Lorraine Boettner "Roman Catholicism"

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alexaustralia

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Hi all,

I have often heard reference to this author and his anti-catholic “bible”. Just wondering how widespread is this book within Protestant circles (If you are protestant your (name removed by moderator)ut would be highly welcomed). Is it generally accepted by major sectors of protestanism or is it something that very few ill informed protestants believe?
I am asking because thinking of buying it to have a read but no point wasting my time if its contents are not adhered to by the general protestant christian.

Cheers

Alex

Being that I already started a thread …any recommendations for study of OT. I am not so much interested in doctrine development but just in a historical/geographical prespective. BTW letting u know in advance already have Navarre OT.
 
The “inventions list” in Boettner is very popular among fundamentalists. So its nice if you want the “source” for such lists. I have two editions of the book (small changes, Council of “Valencia” was changed to Council of “Toulouse” for example). The dates and anti-Catholic arguments in the book are not necessarily accepted by most knowledgeable evangelicals. The list is answered here:

CA’s reply Catholic "Inventions"
CA’s More Catholic "Inventions"
Response to Catholic "Inventions"
Several replies
The Boettener List from Christian Forums

Phil P
 
Hi.
I have a copy of the book.
Just FYI, if you are *** not *** strong in your faith and if you do not have a good background in church history, this book could possibly shake your faith. It is nonsense of course, but it can sound convincing at times, so be careful.
I don’t recommend spending money on the book.
God bless,
Jaypeeto4 (aka Jaypeeto3)
 
I’m not Catholic and believ much of Boettner’s book to be utter rubbish.

And you are right, the list he chooses to provide of supposed “inventions” is, for the most part, easily refuted by most Catholic apologists.
 
I was listening to an EXTREMELY anti-Catholic tape by Evangelical leader, John MacArthur (founder & president of Masters College) that quoted from Boettner’s book.

**MacArthur is a highly respected and influential leader in Evangelical Protestantism. **If he is still using Boettner’s garbage to draw pople against the Catholic Church, you can bet that it is still widely used in the Evangelical world today.

Many of my Protestant siblings - who left the Church years ago - believe these lies to be true and, in fact, adhere to many of MacArthur’s teachings.
Where do you think I got the tape in the first place??
 
Thank you guys for your responses. I have been interested in apologetics for about 5 years and read works by Robert Sungenis (not by…) also scott hahn tim staples etc…
Australian Christianity is not as broken up as is in America hence radical views (left or right) are not as common. Hence the reason why I asked how popular Lorraine’s book is. If it isn’t popular among general american protestant it is going to be very hard for it to be of any significant influence here.

BTW I have also heard of a MR Graham I think does his name ring any bells?
 
I would suggest Keatings book Catholicism and Fundamentalism, if Roman Catholicism can shake a Catholics faith, his book decimates an anti-Catholics faith in his anti-Catholicism, it was the book that started be on the path to the church. I don’t think the book itself is in use that much, but the majority of anti-catholic literature is based off of it.
 
Lorraine Boettner was a Calvinist who also wrote a book, *Predestination, *which would most definitely not be popular among most Protestant groups today. (I’ve read both that book and *Roman Catholicism, *which is alot of hogwash). The only Christians I knew who were familiar with him were Reformed types.
 
alexaustralia said:
I have often heard reference to this author and his anti-catholic “bible”. Just wondering how widespread is this book within Protestant circles (If you are protestant your (name removed by moderator)ut would be highly welcomed). Is it generally accepted by major sectors of protestanism or is it something that very few ill informed protestants believe?
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I used to attend a conservative evangelical church with roots in the Baptist tradition. About 2 years ago, I asked my former pastor for suggestions on reading material to help me learn more about Catholicism, and he recommended Boettner.

I recently sent an email to this pastor to tell him what I’ve learned about Boettner, and he’s agreed to stop recommending it. He’s also purchased a copy of the Catechism, and is planning on ordering “Catholicism for Dummies.”
 
criffton said:
I would suggest Keatings book Catholicism and Fundamentalism, if Roman Catholicism can shake a Catholics faith, his book decimates an anti-Catholics faith in his anti-Catholicism, it was the book that started be on the path to the church. I don’t think the book itself is in use that much, but the majority of anti-catholic literature is based off of it.
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Alexaustralia,

Read Boetner’s book, by all means, in conjunction with Keatings book as criffton suggests. Keating demolishes Boettner plus you will get a very clear picture of what ignorant, bigoted, anti-Catholicism is and what it is based on.

Tomster
 
alexaustralia said:
BTW I have also heard of a MR Graham I think does his name ring any bells?
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You might also visit www.biblechristiansociety.com too and order the CDs. They would be a great addition to your reference library.

