Catholic Apologetics Guidebook

Miscellaneous

Topics on This Page:

Miracles
Anti-Catholicism
"Spiritually Dead" Catholics

This page contains topics which don't neatly fit into any of the other top-level categories on this site.

Miracles

The resources in this section deal with miracles in general, and with specific miracles, as indications of the truth of the Catholic faith.

Articles:

• CUF Faith Facts: Above and Beyond - The Church's Teaching on Miracles (A slightly shorter version of this article with nicer font formatting can be found here.)
• Miracles by Peter Kreeft
• Do You Believe in Miracles? by Fr. Peter Stravinskas
• The Church's Attitude Toward Miracles by Fr. Peter Stravinskas
• Evidence for the Resurrection of Christ by Peter Kreeft
• Did the Resurrection Actually Happen? by Dinesh D'Souza
• The Miracle of Lanciano by Fr. William Saunders
• Marian Miracles by Fr. Robert Fox

Books:

• Miracles by C. S. Lewis
• Eucharistic Miracles by Joan Carroll Cruz
• Mysteries Marvels Miracles: In the Lives of the Saints by Joan Carroll Cruz
• Relics: The Shroud of Turin, the True Cross, the Blood of Januarius... History, Mysticism, and the Catholic Church by Joan Carroll Cruz
• Miraculous Images of Our Lord by Joan Carroll Cruz
• Miraculous Images of Our Lady: 100 Famous Catholic Statues and Portraits by Joan Carroll Cruz
• The Incorruptibles: A Study of the Incorruption of the Bodies of Various Catholic Saints and Beati by Joan Carroll Cruz

Video:

• Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead? A Critical Examination of the Facts about the Resurrection of Jesus (DVD)

Anti-Catholicism

Anti-Catholicism can be hard to define.  Obviously, mere disagreement with Catholic doctrine does not constitute anti-Catholicism.  I would say that in general, anti-Catholicism is characterized by one or more of the following:

• A seemingly disproportionate and overly negative focus on the Catholic Church.
• Excessively harsh comments regarding the pope, bishops, priests, or the Catholic Church as a whole, such that most people would consider those same comments to be offensive, or even bigoted, if the comments were directed at some other religious or non-religious organization.
• The propagation of falsehoods, half-truths, or innuendo about Catholic doctrines, practices, or history, for the purpose of portraying Catholicism in a negative way.

I think that in most cases of anti-Catholicism, the root cause is a difference of belief which may be held in good conscience, or prejudices and falsehoods which have been passed on in churches, in families, or in the popular culture.  Thus it is not my intent to judge the motives of those who may engage in anti-Catholicism, but instead to provide resources which refute their erroneous claims.

In addition to the resources listed below, more resources refuting anti-Catholic claims can be found on other pages of this site, under the topical headings which correspond to each specific claim.  For example, refutations of anti-Catholic claims regarding history (e.g., distorted accounts of the Inquisition or of the Crusades) can be found on the History page of this site.

Articles:

• Catholic Answers: The Anti-Catholic Bible
• Catholic Answers: Anti-Catholic Whoppers
• Catholic Answers: Catholic "Inventions"
• Catholic Answers: More Catholic "Inventions"
• Catholic Answers: Hunting the Whore of Babylon
• Catholic Answers: The Whore of Babylon
• Pope Fiction: Answers to Five Myths and Misconceptions About the Papacy by Patrick Madrid – This article skillfully refutes the following five "pope fictions":  (1) Peter was not the first pope, (2) Peter was never in Rome, (3) the papacy is a medieval invention, (4) there was a "Pope Joan" in the Middle Ages, and (5) the pope is the beast spoken of in Revelation 13.
• The History of Anti-Catholicism by Jimmy Akin
• A Brief History of No-Popery
• Catholic Conspiracy Theories by Robert Lockwood

Books:

• Pope Fiction: Answers to 30 Myths and Misconceptions About the Papacy by Patrick Madrid
• Catholicism and Fundamentalism: The Attack on "Romanism" by "Bible Christians" by Karl Keating
• The New Anti-Catholicism: The Last Acceptable Prejudice by Philip Jenkins

"Spiritually Dead" Catholics

G.K. Chesterton once said that the best argument against Christianity is Christians, meaning that many Christians, or nominal Christians, unfortunately give a poor example of their faith.  A similar argument is sometimes made against the Catholic Church by Evangelical or Fundamentalist Protestants, who wonder how the Catholic Church could be the true church founded by Christ, if so many Catholics whom they have met seem very lukewarm in their faith.  Obviously, the best answer to this question is not an explanation, but rather for us Catholics to start providing a better witness.  But for those who want an explanation, the following article by Gary Hoge, of the late great Catholic Outlook web site, provides some food for thought.

Articles:

• How Can Catholicism Be True When Catholics Are So Dead? by Gary Hoge