What are some books you would recommend for someone attempting to determine whether the catholic or protestant view of christianity is most true?

No books really come to mind. However, my approach has been to read books and watch video's from the direct sources. For instance, I've been watching videos from the Orthodox Church. I'd much rather learn how they think than get a summary of the beliefs.

vt

My favorite book of all time is Romano Guardini, the Lord. This book will knock you flat.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0895267144/104-6986478-1868708?v=glance&n=283155

The Bible!

Read the bible, you will quickly find that, despite what many Catholics will have you believe, much of their church's doctrine is nowhere to be found.

Dave Armstrong doesn't disappoint, on his latest. His Newest book is a remarkably thorough, and incredibly well written volume. He lays out 95 (in memory of Martin Luther's 95 so called abuses of/within the Church) key verses which scripturally form the basis for many Catholic beliefs. He also presents the Protestant argument to Catholic interpretations, and then pounces on the Protestant misenterpretations with a witty rebuttal. They didn't stand a chance.



"Work out your salvation with fear and trembling", Phil 2:12

And for every Catholic book like that, there is a protestant book that is just as thorough and convincing

The difference being, the Catholics have 95 passages, protestants have the entire bible. I'd be willing to bet half those "passages" come from Maccabee or one of your other fake books of the bible

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What are some books you would recommend for someone attempting to determine whether the catholic or protestant view of christianity is most true?

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Besides the aforementioned Bible, it really depends on how well-versed an individual is in history and theology, but I would recommend books I've already mentioned on this board before.

For those who are not particularly knowledgable about Christian or Church history, one can always test out the Newman quote: "To be deep in history is to cease to be Protestant," and immerse oneself in Pelikan's five volume-work: "The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine." Pelikan's writing style is turgid (IMO) and the books are dense, but he provides the facts (many, many of them) without over-simplification or polemics. I would also recommend Alister McGrath's volumes (on Christian history, on the European Reformation, etc.)

For a history of Protestantism and how it compares with Catholic theology, I highly recommend two books by Catholic convert Louis Bouyer: "The Spirit and Forms of Protestantism" and "The Word, Church and Sacrament: In Protestantism and Catholicism."

For direct comparisons between Catholicism and Protestantism, the works of Robert Sungenis, "Not by Faith Alone," or "Not by Scripture Alone", usually come highly recommended by recent Catholic converts to lay ministry, but those books begin to tilt toward polemicism, which the other books I've mentioned avoid.

If one is trying to familiarize themselves with Catholic belief, I'd recommend the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, to go along with the Catechism.

If one is trying to familiarize themselves with Orthodox belief, I'd recommend Meyendorff's "Byzantine Theology" and Lossky's "The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church."

Or one could skip these more scholarly volumes altogether, and read works written by Catholic, Protestant, or Orthodox authors that focus on aspects of the experience of those religions, and not on theological details and speculations.

I'm sorry I can't help you as much on the Protestant side in comparison to Catholicism; with the exception of McGrath, I find much of what I've read too polemically anti-Catholic and inaccurate in its portrayal of Catholicism. Hopefully someone else can be of assistance.

Edited to fix spelling

[This message has been edited by Psych75 (edited 7/11/2006 10:36p).]

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If one is trying to familiarize themselves with Catholic belief, I'd recommend the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, to go along with the Catechism.

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I agree with Psych75 with a big thumb up for Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, it is less than 200 pages including pictures.


I also recommend Why Do Catholics Do That? by Kevin Orlin Johnson for non-Catholics that not only want to get the basic gist of Catholic beliefs but also Catholic culture and customs. Again a short read of less than 300 pages.

Patriarch,
Here's my list of book recommendations (by topic):

Catholic Teaching
Catechism of the Catholic Church [or Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church]

Sources of Catholic Dogma - Denzinger

Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma - Ott

Papacy
Upon This Rock - Stephen Ray

Jesus, Peter & the Keys - Butler, et al

Authority (contra scripture alone)
Not by Scripture Alone - Robert Sungenis

Tradition and Traditions - Yves Congar

Justification/Salvation
Not by Faith Alone - Robert Sungenis

The Mass and the Eucharist
Not by Bread Alone - Robert Sungenis

Eucharistic Miracles - Joan Carroll Cruz

Liturgy and Sacraments
Evangelical Is Not Enough - Thomas Howard

The Communion of Saints (i.e. relics, statues, praying to and honoring saints)
A Friend of God's is a Friend of Mine - Patrick Madrid

Mariology
Refuting the Attack on Mary: A Defense of Marian Doctrines - Father Mateo

The Mother of the Saviour: And Our Interior Life - Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange

Mary and the Fathers of the Church - Luigi Gambero

History
Ditto what Psych75 said. I also can't recommend enough Cardinal Newman's An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine or the simplified (but still compelling) re-presentation of this argument by Dave Armstrong in his book Development of Catholic Doctrine. You have to get that book from his website (http://socrates58.blogspot.com).

One more thing...
If you want an amazing explanation of Catholic sexual ethics and a most unique presentation of the gospel and many of the topics discussed above, then I suggest you get acquainted with John Paul II's Theology of the Body. He connects the human body, sex, and the meaning of life in an amazing way. Anyway, the best way of getting into this would be to go get any of the introductions by Christopher West. If you don't want to fork over the money, I would suggest just going to his webstie (www.christopherwest.com) and reading some of the articles. Theology of the Body has changed my life in more ways than I can related in a post on a forum like this. But I would highly recommend reading those articles by anyone interested in evangelizing in our sex-driven culture.