Are you referreing to Billy Graham, the Evangelist… He and his son have “preached” to millions over the years. Inspirational, yes. Solid theology (Catholic), no.

.
 
alexaustralia said:
BTW I have also heard of a MR Graham I think does his name ring any bells?
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You might be thinking of Father Henry Graham, who wrote a book entitled Where we Got the Bible that debunks a lot of old Protestant myths about how “the Catholic Church kept the Bible from the people” and other hogwash.

You can read the whole thing on-line here: geocities.com/militantis/biblecontents.html

BTW, the last link that Phil listed in Post #2 is an excellent reference. I know, because I wrote it. 😉
 
Well, I’m a convert, and while I never saw Lorraine Boettner’s book while I was a protestant, I did encounter many books that–once I had learned of the existence of the Boettner book–clearly relied on it for “information” (even though none of them credited Boettner … isn’t plagiarism a violation of the commandment against stealing? hmm…)

Since becoming Catholic, I have met a fair number IRL and on-line who do use ‘the list’ even though they have no idea where it came from, and believe their pastor independently came up with the list (though why it is always verbatim Boettner, down to the years?). So, you can get Boettner’s book (used, preferably), and use it as prep material to know what you might encounter–but don’t expect people to admit that they’re plagiarizing Boettner (and many of them may not know–they may be quite sincere in thinking that their pastor came up with ‘the list’ and the pastor is the one who is the bald-faced liar in claiming it for his own work).
 
criffton said:
I would suggest Keatings book Catholicism and Fundamentalism, if Roman Catholicism can shake a Catholics faith, his book decimates an anti-Catholics faith in his anti-Catholicism, it was the book that started be on the path to the church. I don’t think the book itself is in use that much, but the majority of anti-catholic literature is based off of it.
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Thanks will look into Keating’s book…I remember seeing the title on a catholic book store…will check it out
 
MrS said:
Are you referreing to Billy Graham, the Evangelist… He and his son have “preached” to millions over the years. Inspirational, yes. Solid theology (Catholic), no.
.
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Yeah…at work I meet with other Christians for fellowship meetings, and his name pop up and one of my co-workers suggested reading some of his work. He used to be Catholic but left several years ago so I am interested to what kind of protestanism he has latched to so I know how to approach him. So how much of a hard liner was Billy?
 
Wolseley said:
You might be thinking of Father Henry Graham, who wrote a book entitled Where we Got the Bible that debunks a lot of old Protestant myths about how “the Catholic Church kept the Bible from the people” and other hogwash.

You can read the whole thing on-line here: geocities.com/militantis/biblecontents.html

BTW, the last link that Phil listed in Post #2 is an excellent reference. I know, because I wrote it. 😉
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I have read a book by that title (owned by my brother) believe 1st printed in early 1900s but several editions have been made since then. However can’t remember if the authors are the same. I have always had it in the back of my mind to get a copy…thanks for the reminder…may put it in my Christmas list 😃
 
In “Catholicism and Fundamentalism” I devoted a chapter to Boettner’s book. So far as I know, no other Catholic book devotes more space to him.
 
Thank you, Karl. I work in Baton Rouge which is, of course, the home of Jimmy Swaggart. I bought your book back in the late 80s when a co-worker brought Boettner and put it on her bookshelf in her office and told me that I should look at it when I had a chance. I had not seen such taurine foecal matter in all of my life. I was completely and totally outraged. Our unit, in state government, was composed of college graduates. I demolished the young lady’s arguements from an historical view point alone and my apologetics leans towards the historical.

I grew up in New Orleans which is predominately Catholic and never encountered any anti-Catholic sentiment until I moved 70 miles northwest to Baton Rouge.
 
I find it amusing that in the More Catholic “Inventions” link it is pointed out:
The real question is: Why does he single out [making the sign of the cross] at all? The answer: Because the sign of the cross is not mentioned in the New Testament.
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If you think about it, arguing about making the sign is as silly as arguing whether one should sit, kneel, bow, or gaze up to the sky when praying… and don’t even get me started on whether you have to clasp hands or close your eyes…

If it is done in reverence, how can it be “wrong.” I am sure it is quite difficult to kneel or bow when one is bedridden… are they commiting a grave sin? 😉

Also, this one is really silly:
Priests began to dress differently from laymen
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Now, I don’t know about you all, but coming from a Baptist/Non-denomination background, I have never seen a pastor that didn’t wear a suit and tie (and most of the congregation besides the ushers do not)… although, at the last church I attended, the pastor did wear Wranglers and boots on rodeo weekend 😉
 
Wasn’t this the book that Scott Hahn endorsed at one point, and even used to “convert” Catholic?
 
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