Product Description

This book unravels mysteries, corrects misunderstandings, and offers thoughtful, straightforward responses to common objections about the Catholic faith.

Bestselling author Scott Hahn, a convert to Catholicism, has experienced the doubts that so often drive discussions about God and the Church. In the years before his conversion, he was first a nonbeliever and then an anti-Catholic clergyman.

In REASONS TO BELIEVE, he explains the "how and why" of the Catholic faith—drawing from Scripture, his own struggles and those of other converts, as well as from everyday life and even natural science. Hahn shows that reason and revelation, nature and the supernatural, are not opposed to one another; rather they offer complementary evidence that God exists. But He doesn't merely exist. He is someone, and He has a personality, a personal style, that is discernible and knowable. Hahn leads readers to see that God created the universe with a purpose and a form—a form that can be found in the Book of Genesis and that is there when we view the natural world through a microscope, through a telescope, or through our contact lenses.

At the heart of the book is Hahn's examination of the ten "keys to the kingdom"—the characteristics of the Church clearly evident in the Scriptures. As the story of creation discloses, the world is a house that has a Father, a palace where the king is really present. God created the cosmos to be a kingdom, and that kingdom is the universal Church, fully revealed by Jesus Christ.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2969 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-08
• Released on: 2007-05-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 240 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Many times in its 2,000-year history, the Catholic Church was under tremendous scrutiny and even persecution, thus necessitating the faithful to provide a cogent and passionate explanation of doctrine to skeptics. These explanations developed into a formal branch of theology known as "apologetics." Hahn, an increasingly popular theologian, speaker and writer, has grabbed the doctrinal baton with books like The Lamb's Supper and Hail, Holy Queen. Here he presents a contemporary apologetics for those who feel a need to defend their faith in the postmodern world. Hahn certainly knows the Catechism, and his writing is concise and certain. He unabashedly declares the Catholic faith to be "the only Christian body that professes one faith, undivided, unchanged, throughout the world and throughout the ages." While some may be persuaded by this rhetoric, such phrases will come across to others as overly triumphalistic, especially since the history of the church includes many doctrinal disputes and painful clashes over belief that Hahn glosses over. Readers wrestling with doubts about their faith may not find much solace in Hahn's work, but Catholics who feel the need to articulate their viewpoint to fellow believers and nonbelievers could benefit from Hahn's clear explanation of doctrine. (May)
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Review

Advance Praise for Reasons to Believe:

“A flagship volume for contemporary apologetics.  This book should be required reading for every Catholic college student and especially for every priest, seminarian, and deacon.  This is apologetics made fascinating.”  —Fr. Benedict J. Groeschel, CFR 
 
“An outstanding book.” —Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. (Denver Archdiocese)
 
“The definitive book on the subject of apologetics.” —Marcus Grodi, TV host, The Journey Home
 
“A cohesive vision of God’s kingdom that enables people more fully to understand, live, and defend the truth of the Catholic Church…. This is a book many have been waiting for.” —Jeff Cavins, author of My Life on the Rock
“Relying on Scripture, history, and logic, Hahn offers clear and compelling reasons to embrace the Catholic Faith and to defend that Faith, charitably and joyfully.  He shows us yet again not just what to say, but how to say it.” —Patrick Madrid, author of Search and Rescue and Does the Bible Really Say That?
“Hahn does more than respond to our doubts. He shows us a God who has a plan for history and for each of our lives.” —David Scott, author of The Catholic Passion
“Hahn’s gently expressed enthusiasm for theology is infectious…. This work will help those who are inquiring about the Catholic Church to ‘take the leap,’ and those already within the fold to appreciate all the more the biblical basis for, and unique fullness of, the Catholic faith.”
—Dave Armstrong, author of A Biblical Defense of Catholicism
 
“A great aid to anyone interested in the biblical, patristic, and historical  reasons to believe in Jesus Christ as a Catholic Christian.”  —John Michael Talbot, songwriter; founder of The Brothers and Sisters of Charity at Little Portion Hermitage
 
“Scott Hahn, perhaps Catholicism's leading evangelist in English, takes the next step.…a book for believers who want to grow stronger in their faith and share it with others, and for inquirers who search for a belief that satisfies both the mind and the heart.” —Fr. C. J. McCloskey III, Research Fellow, Faith and Reason Institute, Washington, DC
 
