Preparing for Eternity: Should We Trust God's Word or Religious Traditions

by Mike Gendron

Preparing for Eternity presents an objective contrast between the traditions of the Roman Catholic Church and the word of God. It is an excellent discipleship manual for Roman Catholics who have not discovered the narrow road that leads to eternal life.

This book prepares the listener for eternity by showing how the Lord Jesus Christ is sufficient to save sinners completely and forever. Mike Gendron knows this subject well, having spent 35 years in the Catholic religion and more than 30 years sharing the Gospel with Catholics. He presents the truth in love and compassion for those who are where he once was, on the wide road to destruction, and not even aware of it. The book forces Catholics to chose between Christ and his word or the official teachings of the Catholic religion. It is impossible to believe both. People will never know they are deceived until they are confronted with the truth from God's inspired word. The guiding principle for all who seek the truth is to always test the uninspired words of men with the inspired word of God.

Genres: Christianity, Christian, Catholic, Christian Living

Audible Audio

First published April 1, 2002

Reviews

[sch · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not everything in this book is false, but on the whole it is a tissue of ignorance, fallacious reasoning, bad reading, and misrepresentation. Perhaps all you really need to know is that Mr Gendron considers the Catholic Church to be "Satan's most cleverly disguised counterfeit" church (Chapter 9).

We have no call to accuse the author of lying, but he is very much mistaken about Catholic teaching. It was no shock to read that "It is so easy to get lost in the complexity of the Catholic religion" (Chapter 18). Unfortunately this was not a moment of self-reflection, but part of a mini-program he offers to anyone interested in leaving Rome.

Mr Gendron frequently prides himself, in his penultimate chapter, on quoting Catholic sources verbatim, as if quoting were sufficient to ensure a proper understanding. He begins Chapter 5 thus:

There exists a profound contrast between the teachings of the Bible and the teachings of the Catholic Church concerning the sacrifice of Jesus. Scriptures reveal, "By one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin" (Hebrews 10:14,18). But according to the Catholic Catechism, "the sacrifice of Jesus and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are one single sacrifice...the same Christ who offered Himself once in a bloody manner on the cross is contained and offered in an unbloody manner on church altars. The Eucharist is thus a sacrifice because it re-presents (makes present) the sacrifice of the cross and is actually the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ" (CCC, para. 1366-67; 1374). Catholics express their faith in the real presence of Christ by worshipping [sic] and adoring the wafer as if it were God (para. 1378). The Vatican teaches that every time the Mass is celebrated the work of redemption is carried on (para. 1405). Christ, in the Eucharist, is offered repeatedly in reparation for the sins of the living and the dead (para. 1414)."

See what he did in that last sentence? You'll search in vain for the word "repeatedly" in paragraph 1414 of the 1994 edition of the Catechism. He added it. Why? Not, I suspect, because he intentionally means to sabotage something he understands, but because he doesn't understand how it is possible that the Cross can transcend time, and be present "in" two times at once. Of course you can't quite fault him for failing to grasp this mystery, though if he'd paid more attention to the lines he quoted from the Catechism, he might have been struck by that astonishing predicate: "one single sacrifice." We can fault him for presumptuously trusting in his own reading.

It should be clear by now that Mr Gendron is fundamentally confused about what it means to read. It's almost embarrassing to say this: he doesn't realize that all reading is interpretive. At one point he advises a fledgling missionary to Catholics to use the "Roman Road" as an evangelistic strategy: "As they read each verse ask them what God is teaching them. This method allows God to speak powerfully and directly to them without your 'beliefs' or interpretation, which they usually reject."

The book is dull. His favorite mode of argument is a feckless style of proof-texting, which pays no attention to context. I have no objections when St Paul proof-texts, of course, but 'You, sir, are no St Paul.'

[Douglas E Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well written, factual, and scriptural comparison of the teachings of God as related in His word, the bible, and the traditions of the Catholic church which are quite often in conflict. Mike's assertions are not made up, each point he makes is exquisitely referenced in the Bible and the Roman Catholic Church's own catechism. There is no error, falsehood, or deception here, it's simply the word of God. And sometimes the truth is hard to take.

[Steven D Smet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well done.

Very accurate scripturally. Gendron is honest and forthright in his presentation. All of his claims are well documented. A must read for all Christians who believe God's Word and care about their Catholic friends and family.

[Cheryl Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is no greater question that we can ask ourselves, and Gendron provides Biblical answers.

[Glen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mike Gendron does a great job comparing Catholic Rituals and Traditions with the Holy Bible. He uses primary documents to help make comparisons.

[David Sager · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book on what Catholics believe and defending the faith against them.