January 15, 2007
BOOK REVIEW: The Catholic Verses by Dave Armstrong
Over the years I’ve read a lot of apologetics books – including Dave Armstrong’s first book, A Biblical Defense of Catholicism - but I haven’t seen an approach quite like The Catholic Verses until now. The subtitle of the book is 95 Bible Passages that Confound Protestants; Mr. Armstrong is setting these 95 verses as a counterpoint to Martin Luther’s 95 theses and he does a great job.
To oversimplify, this book takes the 95 verses and splits them into appropriate topics. However, it gets unique when Dave Armstrong introduces the protestant positions on these various verses – from Martin Luther or John Calvin or other well-known protestant pastors. This provides a lot of insight into how protestants respond to Catholic challenges and why they don’t see the verses as we do. It is an excellent way to perform exegesis and to explain a clear position on the verse. As I’ve said before, I haven’t seen another book approach apologetics in quite this way (Mr. Armstrong also cite blog arguments from Cor ad cor loquitor, which as a blogger I personally appreciate).
Another thing I like about the book is that he includes topics such as Divorce and Contraception, which some apologists put on a secondary level (and focus on the big issues of salvation, etc). But he includes chapters on these types of topics as well as breaking down the bigger issues into different sections like God’s Fellow Workers? exploring our role in a chapter on Justification and Salvation.
It’s hard to quote from the book and give you a taste without choosing huge passage, so I’ll just give you a great little section that gives you a feel for Dave Armstrong:
From a chapter on Purgatory and Prayers for the Dead: The “line” between heaven and earth, of the afterlife (including purgatory) and earth, is not so rigid and absolute as many seem to assume. This was shown in my previous mention of dead saints who came back to earth (Moses and Elijah at the Transfiguration, Samuel, the two “witnesses” of Revelation, and the many people who came out of their tombs and walked around Jerusalem after Jesus’ death). It is true that those events were a result of God’s decree and not men’s prayers, but nevertheless, they prove that the “line” is not absolute. Whatever God can and does do is proper for men to pray for.
As you can see, Dave Armstrong has a wonderful positive outlook that pours through his work. And he constructs arguments in a very logical manner that I appreciate. He is honest about the counter arguments from others and explains the issues with each of them. Overall, I think this is an excellent book for Catholics who have protestants around them as well as for protestants interested in understanding how Catholics interpret scripture.
One other thing he does in The Catholic Verses which was very amusing: he rewrites some of the passages to make them agree with protestant thought. This sounds silly, but it does a great job of getting his point across that the verse is clearly Catholic. I won’t quote those, since they are a highlight of the book and alone make it worth purchasing!
Take a look at The Catholic Verses and let me know what you think. I enjoyed it and I suspect everyone will at least be challenged by the author’s approach to this tough subject.
God bless,
Jay
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Thanks very much, Jay! You honor and humble me with your kind words. I'll note your review on my blog and book page for TCV. I also appreciate your ad for Biblical Defense in the sidebar. Every little bit helps, in terms of my trying to make a living doing apologetics. I won't be moving into a mansion in Beverly Hills anytime soon. LOL
Posted by: Dave Armstrong at January 15, 2007 12:58 PMI have read Dave Armstrong's book, "A Biblical Defense of Catholicism" and found that I had trouble putting it down. It is a must read for any apologist, and should or could be used as a supplement for RCIA. My grandmother was in for a visit to my wife and I and she saw it, picked it up and began to read. She was blown away! She said, wow I always knew these things, but reading this really helps to understand the faith better. She now wants her own copy!
Dave's style is very academic yet readable at the same time. He is charitable to non-Catholics in all of his writing (both in print and on his website) by taking a non-aggressive and intellectual approach that is respectful of any differences. I would encourage anyone Catholic or non-Catholic alike to read his material.
God Bless,
Matthew
