Most Helpful Customer Reviews
157 of 160 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Solidified My Decision to Join the Church, March 17, 2004
During the late 90's, I was investigating a number of Christian faiths. For many years I was bouncing around from Protestant church to Protestant church with no real clue as to what I was looking for. Becoming Catholic never entered my mind. Eventually I ran into a Catholic friend who explained a few of the basics of the Church to me. Intrigued, I began to study on my own and found "Why Do Catholics Do That?" The title seemed straightforward enough, so I picked up the book and read it from cover to cover. It was amazing. Kevin Orlin Johnson's book answered all of my major questions about the Church and most of my minor questions. I had read a number of other books up to that point and none of them gave me answers as honestly or inoffensively as this one. It didn't try to hammer anything down my throat. Instead, it gave me answers in plain English and with no intent to brush me off as "just another Protestant." After reading the book, I decided to enter the RCIA process, where I entered the Church at Easter in 2000. I can honestly say that this book was the decision maker for me. It is written in a way that isn't too "bookish" or intellectual for the casual reader, yet has a good amount of information in it. The writing style used, which has a lot of humor in it, lessened the blows of what some consider "cocky Catholicism." Another reviewer felt that in her original review this book came across as too cocky. I understand what she is talking about. I've met quite a few people with that cocky attitude. That attitude was one of the major things that turned me off from the Church originally. This book to me, however, wasn't too cocky. I enjoyed it. It gave the reader information in a straight manner. I also found nothing anti-Semitic about this book, as another reviewer mentions. With this book, I learned that a number of the things that I was taught as a child about the Catholic Church was mere propaganda or, in most cases, misinformation. A lot of what I thought I knew about the Church was actually a misunderstanding of practices and beliefs. I believe this book, with its simplicity, could easily challenge some of the harder hitting Protestant theories about the Catholic faith. Although it doesn't really go into any major theological arguments, it openly explains why Catholics do the things they do. It's hard to argue with someone when they are straightforward and honest with their beliefs. Perhaps that's what we need a little more of in the world today.
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66 of 67 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
My Favorite Catholic Background Book, February 13, 2005
This is my favorite "Why do Catholics" book, and I have read quite a few, as I was raised Catholic and had to learn to defend my beliefs when my parents moved to the Bible belt in my late teens. If I had known about this book then, my life would have been much easier.
Dr. Johnson's book is much more entertaining and thorough than work of a similar nature, such as Karl Keating's better known books. Dr. Johnson converses with the reader, which makes the writing style engaging and memorable; he does not say use the dry approach of "some people think this," but rather uses and approach of "We Catholics believe." He does not discuss beliefs of other religions, except when comparing the different approach used for compilations of scriptures. This makes me more comfortable in recommending to books to other Christians, unlike Keating's work, in which the terms used sometimes appeal slanderous to people from denominations such as Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses.
This is a book of Catholic practices and religious beliefs and explores illustrates from where they came. It does not address moral theology, but is more concerned with issues such as "why does the Old Testament comprise these books," "why is there a Pope," "what is the official stances on alleged apparitions," "what is the roles of saints," ect. But is also has fun tid bits of information that many Catholic information guides fail to address, like the use of incense, the dress of clergy, and terms used for the religious. It also explains popular devotions and their history; such as The Way of the Cross and the rosary.
Amazon recommended it to me for some time. I wish I bought it sooner, but I thought that it looked too basic to be a wise investment for me. Then some one gave me a gift certificate for Christmas and this book was at the store; I flipped though it and found so much entertaining trivia, that I purchased it on the spot- wishing I had listened to Amazon sooner.
I have since given them as gifts to people who wanted to learn more about Catholicism, and contrary to a few opinions expressed form other reviews here, they did not find the book offensive, but appreciated it. I highly recommend it. The broad range of information it contains makes it an ideal reference for the uninitiated and curious, as well as for the person who has had much experience and education in Catholicism seeking to fill in any gaps of knowledge.
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51 of 53 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Reversion, August 6, 2001
I was raised Catholic, and like so many of my generation, I grew up with a very weak foundation in the faith. Although I was raised Catholic and attended CCD throughout my formative years, in time I left the Church and began attending fundamentalist churches. This book was instrumental to my coming back to the Church after fourteen years away, as it was the first time that I actually read anything indepth on what we as Catholics believe and why. I did not buy the book, but rather it was loaned to me by my Mother, but God used this book to bring me back home. I highly recommend it! Although at the time I first read it, some of it was difficult to read, and some of it I did not agree with at all, it planted the seeds of desire to understand the Catholic faith which lead to the desire to return to the Catholic Church. My wife, who was Baptist, also read it and in time became a Catholic. We are both very active in our parish, and it is good to be home! Is it biased; it is a presentation of Catholic beliefs which does not seek to comprimise those beliefs. I don't know that I would call that biased. As to addressing the issues that are often brought up in arguements against the faith, I don't believe that the intent of the book is to answer protestant charges against the faith, but rather simply to present the faith, and in the latter intent, it more than succeeds. There are other books which intend to address the charges against the faith made by protestants and others, and which do a great job, but again, I do not believe that is the intent of this book. It is the Holy Spirit which touches hearts, and indeed this book can be used by the Spirit to touch hearts. I highly recommend this book to Catholics who desire to have a deeper understanding of their faith, and to Catholics who have left the Church, for they might see that the reasons they left were based on misunderstanding, and there are some truly great reasons to come back.
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