Not by Faith Alone: A Biblical Study of the Catholic Doctrine of Justification (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 773 pages
• Publisher: Queenship Publishing Company (July 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579180086
• ISBN-13: 978-1579180089
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #529,181 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book! Strengthens Understanding - Builds Faith & Love, November 3, 1999

By A Customer

I've been a Catholic all my life, and have believed with all my heart and soul! Unfortunately, the last few years I've been confronted with the concept of "Faith Alone" like never before. Having married a very god loving faithful Protestant -- I've had difficulty reconciling the the Catholic and Protestant doctrines of Justification. I found myself uncomfortable with the notion of "Faith Alone" from the first time I heard it and I began seeking the theological evidence for the Catholic Doctrine of Justification which I felt so strongly in my heart. "Not by faith alone", answered my questions, gave me respect for the Protestant position but strenghtened my belief in the Catholic Doctrine, helped me connect my faith, love and feelings with the evidence, and helped me explain the Catholic Doctrine to my Protestant husband in terms he could understand too.

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Book Over All, December 3, 2004

By	Jenine (South Carolina) - See all my reviews

While I've spent almost my entire life as a Baptist, I believe Mr. Sungenis was very thorough in his explanations. I thought it was very clear over all and certainly very deeply researched. I didn't have trouble understanding it, although it did take me a long time to read it through completely.

I will say though, that I don't understand why anyone would attack him personally like I've seen in the other reviews. It is just not logical, or Christian to say that because a man writes a book on faith and works that this makes him fair game for such unsubstantiated, personal attacks. It's too bad it drew a response of a personal nature in his defense, too, but I think I can understand and forgive that one.

Really, I'm a bit embarrassed because I suspect these people doing this are also Protestants who just don't like what he wrote. Well, I'm not thrilled about reading it either, it's not easy to read something that disagrees with you about such serious things . But I didn't see anything that struck me as one reviewer charged. I didn't feel personally attacked. And I wish everyone would stop this stuff. It's just sinful and wrong. I'm sorry if that sounds harsh.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Thorough, May 13, 2000

By	Antony Vivolo (Seattle, Wa) - See all my reviews

Mr Sungenis does an excellent job in this book explaining the Catholic position of justification and simultaniously working through the problems with the many approaches to sola fide found in Protestantism. The work is heavily footnoted which I appreciate. All the examination is done directly in light of sacred Scripture, and he also uses a favorite Protestant translation, the NIV, to show how sola fide is not workable even with a translation heavily slanted towards Protestant thought. Chapter 9 gets into different Protestant points of view and deals with them directly and the appendics covers in detail many of the subjects related to sola fide. And in the very back is an index of Scripture and where it is referenced in the book which is an excellent tool for when you want to come back and view certain passages for that occasional discussion with a fellow non Catholic Christian. This book I believe is the best this century on this subject.