BLOGGING TOWARD SUNDAY…

Lately, several people have asked me for my latest reading recommendations. With summer quickly approaching, some of you will have more time for sticking your noses in good books, so I’m happy to offer a few of my latest favorites, along with a brief synopsis of each. (All are available on Amazon)

1. made for goodness: and why this makes all the difference, by Desmond and Mpho Tutu. Although I haven’t quite finished this book, I can tell it’s going to be one of my favorites. The very fact that Tutu and daughter can assert that human beings are “made for goodness” in the face of all the evil the two of them have experienced is nothing short of amazing. The book is filled with personal stories of how our God-given basic goodness can and does triumph over our darker side. This book could, indeed, make all the difference.

2. Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson. This is the fictional account of the Reverend John Ames’ life, written in his latter years as a gift to his young son, whom he will not live long enough to see grow up. A brief quote to pique your interest: “You spend 40 years teaching people to be awake to the fact of mystery and then some fellow with no more theological sense than a jackrabbit gets himself a radio ministry and all your work is forgotten. I do wonder where it will end.” One more quick one: “If you want to inform yourselves as to the nature of hell, don’t hold your hand in a candle flame, just ponder the meanest, most desolate place in your soul.”

3. Two books by co-authors Philip Gulley and James Mulholland: If God Is Love, and If Grace Is True. The latter was written to explain their belief that God will save every person, and the former is full of their experiences of teaching and preaching that message. I could hardly put either of them down. I’ll bet you won’t be able to either!

4. God’s Problem, by Bart Ehrman. Ehrman is head of the religious studies department at UNC Chapel Hill (OK, Tarheel fans, here’s the book for you!) In this insightful book, Ehrman examines the ways the Bible deals with theodicy (how to reconcile our belief in a loving, all powerful God with the fact of so much evil in the world). What you will discover is that, as is often the case, the Bible speaks with many different voices on the subject. Read the choices, and maybe you’ll find one you can live with.

5. Velvet Elvis:Repainting the Christian Faith, by Rob Bell. I really like Bell, who is a pastor who has wrestled with the theology of the emerging church and come to some startling conclusions. Some of my friends have said that Bell sounds a lot like me…or maybe I sound a lot like Bell. Anyway, here’s the gist of it: “Being a Christian is not cutting yourself off from real life; it is entering into it more fully.”

These great books should keep you busy for a while. If you need another recommendation, holler!
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Filed under: Blogging Toward Sunday