"The Church in Crisis" new book

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I have followed Ralph Martin over the years, and don’t find anything he says unorthodox. In fact, I find him quite credible. He is an evangelist and has devoted his life to this ministry. A good guy in my book.
 
Then why is he on the “prophecy” band wagon? I can’t post all what he says here due to the ban on unapproved private revelations material, but you can guess what the subject matter is.

I have seen his posts shared through various Catholic Facebook pages and I had no idea who he was or why anyone even bothered to read his prophecies given that he wasn’t a priest or religious.
 
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I watched the video (and listened to the audio portion). In it, Martin makes his position known, and I imagine that’s what the book is about. I don’t agree with his approach, but it’s good to know.

At the top of the thread, upon first learning that Ralph Martin wrote a book about current controversies, I was hoping that he would follow in the manner of another book of his, The Fulfillment of All Desire, which draws heavily from the lives and writings of saints to provide something like a guidebook for the reader’s personal spiritual journey. The subtitle says it well: “A Guidebook for the Journey to God Based on the Wisdom of the Saints.”

After watching/listening to Martin’s brief summary of The Church in Crisis, I am not getting the personal aspect. Yeah, the world is in crisis, and maybe the Church, but what am I supposed to do in this circumstance (that I am not already doing)?
 
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Tis_Bearself said:
Then why is he on the “prophecy” band wagon? I can’t post all what he says here due to the ban on unapproved private revelations material, but you can guess what the subject matter is.

I have seen his posts shared through various Catholic Facebook pages and I had no idea who he was or why anyone even bothered to read his prophecies given that he wasn’t a priest or religious.
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Ralph Martin was describing the spiritual decay at Notre Dame in the mid 1960’s before anyone else. He helped develop US Cursillo, and the Charismatic movement, helping keep the latter within the Catholic Church when it could easily have gone elsewhere.

By 1971 he was identifying secular forces undermining the genuine Vatican 2 renewal, leading up to his 1982 “Crisis” book.

In recent years there have been Spiritual renewal writers, ignoring the attack on doctrine, and lots of supposed doctrine defenders, most of whom attack V2 and refuse affiliation with their bishop.

Martin is one of the few who covers all the bases, and often earlier than almost anyone I know of.
 
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I have myself not seen anything unbiblical or unorthodox in his talks.I’m happy to be enlightened. He talks urgently about the need for conversion now, but he’s always done that. He’s been around a long time. Like many, he believes these are especially critical and dark days. He posts on Youtube at Renewal Ministries.
Is he a “prophet?” I am not sure, but I do know that prophets can very well be people who are not priests or religious.
 
Without getting into details, he is pushing “tribulations” and general end times type stuff.

Maybe he’s been doing it for decades since some of the prophecies he discusses, which seem to have come out of major charismatic gatherings but do not to my knowledge have Church approval, date back to the 1970s. But they are also very vague.

I read his webpage and he goes on and on making some scare post in July about are we willing to give up everything we hold dear such as our country, our religious freedom, our churches, etc etc and how we should all be preppers basically and then he ends by asking for donations so he can continue to get the word out. Now maybe this guy was great and awesome in the 60s and 70s, I haven’t read his whole past body of work, but there doesn’t seem to be anything new about his current message. It’s the same ol’ same old that televangelists do.

What has this guy done or said lately that’s actually new and different from what I can find 100 other places on the web for free? Why should I listen to or trust this layman? I could read all the same stuff all day on Countdown to the Kingdom if I wanted to.
 
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Ok, fair enough. You don’t think he’s worthwhile to follow; I do. To each his own. I’m sure you have some favorite Catholics you follow too that would not appeal to me. Just goes to show you how we are all different, right?
 
I’m asking somewhat honestly. I don’t care if others follow him, and yes we all have different tastes.

But I am trying to find out why his new book is important or different enough to warrant its own discussion thread.

Beryllos also asked a good question that occurred to me as well. Other than the stuff we’re already doing - trying to follow Christ’s teachings, be prepared to make sacrifices if necessary for our faith, and put on the armor of God and be a spiritual/ prayer warrior, what is Mr. Martin proposing we do about whatever crisis he is describing? I don’t want to have to buy a book to find out, especially when it sounds so far like there is nothing new in the book.

I’m also not too thrilled about marketing a book with a church in flames during a time when a lot of people are having anxiety about pandemic, riots, elections, the Pope, and seemingly endless end times prophecies coming from every direction. It’s just adding fuel to the anxiety fire.
 
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Tis_Bearself said:
Without getting into details, he is pushing “tribulations” and general end times type stuff
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That is not what the book is about according to its Amazon page.
Nearly forty years ago, Ralph Martin’s bestselling A Crisis of Truth exposed the damaging trends in Catholic teaching and preaching that, combined with attacks from secular society, threatened the mission and life of the Catholic Church. While much has been done to counter false teaching over the last four decades, today the Church faces even more insidious threats from outside and within.

In A Church in Crisis: Pathways Forward , Martin offers a detailed look at the growing hostility to the Catholic Church and its teaching. With copious evidence, Martin uncovers the forces working to undermine the Body of Christ and offers hope to those looking for clarity.

