Review: 40 Questions About Roman Catholicism

 

I’ve read several of the “40 Questions” volumes in the Kregel series, and I have found them, by and large, interesting and instructive.  The latest volume I read, 40 Questions About Roman Catholicism by Gregg R. Allison is no exception.

I am not Roman Catholic, but I know a fair bit about Roman Catholicism, so I came to this volume interested to see what else I would learn.

The book is divided into three sections:  historical and foundational questions (questions 1-10), theological questions (questions 11-34), and contemporary and personal questions (questions 35-40).

The first area of great interest to me was the explanation that Roman Catholics believe that nature and grace are interconnected (see question 5). What this means is that nature – the physical creation – transmits – imparts – grace to the believer directly. The Creation does not merely show grace or point to grace, but itself, gives grace. This is seen – especially in the sacraments where the water, itself, cleanses the person of sin, and in the Lord’s Supper transmits grace, itself, to the receiving believer. This “works” in Roman Catholic theology because they deny that the sin of our first parents radically (to the root) corrupted humanity and all of Creation. Rather, they say that the sin of our first parents weakened humans and Creation. Thus, grace can come directly from the Creation and not just by God through the Creation.

Questions 11-13 were also of interest to me as the author explained that – for the Roman Catholic, authority comes from tradition, the Scripture, and the Magisterium. The Scripture, itself, is not the final authority, and if any of the three parts of authority fail, the entire authority of whatever is being regarded also fails.

A third area of interest to me was in question 37 that looks at why Protestants are converting to Roman Catholicism – many of whom are young people. Allison explains that Protest churches have failed in giving youth four things that they find in the Roman Catholic Church:  certainty, history, unity, and authority (300). To be welcoming, contemporary, and non-threatening, Protestant churches have become slippery, ethereal, and a mere vanity – causing young people to look elsewhere.

Allison examines the history of the church, the sacraments, Mary, the popes, and so forth, and provides and excellent introduction to and critique of the Roman Catholic Church. (One thing to be aware of, as I have mentioned with each volume of this series, is that Baptists author them – which is unimportant – except to note that there are places in the commentary where the Baptist view in Protestantism is the view put forth, which may not agree with all Protestant views.)

Each question/chapter ends with a summary and then questions for reflection – either for individual contemplation or group discussion. The volume ends with a bibliography and a Scripture index.

As I noted to begin with – I enjoy this series and have found many of the volumes to be instructive and enjoyable. This one is certainly helpful in understanding the beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church and the differences there are between it and the Protestant churches. I hope to read and review addition volumes of this series.

I received this book free from Kregel in exchange for an honest review.

            [This review appears on my blog, Amazon.com, Kregel. Com, and Goodreads.com].