Evangelical wants to understand Catholicism

[JaMc]

OP: I saw you mention that old canard that Catholics worship Mary. . . and it–for the 500th time—makes me wonder why some Protestants are ignorant–willfully ignorant?—of these things.

The Catholic Church has been around for a long time. Certainly they can get the real answers. The Catechism is all over the place, on the web, in libraries, in stores, etc.

Nowadays information’s cheap and easy to get. There’s less and less excuse for ignorance by Protestant pastors—unless perhaps because they financially benefit by shoveling misconceptions to people.

Oh, this sounds harsh, I’m sure. But c’mon “Catholics WORSHIP Mary”? That’s so patently erroneously.

As I mentioned in another thread - kind of makes one wonder if there isn’t some misprint in the KJV (as that seems to be the preferred version among those of this mindset) that is in circulation among fundamentalist pastors that omits the “not” from “thou shalt not bear false witness…”

 

[JaMc]

Shift, You do know you can get the Douay-Rheims Bible on line. I think you also ask about a Bible

drbo.org/

 

[SSTeacher]

As I mentioned in another thread - kind of makes one wonder if there isn’t some misprint in the KJV (as that seems to be the preferred version among those of this mindset) that is in circulation among fundamentalist pastors that omits the “not” from “thou shalt not bear false witness…”

There actually was a typo very like the one about which you speculated. It occurred in the 1631 KJV wherein Exodus 20:14 was rendered as: Thou shalt commit adultery, omitting the word, “not.” That edition became known as the “Wicked Bible.” The king ordered them all burnt but a few apparently survived.

Cordially,
Mick

 

[Jon_Hus]

I recommend Catholicism for Dummies by John Trigilio and Kenneth Brighenti. You can get it on-line at Amazon.

 

[Roman_Catholic_1]

I recommend Catholicism for Dummies by John Trigilio and Kenneth Brighenti. You can get it on-line at Amazon.

The Dummies book was pretty good just don’t confuse it with the Complete Idiots Guide to Catholicism which I heard is a complete waste of time.

God bless

 

[manualman]

I want to read a book that explains common Protestant misconceptions in Catholicism. For example, most of my evangelical friends will say “Catholics worship Mary.” A Catholic friend of mine explained this isn’t true. It is these kind of issues I would like to learn more about (Protestant misconceptions).

The previously recommended “Catholicism and Fundamentalism” is EXACTLY the book you are looking for. But a few words should be said first.

1. The book was written for precisely this purpose, but the author seems to have had catholics under attack by protestant neighbors in mind. Thus, you may find the first third or so of the book useless as it is mostly examples of specific anti-catholic people or organizations and how they behave. The meat you want is organized later in the book by specific topic. It is clearly presented in plain English and good citations are given for further research, if desired.
2. Don’t be put off that the author may have labeled you a ‘fundamentalist.’ He explains himself and practically apologizes. Something to the effect of “Catholicism and Conservative Evangelical Reform Protestant Christianity” wouldn’t fit on the book cover or sound very catchy! And 90% of catholics wouldn’t “get” that label anyway…
3. Have a thick skin. Remember, this is written mostly for people whose faith is being attacked by friends, neighbors or relatives. The author is forceful and not shy about biting back. That may not come across as entirely fair to you, when you are not guilty of attacking anybody. The author started Catholic Answers practically out of irritation with all of the ignorant criticisms he saw being hurled at his beliefs. just remember that irritation isn’t with YOU.