Customer Reviews

The Faith of Our Fathers

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A year ago, this became the first book I ever read about Catholicism written by a Catholic. Numerous books and articles later, I still must say that this is the best lay-oriented book for introducing the Catholic faith to non-Catholics. Given the great amount of material covered in a single volume, Cardinal Gibbons does an excellent job in addressing the main Protestant charges against the Catholic Church.

In comparison to the more recent apologetics (like David Currie, Steve Ray, and Scott Hahn), I think Gibbons is a better writer (in both style and analysis). In fact, I prefer the 19th century apologist-theologians (e.g., Johann Adam Möhler, Matthias Scheeben, and Cardinal Newman) over the more recent. They were more critically-engaged with Protestant and Enlightenment thought and able to articulate the positions in a superior prose; as well, they demonstrate that the issues are fundamentally the same as today.

As a companion piece to this book, I would recommend Fulton J. Sheen's autobiography, Treasure in Clay, as an insight into how a Catholic lives his faith.

Cardinal Gibbons documents the talks he gave to mixed groups of Catholics and non-Catholics in Virginia and North Carolina. The talks explained the faith, its Biblical basis, and the supporting rationale in a way that is thorough yet palatable for non-Catholics. In replying to the common criticisms raised by non-Catholics, Cardinal Gibbons might well be responding today. The criticisms have persisted. The non-Catholics apparently ignore the replies. Because the book is so friendly, it can be safely and productively given to non-Catholics, especially those interested in the Catholic faith.

To determine if you need to read the book, consider how you would (1) explain what the Church teaches concerning the following topics; (2) demonstrate the Biblical basis for the teaching; and (3) describe the logical basis for the belief.

1. There is but one God, but three persons in this one God. 2. The true church of God must be: 1. One 2. Holy 3. Apostolic 4. Universal (catholic) 5. Perpetual 3. The Church teaches infallibly. 4. God appointed the Catholic Church to be the custodian and interpreter of the Bible. 5. God appointed St. Peter the first Pope and continues the leadership of the Church through his successors. 6. The Pope teaches infallibly. 7. The Pope's temporal power is suitable. 8. Invoking the help of the saints is appropriate and beneficial. 9. Honoring the Blessed Mother and asking for her intercession is appropriate and beneficial. 10. Statues are beneficial to our practice of the Catholic faith. 11. There is a place called Purgatory and our prayers for the dead help those in Purgatory. 12. The Catholic Church is the most tolerant of all other religions and non-religions (such as atheism), the Inquisition not withstanding. 13. Each of the seven sacraments are outward signs, instituted by Christ to give grace. 14. The seven sacraments are important, and some necessary, for our salvation. 15. Receiving Holy Communion under one species is sufficient. 16. The Mass is a divinely commanded sacrifice. 17. The vestments and setting of the Mass, including the church building and it adornments, are appropriate. 18. Indulgences are appropriate and beneficial for both the living and the dead. 19. The celibate, male priesthood is an important part of the Catholic faith. 20. Marriage is forever.

Those of you who have been schooled in Catholic apologetics will recognize that no time is given to the historicity of the Bible or Jesus' claim to divinity.

In reading the book, you will discover some of the changes that have occurred in the Church since 1876, almost all of which have come after Vatican II but not because of Vatican II. For example, we now use a lower-case C for Catholic in the Creed. We no longer use Latin, despite the arguments Cardinal Gibbons uses for retaining Latin. We no longer have Mass every day because we skip the Mass of Holy Saturday. Many prayers no longer are assigned indulgences. Even the meaning of "100 days indulgence" has changed.

This book is one of many TAN Books that have helped convert many to a strong Catholic Faith. In the case of "The Faith of Our Fathers," both Scott Hahn and Gerry Matatics mention it by name as having personally affected their Protestant beliefs. "The Faith of Our Fathers" is and always has been an incredibly popular and successful book explaining the basic tenets of the Catholic faith and (more importantly) why we hold them. It delves into the historical background of virtually everything people find hard to understand about our religion, such as priestly celibacy, sacred images, the Church and the Bible, the primacy of Peter, Communion under one kind, invocation of the saints, etc. First published in 1876, during the heat of violet anti-Catholicism in the United States, the book sold 1.4 million copies in forty years and has been reprinted many times since. It will confirm one's faith in the truth of the Catholic Church like no other and will arm the reader to answer the questions so often posed by skeptics and unbelievers.

I found this book to be one of the best books on explaining why Catholics do what they do. As a new convert, I have read Scott Hahn's material and other books on converting, but this book, written in the 1800's is the forerunner to a lot of what these other people are saying. It really made me think and his reasoning was compelling. I would recommend this book first to anyone thinking of converting to Catholicism.

I've read many books on Catholic apologetics from today's authors (i.e. Keating, Hahn, Madrid, Johnson, etc.), and though those authors are excellent in their own regard, I think that this 130 year old classic is the finest for anyone just starting out in Catholic apologetics or just wanting to know what Catholics really believe. It's straight-forward, easy to read, uninsulting, and accurate. And after 130 years, the truths it teaches about Catholicism have not changed. Sure, there are a few brief mentions of historial issues (European governments) and the Mass in Latin which are dated, but the core Catholic beliefs he describes have not changed--not just from 1876 but from the time of the Apostles.

