Defending the Faith

It is often said that Catholics have trouble defending their Faith because they do not know it very well. Sadly, this is often true. Yet in spite of knowledge of Bible texts, our "separated brethren" often do not know the basic truths of their beliefs, either. On the left sidebar, I have noted the great gains I have received from protestant ministers; but I am now  speaking only of the Catholic Faith, and our beliefs.
 
There is much criticism of Catholic rituals such as the Rosary, incense, even the elegance of the churches themselves. There is much misunderstanding of actual historical fact, which can leave us dumbfounded if we do not know the truth.
 
Did you know that the Catholic Bible contains seven more books than any other Bible, including the King James, International, etc? The Catholic Church did not ADD these books on a whim, but as a result of the reformation, they were removed. The original King James version, published in 1611 contained all of those seven books. All were Old Testament.
 
Do you know where the Bible actually COMES FROM? From the Catholic Church, the only exsisting Church of Jesus Christ at the time. For almost 400 years BEFORE the Bible was consolidated, the Church existed and grew. After persecution ceased, Christians were free to assemble, and free to gather the writings of the Gospels, St. Paul and other teachings into one book. The Church existed for humdreds of years BEFORE the Bible was created. The Bible came from the Church, the Church was not formed by the Bible. 
 
Another point. After reading a recent book by a celebrity on Jesus Christ, a Catholic friend crowed "Did you know that Jesus only preached for one year, not three years?" "Says who?' I asked. "Oh so-and-so" she responded. "He did lots of research." "Hmmmm", I thought.
"More research than hundreds of years of study by Theological scholars?" I asked."Oh yes, there's new evidence." She answered.
 
Okay, now I HAVE NOT READ THIS BOOK, so I do not know what evidence there is, nor what was written about it. But my point is that my friend was willing to jump on anything proving the Bible wrong, and to believe it without question.
 
Lastly, consider this: The Catholic Church is over 2,000 years old. It has been through persecution, barbarian invasion, wars upon wars, and conflicts with a long line of world rulers. Some decisions were bad, most were good. Give any denomination 2,000 years, and some mistakes will be made.
 
I've also noticed that countries themselves are not held to account for THEIR misdeeds. The Spanish Inquisition is constantly brought up as evidence of injustice and cruelty, but do we continue to revile France because 200 years ago their revolution was bloody and unjust? No. While the Church must be held to a higher standard, we have continued to strive for this for hundreds of years. More than I can say for..never mind.