Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Suggested Reading

When I began the Westjourn a few days ago, I said that I would probably come to you with a suggested reading list. This is certainly not to imply that you need to read everything I do and agree with it. Agreement is not a prerequisite for our journeying together. In all likelihood, we will do better if we can bring different perspectives to the table, challenge each other a bit, and just see what the exchange can mean for us. I would also appreciate any suggestions you may have about pertinent reading material. I am one of those hopeless addicts who thrive on finding out from someone I trust what they are “reading nowadays.”
The reason I suggest other voices is because, while I don’t believe there is a whole lot out there that is purely original, there are a lot of folk who are saying some things that seem to be apropos to a larger discussion that some of us are trying to have. What is being presented involves a new way of speaking and thinking, a different language on some occasions, and the clarity of thought to help all of us focus our attention and energies in a different direction.
I order most of my stuff from amazon.com. Quite a few are already in paperback and the cost is usually significantly less than an average bookstore.
I begin with some primers:
Who is Jesus? By John Dominic Crossan
How To Read The Bible by Richard Holloway
Why Christianity Must Change or Die by John Shelby Spong
A New Christianity For A New World by John Shelby Spong
The God We Never Knew by Marcus Borg

Happy Reading!

1 comment:

  1. I am about half-way through Crossan and Borg's The First Paul. It has always bothered me that Paul was the first reporter of the New Testament, and that I was in such fundamental disagreement with much of what had been contributed to him. Never fear, Crossan and Borg have resurrected the authentic radical egalitarian from the writings attributed to Paul. All that STUFF: the patriarchal, slavery-supporting, Roman-ass-kissing, Paul who imagined Jesus as a blood sacrifice for our sins was heaped upon him by later authors.

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