Ron’s #23: Rome Sweet Rome by Scott and Kimberly Hahn

My friend recommended this book about a Protestant’s journey to Catholicism, as I am a former Catholic (as she is as well). I was interested in understanding the reasons for such a conversion. Overall, the subject of the book was an interesting read. I was impressed with Scott Hahn and his voracious study of theology and discussions with friends. He appears to be an intriguing fellow. The book itself is poorly written, even painful at times. [e.g. “I began to see that every time Kimberly and I performed the marital act, we were doing something sacred” (28).] But, I won’t let that cloud the discussion.

I see his transition marked by three main points of doctrine. 1.) Scott started with a change of mind about infant baptism and birth control. Both of those issues, not exclusively Catholic doctrines, caused a shift in his thinking. 2.) From there, he became convinced that sola scriptura (Scripture alone is authoritative) is unbiblical. 3.) Mary’s role in the life of a Christian was the biggest and final hurdle before becoming a Catholic.

If true, these three points should make us all Catholics. If infant baptism removes original sin, if Scripture does not have final authority in truth and doctrine, and if Mary prays for us and we pray to her, then it is crystal clear that we do exactly what the Hahns have done. However, I don’t think it is so.

Infant Baptism: While there are some solid Protestant churches that baptize infants as a mark  of entering into the covenantal community, they do not believe that it removes sin as Catholics believe. Throughout the book of Romans, we see the sin of Adam still present. Galatians makes the connection of the sin of Adam and the grace that comes through Jesus, our second Adam. Neither book mentions baptism as a way to wash away the sin as a baby.

Sola Scriptura: In order for the Catholic Church to be true, one cannot believe in sola scriptura. Catholics need to have a higher authority than the Bible– the Catholic Church. I’m surprised that more people do not have a problem with this. Given these two, which is more trustworthy and authoritative? Scott Hahn dismisses sola scriptura with a mere “it’s not in the Bible.” However, Galatians warns, “I (Paul) am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.” It does not take much work to show that the Catholic Church is adding something more to the gospel already offered.

The Veneration of Mary: Scott addressed how difficult it would be to cross this bridge, but then he offered some strange analogy about mothers and sons, and somehow he crossed it. He then proudly prayed his rosary. This is one of the most troubling parts of Catholicism, and I cannot see how it is not either other gods and/or idolatry. If you pray to someone dead or resurrected or floating out in space somewhere, you deify it. Ask Mary to pray to Jesus for you seems– pardon my candor– ridiculous. Jesus is our Mediator between the Father and us. We do not need Mary as a mediator between us and the Mediator (yes, that is a confusing sentence). Jesus became a man in order to serve that role, and He did it just fine, thank you. “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). No Mary. No St. James. No Nobody Else.

My biggest concern for the book is not that he left Protestantism for Catholicism; in fact, I enjoyed reading about it. Instead, I did not like his criticisms of Protestants and then never offering a clear justification (oops…I shouldn’t use that word in this context!) of the Catholic view. He must give clear views of why sola scriptura is “unbiblical” or why we ought to pray to Mary and the saints. He merely tells us that he became convinced of it, and then his wife followed. There must be more to his argument, especially about these important matters.

From the book, I see that Scott Hahn is an intelligent man, an insatiable reader, and an eager student of theology. However, he seems to use these facts in place of actual arguments why Catholicism is a better picture of Christianity than what Protestant offers. Rather than giving clear, powerful, and biblical arguments, Hahn only gives us pictures of smart men becoming Catholics. That is not logic; it is a logical fallacy (appeal to authority). Be honest…after reading this, are you more swayed by his solid arguments making the case, or are you impressed that a smart, learned man and his friends chose to be Catholics?

I had a personal interest in this story beyond just being a former Catholic. Scott Hahn was a Reformed Protestant Christian who moved to Catholicism at the same time that I began my own switch from Catholicism to Reformed Protestant Christianity. We passed each other in the aisle, I suppose.

I’m not sure what your interest is in Catholicism or Protestantism or even Christianity. I would say that if you have read Rome Sweet Home, you owe it to yourself to see the other side of the argument. Check out John Stott’s Basic Christianity or J. I. Packer’s Knowing God. These are both good places to start. Of course, the Bible is the main text. Read Galatians or Romans or Colossians today keeping what you know about Catholicism in mind. How well does it match with what you are reading?

I guarantee that neither Stott nor Packer uses the phrase “performed the marital act” in his book. That counts for something, right?

Facebook comments:


3 Comments

  • June 24, 2010 - 5:03 am | Permalink

    Good review Ron… I’m glad I don’t need to read this book now…

  • Meghan
    June 24, 2010 - 7:26 am | Permalink

    Mark ~ You’re a terd. Ron ~ You’re a great and wise friend. Thanks for the review.

  • June 25, 2010 - 11:25 pm | Permalink

    “Scott Hahn was a Reformed Protestant Christian who moved to Catholicism at the same time that I began my own switch from Catholicism to Reformed Protestant Christianity. We passed each other in the aisle, I suppose.”

    I can see how this would make the book interesting to you. Anyway, I’m always curious about faith conversions, so I may read it. Thanks for the warning about “the marital act.”

  • Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>

    Facebook Like Button for Dummies