Rating: 
Summary: Looking for truth?
Review: What an amazing story this is, I really appreciate anyone who will publically speak on the struggles and trials on their journey toward truth. It's interesting while reading the other reviews for this marvelous book that most were very positive. It's unfortunate for the few that were not, how sad to search for truth in all the wrong places. I pray that those few negative readers will not spend a lifetime looking for Christ's true church in the 25,000 different protestant denominations throughout the world. By reading Scott and Kimberly Hahn's book they can be assured to find it in the only denomination that Jesus Christ established in 33AD. Read with an open mind and heart and you will be amazed at what you find. Read it with predjudice and preconceived negative ideas and you will continue searching for truth for a long time. God Bless you on your journey to Rome.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting but not too convincing
Review: This is the story of two people in search of religious stability after a background of liberal theology and lack of spiritual direction. Scott complains that his Presbyterian family minister rejected such basics of the Christian faith as the Virgin Birth of Christ or His Resurrection. In light of such background, it is no wonder that one would attempt to satisfy the spiritual thirst inherent in all of us elsewhere.The impression that I acquired in reading this conversion story, is that Scott - not being one of a analytical mind or background, but one more of philosophy, found the sound of the bells, the smell of the incense, the fetishness of the Eucharist, the genuflecting in front of statues, the Rosary prayer, the altar display and the decorum of ritualistic worship just too attractive. In order to justify this attractiveness of religious performance, Scott then searched the Scriptures and history to create a foundation for his desired belief system. The problem here is that the Bible and history can be used to prove anything as long as one is selective and makes certain assumptions to begin with. Kimberly was the one that apparently had deeper convictions in the Bible at first and she is the one that apparently suffered the most in trying to be a good and obedient wife and mother to her children. Scott on page 165 makes the statement that when evangelical Protestants convert to the Roman Church they often experience a kind of "ecclesiastical culture shock". I believe in part that much of this is due to the foundational difference between Biblical Christianity and Roman Catholicism. There is a change of standard in which one anchors his religious beliefs. In Biblical Christianity, Christ is at the focus for salvation whereas, in the Roman Church the chief focus is on the Church. I liked the concluding remarks made by Scott in admonishing Roman Catholics to "Pick up the Scripture daily and read them. They are the inspired Word of God written for you, as the Catholic Church has consistently taught throughout this century, especially Vatican II. Believe what you read. Share it. Pray it. Memorize it. Soak in it, as in a warm tub! Learn it well so that you can live it more fully - and share it joyfully." This is the kind of advice I would give anyone who desires to be or become a matured Christian. However, one should realize that Scripture is a "two-edged sword" that works on those that seek the Lord and His Truth, transforming one more into the image of Christ. And this may cause conflict with one religious denomination as it so often has in the past with the Reformers and others.
Rating: 
Summary: gift
Review: faith is a gift, one that we must struggle with using all our souls, hearts, and "minds". This is an excellent book for the journey.
Rating:
Summary: Very good book
Review: "Rome Sweet Home" is the best conversion story I have yet to read. One reason, simply, is because its easy to read. As a woman who is studying Catholicism myself, I identified with Kimberly Hahn's emotional struggle. Anyone who thinks she is being melodramatic, hasn't been raised in a devout Protestant (anti-Catholic) home. It is a roller coaster of emotions. This is the first Catholic conversion book I've read where I didn't get alittle bored before I got through with it. I highly recommend "Rome Sweet Home" to anyone looking into the Catholic Church.
Rating:
Summary: See Christs Church through the prism of an immigrant
Review: I have always held the belief that if you really want to understand freedom and appreciate the glory of America, ask a recent immigrant to explain it. Likewise, if you want to truly understand and appreciate God's pilgrim Church - the Catholic Church - ask a recent convert. Scott and Kimberly Hahn show those who have never really known the Catholic Church and even those who THINK they do, how a relentless pursuit of Gods truth can lead you to very unexpected places. From virulent anti-Catholics to Catholic apologists extraordinaire, the Hahn's story will inspire generations of Protestants and Catholics for generations to come.
