Customer Reviews

Pope Fiction: Answers to 30 Myths and Misconceptions About the Papacy

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For nearly 2,000 years, the visible leader of the Catholic Church has been attacked. Whether by persecutions of the Roman Empire in the early Church or by verbal assault from present day Fundamentalist Christians, one thing has remained the same - those outside of the Catholic Church do not trust the Pope. Their lack of trust comes from either a lack of faith or a lack of knowledge. In Pope Fiction, Patrick Madrid does an outstanding job trying to correct the latter. He meticulously refutes 30 popular myths that are used to attack the Papacy. Unlike most apologetic books on the Papacy, Pope Fiction goes way beyond the biblical and early historical proofs of the Papacy. The book covers common misconceptions throughout history such as the Inquisition and the Crusades. The one major mistake people make in regard to the Papacy is confusing infallibility (ie, incapable of making error that officially binds all believers) and impeccability (ie, incapable of making poor decisions). This is why things such as the Inquisition get in the way of people accepting the divine authority Christ bestowed upon Peter and his successors (Mt 16:18). Pope Fiction does an outstanding job explaining to the reader that most objections are not valid because Christ did not protect his Church from making poor choices, but he protected his Church from officially teaching error. This fact is made clear over and over again in the book. I just hope people will be open enough to see it. The real strength of Pope Fiction comes from its easy to read style. Each chapter is concise enough not to lose the reader, but filled with enough material to effectively answer the objection. The readability as well as the cute title, makes Pope Fiction a perfect book to "accidentally" leave on your coffee table. Or, for that matter, someone else's coffee table. Reviewed by Gospel Truth Ministries.

I couldn't put it down. Each chapter begins with a commonly heard proposition that claims to refute the Catholic position on the papacy -- the primacy of Peter and its consequent teaching authority of the office. The remainder of the chapter is a refutation of the particular "pope fiction." The book does not shy away from addressing some of the more "sticky" situations that the Church has found itself in due to poor decisions of certain pontiffs: Honorius and the monothelites, Sixtus and the Vulgate. The history is accurate enough in its detail to illustrate the Catholic position without getting bogged down. On occaision the author does point out that certain un-Christian behavior, like burning heretics, was not the exclusive domain of the Catholic Church, yet maintains the intellectual honesty not to use that fact as "evidence" in his argument. This one should be read by both Catholics and Protestants, perhaps it will provide a basis for informed discussion on the papacy.

Mr. Madrid's book is clear and to the point. The "easy read" format makes the book enjoyable for the "religiously" challenged. The last chapter alone is worth the price of the entire book. The misconceptions surrounding Pope Pius XII and World War II were enlightening. Since Mr. Madrid quotes many secular sources and non-Catholic contemporaries, the book comes through as a reliable piece of verifiable literature.

I can't say "thank you" enough to Patrick Madrid. I hope he reads this review someday, just so he can finally hear my appreciation. This book is so desperately needed...

If you've done any reading of authors like Boettner (*Roman Catholicism*), or more recently, Dave Hunt (*A Woman Rides the Beast*), or if you've interacted with "well-read" Protestants who know a little Catholic History, then you may have heard most of the myths in this book...

Did you know Pope Honorius taught heresy and was officially condemned by a council for his teaching?

Did you know Pope Pius was on Hitler's side during the war?

Did you know Peter was never even in Rome?

These arguments and 27 more are examined, and then addressed by Madrid. Why is this book so invaluable? Because some of us can defend the Catholic Church on issues of theology. Some of us know the bible and the Church Fathers well enough to spot bad theology or bad philosophy. But not many of us know our Church history too well. And you can sit and argue the meaning of "You are Peter, and on this Rock I will build my Church" all day long, but when your opponent pulls some devastating historical fact out of his hat, you're in trouble.

"Don't tell me the Pope is infallible, Pope Liberius signed a document promulgating the Arian heresy, a heresy that was later condemned by the Council of Nicea!"

He may even throw a few dates in there. Now you're really in trouble. Why? Because this isn't in the bible. It's not in the theological treatises of the Fathers. It's in Church History, and if you're not a historian, it can be hard to even know where to start looking for answers.

Madrid has done all the homework for you. He answers the myths (and yes, they are myths), gives places and names and dates, and provides historical documents in his citations so you can do some brush-up reading later.

Don't be stumped by someone who once heard a rumor, attached a few ancient dates, places, and names, and then called it "history." Get this book, and help put an end to the myths.

I use this book as a reference all the time... I hear the myth about Pope Honorius, and I think, "I've heard that name before... let's see... yep! Here it is!" Thanks to Madrid's book, I've got the information at my fingertips, and I can help set the story straight.

Then this book may help. Pope Fiction provides in-depth responses to 30 of the major misconceptions and myths about the Pope and the papacy.

The chapters clear up such commonly believed myths as Pope Joan (which is being made into a motion picture), Galileo and the pope, and the most recent controversy surrounding Pope Pius XII.

Madrid tackles each misconception with both wisdom and wit (as evidenced by his clever subtitles including "She blinded him with science," and "Where's the beef?"

The nice thing about Pope Fiction is that the reader can read one chapter at a time, free to set the book down and easily pick up again where he or she has left off, or they can jump around reading those myths that interest them most.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The final chapter, discussing the efforts of Pius XII, is a must for the bookshelf of any thinking person, and is itself worth the price of the book.

Other myths, such as the "Pope Joan" story, are also handled well.

Many of the chapters, however, are actually apologetic works outlining the Catholic position on the primacy of the Pope. These are well written, and should be of interest to readers of various backgrounds. Even if you don't find the case for papal primacy convincing, this book outlines the Catholic position in a clear and readable way.

Highly recommended.

Just a note of thanks to patrick Madrid for crafting such a fine work. Written in a clear and well reasoned format this book will be of great value to Catholic Christians who find themselves on the receiving end of criticisms about the Papacy and the Catholic faith. It will also serve to answer questions that non-Catholics have about the Church and the Papacy. There are many anti-Catholic individuals and organizations that continue to bear false witness against the Catholic Church. Madrid's book is a compassionate and loving response. I encourage you to click that mouse and add it to your shopping cart now. You won't be sorry.

Pope Fiction is by far the best and most formidable of the Catholic apologetics books defending the papacy published in recent years. It covers a broad spectrum of arguments used against the Catholic Church and the papacy by Mormons Protestants, & Jehovah's Witnesses. Each chapter bristles with convincing responses from the Bible and Christian history. If you have run across recent attempts by Protestant critics of Catholicism (such as Geisler, McCarthy, White, Hunt, Rhodes) and you want a strong biblical response that flattens their flawed tho superficially convincing arguments against the papacy, get Pope Fiction. In addition, check out "Why Is That In Tradition" by the same author. It has an extensive list of quotations from the early Christians that answers the falacious historical claims against the papacy made by contemporary Protestant polemicists.

Since the beginnings of the Catholic Church (33AD), there have been those who try to undermine her authority in multiple ways. Most of these detractors focus their attention on the person of the Successor of Peter, the Pope.

Patrick presents 30 of the most common misconceptions spread by anti-Catholics (including the secular media) and gives clear and understandable answers to all of them. The intention of these explainations is to educate the average lay reader -- Patrick's writing is very accessable. While it may leave the "scholars" wanting more (many of course would NEVER be satisfied), there is enough here to convince any openminded person that the myths against the Pope are indeed myths without substance.

This is a must have for anyone who is interested in the truth about the Papacy and the Roman Catholic Church.

I delightfully found Patrick Madrid's book to be an excellent and clear, to the point understanding of issues that could easily get clouded over by historical misunderstanding. Mr. Madrid's obvious grasp of such sometimes confusing history and the theological framework underlying many of the issues makes this an excellent sourcebook to start from in understanding things as they happened without historical misunderstanding that can easily result from this kind of material. I applaud the skill with which he conveys the heart of the issues and uncovers the reasons why misunderstandings would happen about such issues.