Catholic Readers discussion

Hi all,

While it is mentioned in other topics, I could not find a topic specifically dedicated to apologetics books. If there is one, I apologize for duplicating. Can anyone recommend good apologetics books? I'm just starting the subject matter, so it might be helpful for others as well. Thanks in advance!

Tom

Recently I have read two apologetic books. But they are specifically apologetics against the accusation from evolutionists.
They both seem to be interesting and good books:
They are:
Chance or Purpose?: Creation, Evolution, and a Rational Faith
and
Darwin and Intelligent Design.

Have you been to Catholic.com? Any book they have for sale on their website, or any of their online resources, would be very helpful.

A new edition of Mark Shea's By What Authority will be out in a few days. The first edition of the book was instrumental in my conversion to the Church. Short, easy to read, and absolutely persuasive. I highly recommmend it.

I found this link labeled "beginning" but has some good information.

http://www.librarything.com/series/Be...

How to Defend the Faith Without Raising Your Voice: Civil Responses to Catholic Hot-Button Issues is a best seller. Answer Me This! by Patrick Madrid is very popular too.

Great question.

Thanks, all, for the great suggestions. I'll check them out. I was specifically having trouble defending Catholicism against atheism. I'm hoping to find some authoritative help on that challenge. Maybe it's just not possible (philosophically) to defend a belief against a lack of belief though.

Tom, in my experience the best approach to discussing atheism is to understand the person's motives. It seems to me that many of these individuals have taken atheism as their faith as a mechanism to be contrarian. One atheist I know loves to research the Bible and then point out contrived contradictions, for example. My favorite way to talk to atheists is to ask them to study the conversion of Paul!

Tom wrote: "Hi all,

While it is mentioned in other topics, I could not find a topic specifically dedicated to apologetics books. If there is one, I apologize for duplicating. Can anyone recommend good apologe..."

Not sure that there is one.

Try The Godless Delusion by Patrick Madrid. specifically about confronting modern atheism.

Howard wrote: "Tom, in my experience the best approach to discussing atheism is to understand the person's motives. It seems to me that many of these individuals have taken atheism as their faith as a mechanism t..."
I'll second what Howard said.
The atheists I have debated with have either been motivated by religious faith in science or by a deep antipathy to Christianity for whatever reason.
When I was an Atheist, I didn't have an interest in debate because I neither had the antipathy nor did I have a devotion to my atheism. Rather it was a default state due to lack of faith formation. I was ripe for a conversion experience.
I think an apologetics based argument with atheists is putting the cart before the horse. They need to see that faith in God is reasonable first. I like the arguments based on fine tuning of the universe and the idea that everything must have a cause. Then you can move on to natural law.
If they are motivated by hate of Christianity, you need historical evidence as to the goodness of the church. How The Catholic Church Built Western Civilization is good for that.

I personally like the route of proving that humans are not animals, which means that we are special. That statement alone has profound philosophical implications which inevitably lead toward monotheism. I've always felt that most people believe in God because it's just plain to see that humanity has a special purpose apart from the rest of nature.

The main way that I prove that humans are not animals is through free will. A perfect example of free will is when it comes to sexual reproduction. There aren't any Pacific Salmon who think to themselves "Gee, I could have a long, happy life if I don't do the 100 mile journey upstream only to procreate and then die." When animals have sufficient resources, they always procreate, even if it leads their death. There's no choice for them. However, we have a choice.

Great point, Vincent. I love going into history to look at faith as well. Every atheist should study the miraculous painting of Mary of Guadalupe. I had accepted its miracle but recently spent some time reading the attempt by scientists to explain it. I guarantee you'll enjoy the process. Find out why almost 15,000 people were baptized by two priests in the 5 days following its appearance.

Yes, Our Lady of Guadalupe is fascinating, especially the inability of science to explain her. Thanks again for the great suggestions. I feel like atheists are just those who have not seen or experienced the beauty and mystery of Catholicism yet. I think returning to the Latin mass would solve some of that, but that's for another topic... I have some reading to do in the meantime. :)

Hi guys,

I am also looking for a good book on apologetics to defend our faith against Atheism and radical protestantism. I believe apologetics is also a good tool to help fellow Catholics in a faith crisis and to convert people Catholicism...so I am really interested to learn more about it.


