Best Catholic Apologist?

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Hi, I’m looking for a list of 5-10 of the top Catholic Apologist. I know this is kind of based on opinion but I’m a Non-Catholic Christian considering joining the church, and I would like to get some books written by some of the most prominent, popular, and highly regarded modern catholic apologist. Who should I start with. Who do other catholic apologist regard as the best in their field? Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks
 
I think that really depends on where you are coming from, and what aspects of the Church you find both attractive and objectionable.

If you’re coming from a non-believing background, you might benefit from C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity, or Peter Kreeft’s Socrates Meets Jesus. If you’re coming from a heavily fundamentalist background (whore of Babylon, etc) then you might benefit more from Karl Keating’s Catholicism and Fundamentalism. If you are coming from a strong Evangelical (Baptist, etc) background, then Steven Ray’s Crossing the Tiber.

I could tell you which apologists I admire, but that doesn’t mean you would find them beneficial.
 
jasonmccarley said:
Hi, I’m looking for a list of 5-10 of the top Catholic Apologist. I know this is kind of based on opinion but I’m a Non-Catholic Christian considering joining the church, and I would like to get some books written by some of the most prominent, popular, and highly regarded modern catholic apologist. Who should I start with. Who do other catholic apologist regard as the best in their field? Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks
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Check out Rome Sweet Home by Dr. Scott Hahn. He is a former protestant pastor who received his Masters of Divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He is a Catholic convert. On his website you can find many of his books and essays.

You can look at Steve Ray, also a convert to the Catholic Church from Southern Bapstist. He has a couple of books, Crossing the Tiber and St. John’s Gospel: A Bible Study Guide and Commentary for Individuals and Groups.

Finally and most importantly, check out Catholic Answers Live. You can listen live online or checkout their podcast. Listen today if you can, its on open forum Q&A for non-Catholics.

Don’t forget catholic.com

Hope this helps and God bless,
ZP
 
When I began my journey I spent hours and hours and hours pouring over everything at catholic.com. Then I read Born Fundamentalist…Born Again Catholic, Catholicism for Dummies.

themaryfoundation.org has wonderful CD’s about different areas of the faith and they are free. Scott Hahn is featured on several of them.

I will pray for you as move forward in your journey.
 
jasonmccarley said:
Hi, I’m looking for a list of 5-10 of the top Catholic Apologist. I know this is kind of based on opinion but I’m a Non-Catholic Christian considering joining the church, and I would like to get some books written by some of the most prominent, popular, and highly regarded modern catholic apologist. Who should I start with. Who do other catholic apologist regard as the best in their field? Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks
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Hope this list of my top 15 Catholic apologetics helps.

And interestingly, not all of them wrote books, and those who did did not charge for them!

1 God the Father
2.Jesus Christ
3. the Holy Spirit
4. Matthew
5 Mark
6. Luke
7. John
8. Paul
9 Peter
10 James
11 Jude
12, Isaiah
13, Ezeikiel
14. Jeremiah
15. Daniel

😃
 
Neofight said:
Hope this list of my top 15 Catholic apologetics helps.

And interestingly, not all of them wrote books, and those who did did not charge for them!

1 God the Father
2.Jesus Christ
3. the Holy Spirit
4. Matthew
5 Mark
6. Luke
7. John
8. Paul
9 Peter
10 James
11 Jude
12, Isaiah
13, Ezeikiel
14. Jeremiah
15. Daniel

😃
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The majority of your list is negated by the fact that the OP asked for modern apologists. As much as I love the Gospels and even Daniel… they aren’t exactly modern. 🙂
 
Scott Hahn - for an Apologist who likes to dive into Scripture and looks at things mostly from Scripture and early Christianity. He will also quote early Church fathers but not too much (in my experience at least).

Peter Kreeft - not for Catholic Apologetics so much but his arguments for God are a joy to listen to.

I honestly can’t remember others off the top of my head but if I do I’ll come back.
 
nickybr38 said:
The majority of your list is negated by the fact that the OP asked for modern apologists. As much as I love the Gospels and even Daniel… they aren’t exactly modern. 🙂
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Ahhh, but since the Word is God, these works are timeless, and can be considered as always being either ancient or modern!👍
 
I’m a big fan of G.K. Chesterton. He passed away a few years ago, but he’s pretty modern at least by my standards. 😉

Orthodoxy is probably the best book of his to start with, although he wrote it long before he became Catholic.

C.S. Lewis is usually good too, though he’s less reliable for solid orthodox Christianity.

I haven’t read a great deal of recent apologetics, but one that I did read and thought was pretty good was a short book called The Salvation Controversy by James (aka Jimmy) Akin.
 
jasonmccarley said:
Hi, I’m looking for a list of 5-10 of the top Catholic Apologist. I know this is kind of based on opinion but I’m a Non-Catholic Christian considering joining the church, and I would like to get some books written by some of the most prominent, popular, and highly regarded modern catholic apologist. Who should I start with. Who do other catholic apologist regard as the best in their field? Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks
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Jason:

This book. Just click that link to start reading it, it’s been put up for free on that website in its entirety for some reason.

