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The Bad Catholic's Guide to the Catechism: A Faithful, Fun-Loving Look at Catholic Dogmas, Doctrines, and Schmoctrines
Masquerading behind the guise of the old-fashioned Catechism that generations of Catholic school kids in plaid skirts or clip-on ties had to memorize, this candid handbook provides a witty take on the teachings of the Catholic faith. Objections from relativist, New Atheist, dissenting Catholic, and other points of view are featured, with intellectually sound questions and bracingly funny answers. Penned by a Yale-educated author who worked both in the mainstream, secular media as well as for Catholic outlets, the study reveals the whole range of contemporary criticisms aimed at the Church—and how to answer them in kind. Using both a rapier wit and the strong left hook of a blue-collar kid from Queens, this guide defends its faith with good humor and sincere respect at every turn while illustrating the difficulties modern believers face.
272 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 2012
7 people are currently reading
62 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 23, 2013
Hilarious, high-minded, and dead-on theologically. Terrific fun, which is not something one is used to saying about great spiritual reading.
May 6, 2023
I don't really agree with some of the author's politics that he will INEVITABLY bring up, but I enjoy his humor and he explains doctrine well.
March 24, 2014
There's a lot of good info in here for a Catholic like me who was never taught the catechism. And humour's a good way to keep the reader's interest. But...Zmirak is frequently snide, sneering and smug. I agree with most things he says, but not the way he says them, or the way he extrapolates them out to support his politics.
So, useful but uncomfortable.
So, useful but uncomfortable.
June 25, 2020
Admittedly, I read and review a book like this one as an outsider when it comes to Catholicism and its thoughts and ways and not as an insider. Perhaps unusually, I come to a book like this as a sympathetic outsider, not least because the author and I are online acquaintances and because I have some idea of the author's thinking and opinions from having interacted with him and read a great deal of what he posts online, as he is a prolific writer on matters of the Catholic faith and its interaction with the contemporary world. This book appears to be written mainly for two groups of people, either sympathetic outsiders to Catholicism who can appreciate the importance of godly traditions and the need for church and authority to counteract the willful and rebellious tendencies of individuals unshackled from restraint, an audience which I am a part of, or those who are nominal Catholics who have at least some curiosity in better knowing what they feel a vague but not very well-informed understanding of and connection to. And by and large this works well at providing a sympathetic but brutally honest picture of Catholic teaching and doctrine that is well-aimed at making its internal and external enemies look at least a little bit ridiculous.
This book is about 250 pages long or so and it is divided into six very large chapters that tackle different aspects of Catholicism. The preface gives a loving discussion of how this book is sort of following in the footsteps of Fulton Sheen in making the Catholic faith accessible to others. The introduction gently reminds us that this is not a catechism in the formal sense, even though the book is structured as a dialogue between a clueless but inquisitive young nominal Catholic and a wiser and sardonically humorous persona of the author. The six chapters begin with a discussion of reason and revelation that deal with the authority of the Bible and of the magisterium (1). After that comes a discussion of God the Father (2), the Son (3), and the Holy Spirit (4) as they appear in the Bible, in Catholic teaching and understanding, and in the understanding of believers and even occasionally unbelievers, with a healthy discussion of various heresies that involve attempts at simplifying matters. After that comes a discussion of the Church (5), which also comments a good bit on the contemporary crisis of Catholicism in the light of the sexual revolution and a view of the sacraments that provides a thoughtful discussion of baptism, marriage, the Passover (called the Eucharist here), the laying on of hands for illness, and the other sacraments.
This book is part of a series, which is pretty funny from what I have seen so far, relating to a Bad Catholic looking at Catholic culture with an honest and loving but brutally honest eye. As someone who is similarly a loving but also brutally honest examiner of my own religious traditions, this is an approach I wholeheartedly enjoy and can entirely understand. Intriguingly enough, this particular book was written in a period where a run of conservative "good popes" was going on and where there was a high degree of respect for the Catholic hierarchy despite the recognized and serious problems of the Catholic bishops and ordained leadership as a whole. The author notes, though, that there have been plenty of periods where the leadership of the church was less morally elevated and quite worthy of disgust and contempt, and it appears that as I read this we are in one such period at present. If the author and I spring from different religious backgrounds, there is a lot I can relate to here and if you are someone who has a generally traditional but highly critical relationship with Christianity, you will find a fair amount to appreciate here as well.
