A convert is someone who wasn’t born into the faith, but through various different avenues has wound up on the doorstep of the Church. These people come from many different backgrounds including various Christian denominations, Judaism, Islam, etc. But what makes this group special is that they have made the conscious decision to become Catholic.
Although the author, Patrick Madrid, is not a convert he has spent much of his life working with converts on Catholic radio through programs like Catholic Answers Live and EWTN’s Open Line. Surprised by Truth is a compilation of the stories of eleven converts who have come from many different faith backgrounds, but now find themselves members of the Church that Jesus Christ founded. Each story is unique.
An All-Star Roster
After a quick look at the table of contents you’ll realize that the testimonies in this book are the stories of some of the “heavy-hitters” in Catholic radio like Marcus Grodi, Jimmy Akin, Tim Staples, and Al Kresta. These and others tell their stories in detail and relate the theological, historical, and biblical truths that led them into the Catholic Church.
“Read these stories. They’re prayerful, heavy-on-doctrine, evangelical, scriptural witnesses of people who discovered that what they once thought was the most ‘unbiblical’ church is really the Church of the Bible.” ~ Scott Hahn
Catholic author and convert himself Dr. Scott Hahn wrote the foreword of the book explaining the importance of “telling the story of one’s conversion” and how it’s “been around as long as Christianity has.” Yes these stories are personal, but that’s what makes them powerful. They will touch your heart and I’m sure you might even relate to their struggle to find the truth.
Answers to Tough Questions
As Catholics we are often bombarded with questions from our non-Catholic Christian brothers and sisters about the teachings and practices of the Church. I’m sure you are strong in your faith and that you witness that to them, but sometimes there are questions that you just don’t seem to have answers for. That’s normal. These testimonies detail those hard-to-answer questions and each person explains how upon learning the truth about the Church drew them closer to Her loving arms.
Each story is between 20 and 30 pages long and it’s not a book that you have to sit down and read all the way through. I’m one of those guys who reads two or three books at a time—maybe that’s why I never seem to finish—and I read this one over the course of a few months. I’d pick it up off the shelf every once in a while and read another chapter. It’s a great gift for those people who can’t seem to stop asking you questions or attacking the Church. Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen put it best when he said:
“There are not more than 100 people in the world who truly hate the Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they perceive to be the Catholic Church.” ~ Fulton J. Sheen
In true Patrick Madrid spirit I’d ask you to “Pick up this book at your local Catholic bookstore,” but I found my copy browsing the shelves of my neighborhood thrift store. I guess I could honestly say I was Surprised by Truth. Purchase “Surprised by Truth” from Amazon.com