Hope this was of some help. Take it with a grain of salt, of course. God Bless!



[This message has been edited by Kerux (edited 7/12/2006 2:25a).]

Thanks for all the suggestions!

Hostile - If it weren't for the Catholic monks transcribing the entire bible for 1100 years until Luther came along, not your abridged version, you would have no bible at all today.

Great list Kerux, I had forgotten about Mariology.

In addition to your recommendations, I would recommend “Our Lady and the Church” by Hugo Rahner (brother of the more famous Karl). It uses some of the same texts from the Church Fathers that are found in Gambero, but the approach is more meditative (and it’s a much shorter book).

Newman’s “Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine” can be found online at:
http://www.newmanreader.org/works/development/index.html

Several of his works and info about J.H. Newman can also be found there:
http://www.newmanreader.org

[This message has been edited by Psych75 (edited 7/12/2006 10:30p).]

I second the nomination to read God's Word. I would also suggest seeking the aide of the Holy Spirit through prayer to help make scipture a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path.

I doubt there are many modern protestant books which criticize Catholic doctrine.

For general reading, I can recommend any book by Dallas Willard. I also enjoy Phillip Yancey.

Apollos.ws
think.learn.know

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/index.htm

John Paul's Encyclicals are very much worth a look.

Netland, Harold. Dissonant Voices. Regent Press, 1998; orig. pub. Eerdmans, 1991. Probably the best and most thorough evangelical treatment of the subject of religious pluralism. Moderately difficult but well-written and lucid.

Thomas a Kempis, The Imitation of Christ. Apart from the Bible itself, this is undoubtedly the more republished work in Christian history. Absolutely indispensable.

This book is about spiritual formation rather than about different religions, but it will do more to grow your relationship with Christ than will any particular church.

I would suggest that you take a dialectical approach, that is, read several books that take opposite apologetic stances on both.

No source will be objective. And for those who say just read the Bible, that is a risk for both Catholics and protestants because there is much that can confound both.

I had a friend who said, "dadgum, when I didn't read the Bible for myself, I had my doctrine down pat, but now that I am looking at the whole of things, it is a tough one trying to fit it all together.

[This message has been edited by The Lone Stranger (edited 7/13/2006 10:10a).]

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If it weren't for the Catholic monks transcribing the entire bible for 1100 years until Luther came along, not your abridged version, you would have no bible at all today.

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The current Catholic bible is not the original cannon of the book. The original cannon was the current protestant bible (save the book of Esther, I believe).

Aggie4Life02, any works by William Webster are ones I would NOT ever recommend to someone, Catholic or Protestant. Webster is a Protestant polemicist who regularly distorts Catholic teaching so he can beat up on strawmen and lacks a sense of what historical scholarship is. His work on the Church Fathers and Catholic doctrine is superficial in the worst possible way and borders on deliberate dishonesty.

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Aggie4Life02, any works by William Webster are ones I would NOT ever recommend to someone, Catholic or Protestant. Webster is a Protestant polemicist who regularly distorts Catholic teaching so he can beat up on strawmen and lacks a sense of what historical scholarship is. His work on the Church Fathers and Catholic doctrine is superficial in the worst possible way and borders on deliberate dishonesty.

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I wholehartedly disagree.



Apollos.ws
think.learn.know

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The current Catholic bible is not the original cannon of the book. The original cannon was the current protestant bible (save the book of Esther, I believe).

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Hostile - The books in the current Catholic Bible are the same books that have been in it since 393 at the Council of Hippo. Luther threw out the 7 books he didn't like, and kept the rest. Here is the book of Maccabees in the Gutenberg Bible, published in the century BEFORE Luther was born...

http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/exhibitions/permanent/gutenberg/web/pgsdbl900/2_365366_177v178r.html

Read this - http://www.davidmacd.com/catholic/bible_catholics_apocrypha.htm

and this - http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/2000/0009sbs.asp



"Work out your salvation with fear and trembling", Phil 2:12


[This message has been edited by texasag73 (edited 7/13/2006 9:40p).]

[This message has been edited by texasag73 (edited 7/13/2006 9:45p).]

So I'm to trust a biased Catholic historical account of the history of the Catholic faith?

I'm sure Hitler's account of WWII is just as credible

No - Trust the truth - Look at the Gutenberg Bible page.

To reverse the process, why should I believe anything a biased Protestant should say? The answer is, of course, is that the truth is the truth, no matter who says it.

Aggie4Life02:

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I wholehartedly disagree.

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There's no "disagree" to Webster's lack of knowlege of Catholic doctrine, which he frequently likes to expound on anyway. His historical scholarship is likewise poor (he's not cited by Protestant scholars in discussions); if one wants to read history of doctrine, one is much much better off with Pelikan or McGrath, both Protestants.

texasag73, I admire your persistence, but I don't think it's worth your time or effort to address Hostile_Aggie. His distortions are trollish.

Psyche - Hostile is a good guy, and he is well worth debating/discussing The Truth. It may take a LONG time, however...

By that logic, it is impossible to know the exact truth, as any religion can say that about their respective books

And yet - There are the 7 disputed books in the Gutenberg Bible, published in the century before Luthers Reformish revolution.

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There's no "disagree" to Webster's lack of knowlege of Catholic doctrine, which he frequently likes to expound on anyway.

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I wonder if you could cite any examples of Mr. Webster misrepresenting Catholic doctrine in some way?



Apollos.ws
think.learn.know

Texasag73,

How dare you use the term “Reformish”.. Don’t you know that it has been declared as something that is disparaging on 4 different websites!

Hey - You Calvish started it with the term "Romish"...