Asymmetric Books and Literature

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Catholicism, 3rd Edition (Complete Idiot's Guide to) by Ph.D., Bob O'Gorman, M.A., Mary Faulkner

Like most Catholics raised in a Catholic country (Mexico), my wife knows very little about Catholicism. I could have waited for Barack Obama to start some kind of Catholicism Head Start program, but I decided to go out and buy a book instead. I picked up the Idiots Guide to Catholicism.

I'm not very impressed with the book. It handles the basics- the seven sacraments, Mary, etc., albeit in a sometimes inappropriately jokey manner ("Is it 'real' [presence] or is it Memorex"), but adds a good amount of political commentary, some of which is actually against church teaching and some of which is just fashionable nonsense.

In particular, TIG sees the Church's history the same way as liberals see American history- as deeply flawed, as having made considerable progress (more liberal), but with much farther to go. Specifically, the Church has become less "Eurocentric" and needs to ordain women. Well, the Church started in Africa and has always tried to evangelize "non-whites" and propagate its universal morals, and ordination of women isn't a matter of "exclusion" or "patriarchal power" or "rules made when people thought the world was flat" (nobody thought the world was flat) so much as following the example of Jesus (who only chose men). In any case, the matter is settled.

More troubling is the commonly held idiocy that Europeans ruined a beautiful American civilization, you know the one without the wheel or writing already in decline with the cannibalism and human sacrifice, slavery and stuff (The Church protected Indians.).

It also has beautiful things to say about liberation theology, the Marxist-derived nonsense officially condemned by the Church.

From harmful nonsense like LT, The Idiot's Guide goes on to praise the puerile foolishness of "women's Asian, black, Latino theology." Now that's inclusive- a bunch of exclusionary theologies-one for each group.

I can go on and on. TIG assumes that rituals don't help the religious ("Maybe they just listen to the words"). TIG reads both more and less than it should into Vatican II. No mention of the devil.

TIG does teach about the Catholic Church, but adds too much liberal and mildly anti-Catholic commentary for it to be a strict guide. The jokes are unfunny and it's overall effect is to make the reader not think it very important to be Catholic. In other words, it's not a book you'd give somebody to strengthen their faith or to educate a potential convert. It wouldn't even be one to give somebody wanting to objectively know official Catholic teaching.