The ONE book you would suggest to a Protestant friend

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I agree with some of the others that any of Scott Hahn’s books are the way to go…Scott used to be a Protestant minister…and can relate to a Protestants way of thinking and has a way of sharing information without making your friend feel inferior because he believes what he does. Scott is a wonderful author and his books read very smoothly. If you ever get the chance to hear him speak don’t miss it…you will walk away feeling closer to the Church and our Heavenly Father than you ever thought possible.
 
Evangelical Is Not Enough by Thomas Howard
or

Radio Replies Set
 
I recommend Thinking Catholic by Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk.
 
How Firm a Foundation By Marcus Grodi. Excellent novel about a fictious preacher that can’t find answers to his Protestant faith and ends up meeting with a converted Priest who helps him deal with the authority of the Catholic Church
 
☘️ Yeah, I’ve got a simular piece of media, (cassette tapes), called" “WINNING SOULS NOT JUST ARGUMENTS,” you might want to try, written by CATHOLIC THEOLOGIANS who have argued with protestant theologians over time, at all levels of education…
 
What I found about many Protestants is they have a false sense that Catholics are uneducated about the Bible, and are blind followers about their faith.

Regretfully, some Catholics are just that. However, so are some Protestants, who believe any statement made about Christianity and Catholicism w/o considering the source. And if you point out this logical (hypocritical) flaw, some Protestants become very defensive.

Assuming your Protestant friend has some openness and will eventually listen, do a compare and contrast of the book of Romans with him. A Protestant vs Catholic interpretation, a ‘Roman Road’ vs ‘The Road to Rome.’ It is a powerful Biblical book, and referred to very often by Protestants.

To refute the misconceptions of Romans with a Bible Christian would strike a blow to the root of his askew faith and assumptions. Gently, patiently, kindly, follow up with a strong Protestant converts story, either ‘Surprised by the Truth,’ or the cd/cassette of ‘Rome Sweet Rome’ that he can listen to on the way home to digest what he just discovered.

Good luck and God Bless! =)

Julie

Remember, Mary asked we pray the Rosary for the Conversion of the World. This seems to be a good time to do just that.
 
I liked the suggestion of offering James Cardinal Gibbons’ book, “The Faith of Our Fathers” to a Protestant friend. I might also offer “The Spirit of Catholocism” by Karl Adam or “Catholic Chrisitianity” by Peter Kreeft.
 
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dbarrie_rcia05:
I recommend Thinking Catholic by Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk.
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Wow, Archbishop Pilarczyk wrote a book? He’s my bishop, and I had no idea. I want to read it.
 
One of the most influential books in my journey was “Why I am Still a Catholic.” It addresses some of the problems of the Church quite openly but each person conveys their love and dedication in spite of some of the human issues that make some question the Church. I was also frankly impressed by the variety of writers. AND I found several prolife organizations that I now support. The Church’s prolife stance was a major reason I left so this book had compelling stories to support the Church’s efforts to help create a culture of life.

I would also second most anything by CS Lewis

LIsa N
 
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Madaglan:
. He is well-read in the Scriptures, has a strong relationship with the Lord, and is super-intelligent (has an IQ of 160). He knows you are Catholic, but when you talk with him about the Catholic faith, he counters your beliefs with a barrage of his own systematic knowledge of revelation. He seems not even to seriously consider your Catholic beilefs.
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Sounds like your friend is a real boob and doesn’t understand basic mutual respect. Us smart people is like that sometimes.
 
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Madaglan:
Let’s say you are good friends with a devout baptist (could be any Protestant, really, but I use baptist because it is a more radical sort of Protestantism). He is well-read in the Scriptures, has a strong relationship with the Lord, and is super-intelligent (has an IQ of 160). He knows you are Catholic, but when you talk with him about the Catholic faith, he counters your beliefs with a barrage of his own systematic knowledge of revelation. He seems not even to seriously consider your Catholic beilefs. One day he finally agrees that he will read any Catholic book you choose for him to read, so long as you read a Protestant book of his choosing in return. He says that he will consider your book choice as seriously as he can, but that if he discovers the book to be poorly argued, he will not read any more Catholic books.

Now, if you were in this situation and could rely on only one book to latch him onto Catholic truths, which book would you recommend?

By the way, the Protestant profile listed above actually fits a few of my friends, but I ask this question not in reference to them but because I am interested in which book best presents the truth of Catholicism and challenges even the best reasoned Protestant claims.

🙂
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Although I admit that I have read very few Catholic books other than the Bible & the Catechism & those pertaining to the lives of many saints, I would recommend Surprised By Truth by Patrick Madrid.
 
I would NOT recommend Why I am Still Catholic. I thought the book was lame…did nothing for me.
 
No one book can really explain all that is the Catholic Church. No one book can list and explain all the flaws, errors, and ill-logic that is protestanism.

Find out what are some of the key intrests of your friend and find a book or series of books that would involve those subjects.

I found “Rome Sweet Home” by Scott Hahn rather weak on theology but others loved it for example. It was a good story just not enough on theology.

Try to get your friend to read a few books and key in on subjects that will make him question theology and search for the errors in his and find the truth in Christs Catholic Church.
 
i agree with most that rome sweet home (plus other hahn books) and born fundamentalist, born again catholic and others like them are good books, but malachi’s right that they’re not the most in-depth, theological books that madaglan’s friend would probably appreciate and be swayed most by. I would recommend a compilation of or individual works by early church fathers. I’ve read Mark Aquilina’s the fathers of the church and thought he did a good job of commentary and you get a good size sampling from st. clement to st. john of damascus. there are some more in-depth compilations so look around.

i think this is a good idea because soooo many of these letters they wrote were to counter heresies of the early church, and Aquilina points out well that this started happening with the apostles themselves, such as when paul defends the resurrection to those who dismissed it, and continued in the same fashion for two thousand years. if you or a book can show how many heresies (similar disagreements/misconceptions protestants hold about the eucharist, sacraments, authority, mariology, etc.) were put down by thee catholic church with authority even before the new testament was settled upon you get both the apologetics of various issues and the paramount issue that the only one Catholic church is infallible, Christ-founded, guided by the Spirit, and there’s a reason to belonging to it instead of just the “invisible church.” (interestingly, several of these early letters almost made it into the new testament). If you really know your stuff you could recommend particular church fathers’ books/letters/sermons or selections from the first 6-7 centuries if you want to concentrate on a particular topic.

for some good, “new” books, i’m going to throw out 3 more: Chesterton’s heretics and orthodoxy, and despite my previous comment, i did find hahn’s a father who keeps His promises very good and thorough.

in Christ,
matt
 
I would lovingly wrap up a Catholic Bible, telling him in a note card that this was the best Catholic Book I could find. Then I would let him know that I am praying a rosary for him.
 
I myself like the three volumes of “Radio Replies” by Frs. Rumble and Carty.
 
Besides the Catechism, I would recommend “Upon this Rock” by Steven Ray. Excellent!!! (It’s also good for our Orthodox brethren.)

Gene
 
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