Book Review: Quotable Wesley by Dave Armstrong

Before I read this fine piece of work by Catholic apologist extraordinaire Dave Armstrong (you can find all the ways to buy here), I was already in possession of an anthology of John Wesley's sermons. In fact, for me personally, John Wesley's theology was a kind of bridge between Protestantism and Catholicism -- for Wesley had a foot in both Rome and Geneva. As a life-long Anglican, Wesley's theology was indebted to the Catholic tradition insomuch that Anglicanism at that time was indebted to Catholicism. Wesley also had a conversion experience while on a ship to America with a group of Moravians (who are descendants of John Huss). That experience also shaped Wesley, and made him, I think, sympathetic to the low-church tide of emerging late 18th century Protestantism.

As you may all know, I don't write full book reviews. I write "sleeve-cover book reviews". That means that what I write could be printed on the back of a sleeve cover. Before I do that, let me just say that this book is a valuable resource to anyone who (a) is interested in understanding the non-Calvinist strand of Protestantism, (b) has a general interest in the thoughts of John Wesley or (c) is seeking to understand Methodism, Wesleyanism, modern Holiness Movements, and/or Pentecostalism. Regarding the later (c), in so much that all four movements have shaped the contemporary Protestant landscape (and they have), all four are all deeply indebted to John Wesley. And, I might add, indebted in many cases in the very best ways. My affections for Wesley aside, here is my review:

 "Dave Armstrong -- Catholic apologist and combox sensei -- in "Quotable Wesley: Theology and Conversion of Heart" puts down his apologetics gi and catalogs for the interested reader or researcher hundreds of quotes by the homilist par excellence John Wesley. With Wesley, you get the mixed bag that is Protestantism, but in that mixed bag you find some most delicious fruit. Armstrong makes all of it low-hanging and for that reason alone, we are all deeply indebted. You can get versions of the title for as little as $1.99, making it a just-buy-it-stop-thinking kind of purchase. Yet cheap isn't the main reason to buy it. Point blank, Quotable Wesley would be a valuable part of any scholar or laymen's library.

More than just encyclopedic value, Wesley's mind portends a key to true Christian re-unificaiton. If he had both a foot in Rome and Geneva, it is easy to imagine that lifting just one foot toward Peter could have a glorious effect. Through his writings, I think you will see that the foundation for so many important theological streams that find their way home to Wesley, can also use Wesley as a tributary to the sandy shores of the Tiber. With that possibility in mind and in the words of Flannery O'Connor, "Here comes everybody!"

You can buy the book here.

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Book Review: The Mass in Scripture

The Mass in Scripture is book one of the Lectio Divina Bible study series by Stephen J. Binz. Endorsed by a whole host of bishops and archbishops, Binz does a masterful job of presenting the beauty and truth of the liturgy; all in preparation for the new translation of the Roman missal.

The book is both a solid resource for personal study and the perfect parish level study guide for a small group or even larger gathering. In fact, I recommend any parish looking to implement a study about the Mass, new translation or not, to use this book. It doesn't get bogged down in the minutia, but instead focuses on showing the reader the beauty and truth of the Eucharistic Celebration drawing from the Sacred Scripture as its primary source. In this way, The Mass in Scripture fulfills Pope BXVI's mandate in Verbum Domini to study the Scripture which is the "soul of sacred theology" (not to mention the Bible is the Catholic Church's book).

Theologically, the book is as solid as you can get. One looking for hosts of latin formulae might be disappointed, but anyone hostile to the Novus Ordo should read this book. While the Holy Spirit may not have worked through the Church to bring about such deforms as liturgical dancing, mad ad-libbing or silly songs with Larry during the recessional; the vernacular translation along with certain aspects that are unique to it are deeply indebted to the Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture; something Binz copiously evidences.

Love Scripture? Love the Mass? Want to learn how the Mass is the "exhale" of the "inhale" of the spirit of the Sacred page? For only $10, you can have this wonderful resource for yourself, your family or your parish.

Book Review: The Bible Made Impossible

The Bible Made Impossible: Why Biblicism Is Not A Truly Evangelical Reading of Scripture, by Christian Smith, the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for the Study of Religion and Society at the University of Notre Dame, is his effort to understand why the Bible, in his view, does not seem to work as the “sole rule of faith” within his evangelical tradition -- hence the term “impossible.” The book is divided into two parts: the first part a diagnoses of the problem of biblicism and the second part Smith’s proposed solution.

What is Biblicism?

