Upon This Rock: St. Peter and the Primacy of Rome in Scripture and the Early Church (Modern Apologetics Library) [Paperback]

Stephen K. Ray (Author)

Book Description

Series: Modern Apologetics Library | Publication Date: March 1, 1999

As an Evangelical Protestant, Stephen Ray realized that the real issue dividing Catholics and Protestants was authority. Everything else was secondary to the issue of authority. Protestants accept the authority of the Bible alone, whereas Catholics understand the authority to be residing in the Magisterium, the Scriptures and the Sacred Tradition. Ray goes through the Scriptures and writings from the first five centuries of the early Church to demonstrate that the early Christians had a clear understanding of the primacy of Peter in the See of Rome. He tackles the tough issues in an attempt to expose how the opposition is misunderstanding the Scriptures and history. He uses many Evangelical Protestant scholars and historians to support the Catholic position. This book contains the most complete compilation of Scriptural and Patristic quotations on the primacy of Peter and the Papal office of any book currently available.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This book defends Catholic teaching against the opposition, using current Church teaching on the Old Testament foundation for the primacy and succession of Peter. A rich documentation, a fine study. --Cardinal Christoph Schonborn

A veritable tour de force on behalf of the Petrine ministry, bringing together exegetes, the Fathers of the Church, the witness of history, and even Protestant scholars. The work is scholarly, objective, and accessible to all readers. Recommended wholeheartedly and unequivocally. --Fr. Peter Stravinskas

Product Details

• Paperback: 350 pages
• Publisher: Ignatius Press (March 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898707234
• ISBN-13: 978-0898707236
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #81,746 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #4 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Catholicism > Popes

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It helped me under stand the Catholic position., June 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Upon This Rock: St. Peter and the Primacy of Rome in Scripture and the Early Church (Modern Apologetics Library) (Paperback)

Upon This Rock was a well written and thought out book. It gave all the sources that he used and helped me to understand the depth of the Catholic position. I do not agree with Mr. Ray's conclusion but now I realize I may well be wrong. I think one goal of this book was to defend the Catholic Church and show why the church claims the authority it does. I have to admit many of my presuppositions have been changed and his work has helped me understand and even respect the faith of Catholics that much more.

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awestruck..., August 19, 2005

By 

RC (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Upon This Rock: St. Peter and the Primacy of Rome in Scripture and the Early Church (Modern Apologetics Library) (Paperback)

After reading opinions by James White and William Webster on the same subject, I thought I'd been given the full truth. But Mr. Ray's further, deeper development on White's/Webster's study showed me that I had only been given an incomplete story. What else about the Protestant faith is only "partially" developed ? Mr. Ray's presentation is overwhelming. One particular nugget in the goldmine of truth was not detailed in the New Testament, Old Testament, or the Church Fathers. It was a geography lesson on Caesarea Philllipi. It had never dawned on me what a long journey this was for Jesus and his disciples. The significance of the journey and the rock have come into focus!
I am now dedicating myself to learning what other partial truths have been developed fully by the catholic church.

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, March 2, 2001

By 

Samuel F. Crow (Denver, Colorado United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Upon This Rock: St. Peter and the Primacy of Rome in Scripture and the Early Church (Modern Apologetics Library) (Paperback)

The discussion was excellent in that it chronicled the Office of the Papacy both in Scripture and in history. It is an excellent source book and demonstrated excellent research techniques especially in the Early Church Fathers documentation and reference. There are a great deal of footnotes, but unlike some books, these footnotes are very readable and useable either in a discussion as a Catholic Christian Apologist or as a bibliography in a paper. I highly recommend this book.