Many of the people who replied to my New Year\u2019s Challenge<\/a> to change my opinions about religion proposed books I should read. \u00a0Right up my alley<\/em>,\u00a0I thought, until I realized how very many books you all have read and enjoyed. \u00a0I\u2019m going to pick out six or seven to start with and commit to reading one to two a month, so I don\u2019t get overwhelmed, but that means I won\u2019t get to a lot of these.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve posted the full list here both as a reference for other atheists who might wonder what Christians want them to read, and so readers of this blog can make one last pitch for me to choose their favorite books from this list. \u00a0Feel free to link to reviews or talk about your own experience with the book. \u00a0As is, I\u2019m choosing based on knowledge of the author, Amazon reviews\/summaries, and some comments that were originally included when they were suggested (I\u2019ve reposted them below).<\/p>\n Thanks again for all the suggestions. \u00a0I only wish I had the time for more. \u00a0Here\u2019s the list:<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cA Grammar of Assent<\/a>\u201d\u00a0and \u201cOn the Development of Doctrine<\/a>\u201d \u2014 John Henry Newman The Catechism is a reference book, or at best a textbook; it\u2019s not going to lay out the whole history of and argument for any given teaching or custom. But it will tell you in no uncertain terms what the Catholic Church teaches on almost any subject. It\u2019s authoritative (so there\u2019s no wondering \u201cis this what they really believe?\u201d), and it\u2019s usually crystal clear. It\u2019s also fairly well footnoted, so you can trace the history yourself if you want.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Confessions<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 Augustine<\/p>\n I strongly recommend Rex Warner\u2019s very readable translation. You might also try \u201cOn Christian Doctrine.\u201d If you get into him, you might try \u201cOn the Trinity\u201d or \u201cOn the City of God,\u201d though both of those are major commitments. Dare We Hope (That All Men Be Saved)<\/a>\u00a0or Explorations in Theology<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 Hans Urs von Balthasar I\u2019d like to see you read \/ write about Wittgenstein (Philosophical Investigations) and Kierkegaard specifically, though a lot of 20th Century philosophy points in that direction (Zizek, Derrida, Foucault, Barthes, Adorno \/ Horkheimer, Nietzsche\u2026)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Relativism Readings II:<\/p>\n I would start with the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy online entry on Moral Relativism. From there, you might try the 1996 Gil Harman\/Philippa Foot volume \u201cMoral Relativism, Moral Objectivism\u201d, and then perhaps Allan Gibbard\u2019s 1992 book \u201cWise Choices, Apt Feelings\u201d.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Salt of the Earth<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 interview with Pope Benedict XVI Many of the people who replied to my New Year\u2019s Challenge to change my opinions about religion proposed books I should read. \u00a0Right up my alley,\u00a0I thought, until I realized how very many books you all have read and enjoyed. \u00a0I\u2019m going to pick out six or seven to start with and commit to reading […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviewsrecommendations"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/_b7Eh98KJ_qI\/TTdXxfKqMKI\/AAAAAAAABOs\/IPLH1Nf3Lro\/s320\/pile-of-books.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>\n
\nBook of Mormon<\/a>
\nContingency, Irony, and Solidarity<\/a>.\u2013 Richard Rorty
\nCatechism of the Catholic Church<\/a><\/p>\n
\n[I tried City of God<\/em>\u00a0freshman year in Directed Studies<\/a>. \u00a0Not again, at least for a while. \u00a0\u2013Leah]<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\nDynamics of Faith<\/a>\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Paul Tillich
\nFear and Trembling<\/a> \u2014 Kierkegaard
\nGod without Being<\/a> \u2014 Jean-Luc Marion
\nHandbook of Christian Apologetics<\/a>\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Kreeft and Tacelli
\nHeretics<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 G.K. Chesterton
\nI Don\u2019t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 Norman Geisler
\nIn Soft Garments<\/a> \u2014 Ronald Knox
\nIntroduction to Christianity<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 Joseph Ratzinger
\nIrving Babbitt and Paul Elmer More [specific works for these authors not specified \u2014 Leah]<\/strong>
\n\u201cLunging, Mispunching, Flailing<\/a>\u201d \u2014 Terry Eagleton
\nMan\u2019s Search for Meaning<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 Victor Frankel
\nOrthodoxy<\/a> \u2014 G.K. Chesterton [I\u2019ve read it, though I\u2019ve not written about it here \u2014 Leah]<\/strong>
\nPreface to Romans<\/a>\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Martin Luther
\nRelativism Readings:<\/p>\n
\nSumma Theologica<\/a> \u2014 Thomas Aquinas [Also read excerpts of this in DS<\/a>, and I\u2019m not aching to return \u2014 Leah]<\/strong>
\nThe Agnostic Inquirer: Revelation from a Philosophical Perspective<\/a> \u2014 Sandra Menssen and Thomas Sullivan
\nThe Ball and the Cross<\/a> \u2014 G. K. Chesterton
\nThe Case for the Resurrection of Jesus<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 Gary R. Habermas
\nThe Everlasting Man<\/a> \u2014 G.K. Chesterton\u00a0[I\u2019ve read it, though I\u2019ve not written about it here \u2014 Leah]<\/strong>
\nThe Heart of the Matter<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 Graham Greene
\nThe Power and the Glory<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 Graham Greene<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/tracker\/4256452356987023523-4273864152322586904?l=www.unequally-yoked.com\")