I have read many books, but the one I am reading now was  worth every dollar of $25. It is a hard back, "Tumultuous Times"  by Fr. Francisco Radecki, Fr. Dominic Radecki.  St. Joseph's Media P.O. box 186, Wayne, Im 48184-0186 or P.O. Box 220208, Newhall, CA 91322.  580 pages of reading, pages of bibliography.  This book starts at 325 AD.  I know this is not from the beginning of the apostles but it is very thorough to where we are now. It goes through all the councils, defines, and is easy reading. Tan has a book for upper high school and college students, Church History, by Fr. Laux.  www.traditio.com may give you refer you to other good reading.

I want to start this discussion in order to learn more about early church history.  I have been of late reading about the 12 apostles.

What is fascinating especially and one fact I did not know was how Simon Magnus, rival of St. Peter and as an instrument of Satan, tried to institute a false church.

Can anyone suggest some books to read on this?

So where Simon Magnus may have failed, the combined efforts of John XXIII,

Paul VI, John Paul II, and Benedict XVI have succeeded ------ almost - makes one

want to believe in reincarnation!  HAHAHAHAHA



Sorry, that wasn't funny.



Regarding Tumultuous Times,...

I have read many books, but the one I am reading now was  worth every dollar of $25. It is a hard back, "Tumultuous Times"  by Fr. Francisco Radecki, Fr. Dominic Radecki.  St. Joseph's Media P.O. box 186, Wayne, [MI] 48184-0186 or P.O. Box 220208, Newhall, CA 91322.  580 pages of reading, pages of bibliography.  This book starts at 325 AD.  I know this is not from the beginning of the apostles but it is very thorough to where we are now. It goes through all the councils, defines, and is easy reading. Tan has a book for upper high school and college students, Church History, by Fr. Laux.  www.traditio.com may give you refer you to other good reading.

...of its 220,000 words in 250 pages of text, the subject of Simon the Magician

occupies one short paragraph, on Simony & Clerical Immorality. The name of

Simon Magus appears nowhere in the book. (Note: Simon Magnus seems to be

the popular name of various entities around today, such as an Austin, Texas

real estate agent, some guy on Twitter, some other (?) guy on Facebook.)

You have to consult other sources to find out that Simon Magus is sometimes

misspelled "Magnus" and that he is the same person as Simon the Magician whom

the Frs. Radecki mention on page 86 of their book.


I'll give you the whole paragraph in case you don't want to wait for the postman

for this:

The practice of selling spiritual offices and benefices is called simony. The word
traces its origin from Simon the Magician who attempted to acquire priestly
powers by purchasing them from the Apostles. Clerical avarice and immorality
plagued the Church in the West because these practices opened the door for
selfish and worldly men to procure important ecclesiastical positions. These
abuses caused untold havoc in the Church.

You should also know that these authors are sedevacantist, and they make no

attempt to conceal that, which is good. The primary purpose of the book is to

render a brief history of the Church through the centuries, focusing on the first

twenty oecuмenical councils and an overview of various heresies they opposed,

with a view in mind of claiming that therefore the Second Vatican Council was

not a Council of the Church but a charade of the False Church of the antipope,

John Paul II. While I cannot definitively disagree with them, I would like to say

that we do not have the authority to so proclaim against Vatican II, even with

as much desire we may have of doing so. Curiously, it was just this sort of

thing that Simon Magus was accused of, attempting to acquire the authority of

the Apostles so that he could use that authority in a manner for which the

Apostles were not using it. For today, the ostensible authorities in the Church

are not using their power to denounce the legitimacy of Vatican II.