Hostile Witnesses (Catholic Answers)

In the world of Christianity, there are many witnesses to the truth which it holds. However, atheists and agnostics are skeptical (at best) to believe these, because they feel they are biased sources. Author Gary Machuta believes there are non-Christian witnesses to the truth of Christianity as well. He calls them "hostile witnesses," and penned a book with the same name.

Hostile Witnesses begins with an introduction that speaks of the words on the sign that hung on the Cross - "Jesus the Nazorean, the King of the Jews." Machuta explains that Pilate did not necessarily believe these words, but used them to serve as a warning that this is what happens with pretend kings. This was a hostile witness. The author then discusses how Christian apologists generally focus their attention on direct evidence to support their beliefs, such evidence as Scripture and the Early Church Fathers. However, indirect evidence can prove beneficial as well. The book then is laid out in eight parts to chronologically show an extensive list of hostile witnesses. The eight parts are as follows:

1. New Testament
2. Early Pagan
3. Early Jewish and Rabbinical
4. Later Pagan and Heretical
5. Islam and the Crusades
6. The Inquisition
7. Protestant Reformation
8. Lourdes, Fatima, and World War II

Each chapter is laid out in the same format. They begin by providing a paragraph or so of background information. For example, the chapter on Gaius Suetonious Tranquillus tells us that he was a Roman historian who wrote The Life of the Caesars. The next part of the chapter is called the Testimony. This is where we learn what recorded evidence makes reference to Christ and/or Christians. Using the same chapter, we see that it is only one line, but Suetonius wrote about Claudius' banishment of Jewish Christians from Rome. The final section of the chapter is appropriately called Hostile Witness. In this section, the author explains why this is a credible witness to Christ and/or Christianity and what this witness actually means in terms of attesting to the Truth.

This was a very fascinating read. When I first received the book, I thought that we would only be treated to ancient witnesses of Christianity. However, this book goes all the way up to World War II. That's approximately 2000 years of examples! What I took away from this book is simply that you may deny the ultimate Truth of Christ and Christianity, but try as you may, you cannot discredit it. Jesus will still get His message out both by His faithful followers as well as by those who oppose Him. I strongly recommend you picking up a copy of this book.

This book was provided to me for free by Catholic Answers in exchange for an honest review.

The Drama of Salvation (Catholic Answers)

The Drama of Salvation is the latest book from Jimmy Akin, senior apologist at Catholic Answers. The main aim of this book is to open a dialogue between Catholics and Protestants where they understand what the other is talking about. Akin hopes that Catholics and Protestants will stop talking at each other or past each other and instead engage in real and meaningful conversations, where they come to the realization that they either agree on some points or their disagreements aren't as drastic as often thought. There are nine chapters and seven bonus sections. The chapter titles are as follows:

1. The Drama of Salvation
2. Salvation Past, Present, and Future
3. Temporal and Eternal Salvation
4. Doing Penance
5. Indulgences
6. Faith, Works, and Boasting
7. Justification in Catholic Teaching
8. Justification and Ecumenism
9. Outside the Church, No Salvation?

The chapters were busting at the seams with information and very well organized. Akin used not only the Catechism to make his point, but relied heavily on Scripture. In his use of Scripture, he helped clarify key points regarding salvation that would make for effective dialogue with Protestants. I found this especially true in the chapters on justification. For the most part, Protestants have a view of salvation and justification being a one-time thing. They also believe that their salvation cannot be lost. Akin, with the use of Scripture, explains that Catholics believe that salvation is an ongoing process. He also shows how justification happened in the past, the present, and will in the future. Akin goes further to explain that the original Reformers actually had very Catholic beliefs about salvation and justification, and that ideas like "once saved always saved" are fairly new to the scene.

One of the most helpful chapters for me was the one on indulgences. As a former Protestant, I still struggle with this Church teaching. This chapter answered a lot of my questions, and made me feel a bit more at ease with the subject. I can't say that it was a light switch that flipped and I'm Mr. Indulgence now, but I do have a new understanding and respect for them and hope to slowly become more accepting of them and utilize them. This chapter is great for Protestants, converts, and even cradle Catholics. In addition to the nine chapters listed above, there are also bonus sections. I won't list them all out, but as a Pope Benedict XVI fan, it's no surprise my favorite one was "Pope Benedict XVI on St. Paul and the Doctrine of Justification."

I highly recommend this book for Catholics and Protestants. Most books written of this nature eventually turn into an attack on one side or the other. Instead, Mr. Akin does a masterful job of presenting just the facts in a way that both sides can better understand the other side. By doing this, he has provided a way for meaningful dialogue to occur. I know it is probably a pipe dream, but I would love to see this book written again, but replacing Protestantism with Eastern Orthodoxy. I often find myself wishing I could have better discussions with them, but maybe I am in the minority when it comes to that. Anyways, like I said earlier, I highly recommend this book, and recommend you buy it, read it, and re-read it. You won't be disappointed. I know I wasn't!

This book was provided to me for free by Catholic Answers in exchange for an honest review. If you found this review helpful, please click here and hit Yes!

Behold Your Mother (Catholic Answers)

"Catholic Answers is one of the nation’s largest lay-run apostolates of Catholic apologetics and evangelization." They are "dedicated to serving Christ by bringing the fullness of Catholic truth to the world. We help good Catholics become better Catholics, bring former Catholics “home,” and lead non-Catholics into the fullness of the faith." I became familiar with them on my drive home from work. Each day they devote several hours a day to answering questions for Catholics, non-Catholics, atheists, and agnostics. Their apologists also write books, one of which I am pleased to review today.

Behold Your Mother is a 300+ page blue hardcover (Really what other color would be appropriate?). It is written by Tim Staples, who is the Director of Apologetics at Catholic Answers, and is billed as "a Biblical and Historical defense of the Marian doctrines. The book is divided into five parts, one for each of the core doctrines. They are as follows:

Part I - Mother of God
Part II - Full of Grace
Part III - Ever-Virgin
Part IV - Assumed into Heaven
Part V - Mediatrix and Co-Redemptrix

Each part includes one to three chapters defining the doctrine; Scripture references/citations, which support the doctrine; and the historical Tradition that the Church has believed about these doctrines. Each of the five parts also includes a chapter, which answers common objections. These chapters above all are very useful for Catholics looking to defend Mary against Protestants, atheists, and agnostics. There are copious footnotes in this book as well, which even contain either citations or personal commentary by Mr. Staples on the subject at hand. Lastly, there are six appendices at the end of the book. Two of them use Patristics, which is a huge selling point for me, and one of them addresses the puzzling doctrine of Mary remaining a virgin, even during labor.

Each section of the book was well-organized, well-argued, and insightful. His argument for how Mary is Theotokos or God-bearer made perfect sense. Mary can't just be mother to Jesus' human-nature. She is mother to all of Jesus, humanity and divinity. Therefore, she is the Mother of God. Another section I enjoyed was the talk of Mary's Assumption, and his comparisons of her to the Ark of the Covenant. Though he doesn't state in the main text whether or not Mary died, because the Church doesn't have an official teaching on that, he does state in the footnotes that he believes she did. I too share that belief. With all these helpful sections, the one most important to me dealt with Mary as Mediatrix and Co-Redemptrix. This is a doctrine I have always struggled with, probably due to lack of understanding. I can't even begin to summarize Mr. Staples explanations in these chapters, but I can say I walked away from them at peace and with a better understanding of a doctrine that has caused me many nights of head-scratching.

With all the positive aspects of this book, the main question one must ask is who the book is intended for. I would say that this is primarily intended for faithful Catholics. While, they may believe all five of these doctrines (blindly or with limited understanding), they would benefit from this book in trying to articulate these points to people who don't believe in them. While Protestants and non-believers would benefit from reading this book, I have to think that only the serious inquirer would dare tackle a book this thick. Others would simply be turned off the size and possibly look for something a little more brief. I am proud to have this book in my library, and I know it will be a valuable reference for years to come. Five stars!

This book was provided to me for free by Catholic Answers in exchange for an honest review. If you found this review helpful, please click here and hit Yes!