Apologia pro Vita Sua (Penguin Classics)

Every conversion story seems to adhere to common themes. One of those is entailed in the story of David confronted by the prophet Nathaniel in Nathaniel's accusation, "You are that man!" John Newman's experience was not far removed. He set out to study the development of Christian doctrine with the intent of disproving heretical elements in his denomination and, in the process, found himself to be a heretic as well. His own position was indefensible in light of church history. With each heresy in history he found himself on the side of heresy. No, not because his beliefs were unorthodox but because he found himself challenged by the church that demanded the heretical groups defend their challenge to the authority of the church. He was not at odds with church doctrine so much as he was with church authority. And he realized the common denominator of all heresies was just that - a challenge to the teaching authority of the church. All heresy came down to the same question, who had the final authority to define heresy? And any organization or individual who claims that authority, without the legitimate credentials of the church, is by definition, a heretic. Dr. Newman began to identify himself in every heresy he encountered in church history and the conclusion was apparent. No matter the cost, no matter the humiliation and criticism it might evoke, there was only one choice for him. He had to return to the mother church and turn away from kicking against her authority. His monumental and definitive historical study, An Essay On The Development Of Christian Doctrine , resulted in his now famous quip, "To be deep in history is to cease to be Protestant." Dr. Newman's writing style is sometimes complex and difficult to follow. But this conversion story provides a depth of self-examination unmatched by many others. It follows several trails to the same destination at one time in explaining how conversion is seldom a one-track development of thought in a single moment of discovery. His conversion, like most conversions, was one that developed over time and even against his will in many ways. It is the study of a man increasingly challenged by his own presuppositions and the internal contradictions they revealed in his core beliefs. What is of particular interest is his conclusion that there are only two destinations - Catholic or Atheist - and that Protestantism, therefore, is nothing more than an expression of early development in Atheism. Or, more simply, Atheism is the logical and inevitable conclusion of Protestantism. The thoughts behind that conclusion are subtle and beyond the scope of a simple review so you will want to read it for yourself to see how that develops. It is a road many have taken but few have dissected in such exacting detail. This is certainly a must read for anyone in the Anglican traditions. It is an enjoyable and challenging read for any Protestant.

I am here reviewing the Dover Giant Thrift paperback edition, which I highly recommend. I note this as this review may show up under some other edition. The Dover paperback is priced at $5 US on the back, and is over 300 pages. It's a very clean reprint of the 1908 Longmans and Green British edition, and includes numerous notes and letters in the back, as well as Kingsley's attack on Newman, which prompted his apology. I became curious about Newman because so many people mention him on "The Journey Home", a show on EWTN, as being instrumental in their spiritual journeys. Also, there's a video of Malcolm Muggeridge in which he and his wife, Kitty, are reading Newman aloud MALCOLM MUGGERIDGE Also, the Newman centers for Catholic students at universities are named for Newman (although it conveniently sounds like New Man). What I did not think is that this book would be easy reading, as most works from 170 years ago are not. The back cover remarks of Newman's "flowing prose and conversational style", and believe it or not, it's true. This is one of the most delightful books I've read in a long time. I knew very little about the Anglican controversies mentioned, but Newman reveals more about them as the book goes on. Also, the names and places are all unfamiliar, but they also are in a fantasy novel. It will sound odd, but this book reads like science fiction, not in the sense of unfolding a plot or story, but because of the imaginative way in which Newman writes, and his felicitous turns of phrase. For that reason, when he drops in a slogan of his day which his contemporary readers would understand, those are so dated that it rarely makes his point clearer now. There are a few brief Latin quotes, not translated into English, but other than that, it's quite smooth going. Every now and then he lifts into amazing prose like this idea of the Catholic Church as "a vast assemblage of human beings with wilful intellects and wild passions, brought together into one by the beauty and Majesty of a Superhuman Power-- into what may be called a large reformatory or training school, for the melting, refining and moulding, by an incessant, noisy process, of the raw material of human nature, so excellent, so dangerous, so capable of divine purposes." This book makes Newman's views very clear. Why he became Catholic (and resisted doing so for so long); his attempts to chart a Via Media (Middle Way) in the Anglican Church, and how, in his view, he failed; his part in the Tractarian Movement, and the resulting controversies. The irony is that he didn't want to be followed or imitated, but after he converted to Rome, a great many Brits followed him into the Catholic Church.

This was written as a sort of defense, not of the faith, but of the actions of the author, John Henry Newman. One wonders why he would feel compelled to write such an account. His writings in this volume not only reveal the misunderstandings surrounding his activities as a part of the Oxford Movement, but his own inner turmoil. Was he simply a churchman with an innocent change of heart, or was there something more sinister going on in the background? Was he truly going through an inner transition to Rome, or was he already anti-Reformation? The reader can form their own opinion. Because Newman spills quite a bit of ink detailing why he said this or that, it can become quite tedious, while the reader is trying to figure out why his treatises on lying or on "economy" is germain. My suggestion to those interested in reading this is to begin at the end. Start by reading the letter of Charles Kingsley, inconveniently placed at the end of the book. This will give you the necessary contextual prerequisites to understanding what it is Newman is defending himself from.

Cardinal John Henry Newman explains his journey from defending and explaining the Anglican Church (to resist becoming Catholic) until that position became untenable. Explains why The Middle Way became impossible for him to believe.

Cardinal Newman's journey from Anglicanism to the Roman Catholic Church cannot be told better than in his own words. Yet, in his own words, one must read slowly to get the style firmly in mind. Once done, the light of his words shines poetically and clearly. He is a man of great ability and devotion and worthy of hearing no matter how one feels about Anglicanism or Catholicism. A very economical value, too, as books go for the value of his words.

Great insight to the thoughts and trials Newman faced. I also gained a great deal of insight to the problems with the Anglican Church. Excellent read

Very deep and thoughtful but not an easy read

Ottima edizione dell'autobiografia spirituale del cardinale Newman. Il filo principale è il suo passaggio da grande teologo della Chiesa anglicana al suo ingresso nella Chiesa cattolica. Un percorso segnato dalla razionalità e la propria coscienza. La prosa è bellissima, anche se fatta da frasi lunghe, a stile ciceroniano, ma in un inglese stupendo.

Pague dos y luego lo compré por kindle y con ese me que

Very difficult to find various chapters without an interactive table of contents. Otherwise not too many typos or other mistakes.