Why Do Catholics Worship Mary? is a Very Informative Book

Although rather short I found Why Do Catholics Worship Mary? very good for what it is meant to be an examination on the claim that Catholics when they ask Mary for her intercession are actually worshipping her and partaking in idolatry. This is a claim that many Protestants make, to this day. Some also claim that intercessionary prayer is unbiblical and unreasonable too. Well guess what? Gerard-Marie Anthony explodes those beliefs and proves just the opposite.

In a very clear writing style Anthony lays out the usual Protestant arguments in the first few chapters, then using the Old and New Testaments, shows how these arguments are just totally wrong.

I found this book just at a time when I had been noticing an increase in anti-Catholic sentiment on the Internet of late. While reading the comments below an article about the Shroud of Turin I found that many Protestants were writing the most diabolical offensive trash about the Catholic faith. It was really quite eye opening, at how little some so-called Christians actually know about the original Christian Church started by Jesus Christ.

As a Catholic I found this book insightful as to how some Protestants frame their beliefs in opposition to what the Bible says and the Catholic Church believes. I learned some interesting facts and some counter arguments by reading this book. The author also points out the many Biblical quotes that support the Catholic position and explain why the Protestant view is misguided. If members of other Christian faiths actually took the time to read this book they might learn something. I hope some do.

Anthony was the child of a mixed marriage, just like me, his father was Protestant and his mother Catholic. My father never made any of the wholly offensive claims that some members of various Christian sects do such as the pope is the anti-Christ, that the Catholic Church is a cult or that Catholics are sun worshippers, etc. These types of statements and claims are quite bizarre and they can get even more blasphemous and sac religious. My father after years of contemplation and of his own volition converted to Catholicism and by his example led me back to church.

I look forward to other books by Gerard-Marie Anthony.

I received a complimentary copy of Why Do Catholics Worship Mary? as a member of the Dorrance Publishing Book Review Team. Visit dorrancebookstore.com to learn how you can become a member of the Book Review Team.

The Life of Mary Mother of God and Praying the Rosary

The Life of Mary Mother of God and Praying the Rosary written by Catholic Robert Williams is a very good book that concisely details the life of the Virgin Mary and also instructs one on how to pray the Rosary.

This book is a "must have" for any faithful Catholic who wants to take his or her prayer life to the next level. It is a shame that so many Chritians of other denominations misunderstand Catholic understanding and theology. There are some who actually believe that Mary is worshipped as a goddess by Catholics! Perhaps Williams' book may shed some light on the truth of the matter.

Although all the information in the book appears to correctly follow the Churches understanding on Mary the mother of Christ, I wish that the author would have included notes or a more detailed listing of sources for the information included.

It is a good book none the less and I would suggest better than the book The Rosary written by the near Catholic heretic Garry Wills. I think this would be a good selection for study groups, CCD and RCIA programs.

I received a complimentary copy of The Life of Mary Mother of God and Praying the Rosary as a member of the Dorrance Publishing Book Review Team. Visit dorrancebookstore.com to learn how you can become a member of the Book Review Team.

The Adjustment Bureau - Imbecilic, Propagandistic Trash

This movie stars Matt Damon. Basically if you strip all the dressing of this film away, you get a very anti-religious film. And more specifically an anti-Christian film. I have no idea how well the story followed Philip K. Dick's work, but from what I know of Dick, he doesn't strike me as following any mainline Christian belief.

This movie has things that have "been called" angels acting more like demons interfering in human affairs. The doctrine of free will is thrown out and God, who is called a lot of "different names" acts more like a mafia thug dictating His or "her" plans. Even the supposed angels are mafia like with fedoras and dark suits.

This is what happens when people of no faith or people who are enmeshed with the tripe and filth of the New Age make movies about God or religion. They attack and try to impart their ignorant wisdom that all religions are the same. God is Jesus, Vishnu, and Buddha alike. Poppycock!

The end of the movie moves towards the core of satanism in fact. We are told that one day humans can be like gods. That's the same way lucifer thought, that he was a god and look what happened to him. Scientology makes similar claims.

Apart from being outrageously stupid and philosophically dangerous, the film is totally worthless. There is nothing of merit to recommend it. "It is nicely shot," is about the only good thing I can say, but trash nicely filmed isn't much of a recommendation.

The Apostle Paul: His Gospel Before the Gospels - A Review

The Apostle Paul: His Gospel Before the Gospels is a serious study of the writings of St. Paul by Daniel J. Theron. It is a well written and well thought out book although it is somewhat difficult to get through at times for it is written in an erudite fashion which can take some getting used to.

Dr. Theron's views and opinions on St. Paul and his writings are mostly of the Protestant vein, however, other ideas seem to be mostly his own and I'm not sure how other Christians would interpret these. For instance his belief that Paul was largely influence by Gnosticism.

The book itself is well made and fits a lot of print per page. A serious student of Christianity or St. Paul may be interested in reading Dr. Theron's interesting book.

I received a complimentary copy of The Apostle Paul: His Gospel Before the Gospels as a member of the Dorrance Publishing Book Review Team. Visit dorrancebookstore.com to learn how you can become a member of the Book Review Team.

My Travels and What I Have Seen: The Logbook of Arthur K. Long, 1875-1893

Although rather a short book at only 74 pages, it seems to be packed with interesting stories of Arthur K. Long's time at sea. In fact, the page formatting seems to allow for more words to a page then some books.

I am interested in history anyway and have enjoyed other autobiographical works and journals so this book caught my fancy. One sad story is how crew members caught a couple of birds which wouldn't eat what they were fed. Then one day the bigger bird devoured the smaller one. The tale ended sadly.

Anybody interested in tales of the sea should be interested in this little book which gives interesting first hand descriptions of life aboard a cargo ship and the ports of call.

I thank Long's grandson for publishing this book. Four out of five STARS.

I received a complimentary copy of My Travels and What I Have Seen: The Logbook of Arthur K. Long, 1875-1893 as a member of the Dorrance Publishing Book Review Team. Visit dorrancebookstore.com to learn how you can become a member of the Book Review Team.

An Honest Look at the Current State of Affairs Concerning Terrorism

The Fight of Our Lives: Knowing the Enemy, Speaking the Truth, and Choosing to Win the War Against Radical Islam is and honest look at the current state of affairs regarding America's response and rhetoric concerning terrorism. The authors Dr. William J. Bennett and Seth Leibsohn, I think make a clear argument that the United States has dropped the ball on its approach to combating terrorists and terrorism. It uses facts to back up their assertions. For instance, the Pentagon was actually inviting terror friendly Muslims as guest speakers. The use of labels and words have been repeated watered down and the U. S. government doesn't seem to realize that Muslim terrorists are actually the enemy.

What would World War II have been like if while we were engaged in a war with Nazi Germany we increased immigration from Germany? Did the libraries of the 1940s fill their shelves with Mein Kampf once we went to war with Hitler as the current American libraries have done with the Koran and Islamic studies after the September 11, 2001 attacks?

The current U. S. approach to fighting are enemies appears to be one of surrender. We have to state how much the U. S. respects Islam and that it is a religion of peace and only a few misguided individuals are the culprits. This, belief does not seem to be the case. Whole Islamic countries have intolerance and hatred for Jews and Christians; over 80 percent of American mosques are teaching so-called "radical" Islam. Imams in this country are actually backing the terrorists! The United States government is largely ignoring these facts, thinking that if they show how weak this country is we will placate our enemies. Could you imagine if we tried to placate Hitler and Stalin?

This is an excellent book and should be read by all. 5 out of 5 STARS!!!

I received a copy of this book for review from the Amazon Vine™ Program.

Lincoln and Darwin: Two Men Who Shaped the World

Lincoln and Darwin: Two Men Who Shaped the World by Robert L. Henn compares the lives of Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin, who were born on the same day, while alternating the biographies of each. It sounded like an interesting idea and to anyone who is interested in biographies, as I am, it might be worth a read. However, I feel that the reader is somewhat slighted, because we only get a very superficial biography of each person.

Not having read major biographies of either subject, Henn's outlines of their lives, isn't enough for me to really learn anything much about these two important historical figures. The writing style is somewhat simplistic too, easy to read, perhaps, but sometimes very boring. Henn is a biology teacher by profession, which may explain why the book doesn't read as well as I think it could.

I would ultimately say that Henn made a good try with his look at the lives of these two men, Darwin and Lincoln, but it somewhat falls flat because of the briefness of the study (the book only runs 124 pages) and the largeness of its subjects.

On the plus side, one can learn facts regarding these two important figures of history and it has many photographs, a bibliography and an index.


I received a free copy of this book for review from Dorrance Publishing.

I received a complimentary copy of Lincoln and Darwin: Two Men Who Shaped the World as a member of the Dorrance Publishing Book Review Team. Visit dorrancebookstore.com to learn how you can become a member of the Book Review Team.

Historically important work written by a literate and intelligent Harvard graduate!

Investigative reporter Dr. Jerome Corsi has surpassed himself in possibly one of the most important books in American history, Where's the Birth Certificate?: The Case that Barack Obama is not Eligible to be President. Despite the assertions that the Obama administration would be one of the most open, Obama has spent millions hiding his history. One question any reasonable person would ask is, "why?"

Corsi through three years of exhaustive research has answered that question with this well written treatise on American history, the meaning of some articles of the Constitution, discovering true facts about Barack Obama and punching a fatal blow to any delusions that Obama is eligible to be president.

