#3 in Christian spiritual growth books
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Reddit mentions of Crossing the Tiber: Evangelical Protestants Discover the Historical Church
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Reddit mentions: 11
We found 11 Reddit mentions of Crossing the Tiber: Evangelical Protestants Discover the Historical Church. Here are the top ones.
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Personally, I think there's a lot of garbage, namby-pamby advice in this thread.
As Venerable Fulton Sheen said, "There are not over a hundred people in the United States who hate the Catholic Church. There are millions, however, who hate what they wrongly believe to be the Catholic Church — which is, of course, quite a different thing."
If you believe the Catholic Faith is true, then presumably your end goal is their conversion. If it's not, it should be.
Perhaps the initial explanation won't go well. That's fine. Whatever happens, don't burn any bridges. Unfortunately, since it's today there's not much more prep you can do.
The best advice I can give is to come armed with what they think they know. Beyond the initial, emotional reaction, they will have arguments. Maybe not today, but they'll come. They already know what they're going to say. They already have their "Catholicism is the Whore of Babylon Talking Points" on a 3x5 index card (even if it's just a mental index card.) So what do you do? Surprise them. Steal their lines. Ask questions that they aren't expecting. Since you already know all of the anti-Catholic talking points, you are (hopefully) well prepared to counter them with clarity and charity, using Holy Scripture as your guide.
Also, remember you're not alone in this. LOTS of fantastic people have made this conversion. Here are a few book recs that are relevant.
Catholicism and Fundamentalism
Rome Sweet Home
Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic
Crossing the Tiber: Evangelical Protestants Discover the Historical Church
I haven't read this one yet, but it also looks awesome. Dr. Brant Pitre also writes on this topic:
The Fourth Cup: Unveiling the Mystery of the Last Supper and the Cross
Welcome! I appreciate your genuine curiosity to learn more about Catholicism from Catholics.
I would recommend Crossing the Tiber by Steve Ray. Steve has a Baptist background as well and wrote that book to explain why he was converting to Catholicism. I really enjoyed it and it combines Scripture and Early Christian's writings to support his reasons.
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God bless!
On this sub yes. There is a book titled like that written by former evangelical 18 years ago .
http://www.amazon.com/Crossing-Tiber-Evangelical-Protestants-Historical/dp/0898705770
First of all, welcome back, brother. I am especially touched that your fiancée would even suggest to find a Catholic Church. (As an aside, you're not a convert; you're a revert since you're already baptized into the Church. I thought maybe you'd appreciate that factoid.)
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>I am looking for information about your Church, whatever you think is important to know.
There is a lot to know and many here would recommend a million and one things to study, especially since it sounds like you enjoy a good intellectual pursuit. I'm not going to discount others' recommendations, but I do want to highlight one thing: learn more about Jesus first. Find out what He taught, who He is, what His disciples and closest friends said about Him, what the Old Testament said about Him, etc. To that end...
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>I am looking for recommendations for a Catholic-approved version of the Bible, geared towards someone who appreciates philosophy and prefers something close to the original translations, or the most accepted by the Church.
First thing to note, all Catholic Bibles have 72 books. Protestants have 66. If you can't get a hold of a Catholic Bible, a Protestant one will do for now until you do get around to buying a Catholic one. Now, as for Catholic Bibles, if you speak/read Latin you can't go wrong with the Vulgate Bible. It's a Bible that was translated by St. Jerome who was fluent in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin; he had the original manuscripts -- some of which are lost to us today -- so his translations are widely accepted as authentic and faithful.
There's also the English version of the Vulgate Bible known as the Douay-Rheims. It's an almost word-for-word translation of the Latin so the English will sound archaic to our modern ears. It's not as frustrating as, say, reading Shakespeare but it's pretty close. I personally prefer (and currently use) a Douay-Rheims Bible that has the Clementina Vulgata beside it. It's essentially Latin and English side by side. You can find one here.
If want one with plain English, the New American Bible Revised Edition would suffice. (If you use this website, let me know. I have a discount code from my last purchase.)
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>I know nothing of the culture or norms of the Church, or what to expect as a new member.
One major rule to remember is that you can't receive Holy Communion until after you've gone to Confession. Given your situation, I would recommend setting up an appointment with a parish priest so he can give his full attention to you and your needs.
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>I do not know how to introduce myself to the congregation
There's usually no need to introduce yourself to the congregation since parishes tend to be big. If you would like to formally introduce yourself, however, give the parish priest a call and set up a meeting with him. It would also be a great chance to speak with him about your situation and get some pastoral guidance.
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>or tell a good Catholic church from a lesser one
Many here would recommend a more traditional parish. If that's not available, I'd say any Catholic church would do. If you're unsure about a particular church's standing, just give us the details on this sub. I'm sure someone here would be able to double check for you.
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>I know nothing of the Saints or the miracles, or what has been confirmed by the Church and what hasn't.
These are things you can learn later on. Focus on Jesus first. Rebuild your relationship with Him. Start with the basics; if you don't, you might burn yourself out. There is A LOT to learn about the Faith. Some say it's a lifelong endeavour. :P
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>I am also looking for a reading list to explore Catholic philosophy beyond those you typically encounter in standard philosophical reading, such as Aquinas or Pascal.
Hmmm... this depends on what sorts of things interest you. A good one that lightly touches on philosophy is Socrates Meets Jesus by Peter Kreeft (anything by this guy is pretty good, by the way).
A book that may be more pressing to your current situation is Why Be Catholic? by Patrick Madrid and Abraham Skorka, Why We're Catholic by Trent Horn, as well as Why I am a Catholic by Brandon Vogt. (They might need to work on a more original title, though :P) Since you have an Evangelical background, Crossing the Tiber by Steve Ray might be helpful (although it can be a bit dry; also, it mostly deals with the Church's teaching on Baptism and the Eucharist) as well as Rome Sweet Home by Scott and Kimberly Hahn.
You can never go wrong with classics such as a collection of C. S. Lewis' works, The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri, The Seven Story Mountain by Thomas Merton, and Confessions by St. Augustine.
If you want a historical examination of Jesus and the Early Church, a good place to start is The Case for Christ by Brant Pitre, The History of the Church: From Christ to Constantine by St. Eusebius, and The Fathers Know Best by Jimmy Akin. I'd like to thrown in Jesus, Peter, and the Keys by Scott Butler, Norman Dahlgren, and David J. Hess. This last one pertains to the Catholic claim regarding the papacy (and which I think is one of the strongest arguments in favour of the Catholic Church being the original one that the Lord founded).
Finally, there are YouTube channels you can follow/binge watch such as Bishop Robert Barron and Ascension Presents. Also, an amazing video about the Catholic Faith is a series made by Bishop Barron when he was "just" a priest called Catholicism.
I'm sorry if that's overwhelming but you raised some good questions. :P Anyway, I imagine it may be a lot right now so take it slowly, don't dive in through all of it at once. Find a local Catholic church, call up the priest, set up a meeting, then take it from there. And remember, you can always pray; God's always willing to talk with you.
Since you are coming from a Baptist background, I'd suggest Crossing the Tiber: https://www.amazon.com/Crossing-Tiber-Evangelical-Protestants-Historical/dp/0898705770
If you like to read, please check out
Upon this Rock This book is about the Papacy. & Crossing the Tiber, a Protestant conversion story, which includes a lot of Church history, and quotes from the early Church.
haha I did it despite Steve Ray trying to convince me not to.
Your 3 purposes for sexuality make a lot of sense - especially in light of proverbs and song of solomon. Thank you very much!
As to your point about the Roman Catholic Church having too narrow a view of sexuality, do you think that is somewhat a result of the influences of gnostic thinking? Throughout my upbringing in studying the saints and R.C.C. teaching, gnosticism seems to pop up over and over again. For example, Augustine's view of sexuality.
Some of these have been mentioned in this thread, but I wanted to make a thorough list, so here goes:
If you would like books on various topics (The Eucharist, Mary, the Sacraments, etc.), let me know and I'd be happy to provide. Also, feel free to PM at any time. :) I'll say an extra prayer for your journey right now!
DK
Steve Ray was formerly this type of Evangelical/baptist. He is now a devout apologist for the Catholic church. He wrote a book entitled "Crossing the Tiber." If you read this then you will learn the points that likely can get your type of Christian friend thinking outside of his very comfortable and judgmental box. Have fun.
A link to a used book sales summary on amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0898705770/ref=tmm_pap_used_olp_sr?ie=UTF8&condition=used&qid=&sr=
If you really want to learn a lot about the differences, go to YouTube and start listening to Steve Ray and read his book Crossing the Tiber. I have a friend who grew up in the Church of the Bible and they switched the Catholicism. He said this book along with listening to Steve Ray, and another book called Catholicism and Fundamentalism by Karl Keating really helped him understand Catholicism when he was still surrounded by Protestant friends.
[Crossing the Tiber](http://www.amazon.com/Crossing-Tiber-Evangelical-Protestants-Historical/dp/0898705770 "Also available for Kindle!"), by Stephen K. Ray. It's very well researched; sometimes the footnotes and references take up most of the page!
dessinemoiunmouton referenced this elsewhere in the thread, and I agree: [Faith of the Early Fathers](http://www.amazon.com/Faith-Early-Fathers-Three--Set/dp/0814610250/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1320271030&sr=1-1 "Also available for Kindle!"), by Jurgens. It's a three-volume set, and best used as a reference, instead of a straight-read. Of immense value is the doctrinal index, which lists various elements of theology, and then points you to the relevant historical writings!