Reasons to Believe: How to Understand, Defend, and Explain the Catholic Faith

The term "apologetics" is often viewed negatively. Because of its etymological roots, many people view the word synonymously with "apology" in the common sense -- a labored defense of something done wrong, or a justification of that which cannot be justified. As practiced by certain individuals of disingenuous character, where beliefs are attacked either based on a false presentation of facts or upon personal bias against matters in question, this connotation is completely understandable.More properly, apologetics is (as is described in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary) the systematic argumentative discourse in defense (as of a doctrine), or a branch of theology devoted to the defense of the divine origin and authority of Christianity. Done properly, and accepted in the spirit of seeking truth, apologetics is the highest of the theological sciences.Scott Hahn, Professor of Theology and Scripture at Franciscan University of Steubenville, is an apologist of the highest order. A convert to Catholicism, former Presbyterian minister, and gifted writer, Professor Hahn has written a series of books on the Catholic faith. The books include such spiritual works as THE LAMB'S SUPPER: THE MASS AS HEAVEN ON EARTH, HAIL HOLY QUEEN: THE MOTHER OF GOD IN THE WORD OF GOD, and his journey to Catholicism, ROME SWEET ROME: OUR JOURNEY TO CATHOLICISM, co-authored with his wife, Kimberly Hahn.REASONS TO BELIEVE: HOW TO UNDERSTAND, EXPLAIN, AND DEFEND THE CATHOLIC FAITH, is a book of Catholic Apologetics in the finest sense of the tradition. Using his skills as a teacher, Professor Hahn offers a well-written, engaging, and reasoned look at the Catholic faith, using extensive scriptural sources, logic, and facts to present his defense of the Church. Unlike other so-called apologists (the pamphlet under the windshield), he does not hide behind personal rancor and invective. Instead, he presents his arguments for the Catholic faith in a thoughtful loving manner -- as one would expect or demand of a Christian. In its scant 240 pages, REASONS TO BELIEVE is not a substitute for Sacred Scripture, or Catholic Catechism. Rather it draws upon the complementary sources of Scripture, Tradition, and Magisterium to justify the faith. He presents powerful arguments indeed in simple prose, articulating divinely inspired truths in words that are comprehensible to the average reader.Reason and revelation are not incompatible. Natural and divine order are not compatible. The essentials of faith can be expressed intellectually and rationally. It is true theology -- faith seeking understanding.

Scott Hahn wrote the modern book on apologetics... oh golly, how lame am I? But seriously, Hahn studied his way into the Catholic church, reading hundreds upon hundreds of books and considering arguments from all sides. He brings this wealth of knowledge into this book. The book goes through the whole spectrum of apologetics, from theism, to Christianity, to Catholicism. It isn't horribly and deeply in depth, but it isn't supposed to be. This is supposed to be an introduction, a book for one to get their feet wet and take in an overview of the basic arguments for Catholicism.The first section deals with arguments for the existence of God. The second chapter deals with common Protestant objections (Mary, Eucharist, Papacy, etc.) But it is the third section which goes into some very interesting typology that one may not have seen before. Hahn in careful detail elaborates on the kingdom of David being fulfilled and passed on to Jesus. It's very fascinating stuff, and Hahn goes into much more detail than I have ever seen. I've also never seen a serious attempt at a rebuttal of this whole typological understanding that Hahn goes through in the third section. Just this last (third) section alone is worth buying the book.Since most all the other reviews mention all the good of this book (and I agree), I will only mention one thing that I didn't like but that probably isn't the author's fault. And that is the fact that not only are the footnotes in the back of the book as opposed to the bottom of the page, but the footnotes aren't even made on a page. In other words, while reading the book, you have no way of knowing if something is referenced other than jumping to the back of the book and seeing if there is a footnote. That's a pet peeve of mine. But that's really the only problem.

I've recently wanted to learn and understand more of my catholic faith and to be able to defend it, but I just couldn't find the right book to help me until I found this incredible and indispensable book. Well written by one of the most leading Dr's of theology Dr Scott Hahn. I highly recommend this book as a learning aid to anyone! And when you get all fired up about your catholic faith and get hungry for more grab Understanding the Scriptures A Complete Course on Bible Study (this is one of the Didache Series books) another finally executed book by Scott Hahn. He puts everything in perspective, the History of our Church, the Bible, the Eucharist. It's the Who, What, Where, When and Why of every thing you ever wanted to know about our heritage of the catholic faith. And he'll help you get through it all because at the end of every chapter there's a test to see just how much you've absorbed! complete with a teachers manual. Scott Hahn thought of everything! with these two books you can't go wrong, you'll feel like your armored with the weapons ready to defend our Catholic Church.

It is very well written and contains powerful arguments, but it was more theological than I was expecting. Good book

Dico "sembra" perché ho appena iniziato a leggerlo. Ma sono sicuro che la mia opinione iniziale sarà confermata

Would recommend this book to anyone that would like to learn more about Christianity and the Roman Catholic Church

Took awhile to get here. But when it did, it was great. Thanks

Uma belíssima obra de apologética cristã sob o ponto de vista católico.É essencial descrever uma passagem que, a mim dita por um amigo cristão do credo reformado, sintetiza a visão de muitos: segundo ele, obras de apologética não devem ser a preocupação primordial do cristão, muito menos daquele (como eu) que inicia um estudo profundo sobre o sentido da fé cristã. Além de tal postura estar denegada nas escrituras, que mandam conhecermos e sabermos defender nossa fé com argumentos e razão, e não só por apelos emotivos e mixórdias sentimentais acusatórias ao outro, sendo exigido, ainda, que tudo façamos com gentileza (1 Pd 3,15), essa posição do amigo protestante negligencia que algumas pessoas, diferente de outras, já foram criadas em lares cristãos e não precisam do impulso de razão e explicação racional da fé que outras demandam. Eu, por exemplo, precisava conhecer os rudimentos da fé, pois meus estudos sobre religião antes sempre foram focados no impacto e na importância civilizacional no Ocidente, mas apenas em periferia estavam dedicados à própria questão inerente à religião cristã genuína.Percebi que a apologética não era interessante para tal amigo protestante por uma razão: era porque as obras de apologética protestante são muitas vezes um compêndio de citações inveteradas de versículos bíblicos que sustentam ataques à Igreja Católica. Um culto obstinado à memorização, não a uma interpretação competente. Como a apologética católica é de defesa e de explicação, ela é a APOLOGÉTICA GENUÍNA, como nos orientam os apóstolos pela tradição, o Santo Magistério da Igreja e, aliás, as Sagradas Escrituras, como antes mencionei.Numa primeira parte, o livro começa a dialogar com os ateus e agnósticos. Sugiro, para isso, dois livros: "Em Guarda", do William Lane Craig, teólogo protestante que é excelente em tal parte, e "Deus Existe?", de Joseph Ratzinger (Papa Emérito Bento XVI) em debate com Paolo Flores D'Arcais. Scott Hahn demonstra conhecimento profundo de teologia, em especial - este o ponto de maior dissensão entre católicos e protestantes - a teologia natural tomista (um campo normalmente desprezado pelos protestantes, mas que, curiosamente, é uma das áreas de grande saber de William Lane Craig, que citei acima). À massa de protestantes, toda e qualquer teologia não pode ser metodologicamente devotada à razão, senão unicamente à fé (isto é, a fé há de ser o instrumental de tal ciência), e apenas ela; aos católicos, não apenas a fé permite a compreensão do divino, mas o estudo de propriedades (o belo, o justo, o eterno, etc) inerentes às criações do mundo que refletem o Criador. Tal fundamento, da teologia natural, é inclusive escriturístico (Rm 1,20): Deus é invisível, mas se permite compreender nas coisas visíveis que por ele foram criadas. Adiante, o enfoque passa a ser um diálogo com irmãos protestantes, com as evidências bíblicas (o que lhes parece caro) da doutrina da Santa Igreja.Um livro fantástico, de leitura bastante leve, instrutivo e útil. Não gostei da tradução em português, que também possuo, e terminei comprando esta versão Kindle em inglês. A tradução contém erros de pontuação bastante elementares, como uma insistência primária em separar sujeito e predicado por vírgulas em DIVERSAS partes da obra. Isso faz perder o encanto (por isso tirei ponto da versão em português, livro físico). Sugiro então esta versão em inglês aos que se habilitam a ler em tal idioma: não vão se arrepender.