The Roman Catholic Controversy

Rating:
Summary: Saddened
Review: As far as the book itself I thought it was an easy read. After reading his book and listening to him in debates, he is gifted with communication skills(reason for the 5 stars). As for content(religion is such a hot topic), I read it and was captivated. Being a recent convert to Catholicism, he certainly captured my attention with the way he presents the issues. Most Protestants will enjoy the book because it reafirms what they think the Church says. Catholics who are weak in their faith could easily be drawn out of the Church. Catholics who are strong in their faith will be challenged in the way issues are presented. Mr. White comes across as some one who truly wants to follow Christ and wants to share his understanding on the faith. After researching some of his footnotes(especially the early Church fathers) it became clear that he is very selective in what he presents on his behalf, and will mis-lead readers in what is true. I get the impression that because he has a relationship with Jesus and he's not a Cathlic, then the Catholic Church must be wrong and he is on a mission to prove it. Faith is a journey, Mother Theresa once said, "whatever your faith, be the best. If your a Buddist, be the best Buddist, a Muslim, then be the best Muslim, a Christian ,then be the best Christian". And to be the best Christian means to love one another, because all love comes from God. When we focus on teaching what divides us we are then unable to focus on what unites us, Jesus. God bless you all.

Rating:
Summary: Kind And Diplomatic Yet Riveting
Review: I enjoy James White's books, and this one was no exception. I think one only need to look at the reviews of it to see that it certainly captivates. Catholics have different degrees of like or hate for it while Protestants (which I am) generally affirm it. And the irony is that White even discusses that in the book itself.

Mr. White is NOT an 'anti-Catholic.' That term of derogation used by someone to discredit him before he starts should give objective persons pause. He is also clear that - as many of the Catholic reviewers here have done - many of them engage in circular argumentation. The Church wrote the Bible is the basic claim. White deals with that by pointing out the obvious: who wrote the OT since there was no functioning Church?

He does not avoid issues, he deals with them. He also does it in a kind way, and he is clear that there ARE Christians in the confines of Rome as well as lost persons at home in the Protestant churches. I would add that most of those who have commented that he misrepresented view A or view B usually do so because it doesn't fit in with what their church, bishop, or church leader told them. White makes it clear that he will deal with those issues but they must be set up systematically.

One more thing. One reviwer commented about White being one of the better Protestant apologists. Is it not ironic that one of the better known Catholics, Scott Hahn, REFUSES to debate White? White also mentions this...and I think it says all that needs to be said about the book. The truth will set you free.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Resource
Review: I have truly enjoyed reading this book and believe it offers some of the best arguments for Reformed Protestantism. Mr. White admits that this work is not completely extensive, and offers many citations and references in the notes, so I recommend reading the notations alongside the book's text. But it provides an awesome overview of those doctrines which divide us, as Catholics and Protestants; and, more importantly, discusses how they affect the Gospel.
As a former Catholic who has engaged Catholic apologists in debate, I have used many of Mr. White's citations and arguments. Anyone who decides to do the same cannot fall back on the old Protestant straw men of "the Roman Church is the harlot of Babylon", as this convinces no one, and is speculation. Rather, arguments such as those presented in this book should be our ready defense.

Rating:
Summary: White Focuses on the Gray Areas.
Review: James R. White explores much of what he considers the gray area of the Roman Catholic Faith, and uses an incredible array of resources to help him explain his beliefs on what the Catholic Church teaches. White admits that he is not a former Catholic, but claims to have debated some of the leading Catholic apologists in the United States over the past few years. I think that it shows in this book. Of all the books that I have read of this nature, White at least does his best to present the Catholic view in a favorable light, then presents why he can't accept it. Unfortunately, in my opinion, he misses the mark!

That being said, if anyone felt that he was called to be a Catholic apologist, I would suggest that they obtain a copy of this book, so that they could decide how they would answer White's comments and criticisms of the Catholic Faith. Yet, they should also try to obtain some of the resources that White quotes, so that they can explore that topic in detail, not just the quotes that White choses to include. Ultimately, we each have to make our Faith decision within our own hearts, and although this book is heavily documented, it didn't really persuade me away from the Catholic perspective on any single point. In fact, I would venture to say, that if Mr. White opened up his mind a little more, those same gray areas that he explores might not be so gray after all!

If you want to really explore the Catholic Faith, grab some Scott Hahn or Tim Staples tapes or some of the excellent Catholic Apologetic books mentioned in other reviews of this book. And finally crack open your Bible and Catechism of the Catholic Church with an open mind and heart!

Rating:
Summary: A Good Job
Review: James White has done a good job in this book. James has balanced up the issues well and not in a condeming way.

Martin Luther was certainly right when he made the bold comment that the issue of the human free will is really the "hinge on which the whole turns".

