, the Ancient Oriental Churches and the Eastern Byzantine (Orthodox) Churches, we possess a rich theological heritage. We are a sacramental church, embracing the fullness of Christianity as expressed within Catholic understanding. We stand, holding fast to the teachings of the ancient faith, in a modern society that is often hostile, towards Christians in general and Catholics in particular, and choose to obey the timeless message of Christ rather than yield to the "Spirit of the Age".

Customer Reviews (1)

What is a catechism?
As is often the case in Old Catholic publication history, this text is one of a kind in many ways.While it is first and foremost a catechism, an `instruction book' if you will for the Old Catholic Church of the United States (a particular jurisdiction within the larger body of Old and Independent Catholic entities that populates the religious landscape in America), it holds a good deal of information in an informative and organised fashion for members of other jurisdictions.

The first chapter explores the purpose of this (and more, generally, a) catechism - it addresses the need for a catechism in the Catholic sense (Old Catholics, as the name implies, do not see themselves in the general Protestant strand of sola scriptura paradigms), as well as how this particular catechetical work can be used.The overall structure includes a question/answer format at some points, a narrative essay format at others.Good though this or other catechetical texts may be, it is still meant to be used in community, rather than individually; much like scripture, if we read by ourselves without testing our reading against those more wise and experienced as well as those in other community positions, we run the risk of self-deception or misinterpretation.

For Old Catholics, a large communal support structure is generally not available.However, this book, together with online communities and growing stability in some quarters of the OC/IC jurisdictions, can help to promote a sense of learning and formation toward a faithful rendering of doctrine and worship.While people of good conscience may disagree with some pieces (and indeed, I disagree with Bishop Queen on some of the particulars found in this catechism), we still remain committed to learning from each other and staying in dialogue for purposes of strengthening the faith in each other, and the church.

Lest those who fear that the catechism gets too far from a biblical faith, one has but to look at the foundational questions to see the sense in which the biblical text forms an important and necessary part of this catechism.After a few basic questions (such as, what is a catechism?), the questions begin incorporating the Bible into the answers:

Q. Why is faith necessary in the first place?
A. Because, as the word of God testifies, Without faith it is impossible to please God. (Heb. 11:6)

Q. What is faith?
A. According to the definition of St. Paul, Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Heb. 11:1)

The catechism continues apace with questions and answers about topics such as revelation, tradition, scripture, creedal statements, ways to consider the sacraments, etc.The information contained in the text includes liturgical calendars, discussion of early church fathers and ecumenical councils, prayers, liturgies and more.

From page 355 forward is a very good collection of source documents and original texts that provide some foundations for Catholic thought in general, and Old Catholic thought in particular.These include very early documents accepted by the undivided church (`The Rule of Faith', by St. Vincent of Lerins, from the year 434), to general pieces related to the history of Old Catholicism in Europe (Munich, Bonn, and Utretch writings), and pieces to do with the American strand of Old Catholicism (coming through Mathew and Vilatte).There are a few other pieces as well, including some pastoral letters issued by Bishop Queen on current issues in Old Catholic thought and practice.

This is a must for any Old Catholic, Independent Catholic, student of catechism, and interested persons outside these groups who want to see generally how this jurisdiction puts together for its own use an educational and formative document.This is not a theological treatise, though theology does figure into the text.

Take and read.
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Book Description
This book is presented by the Old Catholic Church of the United States. The Old Catholic Church of the United States is a Catholic Family of Faith, based within the United States. As inheritors of Apostolic Succession from the Western Latin (Catholic) Church, the Ancient Oriental Churches and the Eastern Byzantine (Orthodox) Churches, we possess a rich theological heritage. It is a sacramental church, embracing the fullness of Christianity as expressed within Catholic understanding. It stands, holding fast to the teachings of the ancient faith, in a modern society that is often hostile, towards Christians in general and Catholics in particular, and chooses to obey the timeless message of Christ rather than yield to the "Spirit of the Age". ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Oremus
Oremus is a wonderful Ritual for the Old Catholic Church.The contributors and authors have provided the Old Catholic Church with an important and much needed tool. This inter-jurisdictional Ritual establishes and provides a common ground for celebrating the Sacraments and other rites of the Church that helps to bind and solidify Old Catholic worship and prayer.Every Old Catholic clergyman ought to have this in hand and ready for use!

Let us pray...
This prayer book, 'Oremus', is compiled by Bishop Andre Queen of the Old Catholic Church of the United States.He is also the editor of the book 'Old Catholic: History, Ministry, Faith & Mission', published in 2003.There are not very many books in the Old Catholic tradition that make it into print and stay in print, so texts such as this are very valuable to the scattered clergy and laypersons of the Old Catholic communities in North America.Bishop Queen references Bishop Elijah, whose own publishing efforts have kept some key pieces available, such as the 1909 Old Catholic Missal, which is utilised in this collection of liturgies and prayers.

