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"Ronald Knox was the most original and eloquent writer of the century." -- Fr. George Rutler "Knox was a bright star whose work was unflaggingly wise, urbane, witty and all done in the purest prose imaginable." -- Thomas Howard 
NEW: Ronald Knox as Apologist: Wit, Laughter and the Popish Creed
Fr. Milton Walsh Throughout the first half of the 20th century, both as an Anglican and as a Roman Catholic, Ronald Knox was a well-known part of the English literary landscape. He was a favored preacher for occasions great and small; his articles on a host of topics found a place in the newspapers and monthly literary magazines; his voice was heard often on the BBC. Most significant was the tide of books that flowed from his pen and found a wide readership in Great Britain and the USA. In this book, Milton Walsh, an expert on Knox's writing, has analyzed and provided ample quotations from the most significant writings of Knox that fall under the genre of apologetics. Knox was a superb apologist because as a priest he was a man of deep faith, and as a writer he had a wonderful way of expressing the Christian truths in an elegant and clear language. Knox was also a man with a grand sense of humor and a keen wit, as well as empathy and kindness, and both his humor and charity are captured well in these writings. Ronald Knox stands alongside G. K. Chesterton, C.S. Lewis, and Evelyn Waugh as a great spiritual and literary British writer whose works are once again receiving wide readership and appreciation. Milton Walsh, a priest of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, wrote his dissertation on Ronald Knox and is a longtime reader and researcher of the works of Knox. COMPLETE LISTING of Ronald Knox books from Ignatius Press Monsignor Ronald Knox (1888-1957) was the son of the Anglican Bishop of Manchester and it appeared that he, being both spiritually perceptive and intellectually gifted, would also have a successful life as an Anglican prelate. But while in school in the early 1900s Knox began a long struggle between his love for the Church of England and his growing attraction to the Catholic Church. He was particularly drawn to ritual and ceremony, writing years later that “long before I had ever seen a ritualistic service I became a Ritualist.” For many years he harbored the hope that somehow, by God’s providential working, the Church of England would be reunited with Rome. But in 1917, four years after being ordained in the Church of England, Knox became a Catholic; two years later he was ordained a priest. Upon being received into  the
Catholic Church he expressed his great relief and sense of joy: I have been overwhelmed with the feeling of liberty – the “glorious liberty of the Sons of God;” it [is] a freedom from the uncertainty of mind; it was not until I became a Catholic that I became conscious of my former homelessness, my exile from the place that was my own. (Quoted in Fr. Charles B. Connor’s Classic Catholic Converts [Ignatius Press, 2001],150).Knox was a prose stylist of immense talent whose sharp wit and biting satire poked holes in the smug secularism of his day. In books such as Essays in Satire and Caliban in Grub Street he mocked the dogma-lite Christianity, shallow agnosticism and glib atheism so popular among the elite classes of England. A superb spiritual director, he led many retreats and wrote a number of books about retreats and the spiritual life for both religious and laity. He also wrote murder mysteries (as did G.K. Chesterton and Dorothy Sayers), translated the entire Bible over a nine years period and wrote Enthusiasm, a fascinating and sympathetic history of enthusiast movements (such as Montanism and Quietism) in Christianity. Like all great preachers and teachers, Knox had a gift for distilling complex  matters
into understandable and compelling language, and his wry humor makes his
lucid writing that much more enjoyable. This was certainly true of his greatest
apologetic work, The
Belief of Catholics, written in 1927 (and recently republished
by Ignatius Press). In it he addressed modernism and the growing skeptism
in England about the claims of Christianity; he also took on arguments made
against the Catholic Church by various Protestants, many of which are still
commonly used by certain Fundamentalists and Evangelicals today. One of
these is the faulty claim that a Christian is not dependant, whether historically
or practically, upon the Catholic Church for correct doctrine, but that
all a believer needs is the Bible. In The Belief of Catholics, in a chapter
titled “Where Protestantism Goes Wrong,” Knox demonstrated that
how one views the Church will either make or break the basis of their view
of Christ, the Bible and authority:… a proper notion of the Church is a necessary stage before we argue from the authority of Christ to any other theological doctrine whatever. The infallibility of the Church is, for us, the true induction from which all our theological conclusions are derived. The Protestant, stopping short of it, has to rest content with an induction of the false kind; and the vice of that false kind of induction is that all its conclusions are already contained in its premises. Perhaps formal logic is out of date; let me restate the point otherwise. We derive from our apprehension of the living Christ the apprehension of a living Church; it is from that living Church that we take our guidance. Protestantism claims to take its guidance immediately from the living Christ. But what is the guidance he gives us, and where are we to find it?The claim of many Christians that it is the Bible which fully guides them and provides the final say in matters of their faith is inconsistent and cannot stand in the face of reason: In fact … the Protestant had no conceivable right to base any arguments on the inspiration of the Bible, for the inspiration of the Bible was a doctrine which had been believed, before the Reformation, on the mere authority of the Church; it rested on exactly the same basis as the doctrine of Transubstantiation. Protestantism repudiated Transubstantiation, and in doing so repudiated the authority of the Church; and then, without a shred of logic, calmly went on believing in the inspiration of the Bible, as if nothing had happened! Did they suppose that Biblical inspiration was a self-evident fact, like the axioms of Euclid?As Knox indicates, not only does the Bible itself not teach that it is the final and sole authority in the Christian life, this belief ignores the historical facts as to how we received the Bible and by whose authority the canon of Scripture has been set. The Catholic Faith is a seamless garment which demands “all or nothing”; if someone accepts the authority of Scripture, it is logical that they, like Ronald Knox, must also accept the authority of the Catholic Church — it is both necessary and consistent. BOOKS BY or ABOUT RONALD KNOX from IGNATIUS PRESS: 
The Belief of Catholics
Ronald Knox Of Knox's many works, The Belief of Catholics is his best-known book and his premiere piece of apologetics. While it deals extensively with Protestantism, its target is more the unchurched or lightly-church modern who, if he gives any thought at all to Catholicism, thinks it mildly foreign. As Knox knew, it is not the most difficult part of modern apologetics to convince the devoted Protestant that he has much of Christian truth but now needs to move on to the rest, which is found only in the Catholic Church. The most difficult part is convincing the nominal Protestant (or nominal Catholic), the vaguely religious person, or the person without any religious inclinations that God really does exist, that His existence matters, and that only knowledge of Him and obedience to Him can lead to answers to the questions that haunt everyone. Knox discusses "the truths Catholics hold", "the rules Catholics acknowledge", "the strength Catholics receive", and "the ambitions Catholics honour". These truths, rules, strengths, and ambitions were attractive to the book's first readers. They were answers to the ever-present "Why?". These answers will prove equally attractive to today's readers who, after so many decades of failed isms, yearn for understanding and commitment even more than did their grandparents' generation. 
Captive Flames: On Selected Saints and Christian Heroes
Ronald Knox The well-known Catholic convert and apologist Ronald Knox was highly esteemed for both his gift for writing and preaching. This volume combines both skills as it is a collection of his homilies on his favorite saints, men and women of history who were "inflamed with the love of Christ." In his always descriptive, profound and witty style, Knox shows how these heroes of history struggled with many of the same spiritual battles that modern believers encounter daily, and overcame them with faith, courage, character and virtue. These are the shining witnesses of the truth and charity we all seek to grasp and emulate. In his vivid style, Ronald Knox tells the stories of a variety of these Christian stalwarts including St. Cecilia, St. George, St. Dominic, St. Albert the Great, St. Thomas More, St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Philip Neri, St. Anselm, St. Joan of Arc, and many more. 
The Hidden Stream: The Mysteries of the Christian Faith
Ronald Knox This book is a collection of stimulating, informal discussions in which Msgr. Knox re-examines some of the fundamental precepts of the Catholic faith as well as the formidable challenges facing Catholics today. Writing with his usual effortless grace and sparkling wit, Knox confronts such controversial topics as what is religion, man's doubts about God, the miracles of Christ, salvation outside the Church, sin and forgiveness, the Christian notion of marriage, and the resurrection of the body. The incisive religious insight and spiritual depth peppered with mischievous humor are the characteristic hallmarks of Knox's writing. He emphasizes that the Church in her teaching and sacramental life is a secret stream nourishing the world. The Hidden Stream is a lucid refresher course in the teachings of the Church for informed Catholics, a pleasant "must" for uninformed ones, and a bulwark for all concerned with explaining the faith to others. "I can think of no man of this century who enjoyed as did Ronald Knox such a mastery of the English language in all its varieties." -- Evelyn Waugh "Few can match Msgr. Knox's pungent blend of humor and learning, his shrewd understanding of modern life and the vagaries of human nature." -- New York Times Book Review 
Pastoral and Occasional Sermons
Ronald Knox The highly esteemed Catholic convert, writer and apologist Ronald Knox, a master of the English language, was well regarded for his gifts both of writing and preaching. This volume combines both skills as it is a collection of his homilies on all the important themes of the spiritual and moral life, and on his favorite saints, men and women of history who were "inflamed with the love of Christ". In his always descriptive, profound and witty style, Knox covers a very wide variety of pastoral themes for Christian living and growth in spiritual perfection. Themes such as "The Fatherhood of God", "The Sermon on the Mount", "The Gifts of God", "The Triumph of Suffering", "The Divine Sacrifice", and dozens more. In his "occasional" sermons on saints and Christian heroes, he shows how these heroes of history struggled with many of the same spiritual battles that modern believers encounter daily, and overcame them with faith, courage, character and virtue. These are the shining witnesses of the truth and charity we all seek to emulate. This is a deluxe volume, beautifully printed and bound on Bible paper with a faux-leather hard cover.
NEW: Ronald Knox as Apologist: Wit, Laughter and the Popish Creed
Fr. Milton Walsh Throughout the first half of the 20th century, both as an Anglican and as a Roman Catholic, Ronald Knox was a well-known part of the English literary landscape. He was a favored preacher for occasions great and small; his articles on a host of topics found a place in the newspapers and monthly literary magazines; his voice was heard often on the BBC. Most significant was the tide of books that flowed from his pen and found a wide readership in Great Britain and the USA. In this book, Milton Walsh, an expert on Knox's writing, has analyzed and provided ample quotations from the most significant writings of Knox that fall under the genre of apologetics. Knox was a superb apologist because as a priest he was a man of deep faith, and as a writer he had a wonderful way of expressing the Christian truths in an elegant and clear language. Knox was also a man with a grand sense of humor and a keen wit, as well as empathy and kindness, and both his humor and charity are captured well in these writings. Ronald Knox stands alongside G. K. Chesterton, C.S. Lewis, and Evelyn Waugh as a great spiritual and literary British writer whose works are once again receiving wide readership and appreciation. Milton Walsh, a priest of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, wrote his dissertation on Ronald Knox and is a longtime reader and researcher of the works of Knox. Related Articles and Book Excerpts: • The Four Marks of the Church | Ronald A. Knox • Review of The Belief of Catholics | Carl E. Olson • A Lesson Learned From Monsignor Ronald A. Knox | Carl E. Olson • Ronald Knox, Apologist | Carl E. Olson |
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