Surprised by Truth: 11 Converts Give the Biblical and Historical Reasons for Becoming Catholic (Paperback)

~ Patrick Madrid (editor) (Editor), Foreword by Scott Hahn (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Powerful testimonies of Evangelicals who became Catholic These eleven personal conversion accounts are unlike any you've ever read. They're packed with biblical, theological, and historical proofs for Catholicism. Each year thousands of atheists, Evangelicals, Mormons, Fundamentalists, and Pentecostals are being surprised by Catholic truth and these converts tell you why. In his foreword Scott Hahn described his reaction to "Surprised by Truth":

"While reading each of these incredible journeys I laughed, cried, grunted affirmations, and basically relived my own journey into the Catholic Church. I heard echoes of my own struggles in their words. I relived the anguish I experienced on that lonely and sometimes frightening path of conversion, and I relived the deep, abiding joy of coming home. But enough, Read these stories. They're prayerful, heavy-on-doctrine, evangelical, scriptural witnesses of people who discovered that what they had once thought was the most 'unbiblical' church is really the Church of the Bible."

About the Author

Patrick Madrid is the editor-in-chief of Envoy Magazine. For over 10 years, he has been active in the full-time apostolate of Catholic apologetics. His other books include "Any Friend of God's Is a Friend of Mine" and "Pope Fiction: Answers to 30 Myths and Misconceptions About the Papacy."

Product Details

• Paperback: 269 pages
• Publisher: Basilica Press (September 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0964261081
• ISBN-13: 978-0964261082
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (97 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #46,372 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

92 of 99 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book helped bring me into the Church, April 19, 2000

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

I like to call this the little purple book that could. The author himself cannot explain the success of this book, giving credit to God alone for the awesome things it has done. To date it has sold more than 200,000 copies.

This book was sitting in the Eucharistic Adoration Chapel at the Catholic Church I was attending with my wife. I was Lutheran at the time, but desiring more time in prayer I signed up for an hour each Sunday night to spend in prayer.

Each week I would read a chapter in this eye-opening book. The book, coupled with who it was that I was kneeling before in the Blessed Sacrament brought me to the Truth so beautifully expressed in the Catholic faith.

Countless others have similar stories to tell. I challenge anyone to confront the Truth expressed in this book.

It features chapters by well known converts Steve Wood, of the Family Life Center and St. Joseph's Covenant Keepers, Marcus Grodi of the Coming Home Network, noted author, professor and apologist Paul Thigpen, apologist James Akin, Tim Staples, and several others. They give moving personal testimonies of finding the historical and Biblical evidence for Christ and His Church. It's not a book you will forget.

For those who have already read the book a sequel is on its way yet this year (2000).

54 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Conversion does not mean changing churches, December 14, 2005

By	Jeffery R. King - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

When I first read this book 10 years ago, at the age of 35, I underwent a life-changing conversion experience. I was born and raised nominally Catholic, which is not unusual for the generation that underwent all the experimental formation in the 60s and 70s. We went to Mass on Sundays, but that was it. No prayer in the home, no sacramentals, no discussion of God at all--outside of Church. So when I became an adult, I drifted. I was never "saved" by an evangelical or fundamentalist, but I was probably ripe for it. I don't even remember how I got the book, but when I read it, it accused me of my sins and made me take the first honest look at my spiritual health that I'd ever taken. I didn't like what I saw. Seeing what Marcus Grodi and the rest had to give up to cross the Tiber. Family, friends, careers--all down the drain but they HAD to become Catholic. Would I have that much strength if I was in their position? What a treasure! I've been taking all this stuff for granted. From that point forward, I resolved to learn as much as I could about my faith and despite the terrible priests, the our-of-habit nuns, the liberal media and academia, I've come to believe the claims of the Church more now than ever. Everything is supported by Scripture, History, and Reason.

I've read the few negative reviews, and there are a couple questions posed that are very asily answered. One reviewer asked why, if people found Christ outside the Church, did they see the need to become Catholic. The answer is because the formation of my generation was so poor that we were never introduced the Christ as we should have been. Parents expected Catholic schools or CCD classes to handle that, and the priests, nuns and catechists were too busy "liberating" themselves to pass on the faith. So we grew up knowing only that the old Church was terrible, the new guitar-playing Church is the wave of the future and everybody is going to be in heaven together someday singing Kumbaya. Truth is what you say it is, and it doesn't matter what part of the Body of Christ you belonged to, all roads ascended the same mountain and all of us would reach the same summit. So naturally, when someone introduces Christ to one of us, using Scripture, and pointing out the weaknesses of our formation, we leave and find Christ in the beautiful, Spirit-filled separated churches. But, when exposed to the TRUE catholic church from history, we want to come into the fullness of the truth. It's not so much that there is anything so terribly wrong with the Protestant faith traditions, it's more that they are incomplete.

Another question concerned cafeteria Catholics. This phenomenon is a result of that same poor formation that this generation has received. When Humanae Vitae (Pope Paul VI's 1968(?) Encyclical "On Human Life" condemning contraception) came out, misguided priests told people who questioned it that it was OK to "follow their conscience" even if they were informed of the evil of the practice in question. So, the idea was applied to all of the Church's teachings, so if Joe Parishioner thinks women should be priests or that he doesn't need Confession or that this or that is no longer a sin, he claims he is following his conscience.

Anyway, good book. I've reread it a few times over the last 10 years as well as the two sequals. It woke me up from my 30-year slumber and ignited a fire that is burning hotter now than ever.

Now there are no excuses for this generation. We have the Catechism, all the writings of the Councils, the legacy of JPII and another dynamic shepherd, BXVI, and this new generation of well-formed and energetic converts to the faith. The young priests coming out of seminary these days are awesome. The misguided generation that formed us is beginning to age... I believe we are poised at a monumental tipping point. The new springtime of evangelization is dawning and this book was part of the first pink glow in the eastern sky. God willing, the next 10 years will bring more light to the world than anyone alive today has ever seen.

In Christ,
Jeff King

65 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book started it all for me. I'm Catholic now!, March 19, 1999

By A Customer

I saw the reviews on this book and knew I needed to read it. I only saw one negative review; someone who said that the converts presented in the book were not "fully" immersed in true protestantism. As a former Protestant who was raised in the faith, studies apologetics, studies scripture, and studied the reformers, I had (and still have) a dynamic and lasting relationship with our Lord. I also know that the questions that are asked in this book helped propell me to a fuller understanding of Christianity. These converts (and now me) asked the hard questions, and answered them honestly. They ended up "in Rome" because they have the honesty to look into our comon history and recognize that the Lord did not wait 1500 years to provide us with the truth. He provided it in a Church, a Rock, an apostolic tradition, that continues today. This book brought me to true Christianity....Catholic Christianity!