The book itself is meant to be a standard text for some jurisdictions, bearing the imprimatur from authorities of the Old Catholic Church of the United States and the English Catholic Church, and bearing the approval of the International Synod of Old Catholic Churches (ISOCC).The General Instructions state that there is no authorisation granted for local modification of the sacramental rites herein; my personal view is that this instruction is a bit unfortunate, not least of which because it is unenforceable for the most part.I understand that one of the issues with more general Old Catholic disunity is disagreement over liturgical forms, but my personal view is against such restrictions.However, this does not detract from the general value of the text.

Like many prayer books (the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer being a good example here), the rubrics are in fact not printed in red throughout, but rather in italicised typeface, and often bracketed from spoken texts and title headings.There are thirty principle chapters overall, which cover sacraments (baptism, eucharist, unction, marriage), liturgical rites for special events (Stations of the Cross, various blessings and consecration rites), general prayers (morning, evening, meal blessings, Marian prayers, etc.), various litanies, processions, and creedal statements.The text includes some rare pieces, such as the form for release from excommunication or inhibition, the churching of women, and a form for exorcism (which, interestingly, has perhaps the longest section of commentary preceding the actual liturgical form of any section in the book).

The book does not contain forms for ordination of deacons, priests, or bishops, or confirmation rites.As a book meant to be useful for study as well as worship practice, having the forms for these liturgies would be valuable additions.

I do take one star off on my rating of this book for some editorial issues.There are various page layout, spelling, terminology and citation issues that are a bit of a problem with this text.For example, the General Instructions indicate that there are 'Modern English' and 'Old English' options - however, this is incorrect.The 'Old English' that is mentioned here is not in fact Old English (which is the language of Beowulf, the Exeter book anthology, etc. and generally incomprehensible to modern English speakers) nor is it even Middle English (which is best typified by Chaucer or the Pearl Poet, again a hard read for modern English speakers).The 'Old English' here is in fact Shakespearean/King Jamesian language, and the terms 'traditional' and 'contemporary' language would be much more accurate.Also, the information on the book speaks of the text being useful to seminarians as well as clergy - however, without citations throughout the text, this becomes problematic in an academic sense.The editors state the breadth of sources (as mentioned above) but do not cite throughout the text which liturgies, forms and prayers come from which sources, which would be invaluable for the student of liturgy.

In terms of it being a prayer book, these are fairly minor concerns (after all, the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer has various liturgies derivative of other traditions, such as Rite II, Prayer D being influenced by Orthodox liturgies, yet such influences are not referenced in the BCP itself).The combination of the fact that there is very little by way of standard and readily accessible collections such as this for Old Catholics and the breadth of material contained make this a valuable resource for Old Catholics, independent Anglicans, and students and liturgists of other Christian denominations and jurisdictions as well.

The text is readable, generally useful, and many pieces will ring a familiar sound in the memory of readers of many denominations, as these liturgies derive from the kinds of forms shared by Christendom from the earliest days in some cases;churches Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox share many of the same words, so this should not be surprising.For the high liturgical non-OldCatholic, perhaps the most interesting and useful sections of the books will be those on blessings, of everything from seminaries and church cornerstones to animals to simple prayers to be said while vesting for services.

A valuable resource.
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Book Description
This digital document is an article from Sociology of Religion, published by Thomson Gale on June 22, 2005. The length of the article is 1308 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The Catholic Revolution: New Wine, Old Wineskins, and the Second Vatican Council.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
Author: John H. Simpson
Publication: Sociology of Religion (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 22, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 66Issue: 2Page: 205(3)

Article Type: Book Review, Brief Article

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Book Description
This digital document is an article from The Antioch Review, published by Thomson Gale on January 1, 2006. The length of the article is 2078 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The Catholic Revival in English Literature, 1845-1961: Newman, Hopkins, Belloc, Chesterton, Greene, Waugh.(The Catholic Revolution: New Wine, Old Wineskins, and the Second Vatican Council)(Book Review)
Author: Joseph William Goetz
Publication: The Antioch Review (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 64Issue: 1Page: 181(4)

Article Type: Book Review

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Product Description
A Bible history for Catholic Schools with important historical facts that are contained in the Sacred Scriptures. The Old Testament is told chronologically with emphasis on social, economic and political details. The New Testament is arranged around Jesus' redeeming mission.Benziger Brothers publishing are printers to the Holy Apostolic See. ... Read more