I recently received an email from an ex-Catholic who has converted to Eastern Orthodoxy. It was a kind letter explaining why he thinks I’m wrong about his religion and my own religion. He wrote, “But before you can delve into the complexities of Orthodoxy it is best to figure out why Roman Catholicism is false. I am attaching a great book by Guettee for you. Read it and refute it if you think you can. You would be the first.”
It’s clear from the letter that the gentleman who sent me the Guettée book holds to the same position and understanding of the Catholic Church and papacy as Guettée.
Father Vladimir Guettée (born Réné-Francois Guettée, 1816 – 1892), was a renowned French historian and Catholic priest who converted to the Eastern Orthodox. He is portrayed by the Eastern Orthodox as a Catholic priest who accidentally stumbled upon the truth and became convinced of it, thus, converting to Orthodoxy.
After reading the 170 plus pages from Guettée’s work, [1] it was easy to see where the Protestants got many of their arguments against Catholicism. I was excited to publish a refutation. However, I would not be the first to read and refute Guettée . That honor goes to Orestes Augustus Brownson (September 16, 1803 – April 17, 1876) who thoroughly demolishes Guettée’s arguments. Thanks to a good friend who sent me Brownson’s work, I realized that I could never do what Brownson did so eloquently. I was totally captivated by his refutation of Guettée. It is 53 pages of pure brilliance, pure logic, and pure genius. Comparing Guettée with Brownson, would be like comparing a quack with Aquinas and that’s no exaggeration. I was blown away!
Orestes Augustus Brownson (1803 – 1876) was a renowned Catholic convert and a prolific writer. He is one of the greatest intellectual thinkers of the 19th century.
Here’s what Wikipedia says about him:
Peter J. Stanlis has pointed out that “In the generation following the founding fathers of the American republic, Orestes Brownson (1803–1876), together with John C. Calhoun, was probably the most original and profound political thinker of the nineteenth century. Woodrow Wilson considered his most important book, The American Republic (1865), the best study of the American constitution.”[37]
Additionally, Brownson was held in high regard by many European intellectuals and theologians, including Auguste Joseph Alphonse Gratry, who called Brownson “the keenest critic of the 19th century, an indomitable logician, a disinterested lover of truth, a sage, as sharp as Aristotle, as lofty as Plato.”[38] Great Britain’s Lord Acton visited with Brownson and later wrote that “Intellectually, no American I have met comes near him.” [39]
I’m glad the Eastern Orthodox gentleman who sent me Guettée’s work made it so clear that he holds to the same position and understanding of the Catholic Church and papacy as Guettée because Brownson makes it so clear that Guettée did not understand the Catholic Church and the papacy at all!
Not only does Brownson prove Guettée wrong, he proves the Catholic Church true and the Eastern Orthodox false.
Brownson’s work is an absolute must read for all who desire the truth of the Christian Faith.
In case the above link to Brownson’s work fails, try https://books.google.com/books?id=0qQ-AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA474
It ends on page 527. This work should be spread far and wide.
Footnote
[1] To read Guettée’s book, click and repeat guettee_thepapacy(3)
Speray's Catholicism in a Nutshell 