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An Appeal: In Soft Garments (Final Update)

Hello friends.  I don't typically make an appeal on this blog, since I like to keep it focused on all things Catholic Bibles.  As some of you know, I teach theology at Catholic high school, Bishop Foley Catholic in Madison Heights, MI.  One of the classes I teach is called Catholic Apologetics.  I have offered this course for the past two years and a number of graduates have emailed me letting me know how much they appreciated taking the class now that they are in college.  For the past two years, I have relied on various articles that I have made copies of, along with our short, yet helpful, textbook Beginning Apologetics.  I have always desired an additional book to help supplement the resources that I have always used, particularly in the area of apologetics with atheists.  After spending a number of months investigating which book might work best, I have settled on Msgr. Ronald Knox's In Soft Garments.  Recently republished by Ignatius Press, this volume contains a number of Knox's conferences to Oxford University students during the 20's and 30's.  Ignatius Press describes this book in this way:

When the Holy See gave general permission for Catholics to study again at Oxford and Cambridge, the stipulation was made that lectures be offered to provide support for their faith, as Catholics would be a minority in a rather hostile atmosphere. In the days when C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien trod the greens of Oxford, those lectures were provided by the wise and witty Msgr. Ronald Knox, himself a convert to the Catholic Church.

Erudite and profound, Monsignor Knox not only helped keep the Catholic students aflame with faith, but also led many lapsed Catholics and non-Catholics into the Church. His writings continue to provide inspiration and instruction to all those confronting questions of life and faith.

Some of the best talks by Knox are gathered in this volume. "If God Exists", "The Unholiness of the Church" and "Unselfishness in Marriage" are but a few of the topics he deftly discussed in a manner as entertaining and pertinent now as when they were first given at Oxford in the 1920s and 30s.

It is a fine book, I believe, which is both readable and will prove helpful to my students in this subject.  However, the school where I work at is not large, which means our budget is quite small as well.  I have a copy or two of this book, but would like to provide a classroom set for my students.

That is where you come in, if you choose to help out.  I have set up an Amazon.com (baby) registry which contains one item: In Soft Garments.  I am looking to obtain around 30 copies of this book.  If you are willing to help me out in this, I would be most appreciative.  While I cannot offer any amazing gifts, I do promise that anyone who donates will be included in my family's Sunday rosary for 2015.

I thank you for your consideration.  If you are willing to help, you can follow the following link: Registry.  (Make sure to choose my address for shipping!)


UPDATE 1:
We are already close to half way there, so thank you to all who have contributed.  I honestly didn't expect to be at this point in less than a day.  Also, it appears that we have purchased all of the initial Amazon.com stock of In Soft Garments, but you should be able to continue ordering.  The site notes: "In stock but may require an extra 1-2 days to process".

UPDATE 2:
So, it seems that Amazon has completely sold out of its stock of In Soft Garments.  So, if you are still willing to help out, I would advise two options:

1) Purchase one of the used or new copies from the Amazon marketplace.  If you could let me know that you did this, that would be helpful, since I am not sure it will take that book off the registry count.

2) You can go to Ignatius Press and purchase directly from the publisher.  Here is the link.  The price is almost identical.  If you do it this way, please email me, mccorm45(at)yahoo(dot)com, to let me know how many copies and in order to get my address.

Again, thank you for your consideration!  

UPDATE 3:
We are over the half way point, with 17 editions of In Soft Garments being purchased. Thank you to all who contributed.  At this point, it appears that all of the stock at Amazon.com has been purchased.  You can still get it through the Marketplace if you choose.  I also recommend ordering it directly from Ignatius Press.  As I mentioned above, the price is almost identical.  If you do it this way, please email me, mccorm45(at)yahoo(dot)com, to let me know how many copies and in order to get my address for shipping.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

FINAL UPDATE:
Through your generosity, I have reached the goal of 30 copies of In Soft Garments for use in my high school apologetics class.  I cannot begin to express how appreciative I am to all of you who have contributed to this appeal.  So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you!  I hope to post in future weeks some images as the books come in.  By the way, In Soft Garments is a fantastic book, one which I highly recommend.  

If you were planning to contribute but haven't yet, I will certainly accept additional copies.  As a teacher, I appreciate having extra copies on hand if necessary.

Thank you!

Knox Contest Winner

Congrats to the winner Tommy O, who was randomly chosen out of all the entries.  Tommy O, you have one week to contact me via email, mccorm45(at)yahoo(dot)com, to let me know your name and address.

Thanks to all who entered!

Knox vs. The Message: First Sunday of Advent (Mark 13:33-37)

I am going to do a comparison of one of the Sunday readings from the lectionary, using the Knox Bible and The Message.  If you think this might be of some interest (or at least amusing) let me know.  While done in different ways, I think both Knox and Peterson desired to make the Bible more accessible to the average reader.  Let's see if they were successful.  

Knox:
Look well to it; watch and pray; you do not know when the time is to come.  It is as if a man going on his travels had left his house, entrusting authority to his servants, each of them to do his own work, and enjoining the door-keeper to watch. Be on the watch, then, since you do not know when the master of the house is coming, at twilight, or midnight, or cock-crow, or dawn; if not, he may come suddenly, and find you asleep.  And what I say to you, I say to all, Watch.


The Message
Jesus said to his disciples: “Keep a sharp lookout, for you don’t know the timetable. It’s like a man who takes a trip, leaving home and putting his servants in charge, each assigned a task, and commanding the gatekeeper to stand watch. So, stay at your post, watching. You have no idea when the homeowner is returning, whether evening, midnight, cockcrow, or morning. You don’t want him showing up unannounced, with you asleep on the job. I say it to you, and I’m saying it to all: Stay at your post. Keep watch.”

Bible Rebind by AA Leather: Top Grain Cowhide. New Testament and Psalms, RSV Catholic Edition (by my friend Paul)

Knox Contest

As we are about to enter the season of Advent, now is a good time as any to have a contest.  This one, which will likely be the last one for 2014, is focused around the great Cathoic convert, translator, detective novelist, and apologist Msgr. Ronald A. Knox.  I have made no secret on this blog my admiration for this man.  I find his writings to be both enriching and entertaining, which I think is a truly rare thing.  Although he may not receive the same attention as some of his other more famous contemporaries, I actually prefer his writings to those of Chesterton, Belloc, and Lewis.  (Please don't throw any stones!)

So, what will the winning entry receive in this Knox Contest?  The following brand new books and CD will prove a wonderful introduction to this great man:

1) The Wine of Certitude: A Literary Biography of Ronald Knox by David Rooney (Ignatius Press)

2) On Englishing the Bible by Ronald Knox (Baronius Press).  The winner will receive two brand new copies, one for themselves and another to give to a friend.  Thank you to the fine people at Baronius Press for providing this amazing book for this contest.  I "literally" read this all the time.

3) Ronald Knox Collection CD from Old Time Radio Catalogue.  This contains four presentations by Knox, himself, with a run time of one hour and eleven minutes.  Included in this collection are reflections by Knox on Christmas, Chesterton, Newman, and translating the Bible.  Hear the man in his own voice.


Rules for the contest:
 1) If you have a website or blog or are active on Facebook, please announce this contest. If you don't, that is OK. You can still enter the contest.

 2) Please enter your name in the comment section of this blog post. I (or my wife) will randomly draw one winner at the conclusion of the contest, which will be on Sunday November 30th at 11:59 PM.

3) I will announce the winner on Monday December 1st. The winners must contact me, via email, within a week with their full name and address.

 4) One entry per person.

 5) Contest is only available to those who live in North America.

Knox vs. The Message: Christ the King (Matthew 25:31-46)

I am going to do a comparison of one of the Sunday readings from the lectionary, using the Knox Bible and The Message.  If you think this might be of some interest (or at least amusing) let me know.  While done in different ways, I think both Knox and Peterson desired to make the Bible more accessible to the average reader.  Let's see if they were successful.  

Knox:

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit down upon the throne of his glory,  and all nations will be gathered in his presence, where he will divide men one from the other, as the shepherd divides the sheep from the goats;  he will set the sheep on his right, and the goats on his left.  Then the King will say to those who are on his right hand, Come, you that have received a blessing from my Father, take possession of the kingdom which has been prepared for you since the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me food, thirsty, and you gave me drink; I was a stranger, and you brought me home,  naked, and you clothed me, sick, and you cared for me, a prisoner, and you came to me.  Whereupon the just will answer, Lord, when was it that we saw thee hungry, and fed thee, or thirsty, and gave thee drink?  When was it that we saw thee a stranger, and brought thee home, or naked, and clothed thee?  When was it that we saw thee sick or in prison and came to thee?  And the King will answer them, Believe me, when you did it to one of the least of my brethren here, you did it to me.  Then he will say to those who are on his left hand, in their turn, Go far from me, you that are accursed, into that eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.  For I was hungry, and you never gave me food, I was thirsty, and you never gave me drink; I was a stranger, and you did not bring me home, I was naked, and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison, and you did not care for me.  Whereupon they, in their turn, will answer, Lord, when was it that we saw thee hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to thee?  And he will answer them, Believe me, when you refused it to one of the least of my brethren here, you refused it to me.  And these shall pass on to eternal punishment, and the just to eternal life.

The Message:

“When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, putting sheep to his right and goats to his left.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why:

I was hungry and you fed me,

I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,

I was homeless and you gave me a room,

I was shivering and you gave me clothes,

I was sick and you stopped to visit,

I was in prison and you came to me.’

“Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’

“Then he will turn to the ‘goats,’ the ones on his left, and say, ‘Get out, worthless goats! You’re good for nothing but the fires of hell. And why? Because—

I was hungry and you gave me no meal,

I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,

I was homeless and you gave me no bed,

I was shivering and you gave me no clothes,

Sick and in prison, and you never visited.’

“Then those ‘goats’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or homeless or shivering or sick or in prison and didn’t help?’

“He will answer them, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me.’

“Then those ‘goats’ will be herded to their eternal doom, but the ‘sheep’ to their eternal reward.”