Introductions to Catholic theology for curious Evangelical college students...

(... or just about any inquisitive Protestant). An Evangelical professor with whom I am acquainted and who teaches theology at a large Bible college sent me the following question:

It is common for my theology students to want to research Catholic theology, especially the doctrine of salvation, since I engage Catholic theology often and positively.  I always insist they read Catholic sources rather than just Protestant sources that critique Roman Catholic theology.  So they always want to know what the best Catholic sources are.  Traditionally I have had them read the Catechism, of course.  Also, McBrien's Catholicism, but I know he is not super conservative.  Rahner can be a bit dense for them.  I also recommend Catholic and Christian by Alan Schrek and Evangelical Catholics, by Keith Fournier.  But I'm sure there are more, and perhaps better sources for evangelical college students to read to get a broad scope of orthodox Roman Catholic theology.

My response, on the fly:

Here are some suggestions, with a note about each that may be helpful in deciding what to recommend. I’ve avoided books that have an obvious “Catholic vs. Protestant" bent to them (such as Ronald Knox’s fine book, The Belief of Catholics).

• Credo for Today (Ignatius Press) by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger/Benedict XVI. These essays explore the Apostles Creed (and is thus a shorter version of Ratzinger’s Introduction To Christianity) and cover a lot of territory in just 200 pages. The added benefit, of course, is that it introduces folks to the theological brilliance of the current pontiff.

• Catholic Christianity (Ignatius Press), by Peter Kreeft. This is a commentary of sorts to the Catechism, and Kreeft is a very deft and helpful guide.

• The Shape of Catholic Theology and Epiphany: A Theological Introduction to Catholicism (both from The Liturgical Press), both by Fr. Aidan Nichols, O.P. Both of these are exceptional, written by the wonderful (and incredibly prolific) English Dominican theologian. Highly recommended. The first is shorter (370 pages); the second is longer (500 pages) and more detailed. If I had to choose, I’d go with Epiphany, as it has a very good chapter on salvation.

• The Spirit of Catholicism (originally Image), by Karl Adam. This is an older book, originally published in the 1940s. But it is well written and filled with a number of insights (especially re: ecclesiology) that found expression at Vatican II.

• Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith (Random House) by Fr. Robert Barron. This is the companion book to the “Catholicism” project, a 10-video series produced by Fr. Barron, who has written several fine books and is the Francis Cardinal George Chair of Faith and Culture at Mundelein Seminary. (I wrote the study guide for the project; see www.catholicismproject.com). A wonderful combination of theology, culture, history, and much more.  

• The New World of Faith (Our Sunday Visitor), by Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J. A very good introduction to Catholicism that focuses on faith, salvation, mission, ecclesiology, and ecumenism, by one of the finest American theologians of the past fifty years.

• Theology and Sanity (Ignatius) by Frank Sheed. This is one of the most clearly and beautifully written works of popular Catholic theology written in the past seventy years (originally written in the 1940s). Systematic and Thomistic, but without feeling systematic or scholastic, if that makes sense. A much shorter book by Sheed that covers the essentials is A Map of Life (Ignatius Press).

• On Being Catholic by Thomas Howard. This is a secondary sort of suggested text, written by a former Evangelical (then Anglican, now Catholic) professor of literature, the brother of Elizabeth Elliott. Howard’s writing is extremely warm, personal, and literate.

• The Christian Faith (Alba House). This is a compilation (1000+ pages) of conciliar and papal texts, arranged by topic. A valuable resource for those wanting to go deeper into specific texts and topics.

I should have noted, as well, that I avoided multi-volumed works. That said, I'm sure I missed several good candidates. What are some other suggestions for good, semi-systematic introductions to Catholic theology that are (mostly) non-apologetic?

Comments

[David]

Gerald O'Collins is a well balanced Catholic, very even handed and accessible.

Catholicism: An Introduction - http://www.amazon.com/Catholicism-A-Very-Short-Introduction/dp/019954591X/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_2

Catholicism: The Study Of Catholic Christianity - http://www.amazon.com/Catholicism-The-Story-Catholic-Christianity/dp/019925995X/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_12

Jesus Our Redeemer: A Christian Approach to Salvation -http://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Our-Redeemer-Christian-Salvation/dp/019920313X/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1

Salvation for All: God's Other Peoples - http://www.amazon.com/Salvation-All-Gods-Other-Peoples/dp/0199238898/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_6

[Scott]

Carl, I completely understand why you thoughtfully avoided some of the Catholic Vs. Protestant options BUT I might suggest as a former Evangelical that we like to hear it straight and confidentally! :) These books do that and Evangelicals should read these type of books to give a true perspective of why we as Catholics enthusiastically believe what we do. So in that spirit, I would strongly recomend the following:

-Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic by David Curie
-Catholicism and Fundamentalism by Karl Keating
-anything by Scott Hahn, including Rome Sweet Home
-Surprised by the Truth by Patrick Madrid
-Triumph by HW Crocker III

[Joe]

If we are talking *evangelical* college students, I think they have to read Bouyer's "Spirit and Forms" before they can even have ears that hear the terms as we mean them.

Also von Hilderbrand's Transformation.

[Carl E. Olson]

David: Agreed on Fr. O'Collins; I've profited from several of his books.

