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Faith Facts #1
Faith Facts: Answers to Catholic Questions Vol. I
Faith Facts strives to present sound, constructive teaching on a wide range of topics that are important to Catholics today. Each chapter also contains practical questions to facilitate small group discussions and to assist the reader in applying these teachings to his or her own life.
224 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1999
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144 people want to read
About the author
Leon J. Suprenant Jr.
15 books1 followerLeon Suprenant is the former president of Catholics United for the Faith. He now works for My Catholic Faith Delivered, a comprehensive, authentically Catholic, interactive online learning center based in the Kansas City area.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 8, 2013
This book is a good resource for apologetics, group studies, or those who are already familiar with Catholicism who are looking for further information and resources on specific topics. The format is nicely organized and again, very well suited for individual or group study - the question is presented, discussed in detail, poses further discussion questions, and makes use of many references to the Bible and Catechism of the Catholic Church. Questions about salvation by faith/good works, prayer with saints, Communion, and Marian doctrine are especially well presented. In fact, it reminds me of the little "Catholic Answer" booklets that a parish I attended years ago used to provide each week.
What this guide does do effectively is to consider many of its Bible references as a whole and within the context in which they were written. This is a key piece missing in many lay Christian theology writings, which instead focus on a single line and take it completely literally.
The material does get a little dry at times. It's not quite as intense as reading the Catechism, but I think it works better as a reference guide. Some of the contemporary social issues will be hard and rather sad to read, and I do not agree with the teaching. One of the trump cards I've always appreciated about Catholicism is the sacredness of one's conscience. This guide does have a section on conscience, but seems to only permit conscience as a guide if one's conscience was formed according to the teachings of the Church. Also, the book assumes some basic understanding of Catholic teaching and this would be a tough starting point for anyone new to the faith.
I'd still recommend this book as an additional resource, and makes a good choice for Lent reading. I found about 2/3 of the sections to be helpful for individual study.
I received a copy in a Goodreads giveaway, and this in no way influenced my review.
What this guide does do effectively is to consider many of its Bible references as a whole and within the context in which they were written. This is a key piece missing in many lay Christian theology writings, which instead focus on a single line and take it completely literally.
The material does get a little dry at times. It's not quite as intense as reading the Catechism, but I think it works better as a reference guide. Some of the contemporary social issues will be hard and rather sad to read, and I do not agree with the teaching. One of the trump cards I've always appreciated about Catholicism is the sacredness of one's conscience. This guide does have a section on conscience, but seems to only permit conscience as a guide if one's conscience was formed according to the teachings of the Church. Also, the book assumes some basic understanding of Catholic teaching and this would be a tough starting point for anyone new to the faith.
I'd still recommend this book as an additional resource, and makes a good choice for Lent reading. I found about 2/3 of the sections to be helpful for individual study.
I received a copy in a Goodreads giveaway, and this in no way influenced my review.
May 5, 2016
I enjoyed reading this book but could only give it three stars. CUF, Catholics United for the Faith, has a thing they call Faith Facts. People call or write to them and ask questions about the Catholic faith and they have a team of people who research the answers thoroughly and then answer them via these Faith Facts. There are presently two books covering several major topics; things like the Creed, Mary, Mortal Sin, the eucharist, etc.
I only gave the book three stars because I as a practicing catholic for 17 years understood their answers to the questions, but I felt that a person outside the church or even a new convert might have difficulty with them. They reference a lot of scripture, but they also reference a lot of church documents that someone outside of the church would most likely have never heard about. At times, they get into some Catholic theology that can be difficult to understand especially if you have not taken the time to do much outside reading on the subject, whatever the subject being discussed is.
Still, I would recommend the books to someone who maybe has done some reading on Catholic doctrine, and, perhaps, these books would take them a little deeper.
I only gave the book three stars because I as a practicing catholic for 17 years understood their answers to the questions, but I felt that a person outside the church or even a new convert might have difficulty with them. They reference a lot of scripture, but they also reference a lot of church documents that someone outside of the church would most likely have never heard about. At times, they get into some Catholic theology that can be difficult to understand especially if you have not taken the time to do much outside reading on the subject, whatever the subject being discussed is.
Still, I would recommend the books to someone who maybe has done some reading on Catholic doctrine, and, perhaps, these books would take them a little deeper.
January 31, 2013
Horrible book - contains the outdated, unscientific, dogmatic thinking that makes the mainstream Catholic church a reactionary force - unlike the many good caring, non-judgmental and pragmatic lay Catholics.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews