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The Usual Suspects: Answering Anti-Catholic Fundamentalists

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The author helps Catholics answer arguments from Evangelicals, including answer the widely available, anti-Catholic video Catholicism: Crisis in Faith. Uncharitable statements make this book unsuitable to give non-Catholics. Can you answer charitably the following criticisms without looking at the answers? The book has the full answers.

1. Catholics worship statues whereas Exodus 20:4 says: "Thou shalt not make graven images."

The condemned graven images are those worshipped. God commands cherubs adorn the Ark (Exodus 25) and a bronze serpent be made to cure snake bites (Nm 21:9).

2. In general, how do you resolve apparent contradictions in Scripture?

Biblical contradictions are due to our interpretation, not the text (St. Augustine, Fr. William Most).

3. Catholics pray to saints whereas 1 Timothy 2:5 says: "There is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus."

We ask the saints for their prayers just as we ask friends. God knows our prayers and the saints see them in God's mind. In Rv 8:4, saints carry to God our prayers. Moses and Samuel were dead, but their intercessions were important (Jer 15;1)

4. Catholics say that Mary was ever virgin, yet Scripture speaks of the "brethren of the Lord."

Aramaic had no word for cousins so used "brothers." James, Joses, Simon and Jude are Jesus' brothers (Mk 6:3) and James and Joses are called sons of Mary, wife of Clopas (Mk 16:40).

5. Catholics use non-Scriptural sources for doctrines whereas 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says "All Scripture is inspired of God and is useful for teaching - for reproof, correction, and training in holiness."

The only "Scripture" at the time was the Old Testament. The New Testament is also inspired. Scripture is not the only source useful for these purposes.

6. Various Catholic practices have a pagan basis: genuflecting, sign of the cross, incense, bells, priestly vestments, holy water and the rosary (Mt 6:7 against repetitious prayers).

Practices such as singing need not be avoided just because the pagans used them. The pagan superstitious incantations should be. The emphasis in Matthew is "like the pagans" rather than on "multiplication of words."

7. Catholics claim that Mary is the Mother of God whereas Mary is the mother only of Jesus.

Jesus is one person; Mary is the mother of that one person. Speaking of His human person has no meaning. Mary is not the mother of God the Father.

8. Catholics insist on baptism whereas "For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel." (1 Cor 1:17)

Jesus told Nicodemus he must be born again of water and the Spirit (Jn 3:5). In Corinthians, Paul was to preach first so those being baptized knew why.

9. Catholics call their priests "father" whereas Mt 23:9-10 says "Do not call anyone on earth your father."

In I Cor 4:15 St. Paul says he is spiritual father of his listeners. Our only heavenly father is God the Father. No earthly father surpasses our heavenly Father.

10. Catholics say that the King James version of the Bible is erroneous; God would not allow Christians to be mislead by the Bible.

The inspiration of the Bible does not pertain to a translation, only the original.

11. Catholics say that the Catholic Bible is an accurate translation whereas it was translated from the Vaticanus version rather than the Greek.

Recent translations, such as the New American Bible, are from the Greek and Hebrew. The Douay version was from the Vulgate, not from Vaticanus.

12. Catholics worship on Sunday, the day of sun worship, rather than on the Sabbath.

The Sabbath was made for man; man was not made for the Sabbath. Christians chose the day of the Resurrection.

13. Catholics say that good works are necessary whereas John 5:24 says "the man who hears my word and has faith in him who sent me possesses eternal life."

"Faith without works is as dead as a body without breath." (Ja 2:26) Although we do not earn heaven through our works, hearing the word means putting it into practice.

14. Catholics produce their own commandments and traditions, whereas Mk 7:7-8 says "Empty is the reverence they do me because they teach as dogmas mere human precepts. You disregard God's commandment and cling to what is human tradition."

Although Jesus condemns "mere human precepts," the Bible nowhere implies that it is the only source of faith. "Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which you have learned, whether by word, or by our epistle" (2 Thess. 2:14). See also 2 Tim 1:13-14, 2 Tim 2:2 and 1 Cor 11:2. Jesus explained everything to his Apostles and sent the Holy Spirit to ensure everything was faithfully taught (Mt 28:18-20).