Wether it be the Roman Catholic church or any other of the religions of man. It all comes down to the great issue, does God save or does God simply lay out a plan and leave it up to the creature to decide, wether it be by sacraments, confession, mass, free will, ect, ect.

Not only do Catholics hate Dr White but so do many people who would call themselves protestants. Dr White is proudly a christian from the Calvinist side, and by the grace of God so am I. That is the issue that will put a lot of people off this book.

God Bless

Rating:
Summary: Sincere in approach and quite thorough
Review: Reading through all the reviews there are several common threads. Some people say it is all wrong, some say it is great, and some people spend hours trying to point out flaws in the book. Hopefully my review adds something new to help you decide if you want to buy this book.

First off, I ordered this book along with two by Ron Rhodes (10 things to tell a Catholic and Reasoning from the scriptures). I must say that James White is not only a more skilled writer, but he is much more sincere in his approach. I found Ron Rhodes books to be full of exclamation points and less than fleshed out reasonings. White however was quite thorough and handled every subject with tact. Obviously it wasn't thorough enough for some devout Catholics, but the citations from Catholic doctrine and other scholars is a very good starting point.

The debate between Protestants and Catholics will go on for years I am sure. Devout Catholics will see what they want, and hardcore Protestants will be re-affirmed. However, what I think this book does is bring to light many things the Catholic church believes but is afraid to teach. For example, bible studies are almost non-existant in most Catholic churches that I've visited, but White makes it clear why. The Catholic church believes it holds complete interpretive power over the bible, so why should an fallible layperson even bother reading it? (Sorry Holy Spirit!)

For Easter/Christmas Catholics, or those born into the church that have never studied the teachings of the church in depth, this book will make them ask questions. It would be interesting to know how many Catholics know/believe that they are eating the actual blood and body of Christ every mass. Some lifelong Catholics I know had never even heard this, yet it is Catholic doctrine, and if you don't believe it, then you're anathema.

I digress. The book is very well written. When White would bring up an argument I would always ask "Well what would a Catholic theologian say?," and more often than not White would give me some opposing Catholic arguments. Whether these are extremely selective I cannot say, for I haven't read every Catholic theologians work, but White does a great job of presenting subjects fairly and completely. Like any other work, don't take it all for granted, but always be questioning and seeking the truth.

This is subject very close to my heart. No single book will end this debate, but I believe this book is a great start to finding the ultimate truth in this life and the next. God bless you all on your search for God, who he is, and who he wants you to be.

Rating:
Summary: From an Unbias Perspective
Review: Roman Catholics rate the book low.
Protestants rate the book high.
That really tells you nothing about how good the book is.

Myself, being neither protestant nor catholic rate it high because Mr. White takes a peaceful and logical approach to acknowledging the differences between Catholics and Protestants, and using primary sources and direct quotations (not just excerpts taken out of context) to prove his points.

As for the previous review of Mr. Whites tactics; it is misleading. The reviewer takes things out of context. For example, in the Roman Catholic Catechism, it states in Part one, section two, chapter 3, article 10, 983, subpart 2:

"God above confirms what priests do here below."

The Catholic Catechism is saying that God confirms the molesting of little children.

Well, of course that is absurd, and you see in their Catechism that is only reffering to the priests' power to heal sin, but when taken out of context it sure makes Catholics look bad, doesn't it? Thats what the Catholic reviewers have been doing to Mr. White here.

Regardless of religious affiliation, this is an excellent book to read to gain understanding on both catholic and protestant issues ranging from Mary to the Pope to Purgatory.

Also, the one reviewer implying that Mr. White and Mr. Hunt work together is at error. Hunt is a reformed calvinist who expresses ideas very different from Whites in his books, mainly "What Love Is This?". A book documenting the debates between Mr. White and Mr. Hunt is comming out this year, called The Dividing Line

Rating:
Summary: James White fails in his attempt to rebut Roman Catholicism
Review: White's critique of Catholicism focuses on two areas: salvation and authority. He does use Roman Catholic documents and citations to support this critique. For any uninformed Catholic, his use of bible and history may seem compelling. For anti-Catholic Protestants this work will confirm their belief that Roman Catholicism is unbiblical.

In spite of this, the book falls flat in a number of areas; On the issue of justification he does not deal with the many biblical passages that show that works are indeed necessary for salvation (ie. James 2:14-26, Romans 2:6-13, Matthew 25:31-46, etc.). He is selective in his quotations from Romans and Galatians; Although he spends much time and space attacking the biblical basis for the Roman Catholic view of authority, he fails to give strong scriptural support for sola scriptura (the tradition that the bible is the exclusive rule of faith for Christians). He basically uses two verses and blows them up to say things not in the mind of the biblical authors.