As a father, I look for resources to help my teenage and young adult children. I found a gem in Brandon Vogt’s book Why I Am Catholic (and You Should Be Too).
Before his conversion to Catholicism during college, Vogt was one of the “nones,” a spiritual but not religious person. In this book, part autobiography and part explanation of his Catholic faith, Vogt proposes the truth (Part I), the goodness (Part II) and the beauty (Part III) of Catholicism. He marshals the empirical evidence of science, the inspiring example of the saints and the artistic beauty of Dante, Da Vinci and Michelangelo. But among the virtues of Why I Am Catholic is also Vogt’s interweaving of the personal story. He speaks of his own questions, his own journey and his own discoveries.
Vogt directly faces the most important questions about religious faith posed by young people today, beginning with the most basic question of all: Does God exist? Vogt provides clues from scientific evidence, our moral experience and our reason that point to the same conclusion: A supreme being exists. Vogt also considers questions about the identity of Jesus—for example, was he merely an important moral teacher like Gandhi? Or something much more?
G. K. Chesterton once claimed that it is impossible to be neutral toward the Catholic Church. “The moment a man ceases to pull against it he feels a tug toward it. The moment he ceases to shout it down he begins to listen to it with pleasure. The moment he tries to be fair to it he begins to be fond of it.” So, too, does Why I Am Catholic propose a most winning account, one that will tug most any reader toward fondness for the faith.
