Customer Reviews

Catholic for a Reason: Scripture and the Mystery of the Family of God

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The Scriptures; the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass; the real presence in the Eucharist; Mary; Purgatory; justification; the nature of baptism; priests. These are all subjects of many a civilized discussion (or heated dispute!) with our protestant brothers and sisters.

The assembled essays in this book explain these and other issues in very clear and readable language. They serve well in explaining the Biblical and historical basis behind these issues.

For the Catholic who wants to understand the faith better, whether it be for personal growth or to help defend the teachings against those who would criticize them, this book is for you.

For the protestant who is willing to let the Catholic Church explain the Catholic Church, this book is for you too.

A pretty easy read. Well worth your time!

I have recently made the decision to join the Catholic Church. I will be confirmed at Easter Vigil in 2000 and much of the reason is Scott Hahn. I highly recommend anything written or edited by him, especially this particular gem. The beauty of this one is that it has 11 different authors who each tackle a different important element of the church in a comprehensive way all while remaining in unison to the common theme: THE FAMILY OF GOD. It answers all of the important and legitimate questions of the Protestents. I don't know how anyone can read this book and not want to be a Catholic. As Dr. Hahn says in his other book ROME SWEET HOME, "come home, supper is waiting at the table." Well I'm on my way home, come with me if you're not already there.

"Catholic for a Reason" is probably the best book available to share with Protestant Christians. Too many times, Protestants object to Catholic doctrines because they do not 'understand' Catholic doctrines. This book gives the Protestant Christian a good overview of the historical and biblical basis for Catholicism. Read with an open heart and mind, this book should help Protestants come home to the Catholic Church. Reviewed by Gospel Truth Ministries

I come from a Catholic home. I knew my faith well, but I did not know how to defend my believes when I got to college. I left the church and later became protestant for many years. If I had read this book in my early twenties, I would have stayed with the Catholic Faith all along. This book is a great tool for Catholics who want to know how to defend their faith when they feel attacked by protestant brothers and sisters in the faith.

As Scott Hahn says in the introduction, Catholic for a Reason "is written to change the way you think--about everything." Well, the authors succeed. Drawing on Scripture and Tradition, each of these twelve capable authors makes a case for an aspect of the Catholic Faith in the context of the book's overarching theme, the Catholic Church as the Family of God. Perhaps the best quality of the book is that it tells a story, rather than answering common objections to the Catholic Faith, as most apologetics works do. Well-written, compelling, and above all charitable, Catholic for a Reason is an excellent presentation of the Catholic Faith in an attractive form. See for yourself why Peter Kreeft says, "Its central idea of 'the family of God' turns out to be central to every aspect of the Catholic faith, and no idea is more fundamental to our current crisis and 'culture war' than this one."

This book collects a series of essays on Catholic doctrines that are likely to come up in discussions with Protestants. Each essay is by notable Catholic convert or Theologian and is related to particular Catholic doctrine. These essays are bookended by introductory and concluding essay by Scottt Hahn. Each essays presents a good defense of the doctrine involved and makes great use of scripture and the arguments based on the family of God. The Essays on Baptism, Purgatory and especially the one one Mary which uses solid scriptural exegeis was particularly convincing. It literally removed any reservations I had about Mary's role in Salvation History. There is is good essay in the beginning of the book which presents a good way to study the Bible and read its historical narrative in under three months. A wealth of useful information.

I am a convert to the Catholic faith within the past three years. There were some aspects of our faith that meshed perfectly with my old ideas of the world. Some took more work, prayer, and help from others. Two or three I stuggle with today. To me, we are all on a constant journey to get closer to God. This book will help you move a`few steps on that journey. There are four essays in this book that are absolutely enlightening. All are good, but four are exceptional. A great read for those interested in apologetics, or those just wanting a clear vision of what it means to be a Catholic Christian.

Faithful to the magisterium, this book is written in an easy-to-read style. It addresses in a very succinct way some of the pressing issues of being a Catholic Christian: Baptism and being "Born Again", Justification, The Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, Mary, Marriage and divorce, Call no man Father, and Purgatory are just a few examples. Recommended for all who desire to know clearly what Catholics REALLY believe.

Unfortunately, our Canadian rewiewing friend did not appear to read the chapter on justification (or if he did, he failed to absorb its message). If he had, he would have learned that he is misinterpreting the passages he cites as opposing Catholic teaching because he is ignoring the all-important *CONTEXT*. Namely, that Paul was writing to Judaizers who thought they could save themselves through doing the "works of the [Mosaic] Law" apart from Christ. Paul is NOT speaking about works done in and through the grace of Christ (see 1 Cor.15:10), which are very much necessary if we hope to receive our heavenly reward (see Gal.6:8-10, Rom.2:6-11 or Matt 25).
Ironically, our Canadian friend has unwittingly helped to prove the authors' goals in writing this book: 1)we need to work hard to educate Catholics about their own faith, many of whom sadly perpetuate misunderstandings such as this one, and, 2)non-Catholics need to hear the fullness of historic Christianity and receive God's sacraments in the one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. This book should be spread far & wide for both purposes. I have heard personal testimonies of how this book has helped bring ex-Catholics back to the fold. It is a treasure!

I highly recommend this to people considering converting to the Catholic faith or those who are new in it. I would even suggest it to "cradle Catholics" like myself because we all need a refresher on what our faith really is. The conglomeration of different authors is a brilliant idea because it gives the reader different perspectives. The authors are connected to the Franciscan University at Steubenville, which some priests have told me is the best Catholic university in the country. This book is heavily based on the Scriptures and very enlightening. It gives the big picture that we are God's family and He loves us.