Rome Sweet Home

[allhers]

I read Rome Sweet Home before I left Catholicism over 10 years ago; and like you, I was very unimpressed. I also read Karl Keating’s Catholicisim and Fundamentalism, and had the same reaction. At that time, Hahn and Keating seemed to be the top Catholic apologists, so those books were deciding factors for me.

Like you, I was led a different way…OUT of Catholicism.

I too, find it very odd that you would be lead away from the Church after reading these mens books, it had to be something else.

 

[sambos671]

I just finished reading Rome Sweet Home by Scott and Kimberly Hahn and it literally brought me to tears. It is the compelling story of an Evangelical Prespyterian Minister and his wife who ultimately find their way “home” to the Catholic Church. It’s not deep on theology (although clearly touches upon some key issues of dispute between Catholics and Protestants) but is mostly a story of their personal journey of spiritual conversion.

If you are Protestant (I am), I promise you will find it to be a thought provoking book (its a quick read) and even if you don’t agree with it, its an amazing story. If you are Catholic, I imagine it can only be faith building.

If you are not a Chrisitan, its an inspiring story of two people devoted to God and shows how Christianity can transform our lives.

This short book could well be one of the most “significant” books I have ever read.

Blessings,

Brian

I’ve read David Curry’s Born Fundalmentalist Born Again Catholic. I enjoyed that book tremendously. I’m still having issues but am interested in Hanns book. I wonder if it will address some issues I have.

 

[Priscilla_Ann]

I would like to hear about what you thought of these too… I am a cradle Catholic and I have read Rome Sweet Home and listened to Dr Hahn and read alot of his other stuff too… and I am now reading Karl Keating’s Catholicism and Fundamentalism… just came in the mail this week… So talk to me about them…

Since it has been over ten years since I read both books and I no longer have the books, I don’t remember a great deal, so this is just briefly what I remember:

Rome Sweet Home - Sweet, sappy story about the Hahn’s journey into Catholicism. None of it seemed convincing to me, and the “Mary” stuff seemed a bit over the top.

Keating’s Catholicism and Fundamentalism - The whole book stood on one circular argument that went something like this:

• The Catholic Church teaches (example: perpetual virginity of Mary).
• How do we know that this is true?
• We know it’s true because the Catholic Church teaches that it is true.
• How do we know that the Catholic Church is correct?
• Because the Catholic Church is infallible.
• How do we know that the Catholic Church is infallible?
• Because the Catholic Church teaches that it is infallible.

…you get the idea.

I had doubts about the Catholic Church before I read these books. I couldn’t believe that these books were the best apologetics that Catholicism had to offer, but apparently they were. I guess I was looking something that would make me say, “Aha, the Catholic Church is true.” I never found it, so I left.

 

[Robbinson]

I’ve read David Curry’s Born Fundalmentalist Born Again Catholic. I enjoyed that book tremendously. I’m still having issues but am interested in Hanns book. I wonder if it will address some issues I have.

I haven’t read the Curry book - if your recommend it, I’ll pick it up. Scott Hahn has another book “Reasons to Believe” if you are looking for a pure apologetic work. Rome Sweet Home has some apologetics, but is primarily a study of their spiritual journey.

Feel free if you want to PM me - I"m still finding my own way - I read scripture all the time, but I’m also struggling my way through (or if we want to use the Tiber analogy, I’m swimming against the current and I’m crossing into the deep end).

 

[ralphinal]

Since it has been over ten years since I read both books and I no longer have the books, I don’t remember a great deal, so this is just briefly what I remember:

Rome Sweet Home - Sweet, sappy story about the Hahn’s journey into Catholicism. None of it seemed convincing to me, and the “Mary” stuff seemed a bit over the top.

Keating’s Catholicism and Fundamentalism - The whole book stood on one circular argument that went something like this:

• The Catholic Church teaches (example: perpetual virginity of Mary).
• How do we know that this is true?
• We know it’s true because the Catholic Church teaches that it is true.
• How do we know that the Catholic Church is correct?
• Because the Catholic Church is infallible.
• How do we know that the Catholic Church is infallible?
• Because the Catholic Church teaches that it is infallible.

…you get the idea.

I had doubts about the Catholic Church before I read these books. I couldn’t believe that these books were the best apologetics that Catholicism had to offer, but apparently they were. I guess I was looking something that would make me say, “Aha, the Catholic Church is true.” I never found it, so I left.

