Into catholicism

[Anonymous No.8628462]

My mother and her husband are protestants, and I've rejected christianity my whole life mostly because of them (or so I tell myself). Now I've come to believe in God, but I want nothing to do with protestantism. What's some good catholic literature about the bible? And how do I generally into Catholicism while living in Sweden and having no ties to any such church, with very little availability to attend mass? also tips on appropriate lit for my position?

tl;dr: catholic lit suggestions?

[Anonymous No.8628475]

>>8628462
>My mother and her husband
lol

>Now I've come to believe in God, but I want nothing to do with protestantism

lol why? You're rejecting what may be the best expression of your faith because of some Oedipus complex? Why not explore both Protestantism and Catholicism?

>how do I generally into Catholicism while living in Sweden and having no ties to any such church, with very little availability to attend mass?

You can't.

Honestly, this is where things fall apart in the modern day. The Catholic Church is moored in tradition, why on earth would you want to join a tradition you have no access to? Even choosing that particular tradition is modernist as to make conversion ridiculous, simply by coming to believe in God there's no logical reason why you should convert to Catholicism over, say, Orthodoxy or Mormonism or Pentecostalism, or even Islam or Advaita Vedanta.

[Anonymous No.8628477]

>>8628462
Introduction to Christianity by Joseph Ratzinger
Catholicism by Robert Barron

These two are great introductory works if you know little.

Jesus of Nazareth trilogy by Joseph Ratzinger is a great place to carry on with it.
The Jerusalem Bible is the one you want.
Graham Greene, Gene Wolfe, Flannery O'Connor, St. Augustine, St. Theresa of Avila and John of the Cross are worth looking into for fiction and spirituality.
For hardcore philosophy, Edward Feser, Alasdair MacIntyre, David Oderberg, Elizabeth Anscombe are great to see the contemporary perspective.
Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc provide interesting political theory and Chesterton has some of the best aphorisms around.

[Anonymous No.8628482]

>>8628475
Also, this person is full of shit.
To become Catholic you only need to find a local parish, ask to become a part of the Church.

A great author I forgot to mention, Shusaku Endo. He's a Japanese Catholic, serving as a great example of why this poster is full of shit.

[Anonymous No.8628485]

>>8628482
If you can't live within an organic community or even attend mass, what's the point of converting to Catholicism? Chin-stroking to yourself, satisfied in how you must have the right theology in your head? There are more interesting religions for that.

[Anonymous No.8628490]

>>8628475
edgy post, but has a point.

[Anonymous No.8628492]

How good is your English anon? I only know some books that are either in English or that I know are translated into English, but not sure if they've been translated into Swedish.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church is dry, but does list all the major doctrines of the Church in a clear and concise way. It's almost certainly available in Swedish.

Some books that may help kindle spiritual reflection and activity are 'Introduction to the Devout Life; by Saint Francis de Sales, 'The Imitation of Christ' by Thomas A Kempis. I'd also like to recommend you, if you're new to Christianity (like I was a few years ago), the book 'The Screwtape Letters' by C.S. Lewis. It's written by a Protestant, but most of his beliefs are basically Catholic. It's pretty easy-going and helps you wrap your head around a lot of the confusion and problems you might be experiencing at first.

This guy's >>8628477 recommendations are pretty solid. You'll probably want to get a lot of the basic knowledge about Catholicism from Robert Barron and stuff (I haven't read his book, but I watched his YouTube when I was inquisitive about Christianity) before Ratzinger's book, since that's incredibly dense - even in the original German.

Don't be shy about reading stuff from the Orthodox either, to add a bit of flavour to your reading. Seraphim Rose, the Desert Fathers, Dostoyevsky, The Way of a Pilgrim etc.

[Anonymous No.8628498]

>>8628477
Thanks anon, just what i'm looking for.
>>8628492
English is fluent. Will look into your recommendations.

[Anonymous No.8628499]

>>8628492
Dostoevsky had a seminal influence on my Catholicism, indeed, highly recommend.
But Solzhenitsyn is the true gem of Orthodoxy.
And I've never found Ratzinger to be hard. He's great and deep, but he's always clear and never overcomplicates things.
C. S. Lewis is imo far too simple and is in general a bad theologian and philosopher so his books need to be taken with a grain of salt.

[Anonymous No.8628506]

>>8628485
>not getting it

[Anonymous No.8628507]

Don't abandon Protestantism in reaction to a few people in your life. Don't start defining yourself and rejecting ideas without properly exploring Protestantism in its most reformed expression - the dreaded John Calvin! Seriously, you absolutely need to consider and interact with Calvinism and search for its arguments. It's way more important than you think it is. Look for James White's debates on Youtube.

[Anonymous No.8628509]

>>8628499
I agree about Lewis, that's why I recommended The Screwtape Letters above anything else he's written. From what I remember it's pretty agreeable and universal in every regard. Thanks for mentioning Solzhenitsyn, I knew I was forgetting someone - I've been wanting to read him for quite a while now.

Ratzinger's writing is good, but I just mean that there is so much information on every page of Intro to Christianity that it'll probably overwhelm someone completely new.

>>8628507
I would also agree with this anon in that you shouldn't reject Protestantism wholesale just because of bad personal experiences, but I think Protestantism is better understood if you already have a contextual understanding of Catholicism. It is, after all, a rejection of Catholicism.

[Anonymous No.8628512]

>>8628507
>>8628509
Yes. The logical decision would be to fully explore catholicism and then move on from there, if need be. Thanks.

[Anonymous No.8628517]

>>8628507
Agreed, protestantism should be abandoned because of the serious theological and philosophical errors which are the fundamental reason for the pathetic condition of the modern man.
>>8628509
Solzhenitsyn is superb. He's my favorite Russian writer atm, The Gulag Archipelago is the most monumental literary achievement of the century. It covers everything important and breeches the depths of the human soul in a few sentences.
It's also very interesting as far as legal theory goes, but that's a bit more specific.

[Anonymous No.8628565]

>>8628462

ah yes catholicism is by far the funnest version of christianity. love the masses, doing the rosaries and praying. more emphasised than in other parts of christianity. i prefer it alot more as well when mixed with charismatic worship too. perfect mix.

[Anonymous No.8628573]

>>8628507

desu i dont see why you cant include some (or in a modified way) protestant theology in your beliefs but also follow catholic traditions and culture.

[Anonymous No.8628582]

>>8628507
also, the calvinist god is sometimes made out to be a complete cunt

[Anonymous No.8628588]

>>8628582
Creating people knowing you will send them to hell when they can't do anything about it and be washed by Christ's blood is the biggest dick move anyone could even imagine.

[Anonymous No.8628598]

>>8628588
citations please

[Anonymous No.8628606]

>>8628598
Calvin denied free will.

[Anonymous No.8628613]

>>8628498
Also add in Ratzinger's (Pope Benedict's) encyclical Deus Caritas Est, "God is Love" too.

[Anonymous No.8628616]

>Tror på sagoböcker
skrattande slynor.jpg

[Anonymous No.8628619]

>>8628598
just look on wikipedia.

[Anonymous No.8628664]

>>8628616
>tippar på fedoran
stay basic

[Anonymous No.8628739]

Paul Mariani's works
Chesterton's works
Alasdair MacIntyre's works
Edward Feser's blog

[Anonymous No.8629059]

>>8628462
i think if you cant attend mass theres no point being a catholic. its the cornerstone of life. you should be going 5 times a week

[Anonymous No.8629062]

>>8628588
It's a shame that Catholicism teaches this too and just hides it in sophistic language.

[Anonymous No.8629076]

>>8629062
You got any source to back that up?
>>8629059
Low attendability isn't a complete absence. Once a week is good enough.

[Anonymous No.8629284]

>>8629076
ultimately in all versions of christianity, god can be construed as abit of a cunt, but calvinism is by far the worst in its implications for god because it suggests humans have no free will over sin so god basically pics and chooses before hand who is going to come to him. while catholicism believes you do have free will so its not as much of gods fault if you go to hell.

[Anonymous No.8629293]

>>8629076
yeah but if you want to get the full experience. you gonna be going to mass as much as possible, doing your morning, evening and night prayers occasionally, your rosaries and divine mercies, your meditations, your adorations and expositions and then your general prayers and bible readings on your own. mix some charismatic shit in there. perfect.

shame most catholic communities are dead and we dont have enough time in the day.

[Anonymous No.8629313]

>>8629293
not being able to practise catholicism in an optimal way has no bearing on wether you should be catholic or not.

[Anonymous No.8629319]

>>8628507
Calvinism is the GOAT denomination. None of that 'have your cake and eat it too' bullshit.

[Anonymous No.8629351]

>>8629313
yeah but then you might as well go to another part of christianity if its not fun.

[Anonymous No.8629358]

>>8629313
the only reason i think catholicism is the best because the wealth it has in ritual.

[Anonymous No.8629382]

>>8629284
Yes, I'm well aware of that. The anon before said that it's the same in Calvinism and Catholicism.
>>8629358
I find myself in its intellectual output much more than ritual. Literature and philosophy are what I find the most fulfilling. Mass and occasional eucharistc adoration is it for me as far as organised ritual goes, aside rosary with my family.

[Anonymous No.8630610]

>>8628475
>Even choosing that particular tradition is modernist as to make conversion ridiculous,

Can someone explain this part?