Following up from the last post, here are the Catholic books:
Early Christian Writings
Any set of the apostolic fathers will do. I have the one published by Penguin books. I make use of it as much as possible. They’re really good apologetic tools against Islam since Islam claims that Christ and his disciples were Muslims. Obviously that’s not the case.
The History of the Church by Eusebius
More evidence that the earliest Christians weren’t Muslims. Eusebius is the most important historical book regarding the early Church after the book of Acts. It really gave me an appreciation for apostolic succession. This part of Church history is unique because it goes up right until the Council of Nicaea. Nicaea was the first ecumenical council. This is an era of the Church where an ecumenical council was unthinkable. We take ecumenical councils for granted but in this time period they had to get along without them.
Ecclesiastical History of the English People by Venerable Bede
I only read this for the first time a few months ago but I use it constantly. It gives a portrait of how the English Church looked. It wasn’t the Church that the Tudor family thought it was restoring. It was the Church that they were overthrowing.
These three titles are available online if need be. There are many sites that carry them. In additional to my physical copies I use websites that carry them as well. The following books will need to be purchased.
The Chronicle of Theophanes by St. Theophanes the Confessor
This book records church events from 602 to 813 AD. In this area we see the Roman-Sassanid war, the rise of Islam, and the iconoclast controversy. My favourite part of the book is when it talks about the 717 AD siege of Constantinople and how they dedicated their victory to the Blessed Virgin since the Muslim army withdrew on the feast of the Assumption.
Not by Bread Alone by Robert Sungenis
After reading this book, there is no reason to doubt the physical presence of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. His exegesis of the scriptures is point on. He goes into the original languages and also tells us about the nature of sacrifice. To put the icing on the cake he has a very in-depth patristic analysis on what the early Church believed on this issue.
The Case for Jesus by Brant Pitre
Today the enemies of Jesus Christ are reading the works of Bart Ehrman. People like Ijaz Ahmad and Zakir Hussain read Ehrman’s books and uncritically accept their conclusions. Of course only if it helps Islam. If Ehrman disagrees with Islam his views suddenly become worthless in their eyes. Still, this book really takes down a lot of the propaganda that Ehrman is putting out. He really shreds the whole “Gospels are anonymous” myth.
Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary by Brant Pitre
Of all the books that I’ve recommended this is probably the most recent one that I’ve read. Pitre shows us that Mariology isn’t just taking Luke 1:28 and blowing it out of proportion. The typology in the OT is critical. He also gives support for Mariology from the early Church.
Some months ago, on your recommendation, I bought and read Brant Pitre’s “Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary”. It was a very stimulating and revealing read. It is something I intend to read again, more carefully, when I have the time. I can recommend it.