Cardinal Gibbons honestly and frankly describes what the Church believes and teaches. His language is very thoughtful, heartfelt, logical, and inclusive of scripture and references. Plus, since Cardinal Gibbons based the content on lectures and discourses with mixed Catholic/Protestant congregations in rural, protestant North Carolina and Virginia, his approach is very accommodating and non-offensive.

If you want to know what the Catholic Church REALLY teaches...AND what Catholics REALLY believe, this is the first book you should pick up. I would feel comfortable lending this book to ANYONE who wants to know more about Catholicism or wants to strengthen or defend their Catholic faith.

The first edition of this book was written in 1876, and the fact that you can still buy it today, and that millions of these books have been sold (over 4 million copies), are testament to the vibrancy and truth that is contained within this book.

In an age when Catholicism was the "new kid on the block" in America, Cardinal Gibbons, an Archbiship of Chicago, wrote this book to inform and educate non-Catholics on the biblical soundness of the Catholic Church. This book also has proven to be a highly rewarding read for the Catholic as well, who can always use a bit of a reminder of their faith. In addition, this is an excellent resource for apologists. The answers are clear, concise and contain scriptural support for each position. Granted, some of the material (as it relates to Cardinal Gibbons when he refers to the present-day world) is out-dated, but this is not a problem throughout the whole book (maybe a couple of references to the "present day" will need some research since they did happen over a century ago).

For those who wish to seriously inquire about the Catholic Church, this book should be able to answer most (if not all) of your questions. For those who wish to have an excellent tool available to defend and proclaim the legitimacy of the Catholic Church, this book will lend you that support and defense. However, people wishing to learn more about Marian doctrine should not go to this book to find those answers... why? Because this book does not spend much time talking about these matters.

So what topics are covered? The priesthood, celibacy, temporal power of the popes (necessity), infallibility, purgatory and scripture are a few of the topics this book covers.

It has been a while since I read this, but I remember enough, its content and challenges, to want to add it to my library and reread it more intensely than the first time (and the first time was intense). In a similar fashion to Schreck's "Catholic and Christian" publish 20 years ago, Cardinal Gibbons' book sifts out not only the misunderstandings caused by Protestants, but misunderstandings by "folk Catholics" sometimes just as much not in the know about their own Church.

There were many ideas presented that, to this day, have left me scratching my head, thinking that the Catholic Church may be far more in the right and in the know than is given credit. After finishing Schreck's book (today), I've come over to some Catholic ideas.

I would say at this point, considering all the material out there about Catholicism, including unauthorized/non-impramatured Catholic publications, Gibbons' and Schreck's books are must reads for one honest enough with himself/herself as not to think they have considered all the facts. There are many Catholic works out there that wrongly teach their own Catholic faith. These two works are faithful to Catholicism.

Cardinal Gibbon's defense of historic Catholic faith is as relevant today as it was a century ago. No similar book I have found of this kind that matches it save Karl Keating's Catholicism and Fundamentalism: The Attack on "Romanism" by "Bible Christians". The logic and supporting evidence for the case is difficult if not impossible to ignore. Cardinal Gibbon's ability to communicate effectively on the issues raised is unmatched.

It is good this book is back in print and a nicer volume could be imagined. But the price is right and the content will never be outdated.

This popular 19th century work is a charming and persuasive defense of Catholicism by the Archbishop of Baltimore. Written in the effusive style of the era for the average literate person with some education, Archbishop Gibbons, for the most part, does not resort to citations of the Church Fathers, but rests his case on the Bible, history, logic and common sense. In doing so, I believe that he wrote the best work of apologetics ever produced by the American Church. As expected from a 130 year old book, some of his concerns, as well as some of the Catholic practices he felt the need to defend, are out-of-date. For instance, the Episcopal Church and its theology obviously had a much greater importance in immediate post-bellum American Christianity than it does today. Also, Catholic practices that were the subject of universal Protestant criticism in those days, like fasting, laying on of hands and annointing of the sick, are now widely practiced in Pentecostal/charismatic churches (while being widely ignored in Catholic ones!) On the flip side, raging modern controversies such as contraception, abortion and homosexuality were non-issues in the days of Archbishop Gibbons, as all Christian denominations were then united in condemnation of what were universally considered immoral. Still, in purely theological areas, the arguments will always remain the same, so the Archbishop's book is even more valuable today, in a time of unprecedented confusion and impotent leadership in the Church.

This book gives a review of Catholic beliefs by a Cardinal of the 19th century. It shows that these beliefs were not made up as the Church went along but it held these beliefs,taught to the Apostles directly by Jesus, from the very first century onward. Even though the author uses some words and phrases that are not in common use today, taken in context, it was easy to understand his meaning in almost all cases. I view this work as an excellant apologetic treatise and every Catholic, interested in apologetics, should have it in his/her library. It covers the bible, the Mass, and all the sacraments in a concise manner in 361 pages which I read in about 10 days.