By What Authority?: An Evangelical Discovers Catholic Tradition (Paperback)

by Mark P. Shea (Author) "When I was an Evangelical Protestant, I frequently bumped into Catholics who made bold to venture a belief in purgatory or offer a prayer to..." (more)
Key Phrases: apostolic paradosis, male polygamy, apostolic successors, New Testament, Old Testament, Sacred Tradition (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Mark P. Shea presents a lively and at times entertaining look at his conversion to Catholicism from Evangelicalism and his discovery of Christian tradition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Our Sunday Visitor (September 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879738510
• ISBN-13: 978-0879738518
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #173,743 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

147 of 156 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Small, friendly book with a powerful punch, December 12, 1999

By	Michael L (Bellevue, WA) - See all my reviews

In this book, Mark Shea presents his reasons for entering the Catholic Church.

This is a fairly small book, but it packs a powerful punch. At the same time, Shea's writing style is always lucid and friendly, and manages to be humorous without making Protestants feel like they're the enemy (as unfortunately too many Catholic Apologetics books do at times). Shea manages to keep things friendly without pulling back from his main and very well constructed argument that Sacred Scripture makes no sense without the support of Sacred Tradition.

I personally know many people who have found the argument the book presents compelling enough to bring them into the Catholic Church, or to solidly buttress questions they had about their Catholic faith. And the number of lengthy, and very defensive reviews here on amazon should give an idea about how agitated it makes some Protestant apologetics with its success. These reviewers wouldn't be so worried about it unless it were in fact making a real impact.

68 of 74 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly readable, always enjoyable, April 15, 2000

By	Tim Drake "Author and Journalist" (Saint Joseph, Minnesota) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Mark Shea's clever and at times witty examination of the authority of Catholic tradition is a book I turn to again and again in my conversations with others and in my writing.

A former Evangelical, Shea sets out to disprove reliance on Catholic Sacred Tradition for authority. He is unable to. His research and well-reasoned arguments make a solid case against the Evangelical argument of Scripture alone, and a solid case for Sacred Tradition as expressed by the Catholic Church.

This book is short and easy to read. It is meant for the lay person, not the theologian.

44 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Opened my eyes to weak theology, July 14, 2005

By	P. Forrester (Fallbrook, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I read this book in my examination of the Catholic faith from a Protestant perspective. Don't get sidetracked by the author's use of ridicule. His examination of Protestant traditions regarding interpretation and the authority of scripture made so much sense that I realized I could no longer remain a Protestant. WARNING!
This book is very unsettling to zealous, confirmed sola scriptura Protestants.