Matthew Poole's Dialogue

A Puritan classic of Roman Catholic apologetics is soon to see the light of day once again thanks to Dr. Don Kistler of Northampton Press. First published in 1672 by Matthew Poole as A Dialogue between a Popish-Priest and an English Protestant: Wherein the principal points and arguments of both religions are truly proposed, and fully examined, Poole's work will shortly be republished under the title A Dialogue Between a Catholic Priest and a Protestant. It is available for pre-order now for $10 + $5 shipping until June 1st, after which time the price will go up, so order today.

Dr. Kistler writes:

Matthew Poole is a highly-regarded Puritan scholar and preacher. This work of his has been out of print for nearly 200 years. It is a dialogue between a Roman Catholic priest and a Protestant, old friends who meet after many years and decide to discuss the differences between their various religions. Poole uses official Roman documents for the arguments of that faith, and the Protestant appeals to Scripture and logic in answering back.

There are many polemical books one can buy that present each side's case, but I've never seen or read one where it is an actual back-and-forth, where both sides are presented. It is like watching a debate. And Matthew Poole says in his introduction to the book that he has not set up the priest as a straw man with weak arguments, but has actually taken the Catholic position from official Romanist documents that have that Church's imprimatur.

Some of the topics covered include transubstantiation, the authority of the church, praying to saints, justification by faith alone, the role of Mary, and many other key issues.

This book should be ready to ship by June 1, 2010.