Apologetics

One can spend hours searching for answers about the Catholic Faith and how to share it with others. There are a multitude of books that explain the various areas of Church teaching, but never -- before now -- a definitive desktop volume on more than 260 Catholic topics, from A to Z, featuring key definitions, teachings, practices, people, and resources for further reading.

This fascinating, one-stop guidebook delivers the intellectual tradition of the Church while providing practical Catholic applications, spiritual wisdom, and guidance on a broad range of topics, from the basics of the Faith to more current issues, such as transgenderism and yoga.

These pages put timely and timeless information at your fingertips, whether you're seeking information about a specific teaching, wondering about the Church's stance on a social topic, or looking for inspiration to evangelize someone to the Faith.

You will discover:

This is an ideal resource for Catholic school students, catechists, RCIA catechumens, and anyone seeking to understand and discuss Catholicism intelligently. It will be a frequently used, lifelong resource that will draw you in for longer reads than you expect.

Drawing on the Bible, traditional Church teaching and St. Thomas Aquinas, Kreeft gives straight, clear answers to the perennial and philosophical questions asked about angels and demons throughout time. In his typical lucid, profound and sometimes humorous style, Kreeft answers such questions as ''What are angels made of'', ''How do angels communicate with God'', ''How do angels communicate with us'', ''Do demons, or devils, or evil spirits really exist?'' and many more. Includes angel art.

Are Roman Catholics and Evangelical Protestants really together, united in a common faith in Jesus Christ? Yes, according to the teachings of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). No, according to some Evangelical Protestants, such as Francis A. Schaeffer and R. C. Sproul, and more recently Gregg Allison and Leonardo De Chirico.

Author Eduardo Echeverria is a committed Roman Catholic theologian doing theology within the normative tradition of confessional Catholicism, and thus in the light of Catholic teaching, this critical study is an ecumenical work. A member of the more than twenty-year-old American ecumenical initiative, Evangelicals and Catholics Together, Echeverria writes, "I have roots in the Evangelical and Reformed traditions and hence I listen attentively to the writings of fellow Christian theologians from these traditions of reflection and argument. In this ecumenical light, I engage the Evangelical Protestant writings of Gregg Allison and Leonardo De Chirico." Furthermore, this study is a work in receptive ecumenism; it follows the guidelines stipulated by Vatican Council II's Unitatis Redintegratio in order to promote mutual and improved understanding between Roman Catholicism and Evangelical Protestantism.

When the medieval theologian Thomas Aquinas addressed the best arguments against God in his masterwork, the Summa Theologica, he listed only two. The first was the problem of evil: How can God -- who is perfectly good -- exist alongside that which is against Him? His second: Is God really needed to explain the world?

In this landmark work, Patrick Flynn presents the best arguments for God while also addressing the strongest objections. This book is destined to become the apologetic gold standard for defending classical theism against atheistic naturalism. Flynn clearly identifies what is at stake and then provides you with cogent, accessible, yet potent defenses to counter those arguments that atheists routinely make to justify their claim that there is no God.

Flynn masterfully defines commonly misconstrued terms -- from worldview and intelligibility to scientism, ontology, and metaphysical intuition -- and illustrates them with real-world examples. He explains the Principle of Sufficient Reason and how it is used to support the reality of God. You also will acquire the foundation you need to understand the best philosophical arguments for God's existence.

Drawing from insights from philosophers Aristotle and Aquinas to Leibniz and Lonergan, you will find extensive philosophical reasons to accept and explain:

With sidebar definitions and detailed explanations, Flynn guides you in learning authentic reasons for your belief in God. He evaluates whether it's simpler to believe in God or not, and he provides numerous arguments from philosophy, science, and plain common sense. Additionally, you will discover how even the traditionally held attributes of God point to His existence.

This seminal book turns the tables on and pokes holes in the theory of naturalism. Flynn's in-depth analysis will give you the tools you need to share your belief in such a way that those who deny God's existence will have to defend their view. Also featured is an appendix with a dozen additional objections and bulletproof replies for the existence of God.

Popular author and TV and radio host John Martignoni has written a book that highlights the flaws in Protestant teaching -- using something that is in rather short supply in today's culture: common sense. He throws in a little simple logic too. He uses the Bible as the background for his plain yet provocative analysis of numerous underlying problems with Protestantism as a whole and then focuses on specific Bible passages to ask a number of tough questions regarding individual Protestant doctrines and dogmas.

Catholics can use this book not only to respond effectively to questions from family members, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and even strangers about why they believe what they believe but also to ask questions of their own -- questions that will leave the Protestants in their lives struggling to come up with logically and scripturally consistent answers and will, hopefully, led them to some serious introspection.

