Catholicism: A Journey To The Heart Of The Faith (2011) - Plot & Excerpts
I bought this from audible to listen to when I'm driving, jogging, or just not in a place where I can read a book. (Yes, I'm totally just new to the joys of audiobooks.) I would recommend this book to anyone wanting an introduction to the catholic faith. I can't imagine anyone better to write and narrate such a book than Father Barron. I plan to revisit this book if for no other reason than the pleasure of hearing his lyrical prose. My mother-in-law gave me book this last Christmas, when I asked for a book about Catholicism for a non-Catholic. As someone who has spent the last few years reading various books on and about Christianity trying to learn more, I can say it is really really difficult to find something quality that is written for the purpose of the outsider looking in. Father Barron does a pretty great job here, not glossing over the basic tenants of the Church, which is very important for someone like me with 100% no upbringing in any Christian tradition (many of these Catholic 101 kind of things assume some familiarity with mainline Protestantism). But at the same time, he comes at these matters very thoughtfully and does not attempt to dumb them down, explaining the major tenants in a combination of liturgy and social/cultural history referencing the works of both clerics and popular writers/philosophers. I found that Barron had a knack of answering his own unanswered questions in a very logical, methodical way that is a breath of fresh air. The last few churchy books I read were all about "Oh OF COURSE isn't faith beautiful etc" and in contrast Barron doesn't assume much, explaining the thought process behind understanding many aspects of Catholicism while still playing up the beauty and mystery stuff. Lastly, while Barron clearly is really really into his Church and has a career that is all about evangelism, he does not come off as attempting to directly evangelize the reader, rather letting the beauty of his Church's tradition and rituals speak for themselves. I dearly appreciated this as someone not looking to convert but just get a deeper understanding about the Catholic institution and culture. The one area I would have liked to have been probed a little more is how the Church deals with the more unseemly aspects of its institutional history (the role in crusades, colonization, inquisition, etc) but Barron largely avoids or downplays these topics. Perhaps he addresses this somewhere else?
What do You think about Catholicism: A Journey To The Heart Of The Faith (2011)?
A good basic introduction to Catholicism. Not much depth for people already familiar with the faith.
—Softballer39
Beautiful, Good and, as an added bonus, True :P
—Rajlakshmi
Such a good read for all Catholics.
—aubreyatennyson
