Customer Reviews

Rome Sweet Home: Our Journey to Catholicism

5 star:		(168)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

I cannot say enough good about this book or the Hahns! As a self described "generic Christian" for many years, I found this book amazingly readable and very fair. Scott has definitely done his research. Although this book was not intended to dispel all the myths about the Catholic faith, it did answer a lot of my questions. I read all the reviews and was pleased to note that there were very few criticisms. Those that disagreed by claiming that his conversion was "intellectual" and not spiritual or that "he never really understood the reformed faith" are missing the point. If you study the subject with an open mind and heart, you can't escape how much sense the Catholic faith makes! I think part of the reason that these critics are so nasty and defensive is the fact that they are not only having to defend their position against the Catholic church, but also against the other 25,000 different Protestant denominations. No wonder they feel insecure! On a personal note to ALL Christians: Keep and open mind and heart and study your faith objectively and know WHY you believe what you believe! Too many Christians, Catholic AND Protestants are just "going through the motions" and do not fully understand their faith. I recently made the decision to convert to the Catholic Church and it wasn't a decision made lightly. I am continuing to study so that I can not only grow stronger in my convictions, but to be able to defend my faith. I highly recommend this book to cradle Catholics as well as recent converts or anyone who has even a passing interest in the faith. God Bless you all!

Although I'm not a Roman Catholic, I am a reasonable person and a devout Bible-believing Christian, capable of recognizing an airtight biblical case for Catholicism. That's exactly what I found in Rome Sweet Home. For the first time, I also now recognize something else that's even more disturbing, and that is, how foolish I've been in attacking the faith of Roman Catholics with the same kind of blind arrogance exhibited by Pastor Whalen in his review (see below). We need to be honest with ourselves, as Bible Christians, and admit that we have never been able to take Catholics seriously as fellow-believers, mostly because we have never allowed ourselves to be exposed to a sustained presentation of the biblical basis for Catholic beliefs, like Hahn does in Rome Sweet Home. No wonder Pastor Whalen admits to feeling "overwhelmed" and "sick to my stomach". Humble pie has a way of doing that.

I lost count of how many people recommended that I read "Rome Sweet Home". Frankly, I didn't want to. Call it stubborn pride, whatever. Anyway, I finally broke down and read it this past summer. Since then I've re-read it four more times. Now I see why so many people recommended it. This book is truly amazing. The Hahns use their own journey to show how their commitment to Jesus Christ and the Bible is what ultimately led them down an entirely unforseeable path towards Rome. Out of obedience, they became Catholic AND evangelical. Now I find myself in the same situation. After intense study and prayer, I will be received into the Catholic Church tomorrow night. My former pastor now tells me he's even thinking about becoming Catholic himself, and that's after spending the last two years trying to persuade me not to. Thank you Scott and Kimberly Hahn, from the bottom of my heart. But most of all, thank you Lord.

Prejudice runs deep. I know for I have spent years unlearning things I "knew" for more than thirty years.

A non-Catholic myself, I actually became fearful before completing this book that Scott Hahn was going to persuade me I HAD to become Catholic if I was going to approach my faith with intellectual honesty while taking the Bible seriously (issues of great importance to me). The arguments are presented with simple clarity and Biblical authority that rings true. They are arguments that conflicted with my prejudices, but not with Biblical teaching. Perhaps stronger even than the logic, however, is the reality that Hahn fought against that logic every step of the way. Coming from a non-Catholic background himself, and steeped in anti-Catholic teaching, in-depth study drew him against his intense resistance, to embrace the Catholic faith.

This is a brilliant book, very dangerous to deep rooted prejudice, but giving a wealth of insight into the Biblical foundation of key Catholic beliefs and traditions. It is invaluable for Catholic and non-Catholic alike. I highly recommend it to anyone wishing to understand the teachings of the Catholic church, from either inside or outside. I will also give fair warning to those who cherish a strong anti-Catholic bias -- this is a dangerous book to read if you are intent on holding onto that bias.

My respect for Catholic Brothers and Sisters has multiplied greatly, this book being a catalyst in the process. I don't know how to pay higher tribute to an author than to say "Thank you for helping me see old things with new eyes." My understanding of my own faith, and the many core beliefs we share is deeper and richer today because of this book.

My husband and I are 76 and 70 and have been strong "Bible" Christian believers and teachers. For the last 33 years we have been very active in Church and in the best Protestant Christian Bible Studies in national and international classes. We are becoming Catholic with NO RESERVATIONS! Something we never thought could or would happen to us. This book will open your mind to TRUTHS you have never seen before.

My beautiful Christian husband read this book non-stop, came in the room, closed the book, put it down beside me, looked at me with his eyes brimming with tears and said, "They are right!" Simple as that.

I give this book to others but I tell them, "Pray because it will change your life!" You next need your Bible, Keatings books, and a Catechism. Get ready for a new but very exciting and blessed life. You will fall in love with Jesus all over again. The Catholic Church will become your Rome Sweet Home! See you in heaven. Terry

I was very skeptical when I first began reading this book, but then I couldn't put it down. As a Bible-believing Christian myself, I would strongly recommend it, especially for anyone who's willing to listen to and learn from a very sensible presentation of why a die-hard Protestant like Hahn would feel compelled by the Bible to become a Catholic. Even though it is clearly written and charitably argued, it's probably not the best book to give someone who prefers public debates or polemical writings, like a previous reviewer who seems to be looking for a fight. (Just for the record, his critique was not only saracastic, but unreliable--James White told me himself that Scott Hahn NEVER agreed to a debate him. Likewise, if he truly read the book, he'd know that the Hahns went to a non-denominational Evangelical seminary--Gordon-Conwell is not Presbyterian. Oh well.) In my opinion, any sincere Bible-believer who reads this book with an open mind will be challenged, as I am, but certainly not disappointed.

