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329 of 339 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must for Catholics and those who wish to understand them, December 16, 2004
"Irenic" is not the first word that ordinarily comes to mind when a book is subtitled "95 Bible Passages That Confound Protestants," but in this case, it's just proof of the old adage about judging books by their covers. The only beliefs that come under attack in this book are the ones that have been frustrating ecumenical dialogue and poisoning discussions with anti-Catholic stereotypes for far too many years. For Catholics, this book will come as a reassurance that Catholicism is firmly rooted in the Scriptures. For Protestants, it will provide a valuable opportunity to reexamine the hard questions that every faithful Protestant should be able to answer. But for all readers, the lesson is that those who gloss over serious study of Scripture in making reckless attacks on fellow Christians do so at their own peril.
One feature that distinguishes this book from many other works is the genuine respect that Armstrong bears for the other side of the aisle. He cites arguments by famous Protestants from Calvin to Luther, Wesley to Kelly, not to tear them down but to demonstrate the amount of effort they put into forming their own conclusions. The point of these demonstrations is to illustrate that even thoughtful, devoted, and scholarly men can reason their way to different conclusions about these passages, and that in most cases, the Catholic view is no less thoughtful or reasonable an explanation. In an attitude of genuine intellectual humility, Armstrong constantly repeats a simple theme: "recognizing that reasonable men can disagree, here is why I believe what I do." Exercising the rare poise found in such writers as Jaroslav Pelikan, Armstrong makes his case strongly and convincingly while maintaining a profound respect for his opponents' intelligence.
The book covers a number of Catholic distinctives that frequently arise in Protestant-Catholic dialogue, such as ecclesiology, the role of tradition, the papacy, and justification. On these issues, there is no new ground covered that has not been discussed at length in a number of places, but the advantage here is that the presentation is clear and concise, focused particularly on developing the strength of the Biblical argument. This is extremely helpful for beginners in Catholic theology, but it also reminds more advanced students just how effective it can be to make a simple, focused Scriptural argument that goes back to basics. Time and time again, Armstrong demonstrates the power of such arguments to convey the Catholic message.
What impressed me most, though, was Armstrong's handling of sensitive moral issues in the final three chapters. In discussing clerical celibacy, contraception, and divorce, he bring an optimistic and idealistic perspective centered firmly in Christ to areas that have become overwhelmingly dominated by cynicism. Armstrong's positive view of human nature and the human condition is a refreshing change from the modern worldview that envisions people as being doomed to gross moral failings. His presentation is an excellent example of how sound moral teaching founded in the Gospel can truly be a light to the world.
I recommend this book without reservation, and I encourage my fellow Catholics to take the study of these verses to heart and to commit them to memory. They are excellent reminders of how the Catholic faith is rooted in the Word of God.
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154 of 162 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent Catholic apologetics work, December 8, 2004
I read this book as part of my studies to decide whether I ought to join the Catholic Church. I strongly recommend it to anyone who might be considering the same, as well as to those who unknowingly suppose that Catholicism is somehow inherently unbiblical. It's just not so.
Sadly, many folk suppose that a book such as this must be characterized by doing violence to the plain meaning of the text. Mr. Armstrong does an admirable job of demonstrating that in many cases, it is not the Catholic but rather the Catholic's opponent who has run roughshod over Scripture. Representative examples:
1) Did Christ tell the rich young ruler to believe something, or to *do* something in order to be saved?
2) The Protestant supposes that the word "justified" means something different in James than elsewhere in the Bible, rather than letting Scripture interpret Scripture. There's a reason why Luther didn't like this Epistle: he couldn't wedge it into his "faith alone" model.
The subtitle of the book is a reference to Luther's 95 Theses; this could lead someone to suppose that Mr. Armstrong's book is intended as a refutation of Luther's work. While in certain respects (as in the discussion of James) this may be the case, that's not the primary focus of the book. Rather, the author presents us with 95 different examples of biblical passages that are often misread or misunderstood by Protestants and which demonstrate the biblical character of Catholicism.
Perhaps the most glaring omission from the book is that it lacks an index. Perhaps this can be added in a future edition. The table of contents is fairly extensive, which certainly helps, but a book like this is particularly useful as a reference work, and the absence of an index is why I'm only giving it 4 stars.
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74 of 76 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thoughts from a seminarian: Useful tools for stimulating discussion, May 11, 2006
Catholics are often accused of two things, not knowing the Bible, and being an unbiblical religion. While the first part may sadly be true in many instances (though nowadays that tide is turning), the second part is not, and this book sets out to bolster the position that in fact all of Catholic belief and practice is grounded in scripture, or at least flows from scripture.
Armstrong lays out clear explanations of how various Catholic beliefs are not only found in scripture, but are strongly supported by it. His writing is clear and his arguments are strong. There was only one verse that I thought felt like he was fishing, but other than that I think it flows nicely.
I think slinging Bible verses back and forth is a poor way to discuss religion, but at least this book should stimulate conversation, and help people, both Catholic and not to understand why Catholics believe many of those things that we do.
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