According to Smith, Biblicism is a belief that assumes at least one of the following to be true about the Bible:

1. The Bible is Identical to God’s very words
2. The Bible is the total representation of God’s will for humanity
3. The Bible covers every topic you need to know about anything
3. Democratic Perspicuity- “almost anybody can read the Bible and get it”
4. “Common Sense” Hermeneutic- just take it literal
5. Solo Scriptura
6. Internal Harmony- everything in the Bible fits together
7. Universal Applicability of all direct teachings of the Apostles
8. Inductive Method as the preferable method for understanding the Bible

As to #5, Bryan and Neal have demonstrated how sola reduces to solo here. Smith points to the way Westminster Theological Seminary refers to the Westminster Confession Faith (WCF) as fallible on the one hand, yet treating it as though “the likelihood...of detecting or admitting error or revisions is effectively nil” (p.14). He goes on to point out the way the WCF affirms many of his biblicist criteria. In the end, Smith's criticism virtually includes almost all of Protestantism by implying that both confessional and evangelical Protestant denominations treat the Bible in a biblicist way.

What to think of all of this?

Having defined biblicism, Smith next considers how the belief in the Bible as the rule of faith has fared in history. As evidence of the confusion, he quotes from the founder of Mormonism, Joseph Smith:

“In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinion, I often said to myself, What is to be done? Who of all these parties are right? Or, are they all wrong together? If one of them is right, which is it, and how shall I know? The teachers of religion of the different sects destroy all confidence in settling the question by an appeal to the Bible. At length I came to the conclusion that I must...ask of God.”

The fact that Joseph Smith’s sentiments reflect the average Christian’s should be startling. Of course, the average Christian doesn’t run out and start a completely new church. The broader question, and the one Smith is asking in the use of this quotation and others he deploys, is how do Christians of good faith sort through all the thousands and thousands (probably millions) of pages of competing interpretations?

You can read the rest of the review where it was originally published at Called to Communion by clicking on this link

Book Review: An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine

Blessed Newman's book, An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine--like no other--convinced me that the Catholic Church was the Church Jesus Christ established. At the least, if the Catholic Church wasn't that Church than that Church did not exist. Here's my humble and almost certainly inadequate and unworthy review:

"Newman, his heart still pulsing with almost Luther-like zeal for reformation of his own church (Anglican), sits down to pen in the Oxford library an essay that by today's standards would be an opus. To imagine the erudition and practical knowledge it would take to craft something of its magnitude, something that woud lead Newman himself to a conclusion that he may not have been willing to concede before writing, one would have to think in the category of Einstein to get a framework for comprehending the intellectual leviathan at work. Catholic doctrine is a tree, its germ the seed of the faith planted in the Church at the Incarnation. In sum, as it was said to me, if you don't want to be Catholic then don't buy this book."

The book is also available for free, along with many other titles by Blessed Newman, at www.newmanreader.org.

Book Review: If Protestantism Is True

Devin Rose, the author of If Protestantism is True, is a former atheist, turned evangelical, turned Catholic apologist. He is a remarkably charitable gentlemen who now uses his website to disseminate free articles and podcasts in an effort to defend the Catholic faith.

If Protestantism is True is Devin's first book of Catholic apologetics. I had the opportunity to read the Kindle version, but there is a paperback available now. Devin also has another book coming out called The Roman Road (title may change) which looks like it will be of equal interest. Without any further Devin-love, here is my review:

"Eminently readable...a teachable rhythm...end notes to take up your next few months, Devin Rose in If Protestantism is True has written a fine book and a wise gift to anyone interested in Catholicism and why a Protestant might convert. Devin prods his reader to consider the beliefs and state of Protestantism today and what that implies to its logical end--converting his insights into a useful rhetorical strategy the title gives away. Part high-brow theology and part anecdote from his own personal experience, Devin offers a reader from any background an opportunity at engaging the concerns that any serious convert to Catholicism takes up."

Buy the Kindle version of the book or the paperback. NOW! Support a Catholic brother, father of 4, and nurture your faith all in one shot!

Book Review: God & Man at Yale by William F. Buckley, Jr.

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Williams F. Buckley, Jr. (1925-2008), God rest his soul. Not many in the twentieth century could match his combination of wit, charm, eloquence and sagacity. I loved to hear him speak. I happen to learn auditorily, so for me Buckley was like a rare vocal pool of Bethesda. I would have asked to learn to ride a bicycle over had he offered to teach me.

If you get to read him, I encourage you to listen to him first. Then, when you read this book or any other, you will hear Buckley in all his judicious decrescendo splendor. God and Man at Yale was the first book in his illustrious and prolific career. Here's my review:

"All the force of Firing Line is present in God & Man at Yale, Buckley's first volley across the line of the liberal academic hegemony. An eager young student at Yale, Buckley finds that the elite of his university treated intellectual dissent, particularly of the conservative or classical kind, like a descent into mimetic, clamorous barbarism. Buckley reminds us that truth doesn't always win, it must be defended, and rather the history of humanity is marked by the concomitant path of novelty and demise. Buckley prophetically looks into the future of society by looking at the present state of his university. A worthy read for any Buckley 'fan' or interested historian in the history of education and how the 60's was no revolution but rather the fruit of an intentional pedagogical programme."

