Comments on Trent Horn's The Case for Catholicism

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Greetings,

I am a Protestant who is currently on the cusp of beginning the process of entering into the Catholic Church (I am going to RCIA next month). Because of my current infant stage of thought, I have been reading some Catholic apologetic works to help me along. As of tonight, I have just completed Trent Horn’s recently published The Case for Catholicism: Answers to Classic and Contemporary Protestant Objections. While I do think that the paperback copy available on Amazon is a bit pricey at $15, the Kindle edition is perfect at $9.99 with it being about a 300-page book. The topics that are under consideration in the book range from the Biblical canon to the bodily assumption of Mary. As someone who is somewhat familiar with pro-Protestant literature when it comes to the topics covered by Horn, I do find that he uses, in most instances, the best available evidence and argumentation for his position. As someone who is approaching with a somewhat skeptical hesitation, I find his work very approachable and more or less comprehensive (with what it seeks to discuss). Horn is aware of the limitations of his work and he notes them for the reader, clearly identifying what he hopes to accomplish by the end of a discussion.

I first heard of Horn when he debated the Reformed apologist James White at the G3 Conference earlier this year. I was pleased with Horn’s performance and he really did spark my interest in Catholicism. So when I saw his freshly published book on Amazon, it was almost an instant purchase. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who wants a mid-level reading into some of the more contested Catholic beliefs. If you are a Catholic and are looking for books to recommend to Protestants who are interested in the Catholic faith, this may be one book worth mentioning. I hope this brief review/comment on The Case For Catholicism has been helpful.

Regards,
tstor
 
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Welcome home, tstor, and thank you for the book recommendation. Mind if I ask you what sparked your interest in Catholicism?
 
Welcome home and God bless! Yeah, Trent Horn uses quite those talents given him by God alright! God bless him.
 
May God continue to bless Trent Horn, and to bless others though him, and through his writings
including you, tstor.
God bless you for welcoming His grace to return to the Catholic faith.
 
I appreciate the warm welcome. It would be easy to just say that there were many different things that led me to the Catholic faith. However, I do not think that would satisfy your question. I will do my best to make a coherent and linear answer out of what is mostly incoherent and non-linear in my mind.

I was first introduced to Catholicism through the issue of transubstantiation and even that brief introduction to Catholic teaching was viewed through the thick fog of Protestant criticism. I did not really have any interest in pursuing the teachings of the Catholic faith at the time, so I stopped. It was not until I came across the Reformed apologist James White a few years ago that I became more acquainted with Catholic teachings. James White did a few debates with Gerry Matatics many years ago and they can be found YouTube. The one that really struck me was the debate on sola scriptura, as it is so essential to the Protestant position. If the foundation for Protestant authority is wrong, then the whole house collapses. And Matatics sure made me question that foundation.

On a side note, I am aware that Matatics is probably not too well received in Catholic circles now because he is a sedevacantist. However, he did do quite a good job of debating James White back in the day.

It was shortly after those debates that I picked up a Catechism and began to read some of the sections that peaked my interest. Being the lightweight that I was, I dismissed a lot of it on a surface level and dropped the studies early. However, Matatics’ criticism of sola scriptura haunted me almost daily. On and off I considered Catholicism until I finally bit the bullet and began reading about it more seriously. I began reading online articles from various apologists, researching various questions that I had, and reading various books that had been recommended to me. I have attended three Masses in total so far. My first was at an SSPX chapel and it was quite the experience with it being in Latin and whatnot. My previous two Masses have been at my local parish with my grandmother (who is a Catholic). She has greatly helped me by answering many questions and connecting me with the right people who are willing to help. As a result, I will be officially attending RCIA regularly on January 4th, which is when it resumes after the Christmas break.

I am leaving a lot out, however. I had been struggling with my Protestant faith for some time regarding the issue of salvation, trinitarianism, predestination, etc. All of those issues eventually boiled down to what Matatics very clearly put out there: authority. I realized that I needed the Church. And, thankfully, I was not too proud to ignore that reality. I also had correspondence with several Catholics, many of which were SSPX in affiliation. I am still not sure how to view the SSPX, but I am not focusing on that issue too much right now.

Again, I appreciate the warm welcome and I hope your Christmas season is blessed.
 
Thanks for the review.

Love Trent, his debate with JW was awesome. You should download some of his podcasts on CAL, he’s one of my favorite apologists.

I just bought this book as well. It was one of my self purchased Christmas gifts. I’m reading Hostile Witnesses right now, but your review really got me excited to start Trent’s book.

Might have to start reading a chapter of each every night.

Welcome home,

God Bless
 
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