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Dear Catholic Exchange:
My husband is not Catholic and he frequently asks me questions regarding my faith. I need help explaining Catholic beliefs to him. Can you please recommend any literature regarding this subject?
Thank you,
Carolyn Rhinehart
Dear Carolyn,
Thank you for your email requesting materials for relating the faith to your husband.
The following books are excellent for explaining what Catholics believe and why, often providing detailed scriptural support for Church teachings:
• Catholic for a Reason: Scripture and the Mystery of the Family of God edited by Scott Hahn and Leon Suprenant (Emmaus Road Publishing)
• Catholic for a Reason II: Scripture and the Mystery of the Mother of God edited by Leon Suprenant (Emmaus Road Publishing)
• Catholicism and Fundamentalism by Karl Keating (Ignatius Press)
• The Spirit of Catholicism by Karl Adam (Franciscan University Press)
• What Catholics Really Believe by Karl Keating (Ignatius Press)
• Fundamentals of the Faith by Peter Kreeft (Ignatius Press)
• Handbook of Christian Apologetics by Peter Kreeft and Ron Tacelli (InterVarsity Press)
• Introduction to Mary by Dr. Mark Miravalle (Queenship Publishing)
• Mary the Second Eve by John Henry Cardinal Newman (TAN Books)
The following books chronicle the conversion stories of evangelical Protestants who have come into the Catholic Church:
• Crossing the Tiber by Stephen Ray (Ignatius Press)
• Rome Sweet Home by Scott and Kimberly Hahn (Ignatius Press)
• Surprised by Truth edited by Patrick Madrid (Basilica Press)
• Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic by David Currie (Ignatius Press)
• By What Authority? An Evangelical Discovers Catholic Tradition by Mark Shea (Our Sunday Visitor)
• This is My Body: An Evangelical Discovers the Real Presence by Mark Shea (Christendom Press)
The following books present a general overview of Church teachings and the scriptural passages that support each of those teachings:
• A Biblical Defense of Catholicism by Dave Armstrong (Sophia Institute Press)
• More Biblical Evidence for Catholicism: Companion to A Biblical Defense of Catholicism by Dave Armstrong (1st Books)
• Where is That in the Bible? by Patrick Madrid (Our Sunday Visitor)
• Bible Basics: An Introductory Study Guide to the Catholic Faith by Steve Kellmeyer (Basilica Press)
The following books present in-depth, well-researched presentations of all the arguments from Scripture and Church history for Catholic teaching on the papacy and sola scriptura, respectively:
• Jesus, Peter, and the Keys by Butler, Dahlgren, and Hess (Queenship Publishing)
• Not By Scripture Alone by Robert Sungenis (Queenship Publishing)
• Pope Fiction by Patrick Madrid (Basilica Press)
The following books focus on the history of the Church. They are helpful in showing that the earliest Christians did in fact hold the beliefs (regarding the Eucharist, the papacy, etc.) that Catholics still hold today; in showing the Church’s essential role in the development of the canon of Scripture; and in understanding some of the issues behind the Reformation:
• Where We Got the Bible: Our Debt to the Catholic Church by Rev. Henry G. Graham (Catholic Answers)
• Early Christian Writings (Penguin Books)
• Ecclesiastical History or History of the Church by Eusebius (Penguin Books)
• The Compact History of the Catholic Church by Alan Schreck (Servant Books)
• Church History by John Joseph Laux (TAN Books).
There is also a wealth of audiotapes available through Catholic bookstores and publishers that can be helpful. Scott and Kimberly Hahn are especially helpful in this area since they came to the faith as Presbyterians. We also recommend tapes by Curtis Martin, Patrick Madrid, and Fr. Benedict Groeschel. You can purchase tapes by any of these speakers and the books listed above through Benedictus Books (888-316-2640). Members of Catholics United for the Faith receive a standard 10% discount.
Please feel free to call us at 1-800-MY FAITH or email us with any further questions on this or any other subject. If you have found this information to be helpful, please consider a donation to CUF to help sustain this service. You can call the toll-free line, visit us at www.cuf.org, or send your contribution to the address below. Thank you for your support as we endeavor to “support, defend, and advance the efforts of the teaching Church.”
United in the Faith,
Eric Stoutz
Information Specialist
Catholics United for the Faith
827 North Fourth Street
Steubenville, OH 43952
800-MY-FAITH (800-693-2484)