A friend told me of a recent conversation he had with a man from Sierra Leone. The man was talking of the great natural wealth of his home country, especially its large deposits of diamonds. But he complained that a number of factors including corruption, lack of education and lack of infrastructure have prevented the Sierra Leonean people from reaping the riches of their land.

I think it would be fair to say that Mark Gilbert views Roman Catholicism as a religious Sierra Leon. The great diamond of Jesus is right there in front of our Roman Catholic family and friends. But unfortunately a number of factors have prevented them from grabbing hold of this great treasure.

The goal of 'The Road Once Travelled' is to help Roman Catholics uncover this great treasure found in Jesus. The goal of the book is not to have Roman Catholics leave their churches straight away. Rather, it is to point them to Jesus as he is revealed in the scriptures, to encourage them to read scripture for themselves and then make their own decisions based on that.

There are already a number of books out there addressing Roman Catholicsm from a doctrinal perspective, locating the points of difference between Protestants and Roman Catholics and demonstrating where the Roman Catholic church has departed from biblical teaching (I can recommend 'The Roman Catholic Controversy' by James R. White). These are very helpful for what they are, and I especially recommend that Protestants read them. But in my experience, the average Australian Roman Catholic isn't really concerned with the doctrinal issues. For them, being a Roman Catholic is much more cultural and familial. It is a tribal identity before it is a set of religious beliefs.

'The Road Once Travelled' attempts to reach these Roman Catholics where they are by touching on the areas of their religion that they care about. Gilbert addresses the boredom many Roman Catholics have with respect to their Sunday church services, the guilt they feel for their inability to overcome sin and the disappointment they have concerning failures amongst the Roman Catholic leadership. He points them to Jesus as the answer to all these problems. He is the exciting, life-revolutionising, sinless leader who graciously removes our guilt by his perfect, once-for-all-time atonement on the cross.