If you hate Catholics or Catholicism, read this book for understanding. If you feel unfulfilled by your Christian faith, read this book to see what you're missing. If you are unsure of which Christian denomination you want to join, read this book to see how other non-Catholics have found truth in the Catholic Church. If you're considering becoming a Catholic or leaving the Church, read this book! It might help lead you to the truth.

Rome Sweet Home is a touching testimonial of how two VERY anti-Catholic, bible-slinging Protestant seminaries (husband and wife) reluctantly opened themselves to, discovered, and finally accepted the Catholic Church as our Lord's original and apostolic Church on earth. This book is truly inspiring for cradle Catholics and converts alike. It portrays a realistic, thoughtful, and often difficult journey to the Catholic faith by two very intelligent people who had been solid in their Protestant convictions, and never in their lives EVER considered becoming Catholic. Each point of Catholicism that they previously contended is thoughtfully, and biblically researched and challenged to support how they came to change their innermost Protestant beliefs, even at the initial expense of career, marriage, and alienation from family and friends.

I have read dozens of conversion stories by people converting to one brand of Protestantism to another. Most, if not all of those are very emotional descriptions of being "saved." This story has that emotion, but it's not JUST emotion, it is also a story of a search for truth.

I would recommend this for any one who has left the Catholic church for Protestantism and wonders if they have done the right thing; for any Protestant who believes the Catholic church is in "apostasy"; any one at all wondering why someone would leave their comfy cosy Protestant pastorate for the Catholic church.

A really "easy read".

As one who has just recently started "paying attention" to my Catholic faith and my Church, I bought this book largely on a whim, but when I got it I couldn't put it down, and read it in a single evening. What a fascinating journey this family has made! As they describe it, part detective story, part horror story and part romance. I have to respond to those reviews which suggest the Hahn's are insincere and/or shallow. Nobody who reads this book with an open mind could fail to see the complete sincerity and honesty with which they tell their story. They came to the Catholic Church kicking and screaming, as do many converts. Their "horror story" is that in their pursuit of Truth they were led to that place where they least expected it, and least wanted to find it, the Catholic faith. As for shallow, it's not clear how much more depth one could reasonably expect in such a story of only 200 pages. Both of the Hahn's clearly live and breathe Scripture and theology, and Scott in particular is apparently voracious in his appetite for knowledge and understanding (he read up to seven hours a night during his "journey"). I will just say that I have no doubt after reading this book that he could easily address all the "stumper" arguments other reviewers have posed, and may very well have done so in other writings.

One last thing I will take from this book is their final exhortation to Catholics to gain a deeper understanding of their faith and Church. Sometimes, to borrow and stretch an analogy from the book, it takes an immigrant to remind the natives of the beauty of their land. Thank you, Hahn family, and welcome!

Surprise, surprise! Another reviewer insisting that Hahn "never REALLY understood the Reformed faith." Perhaps so. But what seems much more likely is that Scott Hahn DID understand the Reformed faith, which his Calvinist critics can't admit -- because they don't truly understand the Catholic faith! After all, Hahn not only spent 10 years studying Reformed theology -- graduating at the top of his class from what many regard as the finest Reformed Evangelical Seminary in the USA (Gordon-Conwell) -- he also taught it very accurately, passionately and effectively, as his former students still testify. He didn't reject it until he discovered how profoundly distorted his own so-called "understanding" of Catholicism was, as he had "learned" it from famous Reformed theologians (like Gerstner and Sproul). At that point, he explains how his "evangelical" beliefs in God's inerrant Word and the sovereign grace of the Trinity, enabled him to recognize the Catholic Church as the One Worldwide Family of God (i.e., Mary, the saints & the sacraments all represent the perfect work of the Father acting in the Son through the Holy Spirit). At least, that's what I got from reading Hahn's account. And I speak as someone who has spent more than a decade in ministry as an Evangelical Protestant--after years of graduate study in Scripture and Theology. That's why I must acknowledge how much I appreciate Scott Hahn's ability at distilling years of biblical exegesis and theological research in readable prose that is crisp and clear. He's obviously a very accomplished scholar, but one who wears it lightly -- not to impress others, but to inform and excite them. (I was also enthralled by the heartfelt account written by his wife, Kimberly, who writes just as clearly!) In closing, perhaps I should ask for your prayers, for me and (especially) my wife and kids. At the present time, I can no longer reject the plain Biblical truth of Catholicism, particularly as the Hahn's explain it. But I still don't know how to deal with my own personal fears, which keep me from announcing to my own flock of fervant Bible-believers that my study of Scripture has led me to accept the Catholic faith (just like the Hahn's did). And let me politlely request one thing from my fellow-evangelical critics: Please don't tell me that I "never REALLY understood the reformed faith either". Why not admit that, just maybe, YOU are the one who has never really understood Catholicism, due perhaps to your own anti-Catholic formation as a "Bible-believing" Protestant. Just maybe? For now, I am content simply to recommend privately to folks that they get "Rome Sweet Home" and read it with an open mind -- and an open Bible.