What are your experiences with apologetics and can you recommand me a book?

Michael

@Michael you might try this one: Dangers to the Faith: Recognizing Catholicism's 21st-Century Opponents by Al Kresta. It's new this year, and getting some great reviews. I'll keep thinking -- there are lots of good apologetics books out there.

Polly

I've been searching and updating my 'to read' list for apologetics and came across this one, it looks interesting: By What Authority? An Evangelical Discovers Catholic Tradition

This one is also highly rated, adding to my list: If Protestantism is True

My Utmost for His Highest: Traditional Updated Edition

Joyce

No this book does not appear to be Catholic in origin. The description of it is as a daily devotional so clearly a Protestant way to pray.

Has anyone of you read a book by Patrick Madrid and what do you think of it?

Peter Kreeft has several excellent apologetics books, including these two:



His writing is very approachable, and very Catholic :) He has a knack for presenting the thoughts of men such as Aquinas and Pascal in a clear and engaging way for modern readers.

If you want something that more directly combats the challenges of New Atheism, which more or less dominates the internet these days, Patrick Madrid's books are definitely worth a read. My own novel (below) also confronts the major claims of the New Atheists, though it packages the arguments within the context of a story.

May I suggest reading Origen Contra Celsum by Henry Chadwick to find out what early Christians had to face in the way of allegations if not out and out falsehoods? Origen does a masterful job in countering the arguments of the greatest critic of Christianity of all times: Celsum, an Alexandrian scholar. Two masters going at one another with no give on either side. Wow. A little dated, but no apologetic today should miss these arguments. Many still apply. Over 500 pages in this paperback.

Answering Atheism by Trent Horn. Newly(ish) published, I believe.

Joyce wrote: "Quote: Can anyone recommend good apologetics books? I'm just starting the subject matter



This Is The Faith: A Complete Explanation of the Catholic Faith
[bookcover:This Is The F..."

What a wonderful idea!

Well I guess it depends on what kind of apologetics you see yourself doing. There has already been some good suggestions for apologetics to protestants and those lacking in spiritual fervor, but I think the hardest nut to crack is simply getting a person to consider the God question if they are your average young person living in the west. In my life, being a young person who interacts with other young people at university who are very often skeptics, materialists and atheists, I think the method offered by Catholic Philosopher Edward Feser is apt, I can't recommend this post enough for budding apologists who see themselves facing skeptics and atheists:

http://edwardfeser.blogspot.ca/2014/0...

Basically he doesn't recommend starting off with Christian apologetics right away when interacting with an inveterate atheist skeptic, but only after a series of steps to establish a worldview that would permit miracles such as the Resurrection and the Catholic Church. His conclusion has some book suggestions:

"The point is that the full power of distinctively Christian claims about God and man can only be appreciated within the context of a fully developed “natural apologetics.” Scholastic writers of a previous generation understood this. You will find the approach I advocate followed in old books like Paul Glenn's Apologetics, Anthony Alexander’s College Apologetics, Michael Sheehan’s Apologetics and Catholic Doctrine, John McCormick’s Natural Theology, and in many multi-volume works of dogmatic or fundamental theology in the Neo-Scholastic period. The trouble with such works (other than the fact of their often being out of print and hard to find) is that, being old, they do not address the sorts of objections a contemporary analytic philosopher or a contemporary skeptical biblical scholar might raise."

So if you coupled these books off with some books of modern thomistic philosophy that responds to objections to traditional arguments for God, and books by Biblical scholars who have countered the claims of modernist scholars such as John Dominic Crossan and Bart Ehrman, I think you'll have a good reading plan and mission. I know I do at least.

Another book I'm about halfway through but I just wanted to throw in is The Devil's Delusion: Atheism and Its Scientific Pretensions by David Berlinski, a self described "secularist Jew". It really takes apart the popular atheism that is so, well, popular today, especially the philosophy of scientism and scientist worship.

Great tip, Brenda. I did not think of that myself, and I'll keep that in my mind. I have been reading more of the Fathers and Doctors of the Church lately, as I collect all of your great comments for my apologetics reading list. Thanks!

I am still looking for more books for my apologetics shelf....

At the moment I am reading Trent Horn's Answering Atheism.

I like his friendly approach.