Neither of them are the best apologetics that the CHurch has to offer. One is one family’s journey. The other is one man’s defense of the faith. I like both works, but I do not put either up amongst the “best.”

I find it interesting that in the critique of Keating, you did not mention his treatment of non-Catholic positions.

Why would the sappiness turn you off from Catholicism? I know it was long ago, but did you think that it may be sappy because it is his personal life and not simply doctrine like he generally discusses? Further, perhaps the Marian thing was over the top for you because you do not have adevotion to Mary, but to him it was extremely important.

 

[steve_b]

Since it has been over ten years since I read both books and I no longer have the books, I don’t remember a great deal, so this is just briefly what I remember:

Rome Sweet Home - Sweet, sappy story about the Hahn’s journey into Catholicism. None of it seemed convincing to me, and the “Mary” stuff seemed a bit over the top.

I liked the book and accepted it for what it was. It was a way to tell his story, not convince and answer for his readers every possible argument one could have to the true faith.

As to your last comment, If you ever get to see Jesus someday, you might want to tone down your attitude by then.

If you’re interested, Scott handles all kinds of subjects much deeper, here.
mindspring.com/~jdarcy/files/drhahn.html
Priscilla:

Keating’s Catholicism and Fundamentalism - The whole book stood on one circular argument that went something like this:

• The Catholic Church teaches (example: perpetual virginity of Mary).
• How do we know that this is true?
• We know it’s true because the Catholic Church teaches that it is true.
• How do we know that the Catholic Church is correct?
• Because the Catholic Church is infallible.
• How do we know that the Catholic Church is infallible?
• Because the Catholic Church teaches that it is infallible.
  …you get the idea.

Your memory after 10 years is not just inaccurate it’s wrong. I pulled out my copy and I reread the sections on the IC ( pp 84, 144, 147, 152, 154, 197, 268-272, 275, 317). No where did Karl us the argument you advance. .

 

[JimG]

I read “Rome Sweet Home” a long time ago. It didn’t seem so much a book of apologetics as simply a personal story of how he got to where he was.

Apologetics can sometimes lose people in the arguments. The value in an honest personal story is that it gives others an example of the actual internal process and the internal struggle.

I like the way that the book alternated the narrative between Scott and Kimberly. Kimberly’s parts were actually more interesting to me because they gave an account of her personal struggle with what was “happening” to Scott. And the book compresses time somewhat, since she did not enter the Church just because he did; it took several more years of struggling with the issues.

I loved the account, and photo, of him being introduced to the Pope–by Kimberly’s father, a protestant minister!

 

[lynnareyno]

I loved “Rome Sweet Home”! But it was Steve Ray’s “Crossing the Tiber” that convinced me not to leave the Catholic Church. I was searching for the present day church that teaches and is the closest to what Jesus and the Apostles taught. I was just beginning my research when I read “Crossing the Tiber” and found that Steve Ray did much of my research for me.
Steve and his wife Janet’s conversion story is also good. They too were of the “anything but Catholic” mind frame. In fact, Steve started the research to convince a close friend of his( Al Kreska) that he was making a big mistake by converting to Catholicism. After much research and prayer, Steve & his wife converted from Baptist to Catholic.

 

[CSJ]

I read Rome Sweet Home before I left Catholicism over 10 years ago; and like you, I was very unimpressed. I also read Karl Keating’s Catholicisim and Fundamentalism, and had the same reaction. At that time, Hahn and Keating seemed to be the top Catholic apologists, so those books were deciding factors for me.

Like you, I was led a different way…OUT of Catholicism.

Since it has been over ten years since I read both books and I no longer have the books, I don’t remember a great deal, so this is just briefly what I remember:

Rome Sweet Home - Sweet, sappy story about the Hahn’s journey into Catholicism. None of it seemed convincing to me, and the “Mary” stuff seemed a bit over the top.

Keating’s Catholicism and Fundamentalism - The whole book stood on one circular argument that went something like this:

• The Catholic Church teaches (example: perpetual virginity of Mary).
• How do we know that this is true?
• We know it’s true because the Catholic Church teaches that it is true.
• How do we know that the Catholic Church is correct?
• Because the Catholic Church is infallible.
• How do we know that the Catholic Church is infallible?
• Because the Catholic Church teaches that it is infallible.
  …you get the idea.