Book Review: The Way by St. Josemaria Escriva

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I received this book as a gift from my best friend. What a friend! It's hard to give a review for a book like this in very much the same way it would be hard for me to review a surgeon doing a triple by-pass. For starters, I didn't go to medical school and am not qualified to know a good surgeon from a bad one. Here's my best shot:

"Are you mired in sin and making no progress in the Way of Jesus Christ? Do you have spiritual cataracts, unable to even discern whether or not your feet are shod with the gospel or with your own desires? "You will know them by their fruit," our Lord said and so too do we know a great saint. St. Josemaria, with a surgeon like precision, will cut away at your hardened heart for as long as you are willing to read. Like a gardner's pruning sheers, if you will hear his instruction, he will open a path for you that is plain and draw forth the fruit of the Holy Spirit in your life. Written in short yet not so easy to digest 'sayings', this little book is a great post-Lent read to help you capture the spiritual momentum you gained during your 40 days, and that you too, like Christ after his 40 days, may enter into the fullness of the Life, the Truth, and the Way."

Book Review: The Secret of the Rosary

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I'll admit that the Rosary has been my most difficult prayer to understand since becoming Catholic. I think it is likely due to the fact that it is such an ancient prayer and its devotion has grown up inside the Church for nearly two millennia. As a foreigner to that tradition for most of my growing up life, I just didn't get it.

This Lent I picked up this small book in our parish book store with the hopes of learning more about the Rosary. All I can say is that I've learned so much about Christ since praying it with regular devotion. Here's my pre-Holy Week review:

"St. Louis de Montfort reminds us all that the Angelic Salutation is the chant of our victory over the devil. Combine it with the prayer our Lord taught us, all while meditating on the life, passion, and victory of Jesus, and you get our sure instrument of sanctification. The 'sure sign of orthodoxy', The Secret of the Rosary exposed my biblical and spiritual blindness to this incredible prayer. Make sure your Rosary is close because if you pick this book up Our Lady will have you walking the beads all the way to Her Son."

Challenge: Pick up the Rosary next week (Holy Week) and be drawn more intimately into the mystery of Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of Mary.

Book Review: The Present Age

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Kierkegaard is the kind of friend that makes you a better person. I finished this book on a two-day retreat to the beach with my wife. Ah...the love of your life, the sun, the waves, and an existentialist rant on the state of media. In a word: perfect.

"The Present Age by Kierkegaard can read one part luddite two parts revivalist. Kierkegaard wants his reader to have passion informed by reason and not give in to the cult of the mass--passions without reasons. Don't tweet away your existence or think that by liking "save the rain forests" you are making a difference. Instead, Kierkegaard demands that we snap out of our Freudian daze, and pick up the cross of life and allow every splinter to awaken us to a greater state of responsibility to reality."

Hallelujah!

Book Review: Introduction to Christianity

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In my journey into the Church, I picked up this book in the very beginning. I was thoroughly blown away by how then Cardinal Ratzinger moved concomitantly inside Catholic tradition and the canon of Scripture effortlessly. After I finished the book, I thought, "I could call this guy Papa". The Spirit works in mysterious ways. Here's my review:

"Cardinal Ratzinger shows us why he's the Pope-Bible scholar par excellence. Even before the weight of the Universal Church was on his vicarious shoulders, then Ratzinger leads his reader on a journey into the most pressing issue of our time: faith in God. This return to a faith in the public square has been a theme of his pontificate and we can see that it was something he was convinced of well before Bavaria cried for joy. Follow our now Holy Father as he penetrates the meaning and relevance of the ancient creed and why its proclamation is the medicine to heal the modern soul."

Book Review: Love is Stronger than Death

Since this blog is really only 3 weeks old, but began in haste almost 3 years ago, I realized that I intended to do some "sleeve cover style" book reviews. What I mean, of course, are those nice little blurbs on the back of books that give you a kind of micro-synopsis and that work exceptionally well for marketing purposes. My new friend and fellow convert Brandon Vogt over at his blog is actually giving away Peter Kreeft's book, "Love is Stronger than Death" which is the topic of my review today. 

click to go to Amazon to buy

"Kreeft's book is somber, bleak, yet prophetically hopeful. Any book with a chapter entitled 'Death as Mother' is bound to intrigue. Though, be prepared. It will plunge you into the depths of despair like a Salinger tail, but unlike Catcher will raise you from the dead in all the glory of Christ's victory. I suggest reading this book during the day, because ultimately Kreeft is asking us to think about death in bright terms. Death is our friend, but it is only our friend when we look at it in plain view, turning to Christ in His empty tomb, and introspectively returning to ruminate about our own destiny. We are not meant for decay but eternal life and as thus we understand Kreeft's point that Love is Stronger than Death."