Dear Marcia,

I am a Catholic home school mom grateful to be using T.O.G. Before home schooling, I taught Writing and Literature full time at Bethel College (and elsewhere). I am writing as someone using your materials but also as someone who taught research methods on a regular basis--I do also realize you are one person who has undertaken a huge project, and I appreciate those efforts. It is difficult because you are now presenting your materials not just for your family or for your church families but to people of many Christian traditions.
One suggestion that I'm asking you to prayerfully consider is to incorporate, as you do the World Book Encyclopedia, the Catholic Encyclopedia for those occasions in which you represent the Catholic viewpoint in Wk. 16-18.
One difficulty I found is in the citation of R.C. Sproul on "Imputed Righteousness: the Evangelical Doctrine" to represent the Catholic position. He is right in pointing to both baptism and penance as contributing to justification on the sinner. In describing the Catholic position, however, Sproul concludes: "For God to justify a person, the person must first become just."
This is not true. Cahtolic Christians do not in any way earn their justification.
In penance, all that is required is a contrite heart.
Since the TOG curriculum is so careful to use the WorldBook Encyclopedia throughout, it would be a reasonable extension to include the Catholic Encyclopedia on justification or other issues of faith.
Please follow up in some way on this issue--it is a shame to spread an untruth about a sister or brother's faith.
Please quote from the Catholic Encyclopedia when representing the Catholic viewpoint. It will help clarify issues and models clear research methods--primary source material first then secondary (in such a case, Protestant commentary on a topic serves as a secondary source). Not all difficulties are avoided thereby, but I think it will help clarify for people the actual stance of the Catholic church.

Please, no flames,

Bless you Marcia, for all the good work you are doing on behalf of home school parents,

Catholic Faith

Catholic Faith,

I appreciate your input (especially the gracious tone in which it was framed--many thanks) and we will probably follow your advice for short quotations in our Redesigned Year 2 in 2007! We have no wish to misrepresent the Catholic Church doctrine.

Your statement above raises questions and counter arguments in my mind; I would love to delve into your view of pennance further, but I would like to do it privately if possible. If you would like to do this with me, please email me: Marcia@tapestryofgrace.com at your convenience.

Thanks again for your suggestion!

Dear Catholic Faith,
I am using TOG Year 1 this year and am already thinking ahead to next year. By then I will be a new catholic. (I am an evangelical who is converting.) I would LOVE it if you would share resources that have made TOG Year 2 more usable for your family. I love the format of TOG but need to be very intentional about how we handle delicate issues during year 2. As a soon-to-be new Catholic, I feel so unequipped to do that.

Thanks and glad to see you here.
Martha

This might not be the correct place to post this - but I am also Catholic, and considering TOG. I'm interested in starting a Yahoo support group for TOG - would others be interested? I have very limited experience with TOG so hopefully people with MUCH more experience would be willing to take part in the group. Again, I'm still in the "choosing" stage but think this type of group would be beneficial. I must say I am quite lost at the moment in deciding, but with some guidance and prayer I hope the fog will clear soon!
Thanks and again, sorry for posting this here but not sure where else where to post it.
Thanks,
Jo-Anne

Jo-Anne,
You didn't say if your intended Yahoo group would be Catholics using TOG, so I'm putting in my two cents! There are several wonderful Yahoo groups for TOG, one for each year, one for beginners and one, Loose Threads, for TOG "plus." The Loose Threads group seems to be the most active and often heads into other areas of life than TOG but is a great place to get good TOG advice. I am sure there are other Catholic families on that group (there are nearly 1000 members!) so I wanted to let you know about the other choices.
HTH
Kathy in VA

quote:

Originally posted by 4galmom:
Dear Catholic Faith,
I am using TOG Year 1 this year and am already thinking ahead to next year. By then I will be a new catholic. (I am an evangelical who is converting.) I would LOVE it if you would share resources that have made TOG Year 2 more usable for your family. I love the format of TOG but need to be very intentional about how we handle delicate issues during year 2. As a soon-to-be new Catholic, I feel so unequipped to do that.

Thanks and glad to see you here.
Martha

Dear Martha

I can suggest a few sources--are you still watching this thread?

Faith

Hi Faith,
Yes! I'm still here. I have also found the TOG Catholic Yahoo group which has been very helpful.

blessings,
Martha

Thank you for posting - I didn't know there was a TOG Catholic Yahoo group, I'll have to track it down.

Hi there,

One source that we have used (through our church library) has been a series called An Illustrated History of the Church.

Translated and adapted by John Drury
Illustrated by Franco Vignazia.

Winston Press
430 Oak Grove
Minneapolis, Minn 55403

God Bless,

Faith

Have you seen it?

Yes, I just recently purchased that. Thanks for the confirmation that it was a good choice!!

Martha

Hi I am Jackie in Germany: co-moderator of TOG-Catholic--a yahoo group. It has been a long time since we originally posted that we started this group--my gosh May seems so long ago! Marcia was gracious enough to include it on the site as part of the re-design but in case you didn't know we exist I wanted to put out a reminder--
you can find us at

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TOG-Catholic/

We are 62 members strong-the group isn't as active as, say, TLT but it fills a void and provides so much information--I am humbled by the knowledge our members possess and how they happy they are to share it!

I am co-moderator with Jackie for the Catholic TOG yahoogroup.
I recently ordered my redesigned Y2 so that I can prepare for next year in advance since we'll be moving this summer.
I see that Martha is in C'ville - we lived there 99-00 (youngest ds was born there).
We are moving to the Huntsville, AL area

I can't tell you how thankful I am for this thread! What a blessing! I'm a rookie Catholic and I am quite excited about starting TOG. I feel that TOG will allow me to add in items of a Catholic interest (such as biographies of various saints, etc.) - but as a rookie I will greatly value any insight I can find with regard to doctrine. I look forward to joining the Catholic TOG yahoo group.

Susan