“Hahn knows how to write for us ordinary people.” —Mark P. Shea, CatholicExchange.com
 
“Very highly recommended.”  —Thomas Howard, author of On Being Catholic

“Often we are asked to give an account of the hope that is in us, to explain our Catholic faith. In Reasons to Believe, Scott Hahn offers that explanation in a clear, cogent, and compelling manner, by answering the most frequently raised questions about aspects of Church teaching. It is a must-read for Catholics who want to be able to explain the faith they hold and cherish. This work should be of immense value.” —Archbishop Donald W.
Wuerl (Archdiocese of Washington, DC)

About the Author

SCOTT HAHN is a professor of theology and Scripture at the Franciscan University of Steubenville and was recently appointed to the Pope Benedict XVI Chair of Biblical Theology and Liturgical Proclamation of Saint Vincent Seminary (Latrobe, Pennsylvania). He is the author of more than a dozen books, including The Lamb’s Supper; Hail, Holy Queen; Swear to God; and Understanding the Scriptures. He lives in Steubenville, Ohio.

Customer Reviews

"Powerful Reasons -- Powerfully Expressed"
The term "apologetics" is often viewed negatively. Because of its etymological roots, many people view the word synonymously with "apology" in the common sense -- a labored defense of something done wrong, or a justification of that which cannot be justified. As practiced by certain individuals of disingenuous character, where beliefs are attacked either based on a false presentation of facts or upon personal bias against matters in question, this connotation is completely understandable.

More properly, apologetics is (as is described in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary) the systematic argumentative discourse in defense (as of a doctrine), or a branch of theology devoted to the defense of the divine origin and authority of Christianity. Done properly, and accepted in the spirit of seeking truth, apologetics is the highest of the theological sciences.

Scott Hahn, Professor of Theology and Scripture at Franciscan University of Steubenville, is an apologist of the highest order. A convert to Catholicism, former Presbyterian minister, and gifted writer, Professor Hahn has written a series of books on the Catholic faith. The books include such spiritual works as THE LAMB'S SUPPER: THE MASS AS HEAVEN ON EARTH, HAIL HOLY QUEEN: THE MOTHER OF GOD IN THE WORD OF GOD, and his journey to Catholicism, ROME SWEET ROME: OUR JOURNEY TO CATHOLICISM, co-authored with his wife, Kimberly Hahn.

REASONS TO BELIEVE: HOW TO UNDERSTAND, EXPLAIN, AND DEFEND THE CATHOLIC FAITH, is a book of Catholic Apologetics in the finest sense of the tradition. Using his skills as a teacher, Professor Hahn offers a well-written, engaging, and reasoned look at the Catholic faith, using extensive scriptural sources, logic, and facts to present his defense of the Church. Unlike other so-called apologists (the pamphlet under the windshield), he does not hide behind personal rancor and invective. Instead, he presents his arguments for the Catholic faith in a thoughtful loving manner -- as one would expect or demand of a Christian. In its scant 240 pages, REASONS TO BELIEVE is not a substitute for Sacred Scripture, or Catholic Catechism. Rather it draws upon the complementary sources of Scripture, Tradition, and Magisterium to justify the faith. He presents powerful arguments indeed in simple prose, articulating divinely inspired truths in words that are comprehensible to the average reader.

Reason and revelation are not incompatible. Natural and divine order are not compatible. The essentials of faith can be expressed intellectually and rationally. It is true theology -- faith seeking understanding.

Apologetics 101
By far the most complete apologetic book I have ever read. Dr. Hahn enables his reader the ability to provide solid defense of one's faith in the Church against agnostics to pagans to Protestants. I bought two additional books to give as gifts for my siblings. The reading is not easy, but then again, in such an important subject, there is no way the reading can be "easy." Highly recommend for RCIA teachers, Catholic adults, and anybody curious about why somebody would want to be called a Catholic.

Careful work of an honest author
Scott Hahn is an extremely careful writer, who has been very patient to choose the wording for his arguments. The book is well written, easy to read and fulfilled my expectations.
Speaking from his heart, the author gives an honest report on his view of the protestant faith he once embraced and the Catholic faith he now pursues.
Having St. Thomas on the cover is a testimony of his intellectual honesty by admitting it is not easy to find the path to belief and salvation.