Free The Protestant's Dilemma: How The Reformation's Shocking Consequences Point To The Truth Of Catholicism Ebooks Online
What if Protestantism were true? What if the Reformers really were heroes, the Bible the sole rule of faith, and Christ s Church just an invisible collection of loosely united believers? As an Evangelical, Devin Rose used to believe all of it. Then one day the nagging questions began. He noticed things about Protestant belief and practice that didn t add up. He began following the logic of Protestant claims to places he never expected it to go -leading to conclusions no Christians would ever admit to holding. In The Protestant s Dilemma, Rose examines over thirty of those conclusions, showing with solid evidence, compelling reason, and gentle humor how the major tenets of Protestantism - if honestly pursued to their furthest extent - wind up in dead ends. The only escape? Catholic truth. Rose patiently unpacks each instance, and shows how Catholicism solves the Protestant s dilemma through the witness of Scripture, Christian history, and the authority with which Christ himself undeniably vested his Church. The Protestant s Dilemma is the perfect book for non-Catholics trying to work through their own nagging doubts, or for Catholics looking for a fresh way to deepen their understanding of the Faith
Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Catholic Answers (February 27, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1938983610
ISBN-13: 978-1938983610
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.7 x 8.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (181 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #60,773 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #149 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Comparative Religion #236 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Christian Denominations & Sects > Protestantism #483 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Catholicism
If Devin Rose played in the NBA, I would give him the Most Improved Player Award, and maybe even MVP. When I was at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and trying not to become Catholic, I saw If Protestantism is True pop up in my search results. Because I was starting to realize the inconsistencies ofmy beliefs and church history, the book terrified me. My stomach tightened, my pulse quickened, and I decided I wouldn’t read that book until I’d studied a lot more apologetics for my Protestant beliefs. A couple months later, after deciding to leave seminary but still enrolled, I opened up the book and began to read, with relief, what Devin had eloquently written down–a full book expanding upon the nagging doubts of my mind.Now, under the title of The Protestant’s Dilemma and published through Catholic Answers press, the book has been remarkably changed and improved. In my opinion, The Protestant’s Dilemma is a triumph for both Devin Rose and Catholic Answers Press, and a real tribute to the power of a publishing team’s direction compared to the limits of self-publishing.So what’s changed? A lot. For those who haven’t read the original book, the concept behind If Protestantism is True was to take the many presuppositions of Protestantism, such as “God just wants us to live by the Bible alone,” and to expose how fallacious those statements are in light of church history, the Bible, and logic. This is a must for conversations with Protestants who perhaps have never met a Catholic well-versed in the Bible or church history, and think the Catholic system of Mary and statues is silly and the Protestant one built on solid rock.
In my 27 years of studying the Faith, Devin Rose's method of explaining his intellectual journey from Protestantism to Catholicism stands out as truly unique: For each element of Christian Faith under consideration, he asks the reader to assume that Protestantism is true and then to follow that belief to its logical conclusion. (Sounds simple, right? But when employed by someone with the knowledge base and logical, conversational writing style of Rose; its effects are akin to an earthquake's.) Time and time again, for 34 separate issues, Rose demonstrates how the position of the Protestant Reformers ends in a denial of Scripture, history, and/or reason. I'll give a brief example:Rose asks readers to consider what it means if the Reformers were correct in their removal of seven books (Sirach, Wisdom, Baruch, Judith, 1 & 2 Maccabees, Tobit,) from the Old Testament. First Rose calls attention to the historical fact that the seven books in question were part of the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the OT used by the apostles and quoted throughout the New Testament. He goes on to discuss how the Jewish canon (list of books recognized as inspired), appealed to as authoritative by the Reformers, was not settled upon until the end of the first century, if not later. The Christian Church, however, had always used a Bible containing the works rejected by the Reformers, reading them at the Sunday liturgy and quoting from them in her teaching. Rose then asks readers to come to grips with what the Reformers' rejection of these books means:"If Protestantism is true, then for 1500 years all of Christianity used an Old Testament that contained seven fully disposable, possibly deceptive books that God did not inspire.
Devin Rose’s The Protestant Dilemma is superb in its method and its content, in the rigor of its cool logic, and in the warmth and respectful manner of its presentation. This book employs the logical method of the argument ad absurdum in a way that is neither argumentative nor absurd. It’s like a modern, streamlined, user-friendly version of the Socratic dialogue or the Scholastic dialectic methods of the give and take of questions and answers to root out errors and come to truth.In 34 brief, but meaty chapters, the author starts with a section entitled “If Protestantism Is True” and proceeds to show the absurd or contradictory and false results that ensue if one follows a key tenet of Protestantism through to its logical implications and conclusions. Next, in a section entitled “Because Catholicism is True” he shows how the Catholic position makes sense, dissolves the absurd dilemma, and is grounded not only in sound reason, but in Scripture, as well as in sacred Tradition and the teaching of the Church’s Magisterium. Finally, to end each chapter, the author encapsulates the arguments in a pithy, one paragraph summary, quite fittingly for this book, labeled “The Protestant Dilemma.”The overall structure of the book is divided into four parts on “The Church of Christ,” “The Bible and Tradition,” “The Sacraments,” and “Christian History and Practice.” Every topic is considered very thoughtfully and presented very clearly. As I read through the chapters I came across some interesting information about Protestantism that I had not fully realized, for example, in chapter 14 on “Misinterpreting the Great Commission.
The Protestant's Dilemma: How the Reformation's Shocking Consequences Point to the Truth of Catholicism Is the Reformation Over?: An Evangelical Assessment of Contemporary Roman Catholicism Deadly Monopolies: The Shocking Corporate Takeover of Life Itself--And the Consequences for Your Health and Our Medical Future Rome Sweet Home: Our Journey to Catholicism Marginal Catholics: Anglo-Catholicism : A Further Chapter of Modern Church History The Works of Mercy: The Heart of Catholicism Catholicism For Dummies Skeleton Creek is Real: The Shocking Truth Revealed Sex, Lies, and Menopause: The Shocking Truth About Synthetic Hormones and the Benefits of Natural Alternatives Sex, Lies, and Menopause: The Shocking Truth About Hormone Replacement Therapy The West Point History of the Civil War (The West Point History of Warfare Series) West Point Atlas for the American Civil War (The West Point Military History Series) John Wesley (Library of Protestant Thought) The Protestant Wedding Sourcebook: A Complete Guide for Developing Your Own Service The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism with Other Writings on the Rise of the West The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (Economy Editions) Biblical Authority after Babel: Retrieving the Solas in the Spirit of Mere Protestant Christianity Jesus, Pope Francis, and a Protestant Walk into a Bar: Lessons for the Christian Church Against the Protestant Gnostics