Rating: 
Summary: Scott Hahn- Much Ado About Nothing
Review: Scott Hahn purports to be a former Presbyterian minister. In fact, he was afilliated with a now defunct "independant Presbyterian" (truly, an oyxmoron) church that is now defunct. He held that affilliation for about two years, and was "ordained" in a closed door ceremony when that congregation's elders laid hands upon him. Whatever that made him, it did not make him a "Presbyterian minister". His was , in his words, an associate pastor.Attendance at services averaged 30 people. The church lasted four years. His theology teaching was at Chesepeake Theological Seminary, founded in 1983, which has no formal affiliation with the Presbyterian Church of America, The PCUSA, or the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. I have seen no documentation that states that, at the time Scott was there, it was an accredited graduate school of divinity or theology. For this, he left for a full scholorship at Marquette for his Ph.D. Now, of course, he has a tenured professorship at a small Catholic university, and lectures, sells tapes, and writes defenses of the Roman Catholic faith against straw man arguments for Sola Scriptura....as Scott defines Sola Scriptura. There are much better books out there on Catholic theology, and on conversions to Catholicism. This book lacks..not only for its cavalier treatment of theology, but in its trivialization of the conversion process. I found this book a waste of money.
Rating:
Summary: Moving
Review: What an eye opener for this cradle Catholic. How little I know of my own faith, and of the holy scripture. Thanks Scott and Kimberly for sharing what was such a personal experience. When Scott first desired the Eucharist with such profound reverence, I literally got down on my knees in thanksgiving that I have always been able to receive Christ's Body, and apologizing for not appreciating that gift with the glory it deserved. This book was such a quick read, that I am looking forward to read it again.
Rating:
Summary: Corrections to 11/27/98 Review
Review: This work is an excellent conversion story, and powerfully illustrates the spiritual and emotional agony involved in religious conversion. It aptly demonstrates what happens when God demolishes certain theological constructs upon which people build their lives. To preempt a scurrilous (and enduring) internet rumor re: Dr. Hahn's ministerial background, read p. 48. On that page, Dr. Hahn clearly says that he was a pastor at an INDEPENDENT Presbyterian church in Fairfax, VA. Consequently, any inquiry sent to the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) (or any other Presbyterian church HQ) would naturally come up empty. Re: Comments about Dr. Mark Miravalle. Upon further study and reflection, it has become abundantly clear that my comments about purported "maximalist" tendencies in his theology were inaccurate and grossly unfair. I apologize for any harm these remarks might have caused.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent reading
Review: If you are looking for a good conversion story, this is the book for you. He goes from anti-catholic to being a catholic. He was an educated man,a minister in the Presbyterian faith. He and many others have cross over to the catholic faith. He simply follow the truth, he followed where God called him to be. He gave up a lot in his journey to Catholism, his job as a minister in his former faith, relationship with friends and family members,educational opportunities. Very good reading.
Rating:
Summary: In defense of Dr. Hahn AND Dr. Miravalle
Review: Their conversion story has changed the lives of countless Christians. But the book does no justice to the extremely good people the Hahns are. Their children are some of the kindest and most thoughtful kids I have ever met. Scott and Kimberly offer their home and refridgerator to students, and only ask that these students help with housework and keep the kids company when they have to be away. I could go on and on, but they wouldn't want me to. There was a complaint that their's was an intellectual conversion, not a spiritual one. The same type of conversion was experienced by the great Protestant writer C.S. Lewis. I assist in production of a television show that Dr. Hahn is a panelist on. If you could look into his mind, you would truly understand what type of an intellect it takes just to make heads and tails of it all. The man is an absolute genious with wonderful ideas. His undergrad is a tripple major in theology, philosophy, and economics, and the man graduated with honors! It shouldn't be a bit suprising if it sounds like his conversion was an intellectual one, because I guarentee he weighed out every ounce. But I assure you, he is a man of tremendous prayer, splendid gest, and extreme kindness. Another review criticized Dr. Mark Miravalle's theology. It accused him of fostering a Marian theology of maximalism. Nothing could be further from the truth. Maximalism is ascribing to Mary that which is only due to God, as if she were the fourth person of the Trinity. Miravalle warns against this practice on day one of his classes, and nothing in his teaching supports maximalism. Anyone who would like to know what Dr. Miravalle's Marian principles truly are should read "Introduction to Mary," available throught Amazon.com for about $5 or so. Stop making ridiculous, unfounded accusations, please. Dr. Miravalle is a humble man. He has a great love for the Church and is certainly a man of deep prayer and devotion. But he is not an idolitor.
|
