Customer Reviews

A Philadelphia Catholic in King James's Court

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(44)
3 star:		(30)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Michael O'Shea is surviving a bittersweet summer; the untimely death of his father has sent him spiraling into a grief that only prayer seems to quell, and at the behest of his maternal uncle his family is urged to leave the familiarity and comfort of their Philadelphia home to heal in rural Kentucky. There the only comfort is found in the welcoming smiles and hospitality of strangers, as Michael learns his mother's brother's family are staunch "Bible-believing" folk who choose to live as "plain" people. Socializing among the Amish of that region, Michael's extended family's existence is founded upon a lack of material wants and needs and an abundance of faith.

Gradually Michael and his family come to relax and enjoy the company of their relatives. Creature comforts fade into memory, for playing a game of baseball and tucking into homemade ice cream on the front porch appears to yield more enjoyment than a night in front of the television. However, Michael senses something amiss, particularly every time his uncle brings up issues of faith and challenges the boy to validate his own beliefs. As if dealing with the death of his father was not enough to bear, Michael soon realizes his uncle's ulterior motive for bringing his family to Kentucky -- to persuade Michael's mother of the error she made in converting to Catholicism by first converting her children to his beliefs. Michael, a lukewarm student of his own Catholic faith, is suddenly shocked to hear people dismiss the Catholic Church as "pagan" and "unChristian."

Explanations outside of actual Bible quotes (KJV version, mind you) fall upon deaf ears, and Michael is self-propelled into a crash course in apologetics, with only the Bible and the prayers of his mother to sustain him. As Michael prepares to successfully defend the Faith against the local nay-sayers, many of whom know much of the Bible by heart, his confidence grows, and it is his knowledge of the faith through God's Word which helps establish an atmosphere of tolerance which some in this tight-knit community are more willing to embrace than others.

Like the works of Bud MacFarlane, Jr., Kennedy's "Philadelphia Catholic" is a teaching novel, an apologetics tool in the guise of an engaging coming-of-age story. Kennedy's eye for detail is evident in his descriptions of Amish country and portrayals of life among the "plain" people, and Michael's dialogue and evangelization is well woven into Kennedy's prose. Kennedy delivers the facts of the faith without making it sound as if the "Philadelphia Catholic" is regurgitating lines from a textbook; the reader should not feel as if he/she is being lectured, and considering the tense climactic scene where Michael faces his challengers as a witness standing trial, Kennedy should be commended for a plausible conclusion to the story. With "Philadelphia Catholic" Kennedy leaves us to decide the validity of the Catholic faith, and through Michael O'Shea he offers convincing arguments bracketed by a touching story.

I want to mention a charming and compelling book I read over the weekend. It's hot off the presses! It's a novel about a young Catholic man (age 17) who spends the summer working on his uncle's horse-powered farm in KY. His uncle is a fundamentalist minister who tries to convert him away from the "Roman" church, which he believes is unbiblical at best, and at worst, evil. Young Michael doesn't know his Faith very well, but he studies Catholic apologetics and then very charitably and humbly, is able to counter his uncle's Bible-alone arguments and defend the Faith. This is not only a good read, it would be perfect for teens or adults. It presents the reasoning on both sides very effectively and realistically. Because the defenses are in the context of an interesting novel, I found myself more able to follow the line of reasoning. It also shows how prayer is crucial in evangelism. Great for either Catholics or non-Catholics. Five stars!

A Philadelphia Catholic in King James' Court was a very good book for those looking for explanation for their beliefs in the Catholic teachings. This book explains various controversies between the Catholic and various others Christian Sects, such as; The Catholic Inquisition, The acceptance of Mary as the mother of Christ, her "perpetual virginity" and the Heavenly Queen, The baptism of infants, the infallibility of the pope, praying to statues, and most of all, why we believe in the bible. This book lays explanation for all of these within a well thought out and entertaining story.
The plot of this story is that a young boy, about the age of 15, Michael comes from Philadelphia with his family to live with his uncle's family in Tennessee. During the summer stay Mike's uncle Les feels it his duty, as the leader of a small Christian fundamentalist church, to convert mike and his family to their way of worshiping God. Over time Mike is put through various tests where he is forced to explain the Catholic Faith. Over time and many debates Nike wins some people over to the Catholic view on God, including Les' own son Elijah.

This is a great book and I'm glad I read it. The characters really come alive and the story is well constructed. The plot slowly but steadily comes together and climaxes with a surprise ending.

