The Light of Christ: An Introduction to Catholicism

The Light of Christ provides an accessible presentation of Catholicism that is grounded in traditional theology, but engaged with a host of contemporary questions or objections. Inspired by the theologies of Irenaeus, Thomas Aquinas and John Henry Newman, and rooted in a post-Vatican II context, Fr. Thomas Joseph White presents major doctrines of the Christian religion in a way that is comprehensible for non-specialists: knowledge of God, the mystery of the Trinity, the Incarnation and the atonement, the sacraments and the moral life, eschatology and prayer.

At the same time, The Light of Christ also addresses topics such as evolution, the modern historical study of Jesus and the Bible, and objections to Catholic moral teaching. Touching on the concerns of contemporary readers, Fr. White examines questions such as whether Christianity is compatible with the findings of the modern sciences, do historical Jesus studies disrupt or confirm the teaching of the faith, and does history confirm the antiquity of Catholic claims.

This book serves as an excellent introduction for young professionals with no specialized background in theology who are interested in learning more about Catholicism, or as an introduction to Catholic theology. It will also serve as a helpful text for theology courses in a university context.

As Fr. White states in the book's introduction: "This is a book that offers itself as a companion. I do not presume to argue the reader into the truths of the Catholic faith, though I will make arguments. My goal is to make explicit in a few broad strokes the shape of Catholicism. I hope to outline its inherent intelligibility or form as a mystery that is at once visible and invisible, ancient and contemporary, mystical and reasonable."

• The Incarnate Lord: A Thomistic Study in Christology (Thomistic Ressourcement Series)
• Aquinas (A Beginner's Guide)
• Thomas Aquinas on God and Evil
• Introduction to Christianity, 2nd Edition (Communio Books)
• God Is Not Nice: Rejecting Pop Culture Theology and Discovering the God Worth Living For
• Five Proofs of the Existence of God
• Calm in Chaos: Catholic Wisdom for Anxious Times
• From Shadows to Reality: Studies in the Biblical Typology of the Fathers
• The Imitation of Christ (Dover Thrift Editions)
• The Case for Catholicism: Answers to Classic and Contemporary Protestant Objections