15. Catholics prolong the work of Christ in the Mass whereas Christ completed His work with His crucifixion.

The Mass is a re-presentation of the sacrifice of the cross; it is the same sacrifice, albeit without Christ's suffering.

16. Catholics claim that Mary was conceived without sin whereas Rom 3:23 says "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God."

The "all" pertains to the audience, not all humans. It does not mean children below the age of reason, insane people, Mary or Jesus.

17. Catholics have invented the idea of Purgatory. It is not mentioned in Scripture.

If Purgatory exists, members of non-believing churches gamble that nobody will pray for their release from Purgatory. Purgatory comes in part from Rev 21:27 ("nothing unclean" will enter heaven); 2 Mc 12:46, "he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from this sin"; and 1 Peter 3:19, "he went to preach to the spirits in prison;" therefore, there is a place other than heaven and hell after death.

It's a fun and quick read, with a helpfully succinct and solid piece of scripture apologetic tucked away into each chapter to counter the fundamentalist attack therein. A cheerful and chatty discussion of the anti-catholic tactics used by fundamentalists. These attacks range from the thoughtful to the nastily disingenuous to the downright idiotic; Be warned; Some of Karl's encounters with less-than-charitable anti-catholics can be maddening to read about. But you might force yourself to read the toxic third section even if it's getting your goat--it's important to know the range of what's out there. A saavy but not a super-deep volume on apologetics (Karl's 'catholicism and fundamentalism' is the full treatise on that subject); but then the all-too-common garden variety anti-catholics Karl is warning you about here aren't very deep to start with. My guess is he didn't even work up a sweat dealing with them.

This is an excellent compendium to Catholicism and Fundamentalism. There's a lot of great information in this book, and it's fun to read. I read it in two sittings, and found my self laughing out loud at times. Don't overlook this book!

Karl, I'm glad you are doing this and not me, you make it sound so easy. This book is very entry level in Catholic apologetics, but of course when confronted with ant-catholicism it is always challenging. When you read Karl's books I can't believe there is so much division, no wonder our Lord prayed so hard, in the garden and asked Our Father may they be one just as we are one. Thanks Karl.

Maybe I'm naive, but I didn't realize that Fundamentalists and Evangelicals were that much anti-Catholic. The ones I know haven't tried to "save" me. One point the book makes well is that Catholics MUST take the initiative to learn their theology, Church history, and how the Bible was compiled. I'm currently reading Why Do Catholics Do That? and finding it a bit better, in that it focuses more on the issues and less on the opposition.

This latest book is a good overview of the different attacks made on the Faith, from the reasonably intellectual to the unreasonably ridiculous. I agree that there needs to be a more cogent and prominent "counter apologetics" and am glad to see that slowly that counter apologetic is being raised. This book is a good way to see what the "opposition" is up to.

This is a great book for "Cradle Catholics" and anyone who wants to know the Catholic response to attacks on their faith. Karl Keating has me more interested in my faith than ever!!!

I went through this book like a dimestore novel: non-stop and while eating chips. Most books on doctrine and apologetics I read a few pages at a time, stop, take asprin and continue. It was enjoyable to relax and walk with Karl Keating through some of his practical experiences. As a former Baptist I can relate to this Fundamentalists' "rouges gallery" especially John MacArthur of whom I still have a library. Hey! Maybe I can be a Fundamentalist defector for Karl Keating. Enjoy.

What makes this book particularly valuable is the chapter on page 275 entitled "Three against one." The book shows how devious evangelicals are. In addressing the debate between Walter Martin and Father Pacwa on the John Ankerberg show, the book notes that the debate was severely edited beyond recognition. This wasn't Walter Martin's fault, it was John Ankerberg's fault. Ankerberg never let the true debate leave the editing room. Without this chapter, the book merits only three stars.

The weakness of the book is that it doesn't properly criticize evangelicals. It fails to address the Fabian origin of evangelicalism and fails to note that the Southern Baptist convention, along with Free Methodist and Anglicanism and so on are controlled by Freemasons. (The fabians published the Scofield reference bible at Oxford). It fails to pinpoint the Christian zionism of the evangelicals and modern protestant churches. These issues are at the heart of why protestantism is in theological error and, for that matter, political error.

this is the best apologetics book I have read in years. the content is very educational and eye opening. the humor was much appreciated and the language was very precise. I can't wait to read it again.