This book is about 250 pages long or so and it is divided into six very large chapters that tackle different aspects of Catholicism. The preface gives a loving discussion of how this book is sort of following in the footsteps of Fulton Sheen in making the Catholic faith accessible to others. The introduction gently reminds us that this is not a catechism in the formal sense, even though the book is structured as a dialogue between a clueless but inquisitive young nominal Catholic and a wiser and sardonically humorous persona of the author. The six chapters begin with a discussion of reason and revelation that deal with the authority of the Bible and of the magisterium (1). After that comes a discussion of God the Father (2), the Son (3), and the Holy Spirit (4) as they appear in the Bible, in Catholic teaching and understanding, and in the understanding of believers and even occasionally unbelievers, with a healthy discussion of various heresies that involve attempts at simplifying matters. After that comes a discussion of the Church (5), which also comments a good bit on the contemporary crisis of Catholicism in the light of the sexual revolution and a view of the sacraments that provides a thoughtful discussion of baptism, marriage, the Passover (called the Eucharist here), the laying on of hands for illness, and the other sacraments.
This book is part of a series, which is pretty funny from what I have seen so far, relating to a Bad Catholic looking at Catholic culture with an honest and loving but brutally honest eye. As someone who is similarly a loving but also brutally honest examiner of my own religious traditions, this is an approach I wholeheartedly enjoy and can entirely understand. Intriguingly enough, this particular book was written in a period where a run of conservative "good popes" was going on and where there was a high degree of respect for the Catholic hierarchy despite the recognized and serious problems of the Catholic bishops and ordained leadership as a whole. The author notes, though, that there have been plenty of periods where the leadership of the church was less morally elevated and quite worthy of disgust and contempt, and it appears that as I read this we are in one such period at present. If the author and I spring from different religious backgrounds, there is a lot I can relate to here and if you are someone who has a generally traditional but highly critical relationship with Christianity, you will find a fair amount to appreciate here as well.
January 15, 2018
I'm going to start by saying that I didn't make it through the book. I tried hard, I learned a lot from iwhat I read, and I made it almost halfway through the bookbefore, but eventually my frustration with the author reached critical overload, and I chose to put the book down.
As a non-Catholic christian, I picked up this book as a fun way to explore the differences between my beliefs and Catholic doctrine. I do have to give the author credit, he does a pretty good job of outlining what Catholicism teaches. The question and answer format is mostly useful and engaging, and a certain amount of tounge-in-cheek humor does often help enliven heavy duty concepts.
Unfourtunately, the author contributes something else to this combination of humor and theological education, his own opinions and arrogance. Throughout the book, the author repeatedly implies, or even flat out says that the Catholic faith is for smart people, and that believing anything else is either a sign of poor education, or poor intelligence. It mostly appears and disapears in flashes, but the author is repeatedly demeaning and incompassionate, two flaws that stand out as really missing the point in a book about Christianity. He also occasionally displays a willingness to use the Bible and Catholic doctrine to justify his own views on political and controversial topics in ways that make me question the validity of his portrayal of the Catholic church. Somehow I don't think that Pope Francis is as concerned as this guy about the "gelding" of European culture by immigrants.
The author of this book is clearly an intelligent man with an impressive knowledge of Catholic doctrine and history. He is a generally humorous, helpful, and enjoyable writer, and I wish I could finish his book. I wish I could sit down with this guy and discus our theological differences in a mature manner, and give him my own opinion on the crucial centrality of compassion to all Christian doctrine. As a one-sided conversation however, I ultimately wasn't able to put up with this attitude any longer, and ultimately had to put the book down.
As a non-Catholic christian, I picked up this book as a fun way to explore the differences between my beliefs and Catholic doctrine. I do have to give the author credit, he does a pretty good job of outlining what Catholicism teaches. The question and answer format is mostly useful and engaging, and a certain amount of tounge-in-cheek humor does often help enliven heavy duty concepts.
Unfourtunately, the author contributes something else to this combination of humor and theological education, his own opinions and arrogance. Throughout the book, the author repeatedly implies, or even flat out says that the Catholic faith is for smart people, and that believing anything else is either a sign of poor education, or poor intelligence. It mostly appears and disapears in flashes, but the author is repeatedly demeaning and incompassionate, two flaws that stand out as really missing the point in a book about Christianity. He also occasionally displays a willingness to use the Bible and Catholic doctrine to justify his own views on political and controversial topics in ways that make me question the validity of his portrayal of the Catholic church. Somehow I don't think that Pope Francis is as concerned as this guy about the "gelding" of European culture by immigrants.
The author of this book is clearly an intelligent man with an impressive knowledge of Catholic doctrine and history. He is a generally humorous, helpful, and enjoyable writer, and I wish I could finish his book. I wish I could sit down with this guy and discus our theological differences in a mature manner, and give him my own opinion on the crucial centrality of compassion to all Christian doctrine. As a one-sided conversation however, I ultimately wasn't able to put up with this attitude any longer, and ultimately had to put the book down.
