Best Catholic apologetics books

tel0004 · Jun 20, 2006

Im wondering what the best catholic apologetic books are. I have always been agianst the Catholic church, for their false teachings, but ive read some somewhat convincing arguments and maybe they could be true after all, I really dont know. Jesus said
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.(Rev 3:20)

I realized that I just assumed it was wrong, and never did any actual research, so Im going to take Jesus up on his challenge, if he is knocking on this door, then ill be ready to answer. So back to the question, what book would you reccomend for me seaking Catholic answers, I guess im heading to the christian book store tommorow.

Filia Mariae · Jun 20, 2006

There are tons of Catholic apologetics books. Are there any particular topics you're especially interested in?

enelya_taralom · Jun 20, 2006

tel0004 said:
I realized that I just assumed it was wrong, and never did any actual research, so Im going to take Jesus up on his challenge, if he is knocking on this door, then ill be ready to answer. So back to the question, what book would you reccomend for me seaking Catholic answers, I guess im heading to the christian book store tommorow.

Yup know that feeling. I was there about a year ago. Now I am in RCIA, on my way to being confirmed in the Catholic Church this upcoming Easter. It's funny, but I can't even imagine not thinking like a Catholic, it all just seemed to click somehow.

Anyway, I commend you on this search !

One website site that was very helpful for me in my search was www.newman99.com He is a poster here on CF and a brilliant apologetic (also a convert). I recommend checking out the Dialouge section and seeing a conversation he had with an Evangelical Protestant. Also, his book section has got some great book recommendations for exploring the faith.

Peter Kreeft and Scott Hahn are awesome aswell. Like NewMan99, both are also adult converts to Catholicism from Protestant denominations.

If you have not checked them out, I suggest looking at Scott Hahn's book "Home Sweet Rome." It is about his conversion and what led to it etc. Also, Peter Kreeft has his conversion story on his website, www.peterkreeft.com aswell as a list of all the books he has written.

And as always, you will be more than welcome asking any questions here in OBOB.

God Bless!!

tel0004 · Jun 20, 2006

Its amazing how God works sometimes. A friend of mine (who led me to God, and is non catholic) asked me if I wanted to play frisbee golf tommorw. I havent seen him in months. I said sure, Ill meet you at the course. He doesnt know where it is, so he said he will meet me at the mall. I told him we can meet in the parking garage where I always park. He doesnt know where that is, so he said he will meet me at the Christian bookstore. The same book store I said I sure try to get to in post 1 of this topic. Honestly, its about 30 minutes out of the way from what I had planned to do, and I probably wouldnt have ended up going there tommorow, but its just amazing how God works. I havent even knocked on the door yet, and I already fell like Christ has already answered. Just thought I would post this, and this was less than 1 hours after I posted the original topic

IAMCATHOLIC · Jun 20, 2006

enelya_taralom said:
www.newman99.com

I'll second that.

You'll find good info here too...

www.catholic.com/

God Bless You!

In Christ.

cathmomof3 · Jun 21, 2006

cathmomof3 · Jun 21, 2006

I would recommend the 3 "Surprised By Truth" books. They have short chapter stories of people who converted to the Catholic Faith (many of which used to be extremely anti-Catholic). The converts explain how they resolved their questions or issues that they had with the Church. I am a very committed Catholic and always have been, but these books really helped me to strengthen my faith. Some other good books are "Faith Facts", "Crossing the Tiber" and anything by Patrick Madrid. I would not expect to find these at a Christian bookstore. They usually do not have a good selection of Catholic books. I would try to find either a Catholic bookstore or go to Amazon. Best of luck to you!
God bless!

anawim · Jun 21, 2006

tel0004 said:
Im wondering what the best catholic apologetic books are. I have always been agianst the Catholic church, for their false teachings, but ive read some somewhat convincing arguments and maybe they could be true after all, I really dont know. Jesus said
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.(Rev 3:20)

I realized that I just assumed it was wrong, and never did any actual research, so Im going to take Jesus up on his challenge, if he is knocking on this door, then ill be ready to answer. So back to the question, what book would you reccomend for me seaking Catholic answers, I guess im heading to the christian book store tommorow.

Scott Hahn's "A Father Who Keeps His Promises", and "Rome Sweet Home", whcih he wrote with his wife Kimberly.

Atomagenesis · Jun 21, 2006

Read good Biblical commentaries by the saints:

Latin church fathers, Greek church fathers.