Michael wrote: "I am still looking for more books for my apologetics shelf....

At the moment I am reading Trent Horn's Answering Atheism.

I like his friendly approach."

Much depends on whom you are addressing your apologetics to. Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic, for instance, is useful when addressing fundamentalists.

I'm reading a sort of "apologetics" book called On Heaven and Earth ...The unique thing about the book's structure is that it is a dialogue between Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio (now Pope Francis) and Rabbi Abraham Skorka...they very respectfully (not argumentatively) take turns giving their views on a wide spectrum of topics...including atheism -- he sets a good example of how to reach them -- he says that he first discusses social concerns that they both care about...to show respect and gain respect...and he will share about why he believes in God IF it is something the atheist wishes to talk about. In fact, this book (On Heaven and Earth) is packed with many social concerns that could be discussed caringly; the topics are listed in the Table of Contents which is posted in the Goodreads description for this book if you click on it.

The back of the book has a great quote:

"God makes Himself felt in the heart of each person. He also respects the culture of all people...God is open to all people. He calls everyone. He moves everyone to seek Him and to discover Him through creation."

Catholicism and Fundamentalism is a very good apologetics book. The author does a great job, and manages to do so without any Protestant bashing.

is useful to help clear up biblical confusion and explain what the Catholic Church really teaches and why it's true...it does 3 spiritual works of mercy: instructing the ignorant, counseling the doubtful, and patiently bearing wrongs. :D

Many apologetics books available here:
~http://www.ewtnreligiouscatalogue.com...
~http://shop.catholic.com/books-1/apol...

Hi Michele,

It's fine with me if you post about the conference. Thanks!

Tom

that's cool :)
you're welcome :D
hopefully the info blesses lives
God bless everybody

I just attended an apologetics conference in San Diego through Catholic Answers. One of the books I found during the conference is The Seven Deadly Sins of Apologetics by Mark Brumley. There are a ton more at www.catholic.com too. There's a new one coming out that they talked about at the conference, 'Behold Your Mother' by Tim Staples. He was one of the speakers.....I can't wait to read that one!

I recently listened to a c.d. talk by Tim Staples, called The Bible Made me Do It -- about how the Bible led to his conversion to Catholicism...

can you very briefly list what those 7 things are so that we can avoid them? (like if the table of contents/ chapter titles give us hints) maybe with a sentence summary in your own words, but at least a list of what they are... it sounds like an important thing to know. I'm sure I've not lived up to the call of sharing good Catholic apologetics with truth people needed from me at the time. Apologetics won me over, and yet I feel I've shirked my duty to share apologetics with others.

I also attended the Catholic Answers conference in San Diego last weekend. It was fantastic. Tom, Trent Horn is an apologist from Catholic Answers that is an expert in defending our faith to atheists. I picked up his 2 CD set called "GOD: Supreme Being or Imaginary Friend". In that CD set he debates Dan Barker an atheist in an overflow crowd of 300. You may pick up tips and techniques to defending our faith with that CD set. Also, Trent Horn has another CD set and book called "Answering Atheism". Another Catholic apologist has a CD set called "How to talk to atheists." They are both top apologists. You can find the books and CD sets on Catholic.com

Michele - I haven't finished reading the book, so I wouldn't do it justice, but here are the seven as outlined in the TOC:

1. Apologetical Gluttony
2. Reducing the Faith to Apologetics and Apologetics to Arguments
3. Confusing the Faith with our Arguments for It
4. Contentiousness
5. Friendly Fire
6. Trying to 'Win'
7. Pride

Good topics!

Yes, women can do apologetics too! The Catholic Answers conference that I attended in San Diego was Sept. 4th-Sept. 7th. There were many women there. Amazing apologetics speakers too, Trent Horn, Charles Keating, Patrick Coffin, Jimmy Aiken, Tim Staples, Hector Molina. Someone asked the question during the taping of Catholic Answers Live radio show, why there were not more women apologists. Patrick Coffin answered that they welcome women apologists and they do have 2 women on staff but that they prefer to be behind the scenes working on the Catholic Answers Magazine. I'm very interested in apologetics and defending our beautiful Catholic faith. I'm trying to read and listen to all that I can to learn more. That's why this group is so great. I get many ideas from all of you.