I had doubts about the Catholic Church before I read these books. I couldn’t believe that these books were the best apologetics that Catholicism had to offer, but apparently they were. I guess I was looking something that would make me say, “Aha, the Catholic Church is true.” I never found it, so I left.

I’ve read and recommend all the following books in question.

Rome Sweet Home by Scott Hahn is by no means an apologetic work and it was never intended to be one. It is simply the story of the Hahn’s challenges and struggles with coming into the Catholic Church. I enjoyed it because my journey shares some similarities with Scott’s. One of my favorite Scott Hahn books is A Father Who Keeps His Promises.

Catholicism and Fundamentalism was the book I was seeking and finally found about 2-1/2 yrs into my journey. It took me 4 years of praying, reading, studying, and debating to come into the Church. I read Karl’s arguments and I especially appreciated that he was candid that not all Catholic doctrines are “explicit” in Scripture. On these points, he pointed back to the explicit teaching on Church Authority. Now, if you want to call this a circular argument, then so be it. Nonetheless at one point in our journey, we have to accept the authority of the Church and the fact that Christ promised that the gates of hell would not prevail against it. To not believe this is tantamount to saying Christ is a liar.

Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic by David Curry is also another great read. His is the story of his journey, but he does also delve into some (not all) the doctrinal issues that he had. His writing style is very casual and easy to read.

Another good book that delves into immense detail on the early Church Fathers is Steve Ray’s “Crossing the Tiber.” The first part is of his personal journey, but later, he gets into many details and quotes from the ECF’s. It’s not a nightstand type of book, but I found it to be very informative - it’s obvious that he put many hours of study and investigation into it. This book took me a while to “digest.”

Another great text on the Early Church Fathers is The Fathers of the Church by Mike Aquilina. This is an easy to read introduction to the ECF’s and it comes highly recommended. This is a great reference tool and every Catholic should read this at Cathechism or RCIA.

Now to those Catholics who have left the Church, but still visit this forum: there is a divine reason you are drawn here. I personally believe that the Holy Spirit is calling you to return home. Granted, I understand everyone’s story is different and you probably have some very good reasons and ligitimate feelings for leaving, but believe me, we are still family - and families share the load. I was Pentecostal for over 30 years and I struggled with Catholicism for years before entering. I was fearful, doubtful, and defiant all rolled into one. Nonetheless, I have found the most amazing Grace and Power in the Eucharist - it has literally transformed my life. If you’re struggling with Church teaching, keep posting here, find a good priest or PM me if you like, I’d love to listen.

God stretches His arms out wide and says, “I love you this much.”

CSJ

 

[Peter_J]

NDfan, Priscilla Ann, et al,

One thing I find with Scott Hahn is that things people say about him can often be a distraction from the man himself.

I remember a flyer I saw years ago for a talk by Dr. Hahn. One phrase particularly caught my attention: “the most dramatic conversion story of all time”. I would like to have been a fly-on-the-wall at the planning meeting for that flyer. I can just imagine one person saying “We need something really, really powerful. And catchy. How about ‘the most dramatic conversion story since Saint Paul’?”, and then someone else saying “Saint who?”

 

[vocatio]

I’ve read it. Listened to Hahn present. Listened to debates with him involved and the bottom line is I am very unimpressed with him. I don’t like people who tell their sob story to make money.

If being in the Roman Catholic church is where Hahn feels GOD led him then great. That doesn’t mean that we all have to be there. I was led a different way and could write the same heart-warming story for being a non-denominational Christian.

Oh my… are you angry because you didn’t think of it first? I think most folks could equally write their story if they did it. I was asked by several, including priests, to write my sob story but chose to hold off because real names and real people’s lives are at stake. Listening and reading Scott Hahn, Bruce Sullivan, Marcos Grodi, etc. etc. are amazing stories. The stories that bother me are the Catholics who grew up in Catholic homes going to Catholic Schools that fell away and then suddenly they show back up again…like “I didn’t know”… Well that may be true, but I’d tuck my tail a little more. But the reason I don’t reject them is because it show other fallen away Catholics that they too can return with a better read and understanding of the Catholic Church’s teachings.

I assume you went to Notre Dame… Were you once Catholic? Don’t let life make you bitter. It’s difficult not to do…I know. Finding my way back home was the best thing that ever happened to me in my life.

