Rome Sweet Home

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View books by Scott Hahn, Kimberly Hahn.

Should be read by Catholics!! - Rated
The Catholic Church has been blessed in recent times by the conversion of former Protestants. Blessed, because they come to the faith with a real appreciation of the splendour of truth. Scott and Kimberley are two such people. As a 'born and bred' Catholic I thank God for such converts. They are usually to be found working hard for the Church and being steadfast in their faith. This book ought to be read by Catholics too!!

A delightful and inspiring reading. - Rated
Conversion seems to be as much about a change in intellectual convictions as a change in life convictions. This book captures the couple's journey through both. It shows us that even with a clear intellectual conviction, it is the perfectly acceptable "small" things in life such as our family, our partner, our friends what makes conversion very hard. Like wolves in sheep's clothing.
While the book is interesting for non-catholics, it is a must-read for catholics that need to revamp their religious life. It reminds us that conversion should happen everyday and if we are not fighting, we are going backwards.
A delightful and inspiring reading.

Rome Sweet Rome? - Rated
Books change lives. I have no doubt that this book - about two changed lives - has in its turn changed many others. The traffic of defections within Christendom is mostly away from Rome. But it is by no means one way. Scott begins as a good old dyed-in-the-wool, Bible based, Catholic-bashing evangelical Christian. His credentials are impressive - an intelligent, well read, scholarly and an accomplished Bible student and teacher - and he ends up a committed Catholic, along with his wife Kimberley.

Is there any merit in his arguments? Has he taken me along with him?

Scott introduces by saying "the journey began as a detective story, but soon it became more like a horror story, until it finally ended up as a romance story- when Christ unveiled his bride, the Church". For me it was different. What begins as a detective story ("How, oh how can this happen???"), turns into a horror story as Scott, via discussions on contraception, scripture, the sacraments, accelerates steadily towards Rome. By the time the rosary beads come out and he begins to extol the sinless Virgin and the virtues of praying to saints on their feast days the story has, for me, turned into a tragedy.

There is one part of the book I identify strongly with. It is the devastation Kimberley went through when she felt unable to share close fellowship with her husband who had converted long before her into Catholicism and was trying to convert her. Scott himself said:

"The anguish we were experiencing in our marriage was similar to the sadness and the rending that happened through the Reformation and other schisms."

Hahn's early steps along the journey, at Bible College are over the issue of infant baptism, which he accepted and most of his contemporaries rejected. His next "discovery" is that the Catholics are quite possibly right about birth control. It was as recent as the 1930s that mainline Protestant denominations roundly condemned contraceptives. Scott here has a very strong point. Another issue is communion - as a Presbyterian pastor, he asserts that the elements are more than just symbols and celebrates as a regular, weekly event. I'm still with you, Scott.

The two "big ones" are "Sola Fide" and "Sola Scriptura". As a Prot, his logic seems to be that if these two cornerstones of the Reformation can be refuted, it should never have happened and the Catholics must have been right all along.

Sola Fide is the teaching that faith alone is required for salvation. Hahn argues - successfully for me - that this is not a scriptural teaching. Faith without works (James 2:24) and faith without love (1Cor 13:2) are denounced by scripture. For a committed Protestant, this is a huge issue, and it was enough to nudge Hahn still closer to Rome. For his wife, Kimberley - and for me - it was less decisive. The big issues for me were yet to come.

The issue of "sola scriptura", that scripture alone and not church tradition is our source of authority is a more interesting one for me. Is there an "official church" through whom God speaks, and can pronouncements be made from it that are decisive on issues of doctrine and practice?

Hahn argues, quite correctly that the Bible never quite says that it is our only authority. 2Timothy 3:16 begins, "All scripture...", not "Only scripture...". But then again how could it while it was "work in progress"? Then there is the question of who decided the canon of scripture? The Church of course! Who approved it? The Pope! When? 393AD. So for well over three centuries, the early church existed without an agreed New Testament. Hahn makes the point that scripture itself affirms tradition. 2Thessalonians 2:15, for example, says, "...stand firm and hold on to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter."

Has he taken me along with him on this one too? Not quite, and this is where I begin to part company with the author. The tradition that is talked about in Thessalonians and elsewhere is Apostolic tradition, i.e. that of the apostles who were with Jesus during his earthly ministry, plus Paul. This is where I put my cards on the table. There are two measuring sticks I use in assessing the validity of any Christian group.

1. Does it preach the same Gospel that the apostles taught? Paul, in Galatians, said, "Even if I, or an angel from heaven preaches a different gospel, let him be eternally condemned." He was certainly not slow to rebuke Peter himself (the first "Pope"), when he began compromising his message.

2. Does it produce good fruit? See Jesus' warning on false prophets in Matthew 7. To what extent is the Catholic church producing figs or thorns?

I would respond to Hahn's argument by saying that the early church was looking for Apostolic authority when deciding on the final canon of scripture. No church, no church, has the authority to bring in new teachings that were not that of the Apostles.

By now, the momentum carrying Hahn to Rome is irresistible. By the rosary beads come out - furtively for fear of his wife's reaction - and he waxes lyrical about the sinless Virgin Mary, I feel I am in the company of a stranger, not a brother. Then come the Saints Days. I feel like Paul, when he wrote to the Galatian church after being infiltrated by false teachers adding extra observances on to the simple grace of God.

"I feel I have wasted my time with you. You are celebrating special days and weeks and seasons and years" Galatians 4:10

The story reaches its climax as Kimberley finally reunites with hr husband, this time as a committed Catholic, and as Scott meets with the Pope. I, the reader, am simply left bemused and confused that none of the eminent Bible scholars in Scot's network have been able to talk him out of his drift towards "Rome Sweet Rome".

Theology is about life with God; it is not merely academic. - Rated
As a Catholic living the Christian life, I recognise the truth of Scott and Kimberly Hahn's struggle. It cannot be downgraded as merely the academic theology of an intellectual. Their book recounts an experience with God; a painful carrying of the Cross, filled with prayer. It is a first class presentation of two conversions, in which we learn so much about God, and the strength of Protestant fear of Christ's Church, the Catholic Church. Critics of the Hahns' conversion are outside the experience of Catholicism; therefore they cannot judge either Catholicism or the their conversion. Such judging is only an academic exercise for them. I plead with the critics to face the questions faced by the Hahns, with humble prayer. This book is an exceptionally good beginning. Why can't I give it 100 stars?

Wake up all Protestants!!!!! - Rated
This book ,written by a very devout protestant, is about questioning what Martin Luther taught. The author found out that what Luther taught was in direct conflict with Jesus's teaching and the teaching of St Paul, St James and logical common sense. It should be read by all protestants who are not afraid of learning the reality about Christianity. All the protestant churches are bound together by one belief - the hatred of Catholicism. The author comes to the certain conclusion that Catholicism is the only true religion . Sola Fide and Sola Scriptura were merely created by Luther and contradict Christianity on every single front.