Good Book on Catholic Theology?

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Madaglan

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I am in desperate need of a book which explains in detail the definition of certain theological terms and how they function. I need to know more about Grace, Sanctification, and Justification, among other ideas. I come across these terms a lot in these forums, and I don’t know their complete technical meaning. I have a vague sense of what each means and how Protestants and Catholics view them differently, but I often feel as though I can’t give a really good explanation of each.

Anyhow, I know that www.newadvent.org is a good encyclopedia about these; but I was wondering if there are any books out that which deal with these terms in a friendlier and less-weighty manner. Thanks!
 
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Madaglan:
I am in desperate need of a book which explains in detail the definition of certain theological terms and how they function. I need to know more about Grace, Sanctification, and Justification, among other ideas. I come across these terms a lot in these forums, and I don’t know their complete technical meaning. I have a vague sense of what each means and how Protestants and Catholics view them differently, but I often feel as though I can’t give a really good explanation of each.

Anyhow, I know that www.newadvent.org is a good encyclopedia about these; but I was wondering if there are any books out that which deal with these terms in a friendlier and less-weighty manner. Thanks!
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Try On Being Catholic by Thomas Howard.
 
Any of the books written by Peter Kreeft are quite good.

His book “Catholic Christianity” is a walk through of the Catechism of the Catholic Church…
…which, by the way, is also excellent!

Hm… I hope everybody pauses for a second and thinks of the great gift God has bestowed upon us in His servant John Paul II… the Luminous Mysteries… the Catechism… Breakdancing…

Oh… you didn’t know about breakdancing?

smh.com.au/articles/2004/01/26/1074965471823.html?oneclick=true
 
You can also try Ott’s “Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma” and, of course, the Catechism.
 
Theology for Beginners by Frank Sheed

You should also get a copy of The Catechism of the Catholic Church.
 
I have an excellent book called Dogmatic Theology for the Laity by Rev. Matthias Premm put out by Tan. It may be out of print but it has a lot of all the good stuff you say you are looking for. Many years ago my pastor gave an Adult Ed Course using this text and he was of the good old school!

I lost my orgininal copy and did a search on Amazon and I think it’s Halfcom or something like that where you are able to purchase used books… I got mine as second hand and it is in pretty good condition.
 
For a very dry and outdated style (though nothing against this!), I agree with the above post regarding Ott’s Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma.

Try Cardinal Ratzinger’s Introduction to Christianity (a much more “modern” feel). Or if you’re looking for a straighforward, well-explained, more traditional approach, try The Faith Explained. I forget the author, but it is published by Scepter Press.
 
I recently saw a catalog from TAN tanbooks.com/index.php that showed “Dogmatic Theology For The Laity” to be still available. Also Ott’s “Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma” is available directly from them.
netmender
 
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Madaglan:
I am in desperate need of a book which explains in detail the definition of certain theological terms and how they function. I need to know more about Grace, Sanctification, and Justification, among other ideas.
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For the topics you mention here, all of which are closely related, I find The Salvation Controversy by James Akin to be the best organized and most readable treatment I have encountered. Jimmy does a terrific job of comparing and explaining the Catholic and Protestant/Evangelical positions on how we are saved and justified, and the roles played by grace, faith and works. 👍

It is available from Catholic Answers.
Paul
 
theology for beginners by Frank Sheed is definitely the place to start, then, while you are on www.ignatius.com looking for this book at Ignatius Press, click on the Peter Kreeft icon and look for titles that address your specific concerns.
If you are looking for a friendly introduction to the Catechism of the Catholic Church try the Family Catechism or Teen Catechism by Fr. Alfred McBride from Our Sunday visitor.
 
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FelixBlue:
For a very dry and outdated style (though nothing against this!), I agree with the above post regarding Ott’s Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma.

Try Cardinal Ratzinger’s Introduction to Christianity (a much more “modern” feel). Or if you’re looking for a straighforward, well-explained, more traditional approach, try The Faith Explained. I forget the author, but it is published by Scepter Press.
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If I’m not mistaken, you are probably referring to Leo J. Trese.

Gerry 🙂
 
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RobedWithLight:
If I’m not mistaken, you are probably referring to Leo J. Trese.

Gerry 🙂
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I was going to chime in with a recommendation but it looks like everyone has already covered them. 👍
 
The best book (encyclopedic style) on theology is the Sacramentum Mundi edited by Karl Rahner…but it is out of print. Try alibris.com or abebooks.com to find it. No wonder his name didn’t come up here. He is the central focus of the Malachi Martin style conspiracy theory types who have managed to combine the creativity of Ellen G. White with the lack of scholarship of an Ian Paisley. Often condemned as a flaiming liberal ‘modernist’ by people who have never read a word by him.

And watch out for TAN books, they are notoriously lousy unless they are printing a classic like the dated Fundamentals by Ludwig Ott or the poor historical scholarship but humourous Belloc. Even then the bindings are always poor paperbacks. TAN is the Jack Chick of Catholic publishers.

Adam
 
And watch out for TAN books, they are notoriously lousy unless they are printing a classic like the dated Fundamentals by Ludwig Ott or the poor historical scholarship but humourous Belloc. Even then the bindings are always poor paperbacks. TAN is the Jack Chick of Catholic publishers.
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I read Hilaire Belloc’s How the Reformation Happened. I think he had one important idea that rings true: that the histories written about the Reformation as a return to the early Church are strongly biased. However, I felt that Belloc often failed to prove his scholarship.

I also have a book published by TAN called “The Catholic Controversy.” It’s by St. Francis de Sales. Personally I feel that his arguments are very good; and it’s probably one of the best apologetic works I have found.

Since you mentioned Belloc as a poor scholar, where can I find good historical information on the Reformation and how and why it happened? Belloc makes it seem like that the nobles of each country were in charge of it and imposed it on the laity. Can someone please reference me to some good works of scholarship on this period of history? Catholic scholars would be preferable, since most secular historians fall into the same trap of Protestant historians, since Protestant Christian thought has had a large influence on socio-political thought (witness the Biblical references and undertones of writings by Thomas Hobbes and John Locke–to name just two).

I actually am waiting for Akin’s The Salvation Controversy to come in through the mail. I ordered it about two weeks ago. I’m glad that someone has found it helpful!

The other books listed on this thread also look fruitful. I’ll have to digest them one at a time, however. Sheed looks good, as does Kreeft. Thanks!
 
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Madaglan:
Since you mentioned Belloc as a poor scholar, where can I find good historical information on the Reformation and how and why it happened? Belloc makes it seem like that the nobles of each country were in charge of it and imposed it on the laity. Can someone please reference me to some good works of scholarship on this period of history? Catholic scholars would be preferable, since most secular historians fall into the same trap of Protestant historians, since Protestant Christian thought has had a large influence on socio-political thought (witness the Biblical references and undertones of writings by Thomas Hobbes and John Locke–to name just two).
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For Reformation history, try A History of Christendom Vol 4. The Cleaving of Christendom by Dr. Warren H. Carroll available at christendompress.com
 
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