I usually reserve this comment…but since some of you left Catholicism. If I can return andyone can. I was preparing to become a preacher in a much more fundamental church. Very anit-Catholic in many ways. Only I went to the seminary many years ago and am one of the “victims” people talk about. The difference is that my offender woke me up by mistake and being already nervous by nature I jumped up before anything happened and thanked God for not allowing me to kill him. I was trained in martial arts and knew I could have taken him out easily. I turned him in only after much remorse. I believed that it was my fault some how for many years. I thought tha maybe secretly I was gay and didn’t know it. Then it hit me. I wasn’t really a bad looking guy and thought that if I were attracted to men then I would most likely be attracted to those like me. But that was only after realizing that girls were attracted to me. I was very naive, protected, even though I lived in a tough life situation. At least I had my innocense. He took it from me…I lost my faith…and became almost immediately a lame or cafateria Catholic out of fear of losing my belief in God altogether. I came close. It took me many years before completely falling away and that was when I nearly was killed in the Army. By this time I had experienced many bazaar things that could only be answered by mental illness or spritial existence. Other than induced depression from years of abuse in neglect, military life and joining a fundamentalist church that condemned all Catholics and Protestants along with Muslims, Buddhist, etc.

gotta go… We’re all Catholic now…even my wife…the daughter of a Protestant Bishop. We have a family full of Preachers, Deacons and Bishops. I was on my way as well.

That’s my sob story in a very brief but supportive show for Scott Hahn and his wife. We know what he sacrificed having gone through it ourselves. So before you judge, walk a mile in someones shoes.

 

[Peter_J]

I’ve read it. Listened to Hahn present. Listened to debates with him involved and the bottom line is I am very unimpressed with him. I don’t like people who tell their sob story to make money.

BTW, NDfan, I surprised to hear you call it a “sob story”. I would expect people who don’t like Rome Sweet Home to call it “triumphalistic” or something like that. (Not to put words in anyone’s mouth. )

 

[jen_fla]

Oh my… are you angry because you didn’t think of it first? I think most folks could equally write their story if they did it. I was asked by several, including priests, to write my sob story but chose to hold off because real names and real people’s lives are at stake. Listening and reading Scott Hahn, Bruce Sullivan, Marcos Grodi, etc. etc. are amazing stories. The stories that bother me are the Catholics who grew up in Catholic homes going to Catholic Schools that fell away and then suddenly they show back up again…like “I didn’t know”… Well that may be true, but I’d tuck my tail a little more. But the reason I don’t reject them is because it show other fallen away Catholics that they too can return with a better read and understanding of the Catholic Church’s teachings.

I assume you went to Notre Dame… Were you once Catholic? Don’t let life make you bitter. It’s difficult not to do…I know. Finding my way back home was the best thing that ever happened to me in my life.

I usually reserve this comment…but since some of you left Catholicism. If I can return andyone can. I was preparing to become a preacher in a much more fundamental church. Very anit-Catholic in many ways. Only I went to the seminary many years ago and am one of the “victims” people talk about. The difference is that my offender woke me up by mistake and being already nervous by nature I jumped up before anything happened and thanked God for not allowing me to kill him. I was trained in martial arts and knew I could have taken him out easily. I turned him in only after much remorse. I believed that it was my fault some how for many years. I thought tha maybe secretly I was gay and didn’t know it. Then it hit me. I wasn’t really a bad looking guy and thought that if I were attracted to men then I would most likely be attracted to those like me. But that was only after realizing that girls were attracted to me. I was very naive, protected, even though I lived in a tough life situation. At least I had my innocense. He took it from me…I lost my faith…and became almost immediately a lame or cafateria Catholic out of fear of losing my belief in God altogether. I came close. It took me many years before completely falling away and that was when I nearly was killed in the Army. By this time I had experienced many bazaar things that could only be answered by mental illness or spritial existence. Other than induced depression from years of abuse in neglect, military life and joining a fundamentalist church that condemned all Catholics and Protestants along with Muslims, Buddhist, etc.

gotta go… We’re all Catholic now…even my wife…the daughter of a Protestant Bishop. We have a family full of Preachers, Deacons and Bishops. I was on my way as well.

That’s my sob story in a very brief but supportive show for Scott Hahn and his wife. We know what he sacrificed having gone through it ourselves. So before you judge, walk a mile in someones shoes.

that is a really well written comment. thank you for sharing that.

may the good Lord continue to guide you and your family! :hug3: