Reddit reviews Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church: Understanding a Movement and Its Implications

A few thoughts:

1. There are thoughtful & intelligent people going both directions. Some protestants convert to RC, many RC convert to protestant. I come from a very devout RC family, and converted.
   
   
2. It's important to realize that we can't be 100% sure about anything, but we can have reasonable certainty. For more on this I highly recommend reading Ch. 4 of "Becoming Conversant with the Emergent Church", and you can read the 1st bullet point from my comment here.
   
   
3. For books, honestly read the Bible, a good commentary on Romans (I recommend Moo's commentary), and compare them with the catechism of the Catholic Church and the decrees of the council of trent. I have not read any protestant books aimed at converting RCs, but I've read a lot of RC books by former protestants or for protestants, and they all straw-man and oversimplify. I imagine that the protestant books do the same as well. It's easy to read these books and think that they give a good understanding of the debate. They Don't. They give a very simplified one-sided perspective. To get a good understanding, you have to study in depth the Biblical texts, and the documents, commentaries, articles, scholars on both sides. This is daunting, but it will be immensely beneficial and will help you grow in your knowledge, understanding, and love of God. Just like anything else, to really know something and be sure about it, it takes time, effort, and study.
   
   I would also recommend looking at:
   
   

• Sermon on Romans 8 & 9 by D.A. Carson
  
  
• Ryan Reeves' great videos on church history
  
  
• Romans commentary by Fitzmyer (Catholic priest and scholar)
  
  
• Aquinas commentary on Romans
  
  
• Knowledge and Decisions by Thomas Sowell. This is an odd one in the group, but I include it b/c it's very helpful for understanding systems and structures, and how it impacts people's decisions and actions. I think it would be helpful in understanding the RCC. Also, this book was influential in helping me realize the faults with the RCC teaching people what to think (& obedience to the RCC), and the dangers but superiority of the protestant emphasis on teaching people how to think - that is how to read and understand scripture, and make decisions for themselves.
  
  Finally, if it would help, I can send you the letter I sent to my family, where I explain why I left the RCC after years of study. PM me if you're interested.
  
  God Bless