Catholicism: East of Eden – A Review by Dominic Stockford

Although I, being an ex-Roman priest, ‘know all this stuff’, I still found this book fascinatingly presented. And although I have a copy of the first edition, I didn’t find this second edition a let-down. It has been brought up-to-date well, with references to the latest difficulties to have surfaced within the Church of Rome made clearly and sensibly. And because the one thing Richard Bennett does not allow himself to indulge in is hyperbole, the presentation is calmly made. There is a lot that needs to be learnt by most Christians about Rome and its claims – this book will prove a very worth-while starting point.

Of course, members of the Church of Rome may well still object to the book, and cavil and carp at what is written in it about issues such as celibacy, the priesthood, and the consequences of the two together. But because of the way the facts are presented, in a calm and thoughtful manner, objectors will not simply be able to write this book off as ‘the work of a bigot’. In fact, with the extensive and detailed quotations from Rome’s own literature, and the clear comparisons with the teaching of Scripture, this book would probably be read by quite a lot of Roman Catholics. It would certainly be worth trying it out, by giving a copy to some of them. And don’t worry about the price, it is not exorbitant for a book of such significance and with such considerable content.

With eighteen chapters (ranging from an explanation of the infallibility of the Word, through to more practical chapters which use personal experience to show Rome’s weaknesses and lies), and four appendices (covering Scripture, ecclesiology, and giving a comparison between the Catholic Catechism and the Bible), I heartily recommend this book. If you have enough boldness (Acts 4:29), then I suggest that you might like to buy a copy and present it to your local Roman Catholic priest. He may not accept it gladly, but then as Scripture reminds us, God is able to do so much more than we ask or think, so such an action may be filled with blessing beyond our imagining!

Dominic Stockford is Minister of Christ Church, Teddington, London.

Taken with permission from Protestant Truth, November-December 2010.