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College Apologetics: Proof of the Truth of the Catholic Faith
Proof of the Truth of the Catholic Faith. The classic apologetics for adult level. Ironclad logic! The existence of God, immortality of the soul, necessity of religion, reliability of the Gospels, nature of the Church, proof of her truth, etc. A work of genius; irrefutable!
270 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1954
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 4, 2013
I prefer the little orange book I used in my senior year.
September 14, 2024
A COLLEGE TEXTBOOK IN CATHOLIC APOLOGETICS
At the time this book was written in 1954, Rev. Anthony Alexander taught in the Department of Religion at John Carroll University. He also wrote books such as 'College Moral Theology,' 'College Sacramental Theology,' ;College Dogmatic Theology,' etc.
He wrote in the first chapter, "Protestantism holds that the Bible alone, privately interpreted, is sufficient to point out what all must do and believe to be saved... we say that the Bible is indeed God's inspired word and contains some of His revelation to man... But there are several notable weaknesses in the Protestant position of the surpassing importance of the private interpretation of the Bible as a rule of faith... It cannot be proved from the Bible itself ... that private interpretation is the authentic rule of faith... Private interpretation ... was and is impossible for a great many people because they are illiterate... The average layman will find many parts of the Bible very difficult to understand... [Protestants] are forced to conclude that there was a time when Christians could not be saved because in their day the Bible was not yet completed." (Pg. 8-9)
He states, "The starting point for the fifth proof for the existence of God is the observation that there are about us things which serve a purpose. The cogency of this argument is not weakened because of the fact that the purposefulness of many objects cannot readily be named. If there were but one instance of usefulness in the whole universe, this proof would be still valid." (Pg. 20)
He suggests, "The concurrence of miracles with instruction is too frequent and regular to be mere coincidence. One is strongly led to surmise that there is an intimate relationship between the two. Investigation yields the reason why Christ worked miracles. They were worked to give added authority to His doctrines... [Christ] wished the people to look upon His miracles as valid credentials and thereby be induced to accept His teaching." (Pg. 90-91) He adds, "By working miracles God Himself vouched for the truth of all that Christ taught. It is inconceivable that a miracle should confirm a false statement. This would mean that God approved a life." (Pg. 95)
He argues, "For a church to be able to claim to be holy in its members: 1--a notable part of the total number must exhibit ordinary holiness... 2--many within that Church must exhibit a superior holiness... 3--at least a few must be noted for their heroic sanctity." (Pg. 195)
He admits, however, that "It is not difficult to prove that all of the popes were not the able administrators that this type of government demands. Nor is it difficult to show that in some countries, especially in times when the Church was wealthy, she was ruled by unworthy prelates. These particular prelates were persons who abused their power and were not sources of edification to the people. Some of them shamelessly bought and sold benefices and in their role of temporal ruler insisted on the right to heavily tax their subjects but did not fulfill the corresponding duties of their office...
"Critics have seized upon the point of the scandals in the Church with vigor... [yet] the more attention they call... the more they are strengthening the arguments for the divinity of the Church. If the Catholic Church was not a divine institution it could never have survived the inefficiency of some of her rulers." (Pg. 213)
This book was written in, and for, a vastly different time than ours; still, its arguments may still interest modern students of Catholic apologetics.
At the time this book was written in 1954, Rev. Anthony Alexander taught in the Department of Religion at John Carroll University. He also wrote books such as 'College Moral Theology,' 'College Sacramental Theology,' ;College Dogmatic Theology,' etc.
He wrote in the first chapter, "Protestantism holds that the Bible alone, privately interpreted, is sufficient to point out what all must do and believe to be saved... we say that the Bible is indeed God's inspired word and contains some of His revelation to man... But there are several notable weaknesses in the Protestant position of the surpassing importance of the private interpretation of the Bible as a rule of faith... It cannot be proved from the Bible itself ... that private interpretation is the authentic rule of faith... Private interpretation ... was and is impossible for a great many people because they are illiterate... The average layman will find many parts of the Bible very difficult to understand... [Protestants] are forced to conclude that there was a time when Christians could not be saved because in their day the Bible was not yet completed." (Pg. 8-9)
He states, "The starting point for the fifth proof for the existence of God is the observation that there are about us things which serve a purpose. The cogency of this argument is not weakened because of the fact that the purposefulness of many objects cannot readily be named. If there were but one instance of usefulness in the whole universe, this proof would be still valid." (Pg. 20)
He suggests, "The concurrence of miracles with instruction is too frequent and regular to be mere coincidence. One is strongly led to surmise that there is an intimate relationship between the two. Investigation yields the reason why Christ worked miracles. They were worked to give added authority to His doctrines... [Christ] wished the people to look upon His miracles as valid credentials and thereby be induced to accept His teaching." (Pg. 90-91) He adds, "By working miracles God Himself vouched for the truth of all that Christ taught. It is inconceivable that a miracle should confirm a false statement. This would mean that God approved a life." (Pg. 95)
He argues, "For a church to be able to claim to be holy in its members: 1--a notable part of the total number must exhibit ordinary holiness... 2--many within that Church must exhibit a superior holiness... 3--at least a few must be noted for their heroic sanctity." (Pg. 195)
He admits, however, that "It is not difficult to prove that all of the popes were not the able administrators that this type of government demands. Nor is it difficult to show that in some countries, especially in times when the Church was wealthy, she was ruled by unworthy prelates. These particular prelates were persons who abused their power and were not sources of edification to the people. Some of them shamelessly bought and sold benefices and in their role of temporal ruler insisted on the right to heavily tax their subjects but did not fulfill the corresponding duties of their office...
"Critics have seized upon the point of the scandals in the Church with vigor... [yet] the more attention they call... the more they are strengthening the arguments for the divinity of the Church. If the Catholic Church was not a divine institution it could never have survived the inefficiency of some of her rulers." (Pg. 213)
This book was written in, and for, a vastly different time than ours; still, its arguments may still interest modern students of Catholic apologetics.
May 13, 2025
Fr. Anthony Alexander provides a clear and concise argument for the existence of God (borrowing from Aquinas's 5 proofs), proving humans have souls, the authenticity of the Gospels, and demonstrating how the Roman Catholic Church is the true church that Jesus Christ left behind. Using the 4 marks from the Nicene Creed (One, Holy, Catholic (Universal), and Apostolic), Fr. Anthony Alexander pulls from scripture and backs up his claims with historical accounts, spanning from church fathers and even non-religious historians to prove his points.
While most of the contents of this book are questions which can quickly and easily be answered by one of the many Catholic apologists online, this book serves as a more in-depth look into the most important assertions of the Catholic Church. I found the charts provided at the end of some chapters great for summarizing, in brief, the link between the claims in the Gospel and how they were verified in history.
Overall an excellent book for Catholics to refresh their intellect on submitting to the truth of the faith, and for non-Catholics who want a concise and logical explanation for the historical authenticity the Catholic Church alleges.
While most of the contents of this book are questions which can quickly and easily be answered by one of the many Catholic apologists online, this book serves as a more in-depth look into the most important assertions of the Catholic Church. I found the charts provided at the end of some chapters great for summarizing, in brief, the link between the claims in the Gospel and how they were verified in history.
Overall an excellent book for Catholics to refresh their intellect on submitting to the truth of the faith, and for non-Catholics who want a concise and logical explanation for the historical authenticity the Catholic Church alleges.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews