In my book A Catholic Prays Scripture: and tips for how you can too, I wrote, … “what we read says something about who we are and who or what is our god. If all you read is the Wall Street Journal and Business Week, then maybe money is your god. If all you read is the sports page or Sports Illustrated, then maybe sports figures are your gods. If all you read is People Magazine and The National Enquirer, then maybe Hollywood is your Holy Land.” I further noted that, “I certainly hadn’t spent much time reading about God.” 

So, to correct that self-detected shortcoming, I began to read more books and magazines about God, including three magazines: Catholic Answers Magazine, the New Oxford Review, and First Things. I will write about Catholic Answers Magazine, herein, and the other two shortly.

Catholics Answers Magazine is a bimonthly magazine published by Catholic Answers, Inc., an apologetic apostolate founded in 1973 by Karl Keating, then a lawyer living in San Diego, California. In my book A Catholic Prays Scripture: and tips for how you can too, I go into detail on how Catholic Answers answered my questions – after I met Karl Keating in April 1993.

 Apologetics is not an oft used word, and many readers might equate the word to “apology.” Both words can be traced to the Greek word apologia, meaning “speech in defense.” Per Wikipedia (and as used herein), apologetics “is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrine through systematic argumentation and discourse.” Also, per Wikipedia, “an apostolate is an association of persons dedicated to the propagation of a religion or a doctrine.”

A typical issue of Catholic Answers Magazine begins with “letters” (comments, insights, and questions) regarding past articles in the magazine – followed by more new articles. The March-April 2016 issue of the magazine, for example, featured five articles (e.g., “How to Get the Most Out of Your Bible,” “Understanding Pascal’s Wager,” and “Can We Evangelize Muslims?”). That magazine also had sections called, “Collected Wisdom,” “Conversion Story” and “Quick Questions.” In the latter section, five apologists provided answers to 21 reader-submitted questions (e.g., Did Pope St. John Paul II say the account of the Fall is just a myth?).

Reading Catholic Answers Magazine is a great way to brush up on your apologetics.

Catholic Answers has a memorable URL (www.catholic.com). They also host the popular radio show Catholic Answers Live.