With simple, clear-cut explanations, Martignoni lays out the reasons why Protestantism, as a whole and in its individual parts, is illogical and lacking in both common sense and biblical sense. In page after page, you will find concise, candid, power-packed arguments from Scripture, history, and just plain rational thinking, along with thirty questions to ask Protestants about what they believe and why. This treasure trove of apologetics will teach you about:

Additionally, you will learn four reasons why the Catholic Church is indisputably the Church that Jesus founded, which beliefs are essential to authentic Christianity, and how to prove that Jesus is really present in the Holy Eucharist.

You will also discover insights into relevant and fascinating questions on faith and works, what the "Catechism of the Protestant Church" teaches, what is required to attain salvation, who wrote the Bible and decided which books to include, when the Church was founded, and much more.

The Catholic Church has in recent decades been associated with political efforts to eliminate the death penalty. It was not always so. This timely work reviews and explains the Catholic Tradition regarding the death penalty, demonstrating that it is not inherently evil and that it can be reserved as a just form of punishment in certain cases.

Drawing upon a wealth of philosophical, scriptural, theological, and social scientific arguments, the authors explain the perennial teaching of the Church that capital punishment can in principle be legitimate--not only to protect society from immediate physical danger, but also to administer retributive justice and to deter capital crimes. The authors also show how some recent statements of Church leaders in opposition to the death penalty are prudential judgments rather than dogma. They reaffirm that Catholics may, in good conscience, disagree about the application of the death penalty.

Some arguments against the death penalty falsely suggest that there has been a rupture in the Church's traditional teaching and thereby inadvertently cast doubt on the reliability of the Magisterium. Yet, as the authors demonstrate, the Church's traditional teaching is a safeguard to society, because the just use of the death penalty can be used to protect the lives of the innocent, inculcate a horror of murder, and affirm the dignity of human beings as free and rational creatures who must be held responsible for their actions.

By Man Shall His Blood Be Shed challenges contemporary Catholics to engage with Scripture, Tradition, natural law, and the actual social scientific evidence in order to undertake a thoughtful analysis of the current debate about the death penalty.

Plasma physicist Ian Hutchinson has been asked hundreds of questions about faith and science:

In this comprehensive volume, Hutchinson answers a full range of inquiries with sound scientific insights and measured Christian perspective. Without minimizing challenging questions, he explores how science and Christianity are mutually supportive and intellectually consistent. Both God and science truthfully address our curiosity and destiny. Find answers to your deepest questions.

This timeless, compelling, and thought-provoking book on the Christian faith, now updated, includes two all-new chapters, a current list of recommended resources for further study, and a new discussion guide.

In The Case for Faith, bestselling author, journalist, and former atheist Lee Strobel turns his investigative skills to the most persistent emotional objections to belief in God--the eight "heart barriers" to faith:

This bestselling book is for those who may be feeling attracted to Jesus but who are faced with difficult questions standing squarely in their path. For Christians, it will deepen their convictions and give them fresh confidence in defending their faith to skeptical friends, or during the hardest of times, when they have to defend their faith to themselves in moments of doubt.

Also available: The Case for Faith Spanish edition, kids' edition, and student edition. Plus, be sure to check out Lee Strobel's entire collection of Case for... books:

Scott Hahn, internationally renowned theologian and biblical scholar, has inspired millions with his insight into the Catholic faith. Now he brings us this important reference guide, written specifically for Catholics, which contains more than five thousand clear and accessible entries and covers a wide range of people, places, and topics. From Genesis to Revelation, the whole of salvation history is presented and explained in smart, easy-to-understand prose.

Catholic Bible Dictionary is an invaluable source of information, insight, and guidance for Catholics and others who are interested in enriching their understanding of Sacred Scripture. Scott Hahn draws from two millennia of scholarship to create an accessible and comprehensive tool for deeper and more rewarding biblical study.

Finally, here is a book that provides brief teachings on the basics of the Faith for everyone. Quickly find answers you need to questions on faith, reason, Church governance, Christology, ecclesiology, Apostolic Succession, the Communion of Saints, the precepts of the Church, and much more.

You will learn--and be able to share--the meaning of the sacraments and the Sacred Liturgy, including the importance of Latin in the Mass, and aspects of the awesome mystery that is occurring. You will grow in reverence for the Holy Eucharist through the writings of saints such as Thomas Aquinas and the early Church Fathers.

Fr. Wade describes God's mercy in a relational way, noting that He manifests His mercy as a gift throughout our lifetime before the inevitability of His justice at our judgment. In addition, Fr. Wade addresses a wide variety of contemporary issues, including: