Customer Reviews

A Philadelphia Catholic to King James's Court: Discussion/Study Guide

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A Philadelphia Catholic in King James' Court is an informative, beneficial, and interesting book to read. The plot is based around a 17 year old, Catholic boy named Michael. After the death of his father, he, his mother, and siblings get away from Philadelphia to spend a summer at a relative's house in rural Kentucky. There Michael is faced with many challenges concerning his Catholic faith and beliefs. He becomes involved in many heated biblical debates with local fundamentalist. I found that these debates made the book exciting and it kept me hooked in. Through many instances in the novel, I gained greater knowledge on why Catholics believe in what they do, and on the biblical information to support those beliefs. That made the book very unique. If you are a person questioning the Church's teachings and beliefs, then this novel is a must read.

Martin Deporres Kennedy has a fine gift for storytelling. He pulls you into the story. I read this through in one sitting. The story is a vehicle for introducing theological ideas, often through debates between characters. These debates are very realistic, and may reflect actual arguments that the author haard or participated in. I would strongly recommend this for students. It would be a wonderful thing for Catholic high school religion teachers to assign their class.

A Philadelphia Catholic in King James' Court was an interesting book. Not being Catholic, I saw the book in a different light. The book was a bit boring in the beginning speaking of farms and churches in the country. But it grew from a few differences to a spiritual battle between Les' Church and Michael. The debates towards the end were heated and very valid points presented Michael. However, the antagonists and their opinions were portrayed as ignorant and represented no true Christian views.

The book was over all offensive and exemplified the ignorance of the author toward other faiths that aren't Roman Catholic. It gave the reader a disorganized look into the Protestant Religion as a whole, though the author only speaks of Fundamentalists. It seemed vague, unfactual at times, and misrepresented the intended target of the book, Protestants. We do not need books like this that divide our faith but literature to unite us, excluding differences. The legacy of Pope John Paul II actually defies the intentions of this book. His life and death were a testimony to God's calling, to unite Christianity. I truly admire the Catholic faith, but this book seeks to demonize my faith in which I can not appreciate. I wasn't very fond of this book, but it was interesting though I wouldn't recommend it.