STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

cc · Marc Jacobs

dc, other religion experts - seeking book recommendations

dot · Marc Jacobs

delete! i misread this!

-- Edited by dot at 16:38, 2005-08-16

cc · Marc Jacobs

Haha dot, what did you think it said and what did you write?

dot · Marc Jacobs

cc wrote:

Haha dot, what did you think it said and what did you write?

I didn't see book for some reason and just saw the words "recommend" "Christianity."

and then I wrote, "omg cc where is this coming from?!" I mean I know you were brought up Catholic but still it was a shocker!

dc · Dooney & Bourke

Hey cc - Off the top of my head, I can't think of one particular book re: Christianity (everything I can think of has to do with a theory or has some other slant), but there are some great resources online. I assume you've checked out beliefnet.com?

cc · Marc Jacobs

dc - I have looked at beliefnet and some other sites. I'm glad that you endorse beliefnet because sometimes I worry about online sources! But I would also like to find some books - I just prefer to actually have a book that I can flip through. For some reason (I guess because I spent 12 years in Catholic school) people are constantly asking me questions about Catholicism and Christianity in general and I'm sometimes pretty fuzzy on things myself. Plus I'm now dating someone who is Eastern Orthodox which is a branch of Christianity that I knew very little about previously so I'd like to learn a bit about that. I've been looking at things on Amazon and probably will go to the main NYC library at some point but if you think of anything let me know!

-- Edited by cc at 17:23, 2005-08-16

laken1 · Hermes

I can't find it, but I once bought a book at a Christian book store about Catholicism and I swear i learned more from that then I did in 8 years of Catholic school. I was a really thin book, almost like a pamphlet size & they had them for every religion (well, seemed like it). I know this doesn't help much, but I was something like "why do catholics believe what they believe" & the same for the other religions. I'm no help, go to the christian bookstore specifically & browse so you can flip through some materials - if you ask them they will always point you in the right direction.

I did a search but it seems like I end up coming up with "setting the record straight" kind of books. Not to be ugly, but the one I had wasn't slanted either way, like it wasn't anti-catholic, but it also wasn't written by someone with obviously "Catholic" motives - does that make sense? I just find sometimes people within the church don't always answer questions in the most direct form & just expect you to take things on faith. While I understand their thinking, I'd like to know the "real" answer. I also think it's hard to find info that's not biased in the other direction....it's so hard. I think it's good if you know the issues from both sides though, especially if you think you'll be in a position to defend some of the teachings....

ayo · Coach

You can find some resources here

www.equip.org

It IS a Christian website, but they do sometimes explain things from the intellectual approach rather than from a pure faith perspective.

I'm pretty sure, he has a list of books on there, unfortunately I'm unable to view the link from work (they actually block all religious websites here ) but if I get home I can help you do some digging..

cc · Marc Jacobs

Thanks guys. Ayo I will check that site out tonight. And laken, I understand what you mean about certain sources being biased. I actually really didn't want anything put out by a particular faith because I want more historical things and not necessarily discussions of different controversial issues like divorce and birth control but something that will give an overview of doctrinal differences like "X sect believes in Transubstantiation, Y sect does not, X sect believes in predestination, Y does not." But maybe browsing in a Christian bookstore isn't a bad idea. I also sometimes look at the Catholic Encyclopedia at newadvent.org and it has pretty decent and unbiased summaries of other faiths.

blink · Coach

There is a great book called The Faith Explained, by Leo Trese about Catholicism, it's written for Catholics, but I think it would give anyone a better understanding.

I also found a lot of good study from the philosophy of St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas. These two and others greatly influenced the Catholic church from the middle ages on. It's interesting, to me, how the Catholic church we know today was probably most influenced by teachings and thought from over 1000 years after Christ's death.

I haven't yet, but I do want to find some good info on Martin Luther. There was a special about him on PBS not too long ago, where some historians say he never intended for there to be so many sects of Christianity, but the result was inevitable. To me, Christianity and it's diversity is fascinating.

poptart · Coach

cc, The book below might be helpful. It is definitely more historical, explaining the development of christianity over time. You could also check out the Westminster Seminary website for professor's reviews of different church history / denomination books. www.wtsbooks.com

A good comparison/explanation of the differences between catholicism and protestantism, and a somewhat introduction to Martin Luther is Faith Alone by R.C. Sproul. It is written from a definitely protestant pov, and was somewhat controversial for me when I first read it, because it emphasizes the differences between catholics and protestants, but is very interesting nonetheless.

HTH