Surprised by Truth: 11 Converts Give the Biblical and Historical Reasons for Becoming Catholic Paperback Author: Patrick Madrid (editor) | Language: English | ISBN:
0964261081 | Format: PDF, EPUB
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About the Author
Patrick Madrid is the editor-in-chief of Envoy Magazine. For over 10 years, he has been active in the full-time apostolate of Catholic apologetics. His other books include Any Friend of God's Is a Friend of Mine and Pope Fiction: Answers to 30 Myths and Misconceptions About the Papacy.
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- Paperback: 280 pages
- Publisher: Basilica Press (September 1, 1994)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0964261081
- ISBN-13: 978-0964261082
- Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
- Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
When I first read this book 10 years ago, at the age of 35, I underwent a life-changing conversion experience. I was born and raised nominally Catholic, which is not unusual for the generation that underwent all the experimental formation in the 60s and 70s. We went to Mass on Sundays, but that was it. No prayer in the home, no sacramentals, no discussion of God at all--outside of Church. So when I became an adult, I drifted. I was never "saved" by an evangelical or fundamentalist, but I was probably ripe for it. I don't even remember how I got the book, but when I read it, it accused me of my sins and made me take the first honest look at my spiritual health that I'd ever taken. I didn't like what I saw. Seeing what Marcus Grodi and the rest had to give up to cross the Tiber. Family, friends, careers--all down the drain but they HAD to become Catholic. Would I have that much strength if I was in their position? What a treasure! I've been taking all this stuff for granted. From that point forward, I resolved to learn as much as I could about my faith and despite the terrible priests, the our-of-habit nuns, the liberal media and academia, I've come to believe the claims of the Church more now than ever. Everything is supported by Scripture, History, and Reason.
I've read the few negative reviews, and there are a couple questions posed that are very asily answered. One reviewer asked why, if people found Christ outside the Church, did they see the need to become Catholic. The answer is because the formation of my generation was so poor that we were never introduced the Christ as we should have been. Parents expected Catholic schools or CCD classes to handle that, and the priests, nuns and catechists were too busy "liberating" themselves to pass on the faith.
With the possible exceptions of Karl Keating's Catholicism and Fundamentalism and Scott and Kimberly Hahn's Rome Sweet Home, no recent works of Catholic apologetics have been as instrumental in winning converts to Rome as the Surprised by Truth series edited by Patrick Madrid. Consisting of conversion stories by prominent Roman Catholics who originally were part of other Christian (or non-Christian) traditions, it takes as its theme the "surprise" (or shock) many Evangelical Protestants experience when they encounter the early Church and are faced with beliefs and practices that vary considerably from what they see regularly in their own Churches.
This is the first in the series and caused a sensation (for a Roman Catholic book) when published. The fact that so many moving to Rome cite Surprised by Truth provides some evidence of Patrick Madrid's astuteness in selecting testimonials - a point further confirmed by reading it. The essays blend together remarkably well and Madrid adroitly avoids the danger of stifling uniformity by drawing upon those who approached Rome from across the ecclesial spectrum. Another plus in this regard is an intermingling of those who were initially drawn by different concerns so the approach is not completely one-dimensional.
Protestants often criticize the essays as insufficient to prove the Roman case and highly emotional in character. Both these claims are quite true but this is not the detriment the critics make it to be. One could hardly expect a new convert to prove within twenty pages what the greatest theologians have employed years and many volumes to attempt. As for the emotional content, conversions always have an emotional aspect to them and a presentation that attempts to ignore this is built upon dishonesty.
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