Theology for Beginners

it grabs your interest in theology, easy to read..

One of the best books I've ever read on what we believe as Catholics, hands down! Super readable for those not already schooled in theological jargon. The first few chapters on the existence of God completely changed the way I think about this topic and my ideas on living in the presence of God. If you're on the fence about whether to buy this book, just do it! You won't be disappointed. My only complaint is that I want more!

I'm sorry to say it, but I suspect an awful lot of people have zero interest in reading Catholic theology, and I don't mean because they think it will be written over their heads. However, anyone who does have such an interest should not only seriously consider buying this book, but also any other book by Frank Sheed as well. This man understood his subject to perfection, and to say he had a knack for explaining it clearly to any audience does not do justice to an author who learned and honed his apologetics skills from years of successfully meeting all comers from atop a soap box in London's Hyde Park. This short book, like his other short work, Map of Life, sticks to the point and is a sheer delight to read. His longer works are the same, but obviously demand a more sustained commitment. Pick any Frank Sheed book on Amazon, click on his name, then follow the link to Amazon's Frank Sheed page to look over his many books. I had an excellent Catholic education from kindergarten through university, from Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur to Jesuits, no less. I even had as a spritual advisor a quintessential Jesuit who was a priest and a geologist of such accomplishment that he spent the Geophysical Year(1957-58)at Antarctica. I tell you this: I have truly never seen Catholic theology explained with a clarity comparable to that of Frank Sheed. Read and reread him with great profit and great pleasure.

This book, 'Theology for Beginners' by Frank Sheed, is recommended by Daniel Burke in his book, 'Navigating the Interior Life: Spiritual Direction and the Journey to God', as being part of the needed preparation before beginning spiritual direction. Being a relatively recent convert to Catholicism I'm hungry for spiritual instruction, but I also remember a "beginning" course in theology taken at a Protestant college many, many years ago! So with some degree of trepidation I bought this book... and then was delighted to find Sheed's presentation both easy to understand and enjoyable to read.This book is an excellent source for studying dogmas of the Church, but it is not, however, a book to be read straight through. As the author eloquently stated, "This book is not planned as a hand-gallop over the field of revelation... Slow careful thinking... will pay dividends later." So I agree with, and pass on, this suggestion: read a portion, let it roll around in our heads for a while, make it our own, then read some more another time. Just don't give up!I'm glad I came across the recommendation for this book, and I certainly pass that recommendation along to others.

I am new to the Church (less than 12 months) and English is my second language (I am really new to the Theology and I hope my below comments make sense).This is really a well written book to cover the very difficult topics without using metaphysical terms and definitions such as matter/ form, substance/ accident, essence/ existence, etc... For example, the explanation of "person" (soul and body) or the transubstantiation are nicely explained without using such technical terms. It covers a lot of important topics, and the chapters are logically arranged so that the earlier chapters will support later chapters. Each chapter topics can be further studied by reading more specific books. This book helped me better understand the same topics covered by the Catechism of the Catholic Church.It's about 240 pages long, and I was able to read the whole thing during my 5-day travel to Mexico (and I am a very slow reader!). I know I will have to re-read many chapters again to better understand the contents not because of how it is written but because of many topics are covered in this book.

The chapters where he discusses the holy Trinity, I had to read and re-read about 5 times to finally get a grasp. I have highlighted and underlined all over the place. I even got up late at night and started drawing a graph of the lesson where it talks about grace, sanctifying grace, theological virtues, moral virtues, gifts of the spirit. If you really want to understand the faith, take the time to read this over and over, and be persistent. You'll get it. This stuff is deeper than the superficial knowledge of the Church. It's written to deepen your understanding of your soul, not for entertainment. Never knew people are the only ones who's souls are spirits. It took me a year to get through this 186 page book. I will definitely re-read, now that I have some understanding. I think I'll get even more the second time I read this book. I feel I can now read other books with a deeper understanding of the faith.

We are using this book in our men's group to read and discuss. It is working out great and gives us plenty of fuel for our discussions.Well written and has a tendency to pull you in like a novel. Has given me great insight to my walk of faith.

Excellent book! I find myself going back to it again and again. It was not easily understood by me at first. Whenever I encounter a new idea, a new twist on something, or something I never knew or understood before, I get excited and tend to start reading ahead faster, thinking there will be a fuller clarification. However, in so-doing, I miss exactly what I was looking for! However, reading slower and stopping to think about what I read solved the problem. I also make sure my phone is nearby to lookup things online I don't fully understand.

I bought this book because I write detective fiction and my next book features a Catholic Priest as one of the main characters. I wanted to make sure that I did not allow him to say anything that would not be compatible with Catholic Theology. As a Methodist Local Preacher, I was also interested to see what differences that are between Catholic and liberal Protestant theology. While I did not agree with everything, I found that Catholic theology, as portrayed here, is a lot closer to my own opinions than, say, Conservative Evangelical or Calvinist theology. I also had confirmed my beleif that much of what is said (by a minority of Protestants) about Catholic superstition and idolatory is completely wrong and rthe result of fundamental misunderstandings.

This is an excellent read. Sheed has the rare talent of using few words to achieve maximum clarity. The book is structured in such a way that it is useful both for the uninitiated reader and those looking to clarify and declutter their own understanding of Catholic teaching. A big plus is that Sheed not only presents the material point by point but rather actively guides the reader along, inviting them to pause and let the truths sink in, re-read certain passages later in the book and read various chapters of sacred scripture to aid understanding. This is a must read for any Catholic who wants to set out along the path to truth, and I also highly recommend it for any other Christian or non-Christian who may be looking for a clear and consistent exposition of the core beliefs and teaching of the Catholic faith.

This book highlights my own complete lack of knowledge of theology. I thought I had a much better grasp on the subject considering I'm a 52 years old cradle practicing catholic. Great read but very demanding - I bad to re-read many chapters.

The author has achieved a truly remarkable feat of unraveling the Church's doctrines to a wider audience. He demonstrates with clear, unjargoned language, as well as thoughtful argument, the mysteries of the Faith. A must read for anyone wanting to gain a litlle more understanding of Who they believe in and worship.

I wanted to go deeper into my Christian faith so looked for a book to help. For the most part this book did the job but some parts were still difficult to grasp. I did not know when I started that the book was about the Catholic faith but this did not detract from the enjoyment.