The Catholic Church at the End of an Age: What Is the Spirit Saying?

Rating:
Summary: Tendentious
Review: Despite an erratic and often clumsy writing style, Ralph Martin manages to make some key points regarding the Church in crisis. Indeed, giving credit where it's due, Mr. Martin is notably successful in getting many of these points across through the use of statistics -- no easy task.

My main probem with this book is Mr. Martin's true agenda. His primary objective is to engage in charismatic apologetics. The charismatic movement within the Catholic Church remains highly controversial -- and, in the interests of full disclosure, is not at all to my taste.

A much better book on the Church (and the West) in crisis is Father Rutler's "A Crisis of Saints."

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Summary
Review: Martin has hit a bullseye with his analysis of the Church's situation as she enters the third millenium. Martin reveals the 'pre-Vatican II' versus the 'post-Vatican II' Church for the false dichotomy that it is, and the rends in the Church that such false a false dichotomy creates. The Church is ever-ancient, ever-new, the Faith has not changed. The split in the Church is not a chronological one - it is a crisis of Faith. The Church is filled with infallible 'teachers' of false Faith, who never seem to question what will become of those in the flock who subscribe to their teaching. As far as the reviewer who calls Martin a 'loyal dog' of the hierarchy, his bitterness and angst is sad and prophetic. The Church has a hierarchy, locations of employment have a hierarchy, every government has a hierarchy, and the only alternative is chaos and cruelty. This bilious anti-authority streak is shared by many Church dissenters, who pretend to barf at being included in anyone's flock of sheep. Boredom is the sentiment most often evoked by those who can not put aside childish ways and become men (or women). Martin's book is excellent, and should be read by all who are concerned about the attack on the Faith and the faithful. What an exciting time to be in the great Chariot of the Ages!

Rating:
Summary: Loyal Dog of the Hierarchy
Review: This is an insightful book in many ways, and a deluded one in others. Ralp Martin's devotion to Jesus Christ is no doubt powerful, but he is such a typically loyal lapdog to one of the most corrupt, misogynistic, spiritually disturbed institutions in the world. By this I mean the Hierarchy of the Roman catholic Church, and not its members(or at least not the ones who are interested only in living a simple Christian life and are not concerned with the centuries-old power delusions of the hierarchy.) Martin has a balanced approach to Christian virtue and value in this book. He takes great care to delineate a proper devotion to Christ and to Mary, but it is sad that he cannot find the voice to speak up against the sado-masochistic spirituality that runs through so much of popular Catholicism today in the form of well-known "victim souls," ridiculous miracles,and the whole general sense of shame. If writers like Martin were brave enough to take the warped sense of guilt out of Catholicism, that religion might finally have a chance to breathe.