Cornelius Lapide Commentary, Haydock Commentary.

www.catholicintl.com Robert Sungenis is a good apologist.

www.lumengentleman.com
www.fisheaters.com
www.scripturecatholic.com

Those are all very good, traditional and very orthodox apologetics websites.

Reading the Summa Theologiae is very good for a philosophical apologetic approach when you have to deal with someone who is not neccesarily Christian. It is important to be steeped in Thomas and familier with certain scripture passages (memorized them) if you want to be a good apologist.

Pax Christi,

Malcolm

Credo · Jun 21, 2006

I'll recommend some that I found very helpful in my reversion to the Faith:

"Crossing the Tiber" by Stephen Ray
"Upon This Rock" by Stephen Ray
"Catholicism and Fundamentalism" by Karl Keating
"What Catholics Really Believe" by Karl Keating
"The Catholic Church and the Bible" by Fr. Peter Stravinskas
"By What Authority?" by Mark Shea
"A Biblical Defense of Catholicism" by Dave Armstrong
"Catholic for a Reason Series" edited by Scott Hahn
"The Hidden Manna" by James O'Connor
"Where We Got the Bible" by Henry Graham

This list could go on and on. I have alot of books. This is just a brief summary of what was the best in my opinion, along with those already listed above.

God be with you on your journey, and if there's anything we can do to help, just ask.

JMJ

winsome · Jun 21, 2006

The Library section of www.catholic.com has some good stuff - and it's free.

nyj · Jun 21, 2006

The Catholic Controversy - St. Francis de Sales

NewMan99 · Jun 21, 2006

Hey - I resemble the remarks made by a few people around here!

Seriously, I applaud your efforts to get your info direct from the source. I grew up a Protestant with MANY misconceptions about Catholicism. Imagine my shock to find out that most of what I thought that Catholicism teaches was not - in reality - what the Catholic Church teaches.

As Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen once said:

"There are not a hundred people in the United States who hate the Catholic Church. There are, however, millions of Americans who hate what they mistakenly think Catholic Church teaches - which is quite a different thing."

How true.

Here is my "short list" of books to read:

1. Any of the "Surprised By Truth" books. I happen to know a few of the people whose stories are told...and they are very genuine and sincere people.

2. Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic by David Currie

3. Rome Sweet Home by Scott Hahn

4. By What Authority by Mark Shea

5. Crossing the Tiber by Stephen Ray

6. Biblical Evidence for Catholicism by David Armstrong

7. Anything written by Thomas Howard (especially Evangelical In Not Enough).

Here is a link to my book list (it need updating, I can think of a couple dozen more books that should be on the list): http://www.newman99.com/27.html

Lastly I would recommend you consider reading at least one book on Church History.

I would recommend any of the following:

1. Triumph: The Power and Glory of the Catholic Church by Henry Croker

2. Church History by Fr. John Laux

3. One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic by Kenneth Whitehead

All of the books I listed here are readily available in any Catholic bookstore...or online at Amazon. Barnes and Noble have have some of the books. Or, you could try certain Catholic booksellers online too.

Feel free to ask questions - I am happy to help.

God's Peace,

NewMan

wynd · Jun 21, 2006

My two favorites are Catholicism and Fundamentalism by Karl Keating and Rome Sweet Home by Scott Hahn. The first is straight-out apologetics. The second is Scott Hahn and his wife telling the story of how they became Catholic and what it meant for their lives.

Also, if you can, get a copy of Catholic Christianity by Peter Kreeft. It's a book that's based directly on the Bible and the Catechism with footnotes, so it's very informative as to what Catholics believe but it's more straightforward and not as confusing as the Catechism. We used it as the textbook for my RCIA class and it was great.

wynd · Jun 21, 2006

tel0004 said:
I guess im heading to the christian book store tommorow.

I don't think your typical Christian (read: Protestant) bookstore will carry these kinds of books. If they don't, you may have to seek out a specifically Catholic bookstore or order them online.

WarriorAngel · Jun 21, 2006

It is amazing isnt it??

You even put ONE thought towards seeking the truth and God is already answering.

He is closer to you than your own heartbeat. And He knows before you ask...He just patiently waits.

God Bless your search.

Unfortunately I havent read any good apologetics, but I have heard countless good things about Scott Hahn, even at conventions I attended.

Also own a copy of his tape on his conversion.

Peace!

tel0004 · Jun 21, 2006

wynd said:
I don't think your typical Christian (read: Protestant) bookstore will carry these kinds of books. If they don't, you may have to seek out a specifically Catholic bookstore or order them online.

