The Catholic Controversy: St. Francis de Sales' Defense of the Faith [Paperback]

Francis de Sales (Author), Henry B. Mackey (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1992

After being repeatedly rebuffed in his attempts to re-evangelize Calvinist Protestants who would not listen to Catholic preaching for fear of reprisals, St. Francis resorted to writing leaflets and inserting them into copies of his sermons, then posting them on walls, slipping them under doors and handing them to anyone he could. Four years later almost 72,000 had returned to the ancient Catholic Faith! These tracts have been gathered together and entitled The Catholic Controversy. The works are still as fresh and powerful today and give some of the most cogent arguments against Protestantism ever penned, presenting a defense of the Catholic Faith that in some respects has never been equalled.

Product Details

• Paperback: 413 pages
• Publisher: T A N Books & Publishers (March 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0895553872
• ISBN-13: 978-0895553874
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #293,912 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Traditional Catholic Doctrine, Both Deep and Wide, December 1, 2003

By 

R. Newman (Tenn. United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Catholic Controversy: St. Francis de Sales' Defense of the Faith (Paperback)

In addition to what is common in all other positive reviews of this compilation of writings by St. Francis, there yet remains at least one other strength of this book that is to be praised. That strength is his cohesion to the traditional Catholic Faith. There are other books that give overviews of the Catholic Faith, but often times their consistency with Scripture and Tradition should be questioned. That is something that one need not worry about with this work. Not only does St. Francis give sound arguments for the Catholic Faith, but he does so with plenty of Scripture, Church Father quotes, and reference to Church Councils. He also shows an understanding and love for Catholicism that is sopping wet with intellectual genius and passion for Christ! He will make a knowledgeable Reformed churchman (that was his intended audience, after all) take a few steps back and rethink his doctrine of the "visible/invisible church distinction" and how God has commanded the Gospel to be preached and succession of church leaders to continue. Not only does he understand Catholic doctrine, but he also understands his opponents, and often quotes from Calvin, Bucer, and other Reformers. Also, his treatment of the Papacy is probably one of the most concise anywhere. So I challenge you to read it, but I warn you, you may find yourself defending Catholic doctrine afterwards, even if you're Protestant when you first read this book!

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Catholic Controversy, September 5, 2003

By 

bill_the_great (Interlochen, MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Catholic Controversy: St. Francis de Sales' Defense of the Faith (Paperback)

Up until the time of St. Francis de Sales, the printing press had been used as a battering ram for reformers of all stripes to destroy christendom.

However, with the start of St. Francis de Sales' mission to the French Calvinists that changed dramatically. When people refused to listen to him because of contempt or fear of reprisal, he printed tracts and slipped them under doors or put them up on public squares to bring the Calvinists back to the Faith.

The result: nearly 72,000 French whose parents abandoneded the Faith a generation ago were brought back to the Catholic Church.

If you read this book (a collection of the tracts St. Francis wrote), you'll see exactly how it happened. The arguments are cogent, simple, easy-to-follow and strike at the heart of whatever matter they address. The arguments against Protestantism in general and Calvinism in particular are relevant and still thorns in the side of the Reformed apologetic several hundred years later. If you're Catholic or Protestant you owe it to yourself to read this collection of tracts!

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Gentle Doctor's Powerful Defense of the Faith, June 17, 2003

By 

James Layne (Benton, Tn) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Catholic Controversy: St. Francis de Sales' Defense of the Faith (Paperback)

Doctor and Bishop of the Catholic Church, St. Francis de Sales presents one of the most powerful defenses of the Catholic Faith ever to come from the hand of a mortal man. This book was instrumental in my conversion to the Catholic Faith and the reason I chose St. Francis de Sales as my patron saint.

In his writings, he is as gentle as a dove and as wise a serpent, in accordance with our Lord's command. Here the truth is presented in a straight-forward and compelling manner, so much so that he converted with these pamphlets (here collected into book form) an entire region which had fallen away from the Catholic Faith into the errors of Calvinism. And when I say he converted the region, I mean virtually all of it, completely reversing the sad situation of a region that had fallen a few decades before into the errors of the protestant revolt.

From Purgatory to the Papacy, these pamphlets reminded the people of the forceful clarity and Truth of the holy Catholic Apostolic Faith. May it equally remind us of that today, when it is needed again, as is another "counter reformation" against the revolts we see all around us in the Church!