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Summary: PUZZLED BY ANGRY REVIEWS...
Review: I'm puzzled by the angry reviews that say this book bashes other religions. The title is WHY DO CATHOLICS DO THAT? not Why Do NON-Catholics Do That? As the title suggests, the book explained why Catholics do what they do. The book was exactly what I thought it would be. I didn't find any of the animosity suggested by other reviews of this book. I saw no mean-spirited remarks toward non-Catholic Christians.
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Summary: Reasonable Explanations Are Always Needed
Review: There can't be enough good books explaining to our culture (which tends to be suspicious of things Catholic, if not anti-Catholic) why the Catholic Church believes and worships the way she does. This book by Dr. Kevin O. Johnson makes a valuable contribution to the growing literature, which includes such important books as veteran apologist Patrick Madrid's "Why is That in Tradition?" and "Where is That in the Bible?" (giving much background on Catholic beliefs and practices), famous Scripture theologian Dr. Scott Hahn's "The Lamb's Supper" (about the Mass), Mike Acquilina's "The Mass of the Early Christians", and newcomer Catholic philosopher Dr. David P. Lang's "Why Matter Matters: Philosophical and Scriptural Reflections on the Sacraments" (which provides detailed Scriptural background for the valid material elements of six of the seven Sacraments). Any or all of these books are recommended to the interested inquirer or those Catholics who want to bolster their faith and become more knowledgable in discussions.
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Summary: Informative but...
Review: Lots of interesting information, but I'm not sure that it is documented and reliable. In addition, some of the author's unequivocal positions are now questionable in light of the recent scandals.
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Summary: I want to live my life on the Rock!
Review: The depth of information in this book was surprising, and I was amazed at the author's painstaking research. It made me not only better understand Catholic customs, but inspired me to practice them. There is much more than customs explained here, however. Origins of Catholic faith, worship, and culture (the very principle and bedrock of western culture) are explored, and the last chapter of the book presents an extensive reading list that will keep ...[Amazon.com]customers busy placing new orders.To explain Catholicism so convincingly doctor Johnson takes you on a journey through 2,000 years of history (in only 267 pages). As a result, the reader is left with a real appreciation of the Power and Glory of the Catholic Church, and this is the beauty of Johnson's book. I strongly recommend it and also "Triumph" by H.W. Crocker III, which is another courageous and much needed book for Catholics and non-Catholics alike. Also, "the Spirit of Catholicism" by Karl Adam is a timeless treasure. Anti-Catholics have got a real tall order in trying to attack this history of the Church's beliefs and customs--a Church divinely founded by Christ. A faith that stands the test of time like no other is hard to argue with, even though Jesus claimed that it "would be hated by all for His name's sake". The book contains no mean-spirited assessment of non-Catholic Christians. On page 34 the author honestly and charitably writes, "while a book like this has to draw the distinction between the doctrines of the Church and the doctrines of those who have left her, that doesn't mean that any specific person is evil-or good, for that matter. Accurate or inaccurate in teaching, yes; but not personally trying to do anything wrong, necessarily." Mr. Johnson is not a Protestant basher. There is no 'historical revisionism' in the book either, nor lies. Doctor Johnson correctly states what competent historians acknowledge-that Luther threw out 7 Old Testament books because they disagreed with his doctrines. Some Christians like to think there is no authority above the bible; certainly Luther--who himself acknowledged that 'without the Catholic Church we wouldn't have the bible'--thought he was above the bible! Doctor Johnson correctly presents the Church's teaching on salvation. In 1999 the Vatican issued the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification. It involved no change in Catholic doctrine. It only functioned to lift the condemnations that Catholics and Lutherans had long held against each other's salvation doctrines. They recognized a misunderstanding of each other's terminology. Experts claim it was just a small step toward doctrinal unity between the two but much much more needs to be done. Doctor Johnson explains that the Catholic Church has never taught that we are saved by our 'good works'. To this day the teaching office of the Church has never officially taught error in matters of faith and morals, (it is protected from doing so by the Holy Spirit) and that is a fact of history that has never been disproved. Jesus said to his Apostles, the first leaders of the Church, "The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your mind whatever I have said to you." So if you are Catholic or Protestant, go ahead, light a candle, make the Sign of the Cross, pray the rosary (which, like the Mass, incorporates the Lord's Prayer), and read "Why Do Catholics Do That?" You owe it to yourself!
