What are you reading right now?

[HRoberson]

Another Barbara Brown Taylor book: An Altar in the World.

Good stuff.

Not as good as the first one (are sequels ever as good as the first edition?). But even so, the story of the Native American idea of people as mouse and God as far above them as an eagle is to a mouse is pretty good. The idea is that the mouse fears the eagle, but in a spiritual sense the fear is more of awe and acknowledgement of the superiority of the eagle.

The illustration is that the fear of the mouse is not of having its bones picked clean, but that of a mouse who is lifted as high as the eagle can fly, and thereby gaining a much larger picture, and that from the eagle's (read: God's) perspective. Once that has happened, you will never quite live as a mouse again.

[HRoberson]

The Complete Therese of Lisieux. Currently I'm in the first section, The Story of a Soul.

It is interesting to read how folks in earlier centuries (born: 1873) understood the faith and so strongly desired to live it. Of this Doctor of the (Roman Catholic) Church it can be said that she wrote with an interesting self-acknowledging and self-knowing mixed with what seems to be a rather innocent drive to simply do what Jesus asked her to do.

[Visionary]

        ... this post ...   

[HRoberson]

Intimacy, Nouwen. Urges us to leave the magic of the text and actually absorb the call into our being.

[HRoberson]

Love and Living, Merton. First paragraph:

Life consists in learning to live on one's own, spontaneous, freewheeling: to do this one must recognize what is one's own--be familiar and at home with oneself. This means basically learning who one is, and learning what one has to offer to the contemporary world, and then learning how to make that offering valid.

[Visionary]

Love and Living, Merton. First paragraph:

Life consists in learning to live on one's own, spontaneous, freewheeling: to do this one must recognize what is one's own--be familiar and at home with oneself. This means basically learning who one is, and learning what one has to offer to the contemporary world, and then learning how to make that offering valid.

Did you burn that book Roberson? Jeremiah 10:23

[HRoberson]

Love and Living, Merton. First paragraph:

Life consists in learning to live on one's own, spontaneous, freewheeling: to do this one must recognize what is one's own--be familiar and at home with oneself. This means basically learning who one is, and learning what one has to offer to the contemporary world, and then learning how to make that offering valid.

Did you burn that book Roberson? Jeremiah 10:23

No; it's an excellent book - like most of Merton's writings. Before dumping on a statement, you might want to check the context. If you did that, you'd find that your posts were more on target and didn't themselves demonstrate a misapprehension of Scripture.

I would also observe here that building one's theology on ancient poetry is a bit suspect.

[Visionary]

Love and Living, Merton. First paragraph:

Life consists in learning to live on one's own, spontaneous, freewheeling: to do this one must recognize what is one's own--be familiar and at home with oneself. This means basically learning who one is, and learning what one has to offer to the contemporary world, and then learning how to make that offering valid.

Life consists in learning to live on one's own
Deuteronomy 30:20 ...that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life...

spontaneous
Jeremiah 10:23 I know, O Lord, that a man's life is not his own. It is not for a man to direct his steps.

freewheeling
Proverbs 16:3 Commit your way to the Lord and he will direct your steps.
Proverbs 16:25 There is a way that seems right to a man but in the end it leads to death.

God bless...  this excellent word from the Holy Bible is in direct opposition to the word of your book Roberson.

[marc]

Ain't it like most people, I'm no different, we want to talk on things we don't know about--Avett Brothers.

Visionary, you are this year's winner of the James 3:1 Award. Pick up your reward from Livelysword please.

[Visionary]

Have you noticed Saints...All some do is look for reasons to mock... reasons to accuse... But Gods word never fails, it endures forever. Therefore the WORD OF GOD is the teacher.

God bless.

[Joe Luna]

The book of John

:)

[gracetoo]

WITNESSING TO DRACULA by Billy Ng. Terrific Christian book on missions. Very funny and very informative.

[HRoberson]

Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander, Merton.

A collection of thoughts and short essays, not meant to be a cohesive treatise. Given that, this book provides some interesting insight into the thoughts Merton considered appropriate to put on paper. Not too far into the book at the moment, but it looks like it will be an interesting read.

[HRoberson]

Love and Living, Merton. First paragraph:

Life consists in learning to live on one's own, spontaneous, freewheeling: to do this one must recognize what is one's own--be familiar and at home with oneself. This means basically learning who one is, and learning what one has to offer to the contemporary world, and then learning how to make that offering valid.

Merton pushes his social concerns a bit much in the middle third of the book, but he's writing during the atomic, assured destruction era, so some of it is understandable. However, here are some gems:

"The summons to change, to man's creative self-realization and development in the spirit, as a child of God whom the truth shall make free, is a summons to permanent newness of life."

"All through the New Testament we find the explicit contrast between a mere interior religiosity, abstract, mental, and intentional, or even purely a matter of fantasy, and that love which, in uniting man to his brother of flesh and blood, thereby also unites him to the truth in God."

"Christianity is not merely a religious system which attempts to explain evil; it is a life of dynamic love which forgives evil and, by forgiving, enables love to transform evil into good. The dynamic of Christian love is a dynamic of forgiveness...."

[marc]

I've started a biography of Lafayette I picked up at Yorktown this past summer. I've put down bios of Lafayette before because they were too fawning. This one also seems to have that problem, but it's well-written, so I'll continue reading it.

Appropriately, the lady who sold me the book was French.

[Apothecary 4 Christ]

New here...but always willing to share my current reading list.  I read multiple books at once.  I find, while teaching, it helps to be able to pull illustrations from various styles of literature.  As of right now:

The Hobbit - Tolkien
The Great Divorce - Lewis
Paul, Apostle of the heart set free - FF Bruce
The Exemplary Husband - Scott
How I found Livingstone in Central Africa - Stanley
George Whitefield - Dallimore

Varios commentaries on Colossians as I teach through this letter at church

[marc]

Just picked up two books I've been hearing a lot about and have begun reading both:  The Next Christians by Gabe Lyons and Evolving in Monkey Town by Rachel Held Evans.

[HRoberson]

Markides' "The Mountain of Silence; A Search for Orthodox Spirituality"

Excellent book, although the series of stories becomes seemingly contrived as the book moves along. The book describes the author's exploration of EO spirituality through recorded conversations between the author and a Father Maximos, an elder, abbot, and mystic from Mount Athos. Maximos in the book is the abbot of a Cypriot monastery. As Kallisto's comment on the back cover says, a good introduction to the topic.

This Father Maximos is currently a Bishop in Lossimal (sp?), Cyprus and has some very negative things to say about the Bishop of Rome.

[HRoberson]

Way of Simplicity, by de Waal.

A discussion of Cistercian spirituality and the Rule of Benedict. Nicely done with some good insights. A good introduction to the Cistercian tradition and Benedictine practice.

[marc]

Bob Dylan in America, by Sean Wilentz. Is it too much of a reach to call Dylan a secular theologian? At any rate, this is a great book. I've always avoided Dylan bios, but that isn't what this is. Wilentz traces the roots of Dylan's music and how it fit with culture, and gives insights into the origin and recording of songs.

[marc]

Believe it or not, I just came across a Barton Stone reference in the Dylan book. Turns out the protagonist of 'Lonesome Pilgrim', Dylan's foray into old Sacred Harp music, was a Stoneite preacher who dressed in white. Wilentz talks a bit about the origins of the 'anti-denominationalist' movement and the second Great Awakening (see Cane Ridge).

[Lively Stone]

Just about to start "Sun Stand Still", by Steve Furtick. Just finishing, "Flight to Heaven", by Capt. Dale Black.

[Joew66]

Reading Tempted and Tried: Temptation and the Triumph of Christ by Russell Moore

[marc]

Permission to Speak freely by Anne Jackson and The Hidden Reality  by Brian Greene. Two radically different books.

[HRoberson]

Christ Formed in You, by Hedges. Written from a Reformed view by a Baptist minister, the central thrust of this book is pretty good. That is that our goal is transformed lives in the here and now. The beginning of the book has a bit too much Reformed theology for me but is a good read nonetheless.

[marc]

Finishing the audiobook of 'The Jesus Manifesto' by Sweet and Viola and reading Brian Greene's 'The Elegant Universe'. If I could've done math, I would have been an astrophysicist.

[Lively Stone]

"Made to Crave' (Satisfying Your Deepest Desire With God, Not Food), by Lysa TerKeurst.

Excellent!

[JohnDB]

Semiconductor Principles and Applications 

Whaddaya want? I am an electrician.

[Witness4thegospel]

I have been reading a book entitled, "The Holy Spirit and the Human Mind." It's written by Ashley S. Johnson, and it is very interesting, informative, and edifying. One of the best books of its kind on the true role of the Holy Spirit.

By the way, I have been interested in reading the books by David Platt - "Radical," and "Radical Together." I haven't read through the hundreds of other posts here but has anyone read these books, and would you recommend them?

[marc]

"I Knew Jesus Before He Was a Christian (and liked him better then)" by Rubel Shelly. Very good, very true. Gets past the facades we have built to the heart of following Jesus.

[Witness4thegospel]

"I Knew Jesus Before He Was a Christian (and liked him better then)" by Rubel Shelly. Very good, very true. Gets past the facades we have built to the heart of following Jesus.

I noticed that book on his web site, so now I guess I'll have to buy a copy. I've not always aligned myself with his teachings but the more I try to refute his writings the more I begin to agree with him. Funny how that works!

[fcadcock]

No More Christian Nice Guy by Paul Coughlin.  Read the title and had to own it.  I think one of the worst issues in the church today is the "nicing down" of the men into sissys instead of actual men.

[HRoberson]

Christianity: The First 3000 years

[marc]

"Under the Overpass" by Mike Yankowski, a gift book about a guy who decides that being the Christian he should be involves living on the streets for a while.  I was also given "Mere Christianity" at the same time, and will likely re-read it.

As far as secular books go, I'm reading the YA book "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld, one of my favorite authors. This is his most popular book, but I haven't read it yet.  Since I've just finished revising a YA manuscript and am getting ready to market it, I thought it would be good to revisit Westerfeld.

[HRoberson]

The Pilgrim's Tale, trans by Smith.