Customer Reviews

What Catholics Really Believe--Setting the Record Straight: 52 Answers to Common Misconceptions about the Catholic Faith

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I returned to the Catholic Church about five years ago, and after reading this book -- realized why I had left in the first place. I never understood Catholicism!

I now learn about the faith from Catholic resources -- beginning with The Saint Joseph's Baltimore Catechism (available here at Amazon.) Reading Amazon reviews have helped me to find other trustworthy Catholic authors. (There's a lot of self-will run riot today, even in the Church, so careful even if it says "Catholic").

"What Catholics Really Believe" is a great litmus test for how one has been deceived by traditions of men. Many of the lies I believed came over on the Mayflower and were handed down on my mother's side for generations.

I also love the way this book is organized. I have referred to it handbook-style many times and have given several copies away.

As someone who was brought up within Fundamentalism, and who later received a formal education in Reformed Theology, I had a good many questions concerning the legitimacy of the Sacred Traditions of the RCC. Keating's explaination concerning the difference between Sacred Tradition and Customs of the Church was eye opening. Much of what I was told was dogma was actually a matter of custom and, therefore, not essential to Catholic Faith. This discrepancy caused me to re-examine Sacred Traditions such the Canonization of the Scripture, Sola Scriptura, Papal Authority and Infallibility for myself. The result of further reading confirms Keating's assertions on RCC doctrine in (very persuasive terms). Fundamentalists,Evangelicals, and Protestants of evry ilk - do yourselves the favor of reading this book. If you still disagree afterward - at least you can do so with integrity.

I've read the derogatory reviews of this book and I couldn't disagree more. Having come into Catholicism only recently, I had many questions re: the sacraments, the rituals etc, of the Church. This book has answered so many of them, I am actually teaching my husband stuff he doesn't even know (a lifelong Catholic-he). It's an EXCELLENT book and I couldn't recommend it more highly.

Fulton Sheen once wrote, "There are only a handful of Americans who hate the Catholic Church, though there are millions who hate what they think the Church is."

All my life I had people telling me all these very strange things, about these very strange people, in this very strange church! The Church was called CATHOLIC!!!! "Watch out!" they said, "they worship Mary!" "Be Careful" they said, "they don't let you read the Bible!" "It is awful!" they said, "they crucify Christ over and over and over again!" They said more than these 52 things that Keating speaks of but guess what I found out? They were wrong. All wrong! My Grandmother, rest her soul, was wrong! My churches were wrong! People I love and who love me were wrong! You will love discovering what this wonderful Church really believes. You may just decide to be CATHOLIC!!!! I did.

This book is helpful because it tackles a few common misconceptions about the Catholic faith and explains what Catholics really believe about certain doctrines and practices. Keating includes misrepresentations that both Catholics and non-Catholics have. While it is no surprise that non-Catholics often misunderstand our faith, these days many Catholics themselves have not been taught what the Catholic Church teaches on different issues. For instance, I have run into many Catholics who believe that after Vatican II, Sunday Mass is no longer obligatory. Not true. Keating explains why this is so. Keating always gives the orthodox or official Teaching of the Church; if you are looking for a "what are `progressive' Catholic theologians saying about an issue," explanation of issues, this is not the book for you.

This book will be helpful for beginners, but more advanced Catholics may find themselves wanting something a little more deep. I read this book in around an hour. It wasn't because I am a super-fast reader, but that a lot of what he covers is review. For this reason, individuals well-versed in the Catholic faith and objections to it should look inside the book (Amazon allows you to do this) and see if the book is worth the money. However, even if it is review for you, it would still make a good gift for new Catholics or old Catholics who may not know exactly what the Church teaches on different matters. Overall, I recommend this book for beginners, but not for those who are already sufficiently familiar with the Catholic faith and Catholic apologetics.

The format of this little book makes it easy to find short answers to what the author calls 52 "common misconceptions." As a life-long Protestant, I have been taught many of the "misconceptions" that the author seeks to dispel. There are other books that go into greater depth in addressing these issues, and the author, Karl Keating has, himself, done so in other books. But this book appears intended for an audience that might be more inclined to read the short version than a long theological analysis. And for that, this book serves pretty well -- although some of the answers provided are more responsive than others. Perhaps this book will wet the appetite of the reader to go ahead and get additional books to further explore what the Catholic Church teaches.

As explained by the author, it is not only Protestants who have a misunderstanding of Catholic doctrine -- even many Catholics don't understand what their church teaches. Here is one example from the book addressing the misconception that the Catholic Church teaches that Jesus dies and is sacrificed over and over again at each Mass. The author states: "The sad fact is that most Catholics, of all ages, are so poorly catechized that they can't explain to other Christians very much about their own faith. This shows especially in their discussion of Mass.... Here are the facts in brief: Jesus does not die again at each Mass. As Scripture explains, he died only once.... His one-time death was sufficient to atone for our sins.... In the Mass the sacrifice of Calvary is re-presented, not in a bloody, physical way, but in an unbloody, sacramental way. Christ's blood was shed only once, but it is continually offered to the Father. When a priest offers the sacrifice of the Mass, he is not offering a sacrifice distinct from that on Calvary. Christ is not dying all over again. What is on the altar is the very same sacrifice as on Calvary, but it is made present to us today in a special, sacramental way. This is a presence distinct from a physical, historical presence and distinct from a merely symbolic presence. It is third kind of presence. In it Christ is really present on the altar; and at the consecration a real offering of Christ to the Father is made. Although Christ died only once, through the Mass his saving act is made actually present, day by day, until the end of the world."

These above-quoted words should give Protestants and Catholics a much better starting point for conversation about what they believe in common about the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross, and the victory and power of his resurrection.

As a 23 year-old life-long Catholic, I thought many of the _misconceptions_ were surprising! I found myself asking, "Who would ever believe such a thing about Catholic faith?" This book clears up some MAJOR misconceptions people may have. It would do wonders for any Catholic who has stopped growing/learning in their faith since they were young, and any non-Catholic who has heard some crazy rumors about what Catholics believe. But I must say many explanations seemed more about confirming what Catholics believe or do not believe instead of why or where a given tradition originated. It is a good place to start though.

As a devoted Catholic, I began experiencing the horrible allergies that many Catholics develop when they start dating a Protestant. My symptoms included frustration and headaches whenever we discussed religion. But it wasn't entirely his fault. What else was he to believe after 30+ years of being told that Catholics are idol-worshipping heathens who practice magic, worship Mary, and talk with the dead? Time, patience, and this book (amoungst a few others - also by Keating) have been valuable assets to resolving these misconceptions and dispelling the myths. You will be spared having to repeat yourself and suffer those horrible headaches by using this book as a reference tool.

I think you couldn't find a better, more concise, yet complete explanation of Roman Catholic beliefs - not what some folks may think are beliefs, but the honest-to-gosh real Church dogma. It does a great job of dispelling the misconceptions and "old wives' tales" about the Church. I especially recommend it to new Catholics and those whose faith may be a little shaky

Karl Keating does an excellent job of clearly explaining common myths and misconceptions that even devout catholics can have a difficult time explaining to others. Mr. Keating uses a straight forward, easy to read writing style. He backs up his answers with direct references to bible passages- and adds helpful hints and analogies to clear up ideas that are sometimes difficult to grasp. His common sense approach to apologetics makes this book an excellent source for anyone who is curious about "why catholics do ____". Both non-catholics and ESPECIALLY practicing catholics will find this book fascinating. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!