Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Reference Work
Review: This great book is very comprehensive, structured, and a great resource to look up (or just browse!) what the Catholic Church teaches and why. Generally, for each doctrine, Fr. Ott lists scriptural, historical, and rational evidence as well as evidence from Church Tradition. This makes it a very handy compendium, especially when looking for the *sources* of Church teaching. After each teaching, Ott lists the degree of authority with which it had been promulgated up until 1954. And no, the fact that it was written in 1954 does not make it old or out of date, by ANY means. Truth is truth, whether it was written in 1954 or in 2001. You will not regret purchasing this book.

Rating:
Summary: Companion to Bible and Catechism
Review: This work by theologian Ludwig Ott is a necessary resource for anyone trying to defend the Faith or understand it better. It covers an enormous amount of material briefly but sufficiently. It gets technical at some points but is for the most part straightforward and understandable. As he was limited by the amount of space required by the depth and precision of Catholic doctrine, he was forced, in most cases, to give only the verse of the patristic or biblical passages that support the particular dogma. This seems to be the only fault(albeit understandable) of the entire work. Despite this little setback, I believe this book will enhance your understanding of Catholic beliefs and why they are held.