In one thread I said that I am an ex-protestant. Because protestant “churches” easily give “evidences” from Bible that Catholic Church is the false one and do not leads to God and so on… I decided after my conditional baptism to make some lectures for my catholic friends so that they can defend against their pretended arguments from the Bible, because I love them I do not want that they leave the Church one day after a chancy encounter with a Bible skilled protestant I have Bellarmin disputationes in latin, but I would ask you for some material available on internet for free. I would like to purchase NOT BY FAITH ALONE, NOT BY BREAD ALONE, NOT BY SCRIPTURE ALONE by Robert Sungeonis. Are these books of hight quality? By what should I start with apologetics with protestants?
Quintus55, my husband and I are converts from Evangelical Protestantism. I grew up in a church that produced some of the most well-known and beloved Evangelical teachers of this era, including Mrs. Evelyn Christensen (R.I.P.), Pastor John Ortberg (I grew up with him!), and Steve Douglass (Pres. of Campus Crusade for Christ).
I recommend that you check out the books by Thomas Howard (the brother of Elisabeth Elliott, so he has impeccable Evangelical Protestant credentials).
Evangelical is Not Enough is really good and difficult for Protestants to refute.
Another really good apologist and author is Jeff Cavins, who has continued to write and lead excellent Catholic Bible studies. Read
My Life on the Rock and
I’m Not Being Fed! My Protestant father-in-law has been influenced by him, and has expressed a desire to become Catholic.
Crossing the Tiber: Evangelical Protestants Discover the Historical Church by Stephen Ray is great!
If you are from a Pentecostal (Spirit-filled) Protestant background, I recommend anything by Tim Staples–but his CDs or DVDs are better than his books (which tend to be rather dry).
Also for Pentecostals, any CDs by Michael Cumbie are good.
Hope these recommendations are helpful.
Finally, I agree with those who say to be careful not to turn Protestants away by not recognizing their churches. The Catechism of the Catholic Church makes it clear that Protestants, because of their Baptism, are our separated brothers and sisters–this isn’t just some “liberal” Catholic sentiment, it’s Catechism teaching. I’m sure you know that many Protestants have a deep love for God and His Word, and in recent years, many Protestants have come to accept Catholics as full-fledged Christians (mainly because of working alongside them to combat the evils of abortion). So it is good to approach any discussion with a lot of love and respect, and not insist on doing or saying anything that might turn the Protestant away from the Catholic Church. Not a hill worth dying on, friend!
