Bad Shepherds: The Dark Years in Which the Faithful Thrived While the Bishops Did the Devil's Work - Couverture souple

Bennett, Rod

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 1622827147 ISBN 13 : 9781622827145

Editeur : Sophia Institute Press, 2018

Synopsis

Ever since the days when Jesus’ own treasurer, Judas Iscariot, had his hand in the till, the Good Shepherd has always been served by Bad Shepherds. From Eusebius of Nicomedia, who tried to sell the Church to the Roman Empire in the 4th century; to Pope Stephen VII, who so hated his predecessor that he had him dug up, put on trial, and flung into the Tiber; to Benedict XIII who bought (and sold!) the papacy twice; to Pope Alexander VI whose debauched lifestyle resembled that of Caligula, ordinary Catholics have all too often kept the Faith…for leaders who fiddled while Rome burned.Now, Church history specialist Rod Bennett, whose Four Witnesses: The Early Church in Her Own Words has become a modern classic of Catholic apologetics, opens up these dark chapters—for a surprisingly inspiring purpose. “It’s my paradoxical conviction that if more of us realized just how bad the shepherds really can get—and have gotten throughout history—we might, for lack of surprise, be better fortified when these new Judases turn up in our own day. Babes in the woods often lose faith after discovering too suddenly that they’ve actually been wandering in a fool’s paradise. In just the same way, many lifelong Catholics, lulled to sleep by the relative infrequency of a John XII or an Archbishop Cranmer in recent times, may be too likely to expect their ministers to be living saints, rather than cherishing the real saints for how precious and few such beings really are.”

A propos du livre

À propos de l'auteur

Rod Bennett was the editor of Wonder Magazine. His writings have appeared in other national publications as well, ranging from Rutherford and Gadfly to Catholic Exchange and Our Sunday Visitor. His first book, "Four Witnessess; The Early Church in Her Own Words," is a best seller from Ignatius Press. His first novel, "The Christus Eperiment" was published in November 2012.

À propos de la quatrième de couverture

Shocked to find corruption widespread in the ranks of their shepherds today, too many good Catholics are tempted to leave the Church, unaware that ever since the days when Jesus' own treasurer, Judas Iscariot, had his hand in the till, the Good Shepherd and His faithful followers have regularly been betrayed by bad shepherds.

In these eye-opening pages, Church historian Rod Bennett introduces a number of those bad shepherds, including Bishop Eusebius of Nicomedia, who regularly sold out the Church to the Roman emperor; Pope Stephen VII, who so hated his late predecessor that he had him dug up, put on trial, and flung into the Tiber; Benedict IX, who bought and sold the papacy (twice!); and Pope John XII, whose debauchery rivaled that of the corrupt emperor Caligula.

Those were very bad shepherds indeed, but while they did the Devil's work, good Catholics not only survived "¬‚¬" they thrived.

They outlasted their bad shepherds, preserved in their ranks the Faith of our fathers, and served in each instance as the foundation for a cleansing of the House of God and a vigorous renewal of the Faith.

These enlightening pages demonstrate that it can happen again!

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Sophia Institute Press
• Date d'édition: 2018
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 1622827147
• ISBN 13: 9781622827145
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 160
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible