This is the story of my conversion to Catholicism and a defense of Catholic doctrine. I was a student at a major Southern Baptist university and was working in conservative politics when I converted. Coming from an old southern family, this was a life changing decision. Although I did not know it at the time, it would mean being ostracized by friends and family and many hardships in the culturally Protestant American south. Regardless, becoming Catholic was the most wonderful thing that ever happened to me.
While part of this book is auto-biographical, most of it is a simple explanation of Catholicism using the Bible and the writings of the earliest Christians to explain Catholic belief. This is not a book filled with lofty ideas or complex theology. Due to where I live, I have to be prepared to defend my Church and my faith from many well-meaning Protestants who have a deep hatred of the Catholic Church. I use the words of the Bible to show them that Catholicism is truly Biblical and that their beliefs are not. Often, such discussions lead to a mutual understanding of Christian brotherhood...or they get angry and tell me I am going to hell. You never know what to expect when there is a knock on your door or someone hands you a pamphlet at the grocery store. I grew up with the very real specter of the Ku Klux Klan and the Masonic Order, that violently opposed Catholicism and hated Catholics. Things have changed in that regard, for the better, but the prejudice remains.
I hope that this simple book may lead others to explore Catholicism and find the "fullness of the truth." For Catholics, it will provide plain, Biblically based arguments to counter anti-Catholic attacks..