This New York Times bestseller book is not only well written, it is all so very easy to read and to understand. Even most of the, "birther!" shouting liberals should be able to grasp the subject matter, if they try real hard. Since the birth certificate Obama personally released has been demonstrated to be a forgery by numerous methods, Obama can no longer claim to have proof that he was actually born in Hawaii, which would make his claim that because he was born in Hawaii he is eligible to be president, a very questionable one. Of course, on top of that blow to Obama's eligibility hopes, Obama is ineligible to hold the office of the United States presidency because he is not a natural-born citizen under the definition that Emerich Vattel wrote about in his 1758 book Law of Nations. This book was actually used by the Founding Fathers as they drew up the Constitution. Vattel stated, "The citizens are members of the civil society, bound to this society by certain duties, and subject to its authority; they equally participate in its advantages. The natives or natural-born citizens are those born in the country of parents who are citizens." Boom! Slam-dunk.

The book doesn't end, there it details on how Obama is a liar and a cheat. He is most likely using a Social Security number that he acquired by fraud. Any Democrat who wants to be taken seriously should read this book and do some soul searching as to whether you really want this complete fraud representing you and your party.

Bottom line is that Obama himself has taken part in a felony over and over again, most recently when he provided a poorly produced forgery as his long form birth certificate.

Portugal's Golden Years: The Life and Times of Prince Henry "The Navigator" by Carlos B. Carreiro

Carlos B. Carreiro's book, Portugal's Golden Years: The Life and Times of Prince Henry "The Navigator", appears to be a true labor of love. With a concise and easy prose he takes the reader through the life and explorations of Henry the Navigator.

When I received this book as part of the Dorrance review team, I literally had no expectations, but after I began reading I found it fascinating. I didn't know much about Henry the Navigator but after reading Carreiro's book, I feel that I have learned as much as I could about the subject.

I found it to be an interesting and informative biography in which Carreiro seems to leave no stone unturned. He explains, for instance, how and why figures like Henry and his father Pedro received their monikers. The book includes a rather large "Selected Bibliography" and even includes a listing of the years and latitudes of places visited by Henry. The book lacks an index.

I received a complimentary copy of Portugal's Golden Years: The Life and Times of Prince Henry "The Navigator" as a member of the Dorrance Publishing Book Review Team. Visit dorrancebookstore.com to learn how you can become a member of the Book Review Team.

Battle of the Piave: Death of the Austro-Hungarian Army, 1918 by David Raab

I was excited to find the book Battle of the Piave: Death of the Austro-Hungarian Army, 1918 by David Raab, published by Dorrance Publishing, because my grandfather was from Friuli, Italy and had told my mother how the Piave River had run red with blood during World War I. In fact, although my grandfather was Italian and born of Italian parents, he was actually born in Germany in 1903 where his father had been working. Because of this the Germans during World War I went looking for him to draft him into the German army. His grandmother, who threatened the Germans with a pitchfork and had a few choice words for them, hid my grandfather under the stairs of her house. He escaped and eventually emigrated to America.

The author David Raab's grandfather was actually in the Austro-Hungarian army and fought in the Battle of the Piave. This fact led him to write this excellent and interesting historical account. Although the book is slight compared to some military histories, it is packed full of historical information.

The book gives a brief account of the outbreak of the European war and what led up to the brutal warfare around the Piave. I found it fascinating and it is well illustrated with rare photographs of soldiers from both sides of the fight. The story is sad and exciting altogether.

It was about time that someone examined this oft forgotten bloody battle and wrote an interested and detailed acccount of this important event.

I recommend this unique book to anyone interested in military history, World War I and people whose ancestry come from the area of the Piava or took part in that battle. I further commend David Raab for his important work.

I received a free copy of this book for review from Dorrance Publishing.

I received a complimentary copy of Battle of the Piave: Death of the Austro-Hungarian Army, 1918 as a member of the Dorrance Publishing Book Review Team. Visit dorrancebookstore.com to learn how you can become a member of the Book Review Team.

Finding Our Way Again: The Return of the Ancient Practices, by Brian McLaren

I was very kindly given a review copy by Thomas Nelson of Brian McLaren's book Finding Our Way Again: The Return of the Ancient Practices, so that I could deliver an unbiased review. It is part of The Ancient Practices Series that Thomas Nelson has developed. I had assumed that the book would be about ancient Christian practices, but much mention was made of Islam and Judaism. Since, to me, Christianity is the culmination of Judaism I didn't mind some discussion of this religion, however, Islam, really has nothing to do with Christianity except to, maybe, be in opposition to it.

I know all this stuff about the three big religions all sharing commonalities is all the rage these days, but I am a Christian, a practicing Catholic and I frankly have no interest in Islam. When I knew very little about Islam and its culture, I was in happy ignorance. But quite frankly, the more I learn about Islam the more I find it a disturbing religion and one, that I believe, does not share the "same" God as the Old and New Testaments.

That being said, I found McLaren's writing style somewhat round about and meandering which made it difficult for me to read. Even though I am a Catholic I do read other Christian authors and thought that a discussion of the ancient practices would be interesting. It turned out to be different than I expected. I don't feel like I really learned about the ancient practices of prayer, fasting, etc.

I can't say that I came away with a lot of information and found it rather difficult to absorb due, I believe, mainly to McLaren's writing style.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”