Catholics/UNDERSTANDING IT ALL

Advertisement

Expert: - 2/9/2004


Question
MICHAEL,

I'M BORN AND RAISED CATHOLIC. DID SOME CATHLOIC SCHOOL, EVEN WORKED AT A CATHOLIC SCHOOL. BUT I JUST DO NOT HAVE A CLUE AS TO THE FAITH, MUCH ABOUT THE BIBLE, HISTORY, ETC. I KNOW THERE HAS TO BE A GOOD BOOK/VIDEO/PUBLICATION OUT THERE THAT PUTS IT ALL IN 'LAYMEN'S' TERMS SO THAT I MAY BEGIN TO HAVE A FUNDAMENTAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE ENTIRE PICTURE.  THANKS MUCH

Answer
If I were you, I'd just go to www.google.com, and do a search using keywords

introduction to catholicism

Go through the websites and see if you can find one that works for you.

Also, at my website I've put together many of the best Catholic links:

http://members.rogers.com/earthpages3/links_catholic.htm

Copy and paste that URL into your browser's address bar to and try out these links. Hopefully some will speak to you.

There is a book which is quite good. It's called "Path Through Catholicism" and it was lent to me by a monsignor (an honorary title for a priest) when I was interested in converting. If you copy and paste this URL you'll see the book I'm referring to:

http://www.sciencesbookreview.com/Path_Through_Catholicism_078290971X.html

I'm selling a book at my online bookstore which would be my second recommendation. It's called "The Catholic Vision."

http://members.rogers.com/earthpages1/bookstore.html

This book might be a bit too detailed for you right now, but the plus is that I am selling it for next to nothing.  

Catholics

All Answers

Answers by Expert:

Ask Experts

Volunteer

Michael Clark, Ph.D.

Expertise

I'm a progressive Catholic--not a liberal, conservative nor a single-minded critic of Catholicism. I simply believe that adults in the 21C should use the mind God gave them and not just repeat ancient and medieval modes of thinking.

I can probably help with questions that intelligently and respectfully question those aspects of Catholicism that are not infallible. But if you're looking for someone to vigorously defend or perhaps refute Catholicism as a whole, that's not me. So please ask another expert.

Experience

I run an educational website earthpages.org and know what the web has to offer. I might suggest hyperlinks and/or book titles as I have a Ph.D. in Religious Studies and a considerable personal library.

Publications
Print Media:
My table from "Religions and Cults" at earthpages.org is reproduced with permission in L. Lindsey, S. Beach and B. Ravelli, Core Concepts in Sociology, 2nd ed., p. 157

World Wide Web:
My online article "Letter to God" coauthored with Buddhist monk, E. Raymond Rock, appears on several different spirituality-based websites, including http://tinyurl.com/db7a5o

I've interviewed, as a Christian, a self-proclaimed mystic: http://tinyurl.com/cawykr

My articles appeared at the former New View magazine nuvunow.ca and are published at earthpages.org.

Education/Credentials
Ph.D. in Religious Studies
M.A. in Comparative Religion
B.A. Hon. in Psychology/Sociology
For more info, please see my CV and letters of recommendation and my blog at michaelwclark.com.

©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.