Shea writes primarily for Protestants considering conversion to Catholicism - this book is no exception. The book itself is divided into two parts: 1 provides a history of salvation as presented through the six covenants (Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Christ) 2 provides an introduction to the traditional four senses of Scripture (literal, allelgorical, moral and anagogical). The material is presented in a deliberately casual manner. At times the language is delightful and effective ("Bullwinkle syndrome"), at other times it approximately the padding of oral speech, occasionally it verges on an insult to the readers' intelligence. Put another way, Shea knows the audience that he intends to reach and writes specifically for them.

For this same reason, the book contains comparatively little detail on its subject. Rather, it presents a commonsense argument for the validity of the approach, building the case in small increments few could deny and providing multiple instances to support each incremental argument. This approach works well for individuals with little knowledge of the Bible or with a bias against the traditional form of interpretation.

In short, Shea does an excellent job of reaching a very specific audience. If you fall within that audience, I recommend the book. If you do not, there are more informative texts available.

Mark Shea gives us a very excellent method for reading the Bible. This book also contains an easy to understand, simplified explaination of the six covenants God has made with man through the ages. It really makes the Old Testament easy to understand and relevant.

Mr. Shea gives an admirable effort to explain how scripture should be read. The answer, in a nutshell, is to read scripture in the same manner as our earliest forefathers read scripture.

Accordingly, a good account of early church fathers is given in the book. Upon reading this book, the reader will have a good understanding of how the Church reads scripture; that scripture can have a literal, moral, allegorical or anagogical sense.

Mr. Shea does not necessarily give us something new. The methodologies he uses, as he has stated, have been used by the Church for centuries. What he does provide, is a simplified analysis of scripture reading. This work is written for the layman, but clergy would benefit from it as well.

The author's wit makes the book a fun read. This is one of those books that you will want to pass on to your friends. How can we love Christ if we don't understand who He is, what He has done for us, and what it means to us? By understanding scripture, you will begin to gain answers to these questions.

Mr. Shea simply makes that job a bit easier. This book is heartily recommended to all who want to grow in their understanding of scripture.

With wit and insight, Mark Shea probes the question, "Is Sacred Tradition a necessary part of the Christian tradition?" and shows with numerous examples that the answer is a resounding "Yes!" Especially helpful are the examples: Shea shows that, in one instance, such a given Protestant doctrine like the reality of the Blessed Trinity is a conclusion drawn from scriptural evidence AND the Apostolic Tradition of the Catholic Church. If I have any quibble with the book, it would be that it is not exhaustive enough. It doesn't address the full range of the case for "sola scriptura" (only Scripture), but then Shea never said he was attempting to write a book that would be the be-all and end-all resolution to a question that has been plaguing Christians for four hundred years!

Mark Shea's apologetic is a sort of stealth evangelism directed at evangelicals who have unwarranted prejudices against Catholicism. The author takes the reader on a journey through his own intellectual evolution from a staunch evangelical to an equally staunch Catholic. Shea's journey begins by him attepting to debunk the claims of the Jesus seminar which claims that "orthodoxy" is not the true Christianity seen in the NT, but rather later corrupting traditions added by power hungry clergy. While trying to prove the seminar wrong, Shea realizes his own unthought out reliance on tradition and how Evangelical assumptions are essentailly the same as the Seminar - though perhaps less radical. The question that really gave the author a rough time was the question of the canon. This question enabled the author to see how the seminar people were simply carrying Protestant "sola scriptura" logic to its natural conclusion. The author also realized during his search that many doctrines he took for granted really were not spelled out explicitly in scripture and that he had been relying on tradition. The book is very well written and easy to follow. Shea's style has been compared - rightly I believe, to C.S. Lewis. I witnessed someone close to myself completely change his attitude against Catholicism after reading this book. There is much food for thought here for both Protestants and Catholics.

Mark Shea's clever and at times witty examination of the authority of Catholic tradition is a book I turn to again and again in my conversations with others and in my writing.

A former Evangelical, Shea sets out to disprove reliance on Catholic Sacred Tradition for authority. He is unable to. His research and well-reasoned arguments make a solid case against the Evangelical argument of Scripture alone, and a solid case for Sacred Tradition as expressed by the Catholic Church.

This book is short and easy to read. It is meant for the lay person, not the theologian.

Shea's work is a great place to start if you're interested in the traditional, biblical view of the Eucharist and matter in general. While the Roman Catholic Church holds a rather defined view of the sacramental presence (compared to the Orthodox) it is well worth noting that the west approaches many topics with its own concepts, which is not something to be looked down upon or rejected as "a tradition of men". Shea's book is another of those which Catholic apologists will want to have to give away. It's cheap and accurate, as well as persuasive. For a more detailed study, see "Eucharist" by Louis Bouyer. For general critiques of Protestant anti-Catholic arguments, see Shea's other book, "By What Authority?" or for an Orthodox approach to Protestantism, see Jordan Bajis' "Common Ground". The main thing is to pray, receive the Eucharist, and study for yourself. There are no missing links in the history of Eucharistic theology. Take some time to review the data first hand; pick up the Fathers and the New Testament. But don't forget that this book is a fine place to start.

This is an excellent book for those who want the basis of Eucharistic belief broken down into readable, understandable pieces. It is hardly exhaustive of the topic, as that is not what the author was attempting. A good companion would be Scott Hahn's tape "The Fourth Cup". For a good understanding of the belief in the Eucharistic Presence, start with Catholic authors. Otherwise, such writers as William Webster and Jame R. White (who is anti-Catholic) as another has recommended without revealing these authors slant against the Church, might confuse searchers by presenting some very misunderstood ideas by outsiders incapable (& often not desirous) of understanding & then allege that they are expounding upon the Catholic teaching. Tim Staples is another excellent author for follow-up to this one who was once evangelical but became Catholic for the True Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.

This is a nice, short readable book that could be quite helpful for Evangelicals and others who wish to understand the Catholic teaching regarding the Eucharist. Mark Shea demonstrates the holes in may of the objections to that teaching that he discovered when examining it as an evangelical himself. Far from being a scary polemic as many apologetic works can be, this is good-natured discussion of the subject.

It's a short book, but a good introduction.