Recommended Books

I love books. When I go to our local used bookstore, I usually browse for two or three hours then leave with a pile of publications. Unfortunately, due to moving back and forth overseas a few times, my collection has decreased dramatically. I’m grateful, however, that I was able to acquire Kindle books while living overseas.

Here’s a list of my favorite books from my current collection or from what I can remember owning. Two points:

• This list is only non-fiction, which is my preference, but I do read fiction as well.
• I may return to this list to update it from time to time.

 

A Little History of the World

An engaging overview of world history written in a simple style. (284 pages)

 

 

 

World Religions: An Indispensable Introduction

A compelling explanation for why Christians should learn about other beliefs followed by a concise introduction to the major religions. (144 pages)

 

 

Encountering Mystery

This book presents data from a variety of studies showing that sublime experiences of the transcendent or suffocating encounters with darkness are not uncommon. (316 pages)

 

 

The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism

An excellent defense of Christian belief. Keller is well-versed in a variety of fields. (310 pages)

 

 

Mere Christianity

A classic by one of the best authors of the 20th century. (227 pages)

 

 

 

Confessions

This may be tough reading for some, but it is known as the first autobiography in Western literature. Augustine narrates his conversion to Christianity with great passion and psychological depth. (311 pages)

 

 

Revelations of Divine Love

I’m not a big fan of people who claim to have new revelations because where does that end? Just think of Muhammad, Joseph Smith, etc. But this book, written in the 1300s, is different. The author narrates things Jesus showed her during a two-day period, but the revelations are not new information, rather they go deeper into the revelation already given in Scripture—Christ’s sufferings, death, and eternal love. The famous phrase from this book is “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well” which leads some to think the author promoted universal salvation. (128 pages) (I discuss this book in the final chapter of Surprised by Hell.)

 

Pensées

Blaise Pascal’s defense of the Christian faith written in a proverbial style with insightful comments about human nature. (320 pages with his other writings)

 

 

The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking How You Read the Bible

The topic of biblical interpretation has the potential to put many readers to sleep, but this book is so well written that reading it is a breeze. (336 pages)

 

 

Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes

An engaging look at how our Western assumptions influence our interpretation of the Bible. This book is made accessible through the use of many first-hand stories of life in Indonesia. (240 pages)

 

 

The Practice of the Presence of God

Brother Lawrence was a 17th century Carmelite lay brother who worked in a kitchen in Paris. He is known for his practice of concentrating on God even among the clanging of his pots and pans. This book is mostly a compilation his letters in which he explains his practice. (54 pages)

 

 

On the Incarnation

This is a classic work written by a staunch defender of Christ’s humanity and divinity. (94 pages)

 

 

Jesus According to the New Testament

Sometimes the best books are the simplest. This book highlights what each New Testament book says about Jesus. (232 pages)

 

 

The Case for Jesus

Pitre makes a strong case for why we can trust the Gospels to give us accurate information about Jesus. (252 pages)

 

 

Jesus and Divine Christology

I have only read a small part of this book, but I have heard Pitre talk about it and I know he produces solid work. Many critics of classical Christianity, such as Muslims, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and atheists attack Jesus’ deity. For example, since he didn’t say, “I am God,” they claim, he didn’t view himself as divine. In this book Pitre shows how Jesus clearly expressed his divinity in a variety of ways, including through the use of riddles which was a common way of communicating in first-century Jewish culture. (416 pages)

 

The Old and the New: Christ as the Center of Both Testaments

For me one of the most exciting features of the Bible is seeing connections between the Old and New Testaments. This book is filled with insights that will help readers make these connections. (141 pages)

 

 

The Serpent in Samuel

This book is a model to follow for how to interpret the Bible. The biblical authors were constantly interacting with each other’s work so we cannot study a biblical book in isolation from others. Verrett does a fantastic job of tracing the serpent theme throughout Scripture while highlighting its importance in 1 and 2 Samuel. The author states, “My thesis is that the Samuel narrative contains a serpent motif and that this motif’s significance within Samuel is to present the seed of David as the promised seed of the woman from Gen 3:15 who will defeat the serpent and reign as king in the new creation” (7). (214 pages)

 

The Spirituality of the Cross

This book, written by an English professor, conveys many helpful concepts from Luther and Lutheranism, such as Luther’s theology of the cross. (237 pages)

 

 

The Church of our Fathers

Published in 1950, this is an easy-to-read overview of church history. The author is probably most famous for his biography of Luther. (219 pages)

 

 

Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther

If you are interested in the roots of Protestantism, start with this book. (466 pages)

 

 

The Christ of the Indian Road

This groundbreaking work written by a missionary to India argues that we must detach Western culture from Christ when we present the Christian message in other cultures. (218 pages)

 

Sayings of E. Stanley Jones

Jones was very Christ-centered in his thinking. This book is filled with his challenging aphorisms. (144 pages)

 

 

George MacDonald: 365 Readings

MacDonald was a key influence in C. S. Lewis’s writings. This book contains quotes from MacDonald on the Christian faith compiled by Lewis. (157 pages)

 

Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

If you like American history even a little bit, you’ll love this book. Franklin was one-of-a-kind. (152 pages)

 

 

The Education of Henry Adams

This is Henry Adams’ autobiography in which he writes about himself in the third person so it is a unique autobiography. Adams was the great-grandson of John Adams. This Pulitzer-prize-winning book (1919) is a delight to read because Adams is so transparent about his feelings on life and education. For example, he says he could have learned as much in four months as he did in four years in studying at Harvard. While he says negative things about being a student at Harvard, he returned to it to serve as a professor and he was not too fond of that experience either. (244 pages)