Scott: The books I list certainly present Catholicism straight and confidently (Sheed, of course, addressed Protestantism throughout his prolific life). Now it might well be that many or most of these students have a bias or animosity toward Catholicism (or what they think is Catholicism). But the professor is quite pro-Catholic, and I am fairly certain he doesn't allow the usual Chick-ian stupidities to gain traction (I know he has read the CCC cover to cover more than once). So rather than begin with an apologetic text, why not simply begin with works that straight up say, "Here is what the Catholic Church teaches. What sayest thou?" And then, if there are questions or arguments, move on to the apologetic texts? Of the books you mention, I would be most inclined to Currie's work, because of the tone and his fairly involved theological explanations. Keating's book is excellent for a particular type of discussion/argument, but tends to turn off Protestants who are simply curious, not antagonistic. If I had to put it another way, it is more confident to simply say, "This is what I believe" then to begin with an argumentative or defensive stance.

Joe: Bouyer is great for both Catholics and Evangelicals, of course, but I was going for works that were a bit more Big Picture and systematic in character. But The Spirit and Forms of Protestantism is a must read for, well, nearly anyone interested in what the Protestant revolt was really about.

[Bruce Charles Meyer]

I'll AMEN Scott's sentiment. A Calvinist having his coffee asks for it black, unsweetened and strong, just like his theology.
I think that probably Catholic Biblical Apologetics by Dr. Robert J. Schihl and Paul D. Flanagan, available free online, would be a good introduction for those who are used to studying the Bible.

[Carl E. Olson]

Bruce: I would just note that the books I listed have just as much, or much more really, strong theology than any of the fine books listed by Scott. Perhaps there is an assumption that theology is not "strong" and stout and straight unless it is presented in an apologetic format?

For the record, I read almost all of the books listed above (by myself and others) on my way to entering the Church in 1997. And all were beneficial in various ways. And I should note (at risk of appearing self-serving) that I wrote a chapter for the third volume of the Surprised by Truth books...

[Scott]

To be clear, I like the books you recommended (Most especially Sheed). And I am probably underestimating the intellectual fairness and curiosity of your Professor friend. In fact, several of the books I recommended are less intellectual in a certain sense but met where I was (and many of my friends were intellectually during my college years). It was those types of books (from a Protestant perspective) that led me out of Catholicism in college and those types of books (from a Catholic perspective) that ultimately led me back. It was after I returned that I then went a step deeper into the Sheed’s of the world.

BUT……any intellectual curiosity and honesty of our Protestant friends to actually want to understand Catholicism from the Catholic perspective versus from a source that may not be as clear or honest is quite refreshing and speaks highly of them!

Thanks!

[Mark Pilon]

Carl,

Did you also suggest that he refrain from any further recommendations of McBrien?

Mark

[Carl E. Olson]

Mark: My exact words about McBrien were: "McBrien, as you know, is problematic; actually, he’s horrible in a lot of cases."

[Joe]

Actually, the small series of Canterbury paperbacks Sheed & Ward put out in its heyday, taken as a whole, make for a great overview. Well-written, not too long, by a variety of authors. They resemble the Jon. Edwards paperback set now issued by Moody Press, and would be an easy sell if re-issued in like format.

On McBrien, as a Protestant growing up, I saw his book in almost every Catholic friend's home.... I don't think there is a comparable overview influence wise. Maybe Barron's will fill that niche.

[Sharon]

The first book I read when I returned to the practise of my Faith was Apologetics and Catholic Doctrine by Abp Michael Sheehan, edited by Fr Peter Joseph.

http://www.amazon.com/Apologetics-Catholic-Doctrine-Michael-Sheehan/dp/1901157148

The book which helped my son return to the Church was Theology for Beginners by Frank Sheed
http://www.amazon.com/Theology-Beginners-F-J-Sheed/dp/0892831243/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333409686&sr=1-1

[Peter l]

Right,that's it.You guys have shamed me into getting myself better read on my own faith.I bought my first Bible a short time ago,Catholic version of course.I am nearly finished the Book Of Numbers and to say i find it hard going is an understatement.The second book that Sharon mentions seems appealing to me,Theology For Beginners.

Thanks to everyone for the all links,jumping straight into the Bible,especially the Old Testament is not the right thing for me.I need to be cushioned into theology to better comprehend the Bible.

[Carl E. Olson]

Joe: The Canterbury books are indeed excellent; I have several of them.

Sharon: The Sheehan series are very good; I think they have been re-published recently.

Peter: You might want to get a copy of Peter Kreeft's helpful book, You Can Understand The Bible: A Practical and Illuminating Guide to Each Book in The Bible. You can read an excerpt from it on Ignatius Insight. Also see Fr. Kenneth Baker's book, Inside the Bible.

[Wiliam Peaden]

I think you've forgotten Henri de Lubac's Catholicism. Also, though I haven't read this yet it looks exceedingly good, a new book: A certain faith : analogy of being and the affirmation of belief / Barry R. Pearlman. This is an academic theology book going from the preamble to the certainity of the faith.

[Peter l]

Thanks Carl.The Old Testament is giving me more questions than answers.I see both books you have suggested is available on Amazon UK,which i have an account for.They are reasonably priced also.These should be a good starting point for me.

A little tip for anyone who may be thinking of purchasing their first Bible or seeking to replace one is to make sure the print is not too small,i wear glasses and still find the print on mine a strain on my eyes.

[Agnieszka]

Peter:
Forget Amazon, you are on Ignatius Press blog, get the books from them instead!

[Peter L]

Do not worry Agnieszka,i am sure the books i purchase from Amazon UK are from the Ignatius Press.In fact they are,i see no point sending books on a 4 or 5 thousand mile trip to me here in the emerald isle again,they have already been shipped to the UK.I get where you are coming from though.God bless.