Yup, you were right. Im not one to buy books, especially non fiction ones without looking at them first, if the format isnt right, I think its just a pain to find information, and It wont get read. You were right, Berean the bookstore I went to had one tiny section on Catholic books, they probably have twice the section trying to sell "The message" bible then they have on Catholic books. My university library has a huge section on goverment and religion, but I couldnt find anything on Catholic books, but the City library has a few, and I put them on hold and well pick them up as soon as they are available. I will also try to google a catholic book store in my area. Thanks for all the help everybody.

cathmomof3 · Jun 21, 2006

tel0004 said:
Yup, you were right. Im not one to buy books, especially non fiction ones without looking at them first, if the format isnt right, I think its just a pain to find information, and It wont get read. You were right, Berean the bookstore I went to had one tiny section on Catholic books, they probably have twice the section trying to sell "The message" bible then they have on Catholic books. My university library has a huge section on goverment and religion, but I couldnt find anything on Catholic books, but the City library has a few, and I put them on hold and well pick them up as soon as they are available. I will also try to google a catholic book store in my area. Thanks for all the help everybody.

Try Amazon.com that is where I order all of my Catholic books...Do a search on Catholic and it comes up with around 20,000 titles. Good luck!

poppinskw · Jun 21, 2006

tel0004 said:
Yup, you were right. Im not one to buy books, especially non fiction ones without looking at them first, if the format isnt right, I think its just a pain to find information, and It wont get read. .

Hi there , I also was on this same journey towards the end of last year, seeking from Catholics the answers to all those doubts and fears I had about Catholic teachings. As protestants we only know that which we are taught for years and years....... most of it by people that have no knowledge themselves of Catholicism.... the best way to find correct answers is to ask those that know their faith the best.. I did that and found beauty and fullness and richness in the Catholic faith, I converted at Easter this year.

I read a lot of the books that Newman and others recommended...especially Scott Hahn's Rome Sweet Home and then others of his.... The Lambs Supper, Hail Holy Queen all by Scott.

I buy a lot of books online from Amazon and often buy from the second hand section, as they are so much cheaper and come mostly in new condition.

Ask any questions you want on OBOB there is always someone happy to answer them for you.

Blessings to you in this faith walk you are on.

Les

enelya_taralom · Jun 21, 2006

tel0004 said:
Its amazing how God works sometimes. A friend of mine (who led me to God, and is non catholic) asked me if I wanted to play frisbee golf tommorw. I havent seen him in months. I said sure, Ill meet you at the course. He doesnt know where it is, so he said he will meet me at the mall. I told him we can meet in the parking garage where I always park. He doesnt know where that is, so he said he will meet me at the Christian bookstore. The same book store I said I sure try to get to in post 1 of this topic. Honestly, its about 30 minutes out of the way from what I had planned to do, and I probably wouldnt have ended up going there tommorow, but its just amazing how God works. I havent even knocked on the door yet, and I already fell like Christ has already answered. Just thought I would post this, and this was less than 1 hours after I posted the original topic

It's really awesome when Christ looks after us like that, isn't it? God is so good!!

I see that they didn't have much of a selection though. Were you able to find at least one book?

Amazon would be a good place to look, as well as Ascension Press: www.ascensionpress.com

Also, just in case there hasn't been enough resources recommended to ya ( ), Jeff Cavins has got some great things to say. His story is an interesting one aswell. He was raised Catholic, but then left and spent twelve years as a Protestant Pastor before coming back to the Catholic Church. So he's got a pretty extensive insight into how a Protestant thinks and can really meet / address Protestant issues from a Protestant viewpoint (which is also what is great about Scott Hahn, Peter Kreeft or the Surprised by Truth books). Anyway, check him out: www.jeffcavins.com/

Best Catholic apologetics books

Lost in Translation

Senior Contributor

Catch the wave.....

Lost in Translation

Active Member

Saved by Grace through Faith in Jesus Christ

Saved by Grace through Faith in Jesus Christ

Senior Veteran

Regina decor Carmeli, ora pro nobis

broken

English, not British

Goodbye, my puppy

New CF: More Political, Less Charity, No Unity

Orthodox Christian

Orthodox Christian

I close my eyes and see you smile

Lost in Translation

Saved by Grace through Faith in Jesus Christ

Senior Contributor

Catch the wave.....

Similar threads

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency