S/O Christan Works of Devotion or Belief that shouldn't be missed

[Candid]

I wanted to take one part of the thread on Christianity in a direction that I think might not really follow the OP's original intent. Here's the original thread: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/479111-eceletic-religion-curriculum/

 

Here's what I say, that got me thinking:

 

 

For Christianity, to be thorough I'd read the following books:

 

http://www.amazon.co...of christianity

 

http://www.amazon.co...hat's the bible

 

http://www.amazon.co...ords of delight

 

Now, those will cross count in history and literature, but I also think you need a why believe sort of book and which one you pick will depend a lot of what flavor of Christianity you want to explore.

 

 

When I first wrote that last paragraph I was thinking more of works of systematic theology, one of my loves. But as I thought more about it, I realized that it might also be interesting to come up with a diverse set of more devotional works that could be read about Christian belief.

 

As a beginning, I've thought of the following:

 

Augustine's Confessions

Therese of Lisieux's The Story of a Soul

Lewis's Mere Christianity

Something from Bonhoeffer (I'm open on this)

 

I've also thought about other works that tell about folks: Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed  and  To Quell the Terror  are possibilities as are other works which I am sure will come to me.

 

Any way these are mostly things I've read. I'm sure others can suggest some more.

 

And these are probably mostly for MY edification. 

 

[Mountainmama]

Awesome idea! Thanks for helping me out

[Candid]

Okay, I've thought of one I missed: Pilgrim's Progress by Bunyon. Mountainmama this is the one I would suggest for a generic protestant take. Supposedly it is the most read book just behind the Bible. It is enormously influential. 

[FloridaLisa]

This has potential to be a great thread.  Thank you Candid for starting it! 

 

I would add two more books to the list of Christian work must-reads:

 

* Hannah Hunnard's Hinds Feet on High Places, an allegory of suffering and faith.  This one rings more true each time I read it!

*Oswald Chamber's My Utmost for His Highest.  A true daily devotion of timeless, rich truth. 

 

Books I might put on this list:

 

*A.W. Tozer's The Pursuit of God

*Brother Lawrence's Practice of the Presence of God

*George Mueller's Autobiography, more of a devotional and testimony of one man's utter dependence on a faithful God and the amazing things God did through Mueller for the poor and orphaned of England (and missions around the world really)

 

There are other Christian works that have affected me greatly, but they would probably fall more in the category of missionary biographies, biographies and Bible studies.  

 

Lisa

 

 

[KarenNC]

In the same vein as Pilgrim's Progress (being influential on the direction of Christianity or classics reflecting theology):

Dante's "Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradisio"

Jonathan Edwards "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" http://www.ccel.org/ccel/edwards/sermons.sinners.html

 

 

[Miss Marple]

This has potential to be a great thread.  Thank you Candid for starting it! 

 

 

Lisa

 

I agree!  Thanks for all the contributions.  I'll be lurking...

[8filltheheart]

How about Chesterton's The Everlasting Man? (On my sr's reading list t his yr.)

[Lori D.]

These books have great riches in them:

- Knowing God (Packer)

- Celebration of Discipline (Foster)

- The Joy of a Plain Life (Cooper)

- A Long Obedience in the Same Direction (Peterson)

- Fearfully and Wonderfully Made (Brand)

- Orthodoxy (Chesterton)

- The Everlasting Man (Chesterton)

- God With Us (ed. by Wolfe) -- Advent readings

 

In addition to the theological works, I also find I learn from, am inspired by, and challenged/changed by Literature. I have read these works numerous times as they have profoundly encouraged and deepened my Christian faith:

- The Man Who Was Thursday (Chesterton)

- Till We Have Faces (Lewis)

- The Great Divorce (Lewis)

- The Screwtape Letters (Lewis)

- "The Golden Key" (MacDonald)

- "The Light Princess" (MacDonald)

- The Lord of the Rings trilogy (Tolkien)

- "Leaf by Niggle" (Tolkien)

- "Smith of Wooten Major" (Tolkien)

- Descent into Hell (Williams)

- All Hallow's Eve (Williams)

 

Not necessarily by Christians, but Christian themes of sacrifice and redemption is very powerful in these works of fiction:

- The Tombs of Atuan (LeGuin)

- The Great and Terrible Quest (Lovett)

- Cry The Beloved Country (Paton)

 

The honesty of struggle makes these works powerful and helpful to me:

- The Hiding Place (tenBoom)

- A Grief Observed (Lewis)

 

In doing these books with our teens, I found I was challenged to come back to a simple obedience:

- Hind's Feet on High Places (Hurnard)

- Do Hard Things (Harris)

- The Greatest Among You (Sims)

 

For those who like works more from an arts/literature perspective, combined with thinking:

- The Message in the Bottle (Percy)

- Lost in the Cosmos (Percy)

[FloridaLisa]

How about Chesterton's The Everlasting Man? (On my sr's reading list t his yr.)

 

 

These books have great riches in them:

- Knowing God (Packer)

- Celebration of Discipline (Foster)

- The Joy of a Plain Life (Cooper)

- A Long Obedience in the Same Direction (Peterson)

- Fearfully and Wonderfully Made (Brand)

- Orthodoxy (Chesterton)

- The Everlasting Man (Chesterton)

- God With Us (ed. by Wolfe) -- Advent readings

 

And now for my admission: I've never read Chesterton, though he's been on my list for a looooonng time.  If I read only one this summer, which should it be? Everlasting Man or Orthodoxy? 

 

Lisa

 

[Lori D.]

 

...I've never read Chesterton... If I read only one this summer, which should it be? Everlasting Man or Orthodoxy? 

 

 

 

Well MY first choice for someone who has never read Chesterton would be the Father Brown short story mysteries (the collection The Innocence of Father Brown is the best starting point) -- or The Man Who Was Thursday -- works of fiction. ;) That way you'd really get a feel for Chesterton's sense of humor, and his love of paradox, and how paradox can reveal deeper Truth.

 

BUT, if you mean which non-fiction work of Everlasting Man or Orthodoxy, then I'd suggest going with Orthodoxy. It is a shorter, more accessible, and a more straight-forward work on theology and apologetics. Everlasting Man is longer and more complex, and seemed to me to be a bit less theological -- is more like a series of personal essays focusing on "the creature called man" (8 essays), and then on "the man called Christ" (6 essays), with the overall goal of disproving the idea that Christ and Christianity is just one of is just one of many similar myths and religions.

 

JMO! BEST of luck, whatever you decide! :) Warmest regards, Lori D.

[8filltheheart]

 

And now for my admission: I've never read Chesterton, though he's been on my list for a looooonng time.  If I read only one this summer, which should it be? Everlasting Man or Orthodoxy? 

 

Lisa

 

 

I was struggling with the same question for my ds.   I really wasn't sure which way to go.   I ended up deciding on The Everlasting Man b/c it was the book that Lewis credited with his conversion and ds has read a lot of Lewis.

[8filltheheart]

 

For those who like works more from an arts/literature perspective, combined with thinking:

- The Message in the Bottle (Percy)

- Lost in the Cosmos (Percy)

 

Lori,

 

I just purchased The Message in the Bottle to add to ds's lit this yr.   I already own Lost in the Cosmos, but after reading the reviews for Message in the Bottle and your recommendation, I decided to add another Percy to our library.

 

Thanks for the recommendation.

[Julie in MN]

What a fun thread.  I'll be taking notes!

 

For my homeschooled kids, my main goal is to get them through the entire Bible at the rhetoric level.  Anything else is gravy, or frosting, or something.  And my favorite Bible go-along is the Greenleaf Guide.

 

For me, or for my adult kids who have been through the entire Bible at an adult level, I like some of the things already mentioned and will probably have mostly repeats...

 

- Mere Christianity and more CS Lewis

- faith in action bios, favorites are Hiding Place and Sergeant York (especially audiobook by Little Bear Wheeler)

- missionary bios, a favorite is Brother Andrew (The Narrow Road/God's Smuggler) and I like George Mueller as Lisa mentioned, and a ton of others, each with their own unique story.  Maybe because of my life journey, I seem to be especially drawn to medical missionaries (such as Brand, whom Lori mentioned) and Bible translation missions (often giving a people group a written language, too, that always seems like such a multiplied gift)

- Francis Schaefer, I'm not sure which I'd pick, his videos are on YouTube now and those might be a good place to start

- Maria Anne Hirschmann (Hansi), a personal favorite, whose books take the reader from Nazi-youth-instilled atheism to look with fresh eyes at freedom and Christianity, and whose Bible studies I like because they keep the focus on one area of the Bible at a time (not jumping around)

- Church History in Plain Language for sorting out the origin and spread of denominations

- Never Before in History for sorting out the details about Christianity and the origins of the USA

 

I'm sure I'll think of lots more after I post this.

 

 

I find Augustine more historical than inspirational, but maybe that's me (the Teaching Company videos helped me, too). 

 

I also find Bonhoeffer a tough read and maybe intended for a particular audience needing a particular message?

 

Julie

[Lori D.]

I just purchased The Message in the Bottle to add to ds's lit this yr.   I already own Lost in the Cosmos, but... decided to add another Percy to our library.

 

 

In case you're interested, here's a recent article/review from Books & Culture on Lost in the Cosmos, pointing out that the book was Percy's direct response to Carl Sagan's Cosmos TV series. :)

 

I have to confess, it's probably been over 20 years since I read these and while I remember being challenged and encouraged by them, the details are, alas, gone  :blushing: ... Guess it's time to start a cycle of re-reading! ;)

[8filltheheart]

In case you're interested, here's a recent article/review from Books & Culture on Lost in the Cosmos, pointing out that the book was Percy's direct response to Carl Sagan's Cosmos TV series. :)

 

I have to confess, it's probably been over 20 years since I read these and while I remember being challenged and encouraged by them, the details are, alas, gone  :blushing: ... Guess it's time to start a cycle of re-reading! ;)

 

I'll read the article later tonight.   (I am in the middle of rearranging 7 bookshelves.....blech.) 

 

I actually got Lost in the Cosmos after listening to Kreeft.   He is a Percy fan and has a lecture where he talks about Percy and Lewis.   http://www.peterkreeft.com/audio/13_lost-in-the-cosmos.htm