The Unfinished Reformation: What Unites and Divides Catholics and Protestants After 500 Years Paperback – September 13, 2016

Castaldo is well worth reading.

I'm a Protestant and have been studying Catholicism and other religions to become more well-rounded in my understanding of others' worldviews, and I found this book very helpful for understanding the basic differences and similarities between Protestants and Catholics. While the book gives a great deal of breadth to the subject, it does not give a great depth to Catholic practices, which is understandable given the subject of the book. I had to research things like the Catholic Church hierarchal structure and the CCC to help me understand some of the content. I'm following up this read with a new book to help me grasp some of that depth.I will point out that the book is very clearly written from a Protestant's point of view of both religions. Although the book is set up so as to be a non-biased discourse on what Protestants and Catholics agree and disagree on, the authors (both Protestant) explained many topics in such a way that conveyed that Catholics had it wrong and Protestants had figured it out right. Despite the fact that I am Protestant and obviously believe in the faith, I did empathize with Catholics who may be reading and find offense at this display of preference under the guise of unbiased tolerance.Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who already has some level of understanding of either faith who is seeking to learn more about Protestantism or Catholicism. This book also deeply encouraged me in my faith by taking me to the roots of my "why" for believing and practicing as I do. Solid read.

I am a Southern Baptist and very much appreciated this book. It approaches the issue with grace and charity, but also with courageous honesty on the important agreement and disagreements at the heart of the reformation.

Gracious. Groundbreaking. Grounded. The authors begin with a helpful look back to the Reformation, and then carefully explore the many areas where Protestants and Catholics agree and disagree. The book closes with some wise advice on application. I found this book timely and refreshing, and strongly agree with Rev. Dr. Camden M. Bucey’s comments on the authors, “They are informed but not pedantic, accessible but not simplistic. Both scholar and layperson will benefit.” Highly Recommended.

This book offers a fairly basic understanding of the differences between the Catholic and Protestant faiths. It is clearly written from a Protestant perspective, and the arguments are presented clearly and thoroughly so that a layperson in the church will have no problem following the authors arguments.If you are looking for deep history or pointed application, look elsewhere. But this is a great resource for anyone looking to understand the basics of what separates Catholicism and Protestantism.

With the stated goal of the authors to sum up the major differences and similarities​ between Catholics and Protestants, they acheived their goal. After reading this book, anyone should easily be able to convey why Protestants disagree with Catholics and why they are so passionate about their view. The passion arrises from a firm belief in Christ's work alone for our justification and relying on the Bible alone for the ultimate truth. With Catholics, it's usually this plus works or plus Church traditions or sacraments. In short, this is why the Reformation is unfinished. These are majors issues with debate still ongoing. With 500 years to sift through for the Protestant position to develop more fully and the varying doctrinal nuances within the denominations, some generalities have to be made. The generalities are more meant to show a clear distinction with Catholicism though, so a comprehensive position piece on each denomination is unnecessary. Further complicating matters are even differing views within the Catholic Church itself and Catholics who may not be familiar with the official church doctrine or pope and even modern theological writings, which seemingly get closer to the Protestant view but still miss the mark. Like any good Introductory book, this book will motivate you toward a deeper understanding of the differences but will leave you satisfied if you only want a basic understanding.

This is a helpful and accessible volume. I appreciate the authors careful interaction with original documents. This is a great source to get the basics of the differences between Protestants and Catholics.