Enthusiasm is a great engine, but it needs knowledge for fuel. This is especially true when it comes to defending the Faith. I've seen many enthusiastic but unprepared Catholics engage in apologetics, and the results have ranged from mildly frustrating to disastrous. On the other hand, Catholics who have equipped themselves properly often see spectacular results.

Defending the Faith - the technical term for this is "apologetics" - is just part of the greater task of sharing the Faith. Each of us has been called by Christ to share our Catholic Faith with those around us: "As the Father has sent Me, so I send you" (John 20:21). So it's important that we know how to explain our beliefs intelligently, defend them charitably, and share them effectively. And that, of course, takes some study, some effort. But it's not as difficult to learn as you might think. Much of the drudge work has already been done for us.

Thomas Edison once said, "I start where the last man left off." That pretty much summarizes the art of modern apologetics. When we explain and defend the Catholic Faith, we're building on work that's been done by others. We're sitting on the shoulders of giants, you might say. Peter, Paul, Irenaeus, Athanasius, Jerome, Augustine, Chrysostom, Aquinas, Bellarmine, Campion, DeSales, Scheeben, Sheed, and all the other great Catholic apologists who have come before us, have blazed the trail and invented all the wheels we'll ever need. Beginning Apologetics 2 has drawn from their methods and arguments for the truth of Catholicism and adapted them to the peculiar needs of our era (and let's face it, our era is pretty peculiar).

Apologetics, like any other science, requires certain tools. If you don't have the right tools, you can't get the job done. The primary and absolutely indispensable tool that all good Catholic apologists rely on is a burning love for Christ and His Church - a love that isn't concerned with winning arguments, but with winning souls. (Without this foundation of charity, rooted in Christ, all one's clever arguments and myriads of memorized Bible texts are useless.) Other tools necessary for the job are a solid knowledge of the basics of Catholicism, a familiarity with and love for Scripture, a good grasp of Church history, and knowledge of the many weak spots in your opponent's arguments.

The book you're now holding is one of the best tools I've ever encountered for dealing with Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses. Actually, it's a set of tools. Beginning Apologetics 2 provides you with everything you need to engage in basic apologetics with the Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses. It gives you the biblical evidence that refutes their arguments and gives you the historical facts that devastate their claims to being the One True Church (or "organization," in the case of the JWs). Not only will Beginning Apologetics 2 teach you how to respond to standard Mormon and JW arguments, it will help you strengthen other Catholics who are at risk from the lure of these sects.

And don't forget, these two groups get the majority of their converts from the Catholic Church, so it's highly likely that the Mormons or JWs who knock at your door are ex-Catholics. That's the bad news. The good news is that these encounters are great opportunities for you to help them come home to the Church. Beginning Apologetics 2 is a crash course in the "Search and Rescue" apostolate Christ spoke of in Luke 15:4-7. It teaches you how to rescue the "lost sheep" who knock on your door.

Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses are the two most aggressive door-to-door religion peddlers out there. They know their arguments well. They're persistent and dedicated. They're well-trained in how to convert Catholics. They've got a zillion difficult questions to throw at Catholics. They're ready to argue when they knock at your door.

But Mormons and JWs are not ready for a Catholic who knows how to answer their questions and arguments. They're not ready for a Catholic who knows Scripture and Church history. They're not ready for a Catholic who turns the table and asks them tough questions. In short, they're not ready for a Catholic who has studied this book.