College Apologetics: Proof of the Truth of the Catholic Faith Paperback – January 1, 1954

A must for your children going off to college

Great book and a good reprint

This is awesome! Starts at the beginning, shows the existence of God, Jesus as the Son of God, and that the Church Jesus came to establish is the Church that we call Catholic.The claims of the Catholic Church are worth investigating, and this is THE book to start that investigation.

At the time this book was written in 1954, Rev. Anthony Alexander taught in the Department of Religion at John Carroll University. He also wrote books such as College Moral Theology,College Sacramental Theology,College Dogmatic Theology, etc.

He wrote in the first chapter, "Protestantism holds that the Bible alone, privately interpreted, is sufficient to point out what all must do and believe to be saved... we say that the Bible is indeed God's inspired word and contains some of His revelation to man... But there are several notable weaknesses in the Protestant position of the surpassing importance of the private interpretation of the Bible as a rule of faith. a. It cannot be proved from the Bible itself ... that private interpretation is the authentic rule of faith... Private interpretation ... was and is impossible for a great many people because they are illiterate... The average layman will find many parts of the Bible very difficult to understand... [Protestants] are forced to conclude that there was a time when Christians cold not be saved because in their day the Bible was not yet completed." (Pg. 8-9)

He states, "The starting point for the fifth proof for the existence of God is the observation that there are about us things which serve a purpose. The cogency of this argument is not weakened because of the fact that the purposefulness of many objects cannot readily be named. If there were but one instance of usefulness in the whole universe, this proof would be still valid." (Pg. 20)

He suggests, "The concurrence of miracles with instruction is too frequent and regular to be mere coincidence. One is strongly led to surmise that there is an intimate relationship between the two. Investigation yields the reason why Christ worked miracles. They were worked to give added authority to His doctrines... [Christ] wished the people to look upon His miracles as valid credentials and thereby be induced to accept His teaching." (Pg. 90-91) He adds, "By working miracles God Himself vouched for the truth of all that Christ taught. It is inconceivable that a miracle should confirm a false statement. This would mean that God approved a life." (Pg. 95)

He argues, "For a church to be able to claim to be holy in its members: 1--a notable part of the total number must exhibit ordinary holiness... 2--many within that Church must exhibit a superior holiness... 3--at least a few must be noted for their heroic sanctity." (Pg. 195) He admits, however, that "It is not difficult to prove that all of the popes were not the able administrators that this type of government demands. Nor is it difficult to show that in some countries, especiallyl in times when the Church was wealthy, she was ruled by unworthy prelates. These particular prelates were persons who abused their power and were not sources of edification to the people. Some of them shamelessly bought and sold benefices and in their role of temporal ruler insisted on teh right to heavily tax their subjects but did not fulfill the corresponding duties of their office... Critics have seized upon the point of the scandals in the Church with vigor... [yet] the more attention they call... the more they are strengthening the arguments for the divinity of the Church. If the Catholic Church was not a divine institution it could never have survived the inefficiency of some of her rulers." (Pg. 213)

This book was written in, and for, a vastly different time than ours; still, its arguments may still interest modern students of Catholic apologetics.

Logical, straight forward, and while deep is not so much so that your teenager's eyes will glaze over. Warning, if you call yourself a "Christian" but don't want to acknowledge the primacy of the Catholic Church; then you are most likely too afraid to read this book. Offered this book to a couple Baptist friends of mine . . . and they refuse to read it. Some people just don't want to have the facts laid out in front of them so that it's absolutely clear what the right answer is.

Catholic students lose their faith at colleges - "Catholic" and non-Catholic alike - in record numbers today. At an age naturally given to questioning the values they have been raised with, college students are often all too open to seemingly rational assaults on the Faith. In this book, former John Carroll University Professor Fr. Alexander presents air-tight, rational arguments for Catholicism in a manner sure to appeal to any university or upper level High School student sincerely interested in finding out the truth about God, the Universe, and his or her self. Starting with the existence of God, Fr. Alexander continues by showing that God founded a specific religion, that that religion is the one called Catholic, and that everyone has an obligation to join the Catholic religion. This book is essential armor for any intelligent young Catholic going off to a university, or whose Faith is threatened in High School. It is also good for non-Catholic college students making inquiry about ultimate truths. Ideal for Godparents and everyone who wants to explain the Faith to others. Ironclad logic!

Useless.