A Church in Crisis covers:
  • polarization in the Church caused by ambiguous teachings
  • initiatives that accommodate the culture without calling for conversion
  • Vatican-sponsored partnerships with organizations that actively contradict the teaching of the Catholic Church
  • and the recycling of theological errors long settled by Vatican II, Pope St. John Paul II, and Pope Benedict XVI.
Powerfully written, A Church in Crisis reminds all readers to heed Jesus’ express command not to lead His children astray. With ample resources to encourage readers, Ralph Martin provides the solid foundation of Catholic teaching both Scripture and Tradition to fortify Catholics against the errors that threaten us from all directions.
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https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/164585048X?ref=ppx_pt2_dt_b_prod_image
 
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Unfortunately, the Amazon page is missing a “Look inside!” which is what I often use to get a feel for books.

There’s been hostility to the Catholic Church since I was little, indeed since before I was born. Nothing’s changed.

I don’t need a book to tell me that the Church has some polarization, that a lot of people (including, it would seem by the bulleted list, Mr. Martin) have issues with the Vatican and the Pope, or that some people (including, it would seem, Mr. Martin) think theological error is running rampant - we get threads about that on this forum daily.

And why would I need a book, especially one not written by a saint or even a priest, to remind me to “heed Jesus’ express command not to lead his children astray?”

I don’t feel like I have “errors threatening me from all directions”.

I guess the readership are the people who feel threatened or feel affirmed or enlightened somehow by this sort of message? Or maybe they just like Mr. Martin because they’ve been reading his stuff for 50 years.

I am also not a “Troubled Catholic”. I’m beginning to feel rather left out (as usual) because I don’t roll out of bed every day having sturm und drang about the Church or my personal faith. I’ve started threads on this before though.

I’ll bow out and mute now as I am clearly not the target audience. I am however glad to finally know who this guy is, as I was really baffled by the past videos and could not find a wiki page or anything on him.
 
I’m not a troubled Catholic, one who rolls out of bed everyday looking for sturm and drang in the church, or anything else you seem to want to ascribe to those who might want to read this book or who already have. Not sure why the rant, frankly. It is just a book.
Thank you, OP, for posting a thread on a book some of us will look for. I always appreciate threads on books as I am an avid reader of Catholic materials from all perspectives.
 
Dr. Martin has written some very good books, which cover a wide range of topics. He recently did an interview with Dr. Scott Hahn on, Dr. Hahn’s podcast, The Road to Emmaus.


It was a great interview and they cover various topics related to the book. Dr. Hahn speaks very highly of Dr. Martin and I think that speaks volumes for his credibility. He’s never struck me as a “the sky is falling” type, but instead he is very truthful and forthcoming about the current issues facing the Church today.
 
  1. Btw, Martin’s ministries have always been affiliated with the Catholic Church. Marshalls current religious programs are independent (unaffiliated) of the Catholic Church. FWIW.
  2. Either book is helpful only if it offers practical information that the average reader can act on. Marshall’s book did not. I don’t know about Martin’s book.
The fruit if any is practical application for the individual reader.
 
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Beryllos said:
another book of his, The Fulfillment of All Desire , which draws heavily from the lives and writings of saints to provide something like a guidebook for the reader’s personal spiritual journey. The subtitle says it well: “A Guidebook for the Journey to God Based on the Wisdom of the Saints.”
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Which is an absolutely awesome book, can’t recommend it highly enough.
 
Don’t waste your time. If you listen to Marshall’s video casts, then you know the content of the book. I don’t want to derail this thread by proffering a critique of the book, so I’ll simply refer you to a couple of posts by Kevin Symonds. Kevin’s perspectives on the book are well-balanced. I take issue with Marshall’s name-calling, particularly against Pope St. Paul VI and Pope St. John Paul II, the latter of which he basically calls a bumbling idiot.
 
I can’t speak for Dr. Martin’s book (I’ve read others of his books - some are just so-so, others like Fulfillment of All Desire are excellent), but Marshall’s “practical recommendations” at the end of Infiltration are the usual suspects - pray, fast, and resist. It’s the last one that troubles me - although it’s not surprising coming from the “radical Catholic reactionary” crowd as Dave Armstrong calls them. We are to resist the legitimate authorities in the Church - those whom God has placed over us? Really?

Whatever happened to humble obedience; trusting in God to sort out the various “crises” that have plagued the Church throughout Her history?
 
Phillip_Rolfes said:
Marshall’s “practical recommendations” at the end of Infiltration are the usual suspects - pray, fast, and resist . It’s the last one that troubles me - …
We are to resist the legitimate authorities in the Church - those whom God has placed…
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Much harm has come from resisting legitimate (even imperfect) Catholic authority.

Children are defying parents, students are defying teachers, couples are defying Church authority by moving in together without getting married. The LCWR resists bishops.

Laity defy canon law and set up media “ministries” unaffiliated with the Church. Lots of that “resist” going around.

Hopefully Martin’s book addresses that.
 
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