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Summary: Clear Explanations of the Faith
Review: This book provides a clear, concise explanation of the Catholic beliefs and traditions without confusing the reader. The text provide sufficient theological explanations to help the reader understand the reasons behind a particular practice creating confusion. I strongly recomend this book to those returning to the faith, those with questions about the faith or those interested in converting to the faith.
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Summary: Truly a must read!
Review: I return to this book again and again. It has opened up doors for me in understanding my faith. I really appreciate the simplicity in explaining the Catholic Church and all the practices and rituals. It has truly opened my eyes. I recommend this for anyone who has just joined the Catholic church. It is definitely a must-read.
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Summary: easy to read, interesting information
Review: This book may be partially responsible for my return to the Church after more than a decade away. It's written in a conversational, non-confrontational style that is easy to read yet at the same time rarely gets boring. It also explains many things that may not make sense to cradle Catholics, things that could easily have caused a division from the Church. I recommend this book for Catholics but am uncertain about its impact for non-Catholics as the author does assume a basic familiarity with the Church. I also would not recommend it for serious theology students as the treatment of the subject matter is probably at too basic a level. However, this book for me served as a useful springboard into more serious theological study (including the Catechism) and is a great place for returning or uncertain Catholics to get started!
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Summary: Johnson is Catholicism's answer to Jack T. Chick
Review: This book was so full of inaccuracies, demeaning remarks, stereotypes, and outright lies in favor of the Catholic church and against other religions that I've come to look favorably on Jack T. Chick, the half-crazed fundamentalist cartoonist who writes little booklets that link the Vatican to the ancient Satanist cults from Egypt and say that the Pope is the Anti-Christ. Johnson is no better. If you're a Catholic who honestly believes that all Protestants are apocalyptic nuts who mis-translate the Bible on purpose, then this book's for you. If you believe that the virgin mary is really appearing as fungus in people's frigs, then this book's for you. Ironically, Johnson is often at odds with official Catholic teaching. In the late '90s, the Church made a formal statement that Luther was right about Salvation being by God's Grace rather than by our own good works. Johnson spends most of a chapter defending the view that it's good works that get us into heaven, and that God saving us out of his love and his Grace is a Protestant lie. Then a few years after this book was written, the Church changes its mind and agrees with the Protestants! Tell me, Mr. Johnson, where is your "infallible" church now?
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Summary: Offensive to non-Catholics
Review: This books purports to be an introduction to the Catholic Church's rituals and practices, but it spends a good deal of time calling Protestants and Jews "unbelievers," "heretics," and other terms. The author seems more concerned about dismantling other people's beliefs than he does about presenting his own. The author also presents a number of conspiracy theories that are historically wrong and often very anti-Semitic. For example, he contends that the Jews conspired to re-write the Old Testament to remove references to purgatory and other Catholic teachings, and that this Jewish recension of the Bible sparked the Protestant reformation (which furthered the Jews' plan to destroy the Church). This is sheer fantasy - I'd recommend An Introduction to the Apocrypha by Bruce Metzger if you want a factual assessment of the OT Canon - and reflects the deeply-ingrained Anti-Jewish sentiment that marked the Church for centuries. Catholics used to believe that Jews stolen Catholic babies and drank their blood. The author's attitude toward Jews is no better. Like many "Protestant-bashers," the author malignly conflates evangelicals (e.g., Billy Graham, Intervarsity Christian Fellowship) with fundamentalists (e.g., Bob Jones University, Ian Paisley) to give a very distorted, mean-spirited assessment of non-catholic Christians. The author fails to mention that Catholic governments in Latin America persecute and brutalize evangelicals - some endorsement for the "one True Church." But then again, this guy believes that virtually every "Marian apparition" is for real (...).
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Summary: My Review.
Review: The book is not exactly what I had in mind when I ordered it but it did prove to be interesting in several areas and worth the effort and money to obtain. The author at times gets a little sarcastic but then I guess that's what keeps it from being a very dry book to read. He does not overdue it. If he had I would not have finished it. Maybe for me, I was looking for more specifics relavent to more present times. Many topics discussed cover, literally from the earliest known matter on the subject to present day. It's almost like watching a 3 hour movie in 10 minutes. The author did a very good job of covering things all in all though. Again, to me, it was worth it.
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