Due to requests, this Religion Friday post will be about five of my favorite religious books. It was supposed to be 10, but honestly I couldn't think of 10 without repeating authors. Either way, these aren't necessarily in any sort of order, but they are all amazing reads that are fantastic works of writing. Without further ado, lets get started:
Reaching out Without Dumbing Down by Marva Dawn.
This book was actually one of my class books in college for a Christian Worship class. Dawn does a fantastic job of breaking down how we can be welcoming to visitors and encourage worship without making it too simple for those who are craving depth for their services and churches. While it is definitely a book that is more directed to leaders in church/worship, the book definitely has some amazing nuggets of truth throughout that I seriously think everyone should read.
What's So Amazing About Grace? by Phillip Yancey
It was hard for me to pick which Yancey book to put on the list because all of his writings are so good, but none really had as much of an impact on my thoughts as this one. Obviously, the book is a focus on grace and our understanding of it, and Yancey ties in his theology with a bunch of stories (like he normally does) and it really makes it a great read. On a side note, this book goes along well with The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, which would have made my list but since I haven't finished it, I disqualified it from my list (sadly). Back to the subject at hand, I really think any Yancey book could fit in this list, but if you need to grab one (for budget's sake or something) this is it.
The Return of the Prodigal by Henri J.M. Nouwen
Like the previous book, it is fairly obvious what Nouwen's book is about. The book is broken down into three sections: the prodigal, the father, and the other son. While a lot of sermons/recitations of the story do a good job on focusing on one of these characters and how their story is interweaved into Jesus' parable, I really think that Nouwen's relationship with each of the characters and how it relates to different times in his life is truly fantastic.
The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis
My two favorite pictures of the theory of Heaven come from C.S. Lewis. One is from this book and the other is from The Last Battle. Basically, this is an allegorical tale about a man who is stuck in purgatory and then gets to move up and experience Heaven. It's a really good story, but I'll admit it has been a while since I last read it, so I can't go too much into detail without getting my lazy butt off this chair to actually go get it.
Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton
The only book on this list to make my Top Ten Books of all time post from way back when, I first read this book as part of a book club where we were trying to find classic religious books that none of us had read. This book continues to stand out in my mind whenever I think about religion if only because Chesterton is an amazing writer. He is funny, intelligent, and snarky - what else could you want. The only thing I do have to warn about this is that I have recommended it to people who say it's really hard to read. I never felt that way, but it definitely requires that you pay attention to what he's saying in order to move on to the next paragraph.
So there you have it. Stay tuned tomorrow for another Soapbox Saturday (this one is a little more serious than last weeks) brought to you by Jody.
Reaching out Without Dumbing Down by Marva Dawn.
This book was actually one of my class books in college for a Christian Worship class. Dawn does a fantastic job of breaking down how we can be welcoming to visitors and encourage worship without making it too simple for those who are craving depth for their services and churches. While it is definitely a book that is more directed to leaders in church/worship, the book definitely has some amazing nuggets of truth throughout that I seriously think everyone should read.
What's So Amazing About Grace? by Phillip Yancey
It was hard for me to pick which Yancey book to put on the list because all of his writings are so good, but none really had as much of an impact on my thoughts as this one. Obviously, the book is a focus on grace and our understanding of it, and Yancey ties in his theology with a bunch of stories (like he normally does) and it really makes it a great read. On a side note, this book goes along well with The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, which would have made my list but since I haven't finished it, I disqualified it from my list (sadly). Back to the subject at hand, I really think any Yancey book could fit in this list, but if you need to grab one (for budget's sake or something) this is it.
The Return of the Prodigal by Henri J.M. Nouwen
Like the previous book, it is fairly obvious what Nouwen's book is about. The book is broken down into three sections: the prodigal, the father, and the other son. While a lot of sermons/recitations of the story do a good job on focusing on one of these characters and how their story is interweaved into Jesus' parable, I really think that Nouwen's relationship with each of the characters and how it relates to different times in his life is truly fantastic.
The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis
My two favorite pictures of the theory of Heaven come from C.S. Lewis. One is from this book and the other is from The Last Battle. Basically, this is an allegorical tale about a man who is stuck in purgatory and then gets to move up and experience Heaven. It's a really good story, but I'll admit it has been a while since I last read it, so I can't go too much into detail without getting my lazy butt off this chair to actually go get it.
Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton
The only book on this list to make my Top Ten Books of all time post from way back when, I first read this book as part of a book club where we were trying to find classic religious books that none of us had read. This book continues to stand out in my mind whenever I think about religion if only because Chesterton is an amazing writer. He is funny, intelligent, and snarky - what else could you want. The only thing I do have to warn about this is that I have recommended it to people who say it's really hard to read. I never felt that way, but it definitely requires that you pay attention to what he's saying in order to move on to the next paragraph.
So there you have it. Stay tuned tomorrow for another Soapbox Saturday (this one is a little more serious than last weeks) brought to you by Jody.
3 comments:
Nice post. I always like getting recommendations for good books. I think I'm going to add one of these to my Amazon wishlist.
LOVE The Great Divorce.
i see you referenced Bonhoeffer.. there is a documentary at most blockbusters in the special interests section with that same name.. it is worth watching.
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