Velvet Evis by Rob Bell
“For many people the word Christian conjures up all sorts of images that have nothing to do with who Jesus is and how he taught us to live…Times change. God doesn’t, but times do. We learn and grow and the world around us shifts, and the Christian life is alive only when it is listening, morphing, innovating, letting go of whatever has gotten in the way of Jesus and embracing whatever will help us be more and more the people God wants us to be.” from Velvet Elvis
Sex God by Rob Bell
Spirituality: It’s all about relationships. “..It’s the story of God becoming human, of humans mirroring God and love made manifest in the chaos of our humanity…About relationships revealed in a way that elevates the human condition and offers hope to those whose relationships are wounded. In Bell’s spare, somewhat oblique style, he addresses lust, respect, denial, risk, acceptance and more. His love for God and the Bible is clear, as is his ability to ask probing questions and offer answers that make readers think deeply about their own lives. He does a fine job using the Bible and real life to show that our physical relationships are really about spiritual relationships.” Review from Publisher’s Weekly
A History of the End of the World by Jonathan Kirsch
This book is a fascinating study of the uses and abuses of the Book of Revelation. Many excellent insights into the meaning of the book and its symbols. Revelation does not tell us who the author of the Apocalypse was– only that his name was John. Kirsch makes a strong case that the author was a Jew, born in Judea who converted to Christianity and was an eyewitness of the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Informative, challenging and deeply interesting, this book will unsettle many whose understanding of the Book of Revelation is based more on tradition than scholarship.
What Jesus Meant by Garry Wills
People on the political right or left often quote Jesus as endorsing their views. Garry Willis argues that Jesus subscribed to no political program. He was far more radical than that. In a fresh and deeply insightful reading of the gospels, explores what Jesus meant by the “kingdom of heaven”. People blunt or ignore what Jesus had to say about power, the wealthy, and religion. This is a powerfully written book that is a must read for everyone who wants to know the essence of Jesus’ thought and teaching.
The Victory of Reason by Rodney Stark
This is an outstanding book, one of the best I have ever read which presents overwhelming evidence that Christianity led to freedom, capitalism and western success. Here is what one reviewer says about this book: “Rodney Stark may be the most influencial religious researcher of the past hundred years. In this book he makes a compelling case for the claim that we owe our prosperity, freedom, and progress to centuries of faith in one great, loving, and rational God.”
If Grace is True: Why God Will Save Every Person by Philip Gulley and James Mulholland
Truth in Religion by Mortimer J. Alder
