Answer Me This!

This is an excellent book on the Biblical basis for Catholic beliefs. It is an easy read and an excellent reference book for later.

Anyone who shares with other Christians that he is a member of a church that largely adheres to the historic Christian faith and practice is bound to have been challenged by a barrage of questions based largely on a complete misreading of Church history promoted in more sectarian circles. Because historic forms of Christianity have a more holistic approach to the faith whose parts are interrelated in a cohesive whole, giving a thorough understanding to someone used to dealing with isolated propositions in digestible soundbites can be difficult and often border on the impossible. Patrick Madrid gives an example of how this can be accomplished in his book Answer Me This! as he responds to fifty of the most common objections to Catholicism. While Madrid is concerned primarily with bolstering Catholic claims, many of the points are equally valid for Orthodox, Anglicans, and others seeking a degree of catholicity within their own traditions. The questions are grouped by topic with the more fundamental objections coming first and ones reliant on these erroneous assumptions following. This is an important feature since sometimes the question given is built upon an unmentioned assumption that isn't true. The reader could then take the discussion back to the more basic issue and work from there. The approach is not to give a thorough presentation of patristic or contemporary Catholic theology but merely to respond to particular points of attack. The focus is usually kept to disarming the opponent rather than attacking him. With this goal in mind, the reader can fire back with biblical and historical evidence and give the opponent food for thought. The fact that many recent converts to Catholicism mention that they raised similar objections until someone shocked them by responding with counterarguments gives testimony to the effectiveness of the approach. As for the arguments themselves, much of it is pretty basic stuff to those who know some Church history and an understanding of the development of the Canon of Holy Scripture. It is here that is the book's strength. Rather than try to beat the opponent into submission with a barrage of information and a condescending tone, Madrid gives quick and easily understood arguments that neutralize objections and lead to further points of discussion. The points where many informed readers will part with Madrid is in his treatment of doctrines that are peculiar to Rome. His treatment of the papacy seems forced by comparison to much of the rest of the book and does not face the most important and common objections to papal claims given by Orthodox and traditional Anglicans. Yet, even with these areas of difference, Madrid gives a strong tool for overcoming many fallacies concerning historic Christianity and for this Answer Me This! is highly recommended.

This is the perfect book to give to any of your Protestant friends who question your Catholic faith. In it, Patrick Madrid literally takes fifty of the top questions and arguments that Protestants throw at Catholics to debunk their faith and uses solid, extensive Biblical evidence to answer them. In using the Bible as the primary force in each rebuttal, Madrid uses the one weapon that works best when talking to Protestants. Since Catholic Tradition holds little weight in these arguments, Madrid makes mention of them but always goes to great lengths to use the Bible first and foremost. Another reason to give this book to Protestants is that Madrid's writing style is a lot easier to swallow than, say, Karl Keating. Though Keating is definitely one of the best Catholic apologists around, he does sometimes come across as a brutish force when defending his faith. Don't get me wrong, his fire is impressive and necessary, but Madrid manages to get his point across without being as blunt as Keating. Had I read this book before I myself came home to the Church in 2000, it definitely would have been one of the key reasons that I became Catholic. But now I'm glad that I have it to give to any and every person who is interested in the faith. This is an excellent book and I highly recommend it to both Catholics and non-Catholics. It will not only strengthen your faith as a Christian, it will also make you more prepared to take on a barrage of questions about your faith. Another good book to pick up, and the one that did solidify my decision to become Catholic is "Why Do Catholics Do That?" by Kevin Orlin Johnson. Much like Madrid, Johnson takes an easier to swallow approach in answering questions about the faith. It's highly recommend.

This is a great book for catholics and non-catholics alike. This is a must-read for anyone who has questions about the catholic faith. The author is very clear and enable you to better defend your faith.

This book gives excellent -- thorough, concise, and well-documented -- answers to questions that some people have about why the Catholic Church believes and teaches what it does -- especially those aspects of Catholicism with which many Protestants vehemently disagree. The questions in the book are posed exactly as the Protestants who submitted them asked them -- complete with Scripture quotations that supposedly "prove" their position against Catholic teaching; and this book does a wonderful job of answering these questions by quoting the Bible extensively -- as well as very early Christian writings which show that the beliefs that are being defended really do go back to apostolic times. This book also explains where, how, and why the Bible is often quoted out of context to make an argument against certain aspects of Catholic teaching or practice. This book is gentle enough to give to Protestant friends without much fear of insulting them (This is the only apologetics book I've ever given to Protestant friends, even though I've read many different -- and excellent -- apologetics books) I own & have read both "Where Is THAT in the Bible?" and "Why is That in Tradition?" (both by Patrick Madrid), but I think that this book is superior even to those other two excellent books by the same author.