Born Fundamentalist Born Again Catholic

David Currie was raised in a devout Christian family whose father was a fundamentalist preacher and both parents teachers at Moody Bible Institute. Currie's whole upbringing was immersed in the life of fundamentalist Protestantism - theology professors, seminary presidents and founders of evangelical mission agencies were frequent guests at his family dinner table. Currie received a degree from Trinity International University and studied in the Masters of Divinity program. This book was written as an explanation to his fundamentalist and evangelical friends and family about why he became a Roman Catholic. Currie presents a very lucid, systematic and intelligible account of the reasons for his conversion to the ancient Church that Christ founded. He gives a detailed discussion of the important theological and doctrinal beliefs Catholic and evangelicals hold in common, as well as the key doctrines that separate us, particularly the Eucharist, the Pope, and Mary.

David Currie explains the reasons for his conversion to the Roman Catholic Church, and discusses the important theological and doctrinal beliefs Catholics and evangelicals have in common.

As arguably the most influential voice in American Catholicism, the vision that Scott Hahn offers in his works, read by millions of Catholics throughout the world, is one of the most formative in American Catholicism. His numerous books and public speaking engagements are shaping the American Catholic Church in a uniquely powerful manner. This work demonstrates that the Catholic vision that Hahn claims to be providing his audience is, in fact, always quite different from the one he actually presents. What he coins as Catholic faithfulness is instead a straightforward and damning Catholic fundamentalism. As this vision is delivered to millions of the faithful who look to Hahn as a trustworthy guide to an authentic life of Catholic faith, American Pope acts as a critical analysis of his work.

Karl Keating defends Catholicism from fundamentalist attacks and explains why fundamentalism has been so successful in converting "Romanists". After showing the origins of fundamentalism, he examines representative anti-Catholic groups and presents their arguments in their own words. His rebuttals are clear, detailed, and charitable. Special emphasis is given to the scriptural basis for Catholic doctrines and beliefs.

The end-times error that leaves the Bible behind! Author David Currie grew up convinced that one day all true Christians will suddenly be snatched up to heaven. The unfortunate souls left behind by this “rapture” will endure seven horrible years of tribulation, at the end of which Christ will return to earth for a glorious thousand-year reign. Today, millions of Christians accept this end-times theology, assuming — as Currie did -- that the Bible clearly teaches it. Many plan their whole lives around it. But, after studying Scripture for decades, Currie has come to see that if you accept the Bible, you have to reject the rapture. In these remarkable pages — which constitute the world’s most careful and thorough scriptural study of the rapture — Currie demonstrates why. He considers all the relevant verses (and there are hundreds!) and examines them in the light of ancient history, the writings of the earliest Christians, and the claims of rapturist theologians. With painstaking thoroughness, he unlocks the meanings of the key biblical prophecies that culminate in Christ's Messianic Kingdom — including those verses in Daniel, Matthew, and Revelation that rapturists turn to most. Marshalling evidence that’s as startling as it is compelling, Currie argues that these prophecies of war and tribulation don’t point to some still-unrealized apocalyptic future. Rather, most of them were fulfilled long ago: the spiritual, priestly Kingdom prefigured in the Old Testament was inaugurated on Calvary, consummated in 70 A.D. with the destruction of the Temple, and continues to exist today . . . in the Catholic Church! That may surprise you. Yet, shows Currie, it’s the only conclusion that fits all the scriptural and historical evidence. Rapture: The End-Times Error That Leaves the Bible Behind makes Scripture, prophecy, and history come alive; and it demonstrates that if you open your Bible, you’ll find that God’s plan for the future of the world is not filled with darkness and disaster, but with light, mercy, and hope. “We can all learn much from David Currie, not only from what he says, which is wise, but from how he says it, which is Catholic and Christian.” From the Foreword by Scott Hahn Special features: Over 1,300 references to Scripture, the early Church Fathers, authors and events in ancient history, and contemporary rapturist theologians Ten detailed timelines relating biblical prophecy to key historical events The biblical case for the rapture (showing why so many accept it) A survey of the thoughts of the early Church Fathers about the end-times A history of the development of rapturist theories, showing how this heresy has been refuted time and again by the Church A short course in the proper methods of reading Scripture A survey of end-times hypotheses from the first century through 9/11/2001 Nine ground rules you must follow if you are to make sense of biblical prophecy and relate it to salvation history A 10-page annotated bibliography of rapturist sources ancient and new Plus, much more to help you understand and evaluate the claims of rapturists Among the sources cited: Julius Africanus • St. Athanasius • St. Augustine • Pope Benedict XV • Andreas of Cappadocia • St. Clement of Alexandria • G. K. Chesterton • St. John Chrysostom • St. Clement of Rome • St. Cyril of Jerusalem • St. Epiphanius of Salamis • Josémaria Escriva • Catechism of the Catholic Church • Dei Verbum • Enchiridion Symbolorum • Eusebius • St. Hippolytus of Rome • St. Ignatius of Antioch • St. Irenaeus • St. Jerome • Flavius Josephus • St. Justin Martyr • Tim LaHaye • Pope Leo XIII • C. S. Lewis • Hal Lindsey • Lumen Gentium • Origen • Blaise Pascal • Pope St. Pius X • Pope Pius XII • Bertrand Russell • St. Polycarp • St. Thomas Aquinas • St. Sulpicius Severus • Tacitus • Tertullian • Victorinus

American evangelicalism has recently experienced a new openness to Roman Catholicism, and many evangelicals, both famous and ordinary, have joined the Catholic Church or are considering the possibility. This book helps evangelicals who are exploring Catholicism to sort out the kind of concerns that typically come up in discerning whether to enter into the full communion of the Catholic Church. In simple language, it explains many theological misunderstandings that evangelicals often have about Catholicism and suggests the kind of practical steps many take to enter the Catholic Church. The book frames evangelicals becoming Roman Catholic as a kind of "paradigm shift" involving the buildup of anomalies about evangelicalism, a crisis of the evangelical paradigm, a paradigm revolution, and the consolidation of the new Catholic paradigm. It will be useful for both evangelicals interested in pursuing and understanding Catholicism and Catholic pastoral workers seeking to help evangelical seekers who come to them.

In this deeply moving narrative, Thomas Howard describes his pilgrimage from Evangelicalism (which he loves and reveres as the religion of his youth) to liturgical Christianity. He soon afterward became a Roman Catholic. He describes Evangelicalism with great sympathy and then examines more formal, liturgical worship with the freshness of someone discovering for the first time what his soul had always hungered for. This is a book of apologetics without polemics. Non-Catholics will gain an appreciation of the formal and liturgical side of Catholicism. Catholics will see with fresh eyes the beauty of their tradition. Worship, prayer, the Blessed Virgin, the Mass, and the liturgical year are taken one after the other, and what may have seemed routine and repetitive suddenly comes to life under the enchanting wand of Howard's beautiful prose. Howard unfolds for us just what occurs in the vision and imagination of a Christian who, nurtured in the earnestness of Protestant Evangelicalism, finds himself yearning for "whatever-it-is" that has been there in the Church for 2000 years. It traces Howard's soul-searching and shows why he believes the practices of the liturgical Church are an invaluable aid for any Christian's spiritual life. Reminiscent of the style and scope of Newman, Lewis and Knox, this book is destined to be a classic. "The question, What is the Church? becomes, finally, intractable; and one finds oneself unable to offer any very telling reasons why the phrase 'one, holy, catholic, and apostolic', is to be understood in any other than the way in which it was understood for 1500 years." -- Thomas Howard

What does it mean to be evangelical? What does it mean to be Catholic? Can one consider oneself both simultaneously? Francis Beckwith has wrestled with these questions personally and professionally. He was baptized a Catholic, but his faith journey led him to Protestant evangelicalism. He became a philosophy professor at Baylor University and president of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS). And then, in 2007, after much prayer, counsel, and consideration, Beckwith decided to return to the Catholic church and step down as ETS president. This provocative book details Beckwith's journey, focusing on his internal dialogue between the Protestant theology he embraced for most of his adult life and Catholicism. He seeks to explain what prompted his decision and offers theological reflection on whether one can be evangelical and Catholic, affirming his belief that one can be both. EXCERPT It's difficult to explain why one moves from one Christian tradition to another. It is like trying to give an account to your friends why you chose to pursue for marriage this woman rather than that one, though both may have a variety of qualities that you found attractive. It seems to me then that any account of my return to the Catholic church, however authentic and compelling it is to me, will appear inadequate to anyone who is absolutely convinced that I was wrong. Conversely, my story will confirm in the minds of many devout Catholics that the supernatural power of the grace I received at baptism and confirmation as a youngster were instrumental in drawing me back to the Mother Church. Given these considerations, I confess that there is an awkwardness in sharing my journey as a published book, knowing that many fellow Christians will scrutinize and examine my reasons in ways that appear to some uncharitable and to others too charitable.