It was written by one of the most gentle and loving and intelligent Saints of all time. I love reading anything he writes, it’s so sweet yet profound.
 
sdegutis said:
Jason:

This book. Just click that link to start reading it, it’s been put up for free on that website in its entirety for some reason.

It was written by one of the most gentle and loving and intelligent Saints of all time. I love reading anything he writes, it’s so sweet yet profound.
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That’s one that I’ve been meaning to read! I’ve already read (and reread) St Francis de Sales’ Introduction to Devout Life and Treatise on Divine Love (and I’ll probably read them again in different translations). 🙂
 
Wow, this is great! I have a lot to look through here. I really appreciate all the suggestions. Keep em coming! 🙂
 
Karl Keating, his books and works started the modern apologetics movement thus converting protestant pastors to the catholic faith.
 
I am a convert who loves apologetics. Checkout Unabridged Christianity by Father Mario Romero. Top apologists- Scott Hahn, Tim Staples, Patrick Madrid, Jimmy Akin, Steve Ray, John Marignoni, Father Mitch Pacwa, Jeff Cavins, Ken Hensley. Gerry Matatics and Sungenis have a lot of good material but have strayed towards the radtrad bent over the last few years. Www.saintjoe.com www.biblechristiansociety.com Hope that helps!
 
Robert Sungenis is without question the best Catholic Apologists around.
 
Hi, Jason.

I’ve read many books on Catholic apologetics from today’s authors (i.e. Keating, Hahn, Madrid, Johnson, etc.), and though those authors are excellent in their own regard, I think that “Faith of Our Fathers” by James Cardinal Gibbons—Archbishop of Baltimore—is the finest for anyone just starting out in Catholic apologetics or just wanting to know what Catholics really believe. It’s straight-forward, easy to read, uninsulting, and accurate. And after 130 years, the truths it teaches about Catholicism have not changed. There are a few brief mentions of historial issues (European governments) and the Mass in Latin which are no longer pertinent, but the core Catholic beliefs he describes have not changed–not just from 1876 but from the time of the Apostles. Many of today’s author’s have been influences by his work.

Cardinal Gibbons honestly and frankly describes what the Church believes and teaches. His language is very thoughtful, heartfelt, logical, and inclusive of scripture and references. Plus, since Cardinal Gibbons based the content on lectures and discourses with mixed Catholic/Protestant congregations in rural, protestant North Carolina and Virginia, his approach is very accommodating and non-offensive.

If you want to know what the Catholic Church REALLY teaches…AND what Catholics REALLY believe, this is the first book you should pick up. I would feel comfortable lending this book to ANYONE who wants to know more about Catholicism or wants to strengthen or defend their Catholic faith. And it’s available for FREE on Amazon Kindle.
 
jasonmccarley said:
Hi, I’m looking for a list of 5-10 of the top Catholic Apologist. I know this is kind of based on opinion but I’m a Non-Catholic Christian considering joining the church, and I would like to get some books written by some of the most prominent, popular, and highly regarded modern catholic apologist. Who should I start with. Who do other catholic apologist regard as the best in their field? Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks
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If you are familiar with the bible, and that is an important aspect of your Catholic knowledge search. I would highly suggest that you visit:

scripturecatholic.com/

Here you will find the exact bible scriptures which the catholic church’s doctrines and dogma’s are supported by.

It is a good place to book mark… if you need to look at the doctrines of the Catholic church you can google many sites with that information. Where you can read the doctrines and dogma’s for yourself, and then compare what you find with the scriptures at the first site I mentioned…

Or you can get a small pocket paper back book of the Catholic Catechism teachings for less than eight bucks at Barnes and Noble, even find it cheaper on amazon.com

Or you can begin your quest by listing your questions here on this forum. Maybe one at a time and allow others and yourself the time to really explain them and digest the differences between what you have already been taught or have discovered…

There are some great differences and you will need some time in order to learn of them and then to digest these differences…

I came from a very different christian back ground and I found the differences to be many and intense, for me at the time, but with the right kind of people helping you here you can make that journey with ease… and I think you will find the Catholic not only in accord with all the scriptures but will enrich your faith to levels you have not even heard of yet…

PAX
 
jasonmccarley said:
Hi, I’m looking for a list of 5-10 of the top Catholic Apologist. I know this is kind of based on opinion but I’m a Non-Catholic Christian considering joining the church, and I would like to get some books written by some of the most prominent, popular, and highly regarded modern catholic apologist. Who should I start with. Who do other catholic apologist regard as the best in their field? Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks
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Just apologetics or authors? I have many excellent authors depending on the subject matter.
 
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