The apologetics content was very educational. Michael O'Shea, the teenage protagonist, does a wonderful job of defending his Catholic faith (although given his tender age, he is no Karl Keating or Tim Staples, of course!). It may seem that his apologetics ability comes out of nowhere, but the reader must be alert to the fact that he is motivated to study by the love he has for his father, who was a devout Catholic before dieing heroically in a fire--but most importantly, the reader must be alert to the fact that in all the scenes where Michael holds his own while defending Catholicism, his mother was elsewhere praying the rosary for him! His dreams are prophetic, and thus one can see the Holy Spirit working in his life through the intercession of his mother and perhaps even his father. The point is, God is using Michael to bring his Protestant relatives closer to the truth of Christ. Michael conducts himself very charitably while sharing and defending his faith, even when attacked harshly by the fundamentalists.

This book is a must read for high school students and for everyone who has ever had their Catholic faith come under attack.

A Philadelphia Catholic in King James Court is an easy tutorial in beginning apologetics (teaching, explaining and defending the Faith). Being in fiction form makes it easily accessible to a wide range of readers and whets the appetite for more in depth study of the Catholic Faith or at the very least - gives words to explain Catholic beliefs to those who are not usually comfortable in discussing their faith.

Overall, I would say "A Philadelphia Catholic in King James's Court" was a good read with a few minor flaws. The story centers around a catholic boy named Michael who goes to Kentucky for the summer because his father died. Their he is faced with the pressure of the Fundamentalist Christians trying to convert him to their religion. First of all, Michael is faced defending his Catholic roots many time. One of the problems I found with this is that it seems a little far fetched that he would be able to come up with some of the arguments he has in the short time he is given. On a good note though, his arguments gave me further insight into the Catholic religion, enlightening me on many aspects of it that I never knew before. Next, I found that it was a little too unrealistic that his prophetic dreams actually would come true. After that, I would also say that I think that the book makes the Fundamentalists look to much like bad guys, and it seems that often they go a little too far in an attempt to convert Michael. Even Michael's own Uncle is constantly pressuring him. I felt as if he should just let him be, especially since he just lost his father. Lastly, an aspect that I really enjoyed was the effect that Michael's defending of his religion had on some of the Fundamentalists. In conclusion I really enjoyed "A Philadelphia Catholic in King James's Court" and found myself coming back again and again to see how Michael would defend his religion, being that I am a Catholic to. If you are looking for a book that successfully and accurately delves deep into the Catholic faith, then you will be sorry if you pass up this wonderful story.

The book "A Philadelphia Catholic in King James's Court" is marvelous, a splendid gift for setting forth the truths of our Catholic faith clearly and precisely. And oh, how this is needed in these times of crisis and confusion in church catechesis. A must read for every Catholic of all ages, religious and clergy included, and a great book to share.

I think that "A Philadelphia Catholic in King James' Court" was a entertaining and educational book. The book is about a boy named Michael who moves to Kentucky after his father dies. In Kentucky he is astounded to see so many fundamentalists, where in Philadelphia he had seen so many Catholics like himself. While living in Kentucky, Michael learns many things about the Fundamentalist Christians, as well as his own religion, Catholicism. His Uncle continually challenges Michael about his religion and tries to convert him to a Fundamentalist. This book was very interesting and worth the while. This was one of the best apologetics novels I've ever read.

A Philadelphia Catholic in King James's Court was a good book. It taught me a lot about my faith that I didn't know. It also got into more detail about the things I already knew. This book is about a boy from Philadelphia named Michael O'Shea. After the death of his father, Michael and his family go to live with his Uncle Les, his mom's brother, in Kentucky for the summer. Down in Kentucky Michael is forced to defend his religion against his Uncle Les and church elders such as, Luther, George, and Jimmy. I enjoyed this book, but the only thing I disliked about it was that it was hard to get in to. The beginning was boring and wordy to me, but I finally got into the book during the Bible Studies. They were very interesting and knowledge filled. This was a very good book and a fast read, I would rate this book a 4 out of 5 stars.

Story of a Catholic teen sent to spend the summer with his Baptist cousins, who try to convert him. He defends his Catholic faith from the Bible. Preachy, but interesting! It was a great premise; too bad the author was such an amateur. The first half of the book was almost painful to read due to the author's breaking every rule of fiction writing known to man. OK, maybe I'm being a bit harsh . . . but I did have to FORCE myself to keep reading. Eventually it stopped bothering me so much. (Or maybe he got better as he went along.)
Anyway, I found the Catholic apologetics most fascinating. Much of it I knew and agreed with, but I had never understood why Catholics consider Peter to be the first Pope. (Shows how ignorant we non-Catholics are, even those of us sympathetic to Catholic beliefs!)