September 11, 2020
Following his work and wits on Twitter and YouTube, I am amazed by how much I can relate to John Zmirak even though I was born in a Protestant home in rural Illinois. My interest in the Catholic Church was not one of theological scholarship or study, and I thought how the last church I went to before I went to Mass effectively alienated one side of my psyche to the detriment of restoring order. It might have been my guardian angel telling me to flee from such a situation, and I am grateful for that and how I met three fallen away Catholics who piqued my interest in Faith. Definitely reading this will help you understand the real catechism whether it’s Trent, St Pius X, Baltimore, or 1992. My prayers are with you on this journey. God Bless You!
August 4, 2019
Catholic doctrine presented in a modern, humorous manner by author, John Zmirak. The author shows the beauty and truth of his faith while referencing his Catholic upbringing and struggles which modern Catholucs face understanding and practicing their faith.
A book to keep handy for reference and meditation. "The reader will be instructed, blessed and exhilarated" while discerning "THE BAD CATHOLIC'S GUIDE TO THE CATECHISM".
A book to keep handy for reference and meditation. "The reader will be instructed, blessed and exhilarated" while discerning "THE BAD CATHOLIC'S GUIDE TO THE CATECHISM".
September 27, 2013
I have read The Bad Catholic’s Guide to Good Living : A Loving Look at the Lighter Side of the Catholic Faith, with Recipes for Feasts and Fun by John Zmirak and Denise Matychowiak, The Bad Catholic’s Guide to Wine, Whiskey, & Song: A Spirited Look at Catholic Life & Lore from the Apocalypse to Zinfandel by John Zmirak and Denise Matychowiak, and The Bad Catholic’s Guide to the Seven Deadly Sins: A Vital Look at Virtue and Vice, With Quizzes and Activities for Saintly Self-Improvement by John Zmirak. I find this present book to be the most useful and serious (albeit very funny) of the four, as it treats with the Doctrines of the Church, which the author takes quite seriously; and I think I enjoyed this book the best out of the four books.
After the Introduction (titled: This Is Not a Catechism), the author treats the main doctrines of the church, divided, in order, into Reason and Revelation, The Father, The Son, The Holy Spirit, The Church, and The Sacraments. Within each section he has a question and answer format; the questions, and the answers, are humorous, but at bottom the author is a conservative Catholic with scant sympathy for either “cafeteria Catholicism” or situational ethics.
The author notes that what he has composed is a classic apology, updated for the 21st century, using “apology” in the old terminology as meaning an explanation of the doctrines of the Church to those who are in the dark about said doctrines. (He notes, and rightly, that Vatican II mandated that Masses were to be said, in part, in the vernacular language of each country; the United States got an English translation that was severely utilitarian (translating, for example, the Latin “mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maximus culpa” as “my fault”) and next thing we knew, they had taken out the altar rails, the women had removed their hats, and people with guitars were singing “Kumbaya” during Mass.)
I recommend this book to those of my Catholic friends who are not offended by humor in their discussions of Catholic doctrine. (That may boil down to about two people, alas.)
After the Introduction (titled: This Is Not a Catechism), the author treats the main doctrines of the church, divided, in order, into Reason and Revelation, The Father, The Son, The Holy Spirit, The Church, and The Sacraments. Within each section he has a question and answer format; the questions, and the answers, are humorous, but at bottom the author is a conservative Catholic with scant sympathy for either “cafeteria Catholicism” or situational ethics.
The author notes that what he has composed is a classic apology, updated for the 21st century, using “apology” in the old terminology as meaning an explanation of the doctrines of the Church to those who are in the dark about said doctrines. (He notes, and rightly, that Vatican II mandated that Masses were to be said, in part, in the vernacular language of each country; the United States got an English translation that was severely utilitarian (translating, for example, the Latin “mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maximus culpa” as “my fault”) and next thing we knew, they had taken out the altar rails, the women had removed their hats, and people with guitars were singing “Kumbaya” during Mass.)
I recommend this book to those of my Catholic friends who are not offended by humor in their discussions of Catholic doctrine. (That may boil down to about two people, alas.)
September 29, 2013
Tried reading the Catechism to the Catholic Church and got bogged down? Did even the Compendium to the Catechism leave you confused and frustrated. Then try the Bad Catholic's guide. This unofficial catechism is written especially for people who want to understand the Catholic faith from the standpoint of someone who has never known any faith. While not as complete as the CCC, it hits the basics and especially the issues many problematic issues for Catholics and non-Catholics alike.
December 14, 2014
I didn't enjoy this as much as some of the others I've read in this series. I don't know if I changed or the author just became more obnoxious and judgemental. There was still some amusing bits but I wouldn't recommend this book to others.
June 26, 2013
Smart, funny, and it made me want to go to confession. Multiple times.
October 5, 2021
Orthodoxy written in an entertaining and humorous way; what's not to love?
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews