The Liberal Churches Library

[nyj]

This is the thread where members of the forum can post the titles (and summarize if they wish) of books which they have found beneficial for their spiritual growth/journey.

I'll start things off:

Telling the Truth : The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy and Fairy Tale (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060611561/102-1082776-3413744?v=glance) by Frederick Buechner.

From the book...
"The Gospel is bad news before it is good news. It is the news that man is a sinner... That is the tragedy. But it is also the news that he is loved anyway, cherished, forgiven.... That is the comedy.... In answer, the news of the Gospel is that extraordinary things happen to him just as in fairy tales extraordinary things happen."

[Toney]

Great idea, nyj!

There are so many. But the first to turn my head in a different direction was Joseph Campbell. His book, The Power of Myth (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0385418868/102-0352786-4517775?v=glance), was transcribed from the PBS series of the same name with Bill Moyers.

From the chapter The Journey Inward: "Every religion is true one way or another. It is true when understood metaphorically. But when it gets stuck to its own metaphors, interpreting them as facts, then you are in trouble."

N.B. (Edit to add) Loki informs me that this is the book that made her stop hating religion and gives it a :thumbsup:

[CaDan]

This is a strange one, and probably only Toney and I will ever actually read and enjoy it, but The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060616296/104-5932771-9084706?v=glance) by John Dominic Crossan is the book that let me put together a faith I can live with.

It was the first thing I had ever read that addressed head-on the Synoptic Problem--a problem that had bothered me for years, even when I did not have a name for it. Before that I had no idea there was a world of scholarship out there that thought about the same things I thought about.

[Toney]

This is a strange one, and probably only Toney and I will ever actually read and enjoy it, but The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060616296/104-5932771-9084706?v=glance) by John Dominic Crossan is the book that let me put together a faith I can live with.


Kudos! Crossan, an ex-priest and one of the founders of the Jesus Seminar, also wrote Who Killed Jesus? (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060614803/ref=pd_sim_books_2/102-0352786-4517775?v=glance&s=books) That book exposes what is surely the foulest lie in the history of organized religion.

[Reader Nilus]

http://s88610834.onlinehome.us/quotations.JPGQUOTATIONS FROM CHAIRMAN JESUS
This book changed my life. I got it as a birthday gift when I was 18 and from then on I have been reading the Scriptures with no blinders on. It was based on the Quotations From Chairman Mao, but showed Christianity to be as radical as anything any political ideology could be. It uses quotes from the Bible and the Church Fathers, with an excellent forward by Fr. Daniel Berrigan. Unfortunately this book has been long out of print.
Jeff the Finn

[seebs]

Haven't read them all yet, but a lot of people recommend Capon's writing. Also, of course, no liberal's life is complete without The Screwtape Letters and The Great Divorce. Also, everyone should read Lillith (George MacDonald) at least once.

[CaDan]

Haven't read them all yet, but a lot of people recommend Capon's writing. Also, of course, no liberal's life is complete without The Screwtape Letters and The Great Divorce. Also, everyone should read Lillith (George MacDonald) at least once.

/me looks guiltily at copy of Lilith lent by seebs

But there's so much German theology to read!

Not to mention debt collectors and usurers to sue!

[nyj]

Also, of course, no liberal's life is complete without The Screwtape Letters and The Great Divorce.
Heck, I'd recommend both books, especially The Great Divorce (which I absolutely love) to any Christian.

Plus, I'm in the process of reading The Diary of Sr. Faustina Kowalska : Divine Mercy in my Soul, and heartily recommend it.

[Treasure the Questions]

This is a strange one, and probably only Toney and I will ever actually read and enjoy it, but The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060616296/104-5932771-9084706?v=glance) by John Dominic Crossan is the book that let me put together a faith I can live with.

It was the first thing I had ever read that addressed head-on the Synoptic Problem--a problem that had bothered me for years, even when I did not have a name for it. Before that I had no idea there was a world of scholarship out there that thought about the same things I thought about.
It sounds interesting, CaDan. Does the book support the idea that Jesus died on the cross and was truly resurrected?

There was a programme on tv last night, which focussed on differences in the gospels and that, according to the producer, any references to Jesus' resurrection were added two hundered years later. The producer said,Crucifixion took up to three days; the maximum he was on the cross for was nine hours, it might even have been six. And even if you read the gospels Pontius Pilate is clearly surprised that he's already dead and wants to be reassured by the centurion that he really is dead. My personal take on it would be that he goes into a shock induced coma, and probably they thought he was dead.
After exploring various theories the programme seemed to conclude that the three wise men were Bhuddists from Kasmir looking for the next reincarnation of their Lama; Jesus went to Kashmir between the ages of 14 and 29 to recieve instruction in Bhuddhism and after surviving his resurrection he went back to Kashmir where he lived until the age of 80.

My husband thought it sounded fairly plausible, more so than the resurrection and ascension.

more info on the programme here http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/documentaries/features/did-jesus-die.shtml and http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/documentaries/features/did-jesus-die-interview.shtml

I wonder whether the book you mentioned addressed these problems in a way that leaves less loopholes for such alternative theories than more traditional scholarship?

Karin

[CaDan]

It sounds interesting, CaDan. Does the book support the idea that Jesus died on the cross and was truly resurrected?

Crucifixion: Yes. Bodily Resurrection: No.

I disagree with Crossan on the latter. Of course, Crossan is writing as an historian, and the objective evidence for a bodily resurrection of Jesus is lacking.

There was a programme on tv last night, which focussed on differences in the gospels and that, according to the producer, any references to Jesus' resurrection were added two hundered years later.

Two hundred years is FAR TOO LATE. Some scholars think the Resurrection Narratives were added, perhaps, a decade or two after the main body of the Gospels, but I don't know of anyone who pushes it out to the third or fourth century!

The producer said,
After exploring various theories the programme seemed to conclude that the three wise men were Bhuddists from Kasmir looking for the next reincarnation of their Lama; Jesus went to Kashmir between the ages of 14 and 29 to recieve instruction in Bhuddhism and after surviving his resurrection he went back to Kashmir where he lived until the age of 80.

O, it's the Notvich theory. Nicolai Notovich claimed he saw some scrolls in a monastery in Kashmir indicating a certain "Issa" had been there.

Too bad no one else has seen the scrolls.

Holger Kersten took the theory and ran with it--linking every record of a miracle worker anyplace in South Asia at around the right time to Jesus. Jesus was a bhodhisattva, one who has acheived enlightenment but remains here to show the rest of us The Way.

Kersten is a believer in the Big Conspiracy that the early church somehow conspired to keep these "Eastern" teachings out of the Bible. Reason for this? Who knows!



I wonder whether the book you mentioned addressed these problems in a way that leaves less loopholes for such alternative theories than more traditional scholarship?

Karin

Crossan firmly places Jesus in First Century Palestine.

Even if you do not agree with Crossan's arguments regarding Jesus Himself, it is still profitable to read his analysis of the society in Frist Centry Palestine under Roman occupation. Life was hard, life was violent, life was poor. Being a carpenter was not a glamorous occupation with a little shop and paying customers. Being a carpenter meant you had no land and lived on the very edge of destitution and starvation. Same thing with being a fisheman. Jesus and his disciples were poorer than we can easily imagine.

[Treasure the Questions]

Thanks for that CaDan. I may try to track the book down, in that case. It's interesting to know that this theory has been kicking around for a while. A Bhuddist document, which they claimed mentioned someone who could have been Jesus, was shown btw.

I started to get bored with the programme at that point. It's repeated on Sunday, so maybe I'll try and watch it again with a more critical eye.

[CaDan]

Those of "a certain age" in the United States may enjoy Jesus Sound Explosion (http://www.southernscribe.com/reviews/biography-memoir/jesus_sound_explosion.htm)

Interview / Review here (http://www.citypages.com/databank/24/1192/article11555.asp)

The story of the kid at Bible Camp who decided he was the Antichrist is hilarious and sad at the same time.

[Toney]

The Notovich theory was hijacked by Elizabeth Claire Prophet in the 90's in a book that explored Jesus' missing years in the Bible between ages 12 and 30. There are other falsehoods that have the New Age Jesus travelling to the east to gain wisdom.

Aside from the obvious heretical nature of these theories, their danger lies in the assertion that we perfect ourselves. The concept of self-perfectability is a cornerstone of the New Age philosophy and contrary to both Judaism and Christianity, which teach that God perfects us.

At some point, it's said, we can become so open-minded that our brains fall out.

[Toney]

Sorry to footnote my own post, but now seems an appropriate time to recommend Spong's Liberating the Gospels (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/006067556X/102-0352786-4517775?v=glance).

Spong offers two chapters on Raised According to the Scriptures. Here is a brief excerpt (I broke one paragraph from the book into three parts to enhance online readability):

"Jesus was crucified. That is history. 'There was darkness over the whole land' when he died. That is interpretive mythology. Human beings experienced Jesus on the other side of death as living and real. That is attested by the birth of Christianity and by the resurrected lives of those who had forsaken him and fled.

"The symbol of three days as the time span in which that experience occurred, however, is interpretive mythology. But quickly the hopes, dreams, aspirations, and legends of the Jews surrounded the reality of the experience. The risen Christ would come to his Temple is glory. That was a hope vested in the Son of Man from the time of the Book of Daniel.

"The veil in the Temple would be split from top to bottom. That was a detail that Matthew added to the developing legend. It symbolized that when the perfect sacrifice was offered, the barriers that kept human beings from approaching God through that sacrifice were obliterated. It was once again a powerful interpretive image, but not a literal one."

The word mythology is misunderstood. Mythology (in this case, midrash making) "is the very process that keeps the tradition vital and perpetuates it". [Schwartz, Reimagining the Bible (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0195115112/qid=1094749912/sr=ka-1/ref=pd_ka_1/102-0352786-4517775), Oxford University, 1997]

[GreenPartyVoter]

"Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time" Macrus Borg
http://www.geocities.com/greenpartyvoter/Reviews/MeetingJesus.htm

I am glad I read this book. I think it has helped to redirect my search for God and to help me rebuild my faith in Him, so that I move from a fearful relationship with an angry Supreme Master to one with a loving Supreme Parent.
I first read the Bible cover-to-cover on my own as a youngster. This was probably not a good thing, as I mostly came away with an impression of an Angry God. And I certainly was in no position to understand at the tender age of 11 the cultural background of the world of the Hebrews or Jesus.

The trouble is that in some ways reading about the life of Christ is a bit like reading a mystery. Sure you can read the book again, but you already know whodunit the next time you go back to it, and having that knowledge changes the way you see things from then on. "Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time" has clarified for me the difference between pre-Easter and post-Easter Jesus. Before this when I reread the Gospels and looked over what Jesus said or did prior to his death and resurrection, I looked at it as though He was the post-Easter Godly Jesus the entire time, that He was always God right from the get-go. Now I am looking at Him more in the sense of His humanity as it was recorded in the first 3 gospels. When I stop to think about it, I expect He was a pretty normal kid, and I am not sure that He really saw Himself as God at that point waiting around to be worshipped. Rather I do think He was very much a man constantly in touch with His Father, so I am giving more consideration to the example He set where he showed me how to live and how to be in touch with the Father all the time. (Or at least try to be.)

Also, as a woman who was raised in a Baptist church, I was always hurt and angry at the way women seemed to be second class citizens, and folks always seemed to back up the reason for this with Scripture. But Borg's book showed me that there was a possibility that God has a feminine side (His Wisdom or Sophia) and that this idea of femininity was dropped in translations made from the Greek texts. Perhaps that does not mean much to some, but to a girl who heard most of her life how everything was Eve's (and therefore women in general's) fault, it meant a lot to me.

I also appreciated Borg's information about purity codes and particularly about how Jesus confronted the Pharisees about their mile long lists of who was ok and who was not and how badly they treated those on the "not ok" list. I can see that this type of thinking is still present in many churches today, which is too bad. A relationship with God should not be about following rules, rules, and more rules but rather about his Grace. I wish I had known this years ago, so that I might have actually felt God before now.

So I would recommend this book to people who feel that they are just going through the motions at church (or have given up on church altogether) but could use some fresh insight to get their search for God jumpstarted again. It's also good for folks who are just starting out on the path of Biblical scholarship. However, people who believe the Bible is inerrant may be uncomfortable with some of the ideas presented in this book. It doesn't mean they should not pick it up, but they should be forewarned that they may find their beliefs to be tested.

[Im_A]

One book I highly recommend, and I am currently in the process of reading is called, "Adventures in Missing the Point" by Brian McLaren, and Tony Campola. I don't know if it is a so called, "Liberal christian's kind of book", but nevertheless, it is surely a book that I believe is really worth checking out.

[Kaonashi]

Here are some books I highly reccommend:


Church Fathers Outside the ANF-NPNF Collection (http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/fathers/)
W. H. Davis, Beginner's Grammar of the Greek New Testament (http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/davis/)
Edgar J. Goodspeed, An Introduction to the New Testament (http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/goodspeed/)
George A. Jackson, The Post-Nicene Greek Fathers (http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/jackson2/)
H. Latimer Jackson, The Problem of the Fourth Gospel (http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/jackson/)
Kirsopp Lake, Landmarks of Early Christianity (http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/lake/)
J. B. Lightfoot, The Apostolic Fathers (http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/lightfoot/)
Alfred Loisy, The Birth of the Christian Religion (http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/loisy/)
Alfred Loisy, The Origins of the New Testament (http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/loisy2/)
Albert Schweitzer, The Quest of the Historical Jesus (http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/schweitzer/)
E. F. Sctt, The Fourth Gospel: Its Purpose and Theology (http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/scott/)
J. H. Srawley, The Epistles of St. Ignatius (http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/srawley/)
David Friedrich Strauss, The Life of Jesus Critically Examined (http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/strauss/)
J. Tixeront, A Handbook of Patrology (http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/tixeront/)
C. D. Yonge, The Works of Philo (http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/yonge/)
You can find this and tons of other good articles at EarlyChristianwritings.com

[Kaonashi]

John Knox, Jesus Lord and Christ (http://www.religion-online.org/cgi-bin/relsearchd.dll/showbook?item_id=1556)
Robert D. Lane, Reading the Bible (http://www.mala.bc.ca/www/ipp/rtb/covertb.htm)
Gerald Larue, Old Testament Life and Literature (http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/gerald_larue/otll/)
Robert Law, The Tests of Life, a Study of the First Epistle of St. John (http://www.dabar.org/NewTestament/Commentaries/1-John/Law/TOC.htm)
H. P. Liddon, Explanatory Analysis of St. Paul's First Epistle to Timothy (http://www.dabar.org/NewTestament/Commentaries/1-Timothy/Liddon/liddon-main.html)
John Lightfoot, A Commentary on the New Testament From the Talmud and Hebraica (http://philologos.org/__eb-jl/)
J. B. Lightfoot, The Brethren of the Lord (http://philologos.org/__eb-jbl/brethren.htm)
J. B. Lightfoot, On Some Points Connected with the Essenes (http://philologos.org/__eb-jbl/essenes.htm)
Thomas M. Lindsay, Church and the Ministry in the Early Centuries (http://www.ccel.org/l/lindsay/early_church/)
M. M. Mangasarian, The Truth About Jesus: Is He a Myth? (http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/m_m_mangasarian/truth_about_jesus.html)
Joseph McCabe, The Story Of Religious Controversy (http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/joseph_mccabe/religious_controversy/)
J. W. McGarvey, A Commentary on Acts of Apostles (http://www.ccel.org/m/mcgarvey/oca/OCA00.HTM)
J. W. McGarvey, The Authorship of Deuteronomy (http://www.dabar.org/Critical/McGarvey-Dt.htm)
J. W. McGarvey Lands of the Bible (http://www.dabar.org/McGarvey/Lands/McGarveycontents.html)
G.R.S. Mead, Did Jesus Live 100 B.C.? (http://www.didjesusexist.com/mead/)
G.R.S. Mead, Gnostic John the Baptizer (http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/gno/gjb/index.htm)
G.R.S. Mead, The Hymn of Jesus: Echoes from the Gnosis (http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/gno/hoj.htm)
F. B. Meyer, The Way Into the Holiest (http://www.ccel.org/m/meyer/into_holiest/contents.html)
Gary North, Leviticus: An Economic Commentary (http://freebooks.entrewave.com/freebooks/docs/21fa_47e.htm)
Gary North, Tools of Dominion: The Case Laws of Exodus (http://freebooks.entrewave.com/freebooks/docs/372e_47e.htm)
Thomas Paine, The Age of Reason (http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/thomas_paine/age_of_reason/)
Thomas Paine, Examination of the Prophecies (http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/thomas_paine/examine_prophecies.html)
Norman Perrin, Jesus and the Language of the Kingdom (http://www.religion-online.org/cgi-bin/relsearchd.dll/showbook?item_id=1620)
Norman Perrin, Rediscovering the Teachings of Jesus (http://www.religion-online.org/cgi-bin/relsearchd.dll/showbook?item_id=1564)
Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John (http://www.pbministries.org/books/pink/John/john.htm)
Arthur W. Pink, An Exposition of Hebrews (http://www.pbministries.org/books/pink/Hebrews/hebrews.htm)
Arthur W. Pink, An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount (http://www.pbministries.org/books/pink/Sermon/sermon.htm)
Arthur W. Pink, The Life of David (http://www.pbministries.org/books/pink/David/david.htm)
Arthur W. Pink, The Life of Elijah (http://www.pbministries.org/books/pink/Life_of_Elijah/elijah.htm)
G. de Purucker, The Story of Jesus (http://www.theosophy-nw.org/theosnw/world/christ/xt-jesus.htm)
William M. Ramsay, The Church in the Roman Empire Before A.D. 170 (http://webminister.com/ramsay/rcr00c.shtml)
William M. Ramsay, The First Christian Century (http://webminister.com/ramsay/rfc00t.shtml)
William M. Ramsay, A Historical Commentary on St. Paul's Epistle to the Galatians (http://webminister.com/ramsay/rcg00c.shtml)
William M. Ramsay, The Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia (http://philologos.org/__eb-lttsc/)
William M. Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveler and the Roman Citizen (http://www.ccel.org/r/ramsay/paul_roman/paul_roman.txt)
John E. Remsburg, The Christ: A Critical Review and Analysis of the Evidence of His Existence (http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/rmsbrg00.htm)
Ernest Renan, The Life of Jesus (http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/ernest_renan/life_of_jesus.html)
Jocelyn Rhys, Shaken Creeds: The Virgin Birth Doctrine (http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/6868/sh0000a.html)
J. C. Robertson, Sketches of Church History (http://www.ccel.org/r/robertson/history/church-history.txt)
Philip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom, Vol. I, The History of Creeds (http://www.ccel.org/s/schaff/creeds1/htm/i.htm)
Philip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom, Vol. II, The Greek and Latin Creeds (http://www.ccel.org/s/schaff/creeds2/htm/i.htm)
Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church (http://www.ccel.org/s/schaff/history/About.htm)
Philip Schaff, The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge (http://www.ccel.org/s/schaff/encyc/home.html)
Thomas Sheehan, The First Coming: How the Kingdom of God Became Christianity (http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/thomas_sheehan/firstcoming/)
Roger Shinn, The Sermon on the Mount (http://www.religion-online.org/cgi-bin/relsearchd.dll/showbook?item_id=1113)
George Adam Smith, The Historical Geography of the Holy Land (http://www.cwru.edu/UL/preserve/Etana/SMITH.HIST/SMITH.HIST.html)
George Adam Smith, Jerusalem: The Topography, Economics, and History From the Earliest Times to A.D. 70 Vol. I (http://www.cwru.edu/UL/preserve/Etana/SMITH.JERUv1/SMITH.JERUv1.html)
George Adam Smith, Jerusalem: The Topography, Economics, and History From the Earliest Times to A.D. 70 Vol. II (http://www.cwru.edu/UL/preserve/Etana/SMITH.JERUv2/SMITH.JERUv2.html)
William Robertson Smith, Lectures on the Religion of the Semites (http://www.cwru.edu/UL/preserve/Etana/Lectures/Lectures.html)
Ray C. Stedman, Hebrews: The New Testament Commentary Series (http://www.pbc.org/dp/stedman/hebrews2/index.html)
H. B. Swete, An Introduction to the Old Testament in Greek (http://www.ccel.org/s/swete/greekot/)
Henry Wace, A Dictionary of Christian Biography and Literature (http://www.ccel.org/w/wace/biodict/htm/TOC.htm)
John Wesley, Notes on the Bible (http://www.ccel.org/w/wesley/notes/home.html)
Joseph Wheless, Forgery in Christianity (http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/joseph_wheless/forgery_in_christianity/)
Joseph Wheless, Is It God's Word? (http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/joseph_wheless/is_it_gods_word/)
Ellen White, Acts of the Apostles (http://www.ccel.org/w/white/acts/acts.txt)
Ellen White, Prophets and Kings (http://www.ccel.org/w/white/prophets/prophets.txt)

[Kaonashi]

William Barclay, Many Witnesses, One Lord (http://www.religion-online.org/cgi-bin/relsearchd.dll/showbook?item_id=1112)
Walter Bauer, Orthodoxy and Heresy (http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~humm/Resources/Bauer/)
Chrysostomus Baur, John Chrysostom and His Time (http://www.reu.org/public/chrysos/life.txt)
Louis Berkhof, New Testament Introduction (http://www.dabar.org/NewTestament/Berkhof/TOC.htm)
A. B. Bruce, The Training of the Twelve (http://www.ccel.org/b/bruce/twelve/twelve_c.htm)
F. F. Bruce, The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? (http://www.worldinvisible.com/library/ffbruce/ntdocrli/ntdocont.htm)
E. W. Bullinger, The Apocalypse (http://philologos.org/__eb-ta/default.htm)
Rudolf Bultmann, Jesus and the Word (http://www.religion-online.org/cgi-bin/relsearchd.dll/showbook?item_id=426)
Rudolf Bultmann, Kerygma and Myth (http://www.religion-online.org/cgi-bin/relsearchd.dll/showbook?item_id=431)
Millar Burrows, Jesus in the First Three Gospels (http://www.religion-online.org/cgi-bin/relsearchd.dll/showbook?item_id=1622)
William R. Cannon, The Book of Acts (http://www.religion-online.org/cgi-bin/relsearchd.dll/showbook?item_id=693)
William R. Cannon, The Gospel of John (http://www.religion-online.org/cgi-bin/relsearchd.dll/showbook?item_id=692)
William R. Cannon, The Gospel of Matthew (http://www.religion-online.org/cgi-bin/relsearchd.dll/showbook?item_id=651)
Edward Carpenter, Pagan and Christian Creeds: Their Origin and Meaning (http://digital.library.upenn.edu/webbin/gutbook/lookup?num=1561)
Shirley Jackson Case, The Historicity of Jesus (http://www.didjesusexist.com/case/)
Walter Richard Cassels, Supernatural Religion: An Inquiry into the Reality of Divine Revelation (http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/freethought/)
R. H. Charles, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on The Revelation of St. John (http://www.dabar.org/RHCharles/Revelation/contents.htm)
T. K. Cheyne and J. Sutherland Black. Encyclopaedia biblica Vol. I A-D (http://www.cwru.edu/UL/preserve/Etana/encyl_biblica_a-d/encyl_biblica_a-d.html)
T. K. Cheyne and J. Sutherland Black. Encyclopaedia biblica Vol. II E-K (http://www.cwru.edu/UL/preserve/Etana/encyl_biblica_e-k/encyl_biblica_e-k.html)
T. K. Cheyne and J. Sutherland Black. Encyclopaedia biblica Vol. III L-P (http://www.cwru.edu/UL/preserve/Etana/encyl_biblica_l-p/encyl_biblica_l-p.html)
T. K. Cheyne and J. Sutherland Black. Encyclopaedia biblica Vol. IV Q-Z (http://www.cwru.edu/UL/preserve/Etana/encyl_biblica_q-z/encyl_biblica_q-z.html)
W. H. Daubney, Three Additions to Daniel: A Study (http://www.ccel.org/d/daubney/additions/)
Stevan Davies, The Gospel of Thomas and Christian Wisdom (http://www.misericordia.edu/users/davies/thomas/one.htm)
William J. Deane, Pseudepigrapha: An Account of Certain Apocryphal Sacred Writings of the Jews and Early Christians (http://www.ccel.org/php/disp.php?authorID=deane&bookID=pseudepig&page=1&view=png)
Martin Dibelius, Jesus (http://www.religion-online.org/cgi-bin/relsearchd.dll/showbook?item_id=1474)
C. H. Dodd, The Apostolic Preaching and Its Developments (http://www.religion-online.org/cgi-bin/relsearchd.dll/showbook?item_id=539)
James J. O'Donnell, Cassiodorus (http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/jod/texts/cassbook/toc.html)
M. G. Easton, Easton's Bible Dictionary (http://www.ccel.org/e/easton/ebd/ebd.html)
Ronald L. Ecker, And Adam Knew Eve: A Dictionary of Sex in the Bible (http://www.hobrad.com/and.htm)
Alfred Edersheim, Bible History, Old Testament (http://philologos.org/__eb-bhot/)
Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah (http://philologos.org/__eb-lat/)
Alfred Edersheim, Sketches of Jewish Social Life (http://philologos.org/__eb-sjsl/)
Alfred Edersheim, The Temple: Its Ministry and Services (http://philologos.org/__eb-ttms/)
George Edmundson, Church in Rome in the First Century (http://www.ccel.org/e/edmundson/church/)
Vernard Eller, The Beloved Disciple: His Name, His Story, His Thought (http://www.hccentral.com/eller8/index.html)
Vernard Eller, The Most Revealing Book of the Bible (http://www.hccentral.com/eller7/index.html)
Friedrich Engels, On the History of Early Christianity (http://atheism.about.com/library/marxism/bl_EngelsEarlyChrist.htm?rnk=r5&terms=Early+Christian+Writings)
Frederic Farrar, The Life of Christ (http://christianwritings.net/contents.htm)
William Floyd, Mistakes of Jesus (http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/william_floyd/mistakes_of_jesus.html)
Sir James George Frazer, The Golden Bough (http://www.bartleby.com/196/)
Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr., Beast of Revelation (http://freebooks.entrewave.com/freebooks/docs/2186_47e.htm)
Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr., Before Jerusalem Fell: Dating the Book of Revelation (http://freebooks.entrewave.com/freebooks/docs/2206_47e.htm)
Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (http://www.ccel.org/g/gibbon/decline/home.html)
Louis Ginzberg, The Legends of the Jews (http://philologos.org/__eb-lotj/)
Maurice Goguel, Jesus the Nazarene: Myth or History? (http://www.didjesusexist.com/goguel/)
Robert M. Grant, A Historical Introduction to the New Testament (http://www.religion-online.org/cgi-bin/relsearchd.dll/showbook?item_id=1116)
Kersey Graves, The World's Sixteen Crucified Saviors (http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/kersey_graves/16/)
Adolph Harnack, The Mission and Expansion of Christianity in the First Three Centuries (http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/rs/rak/courses/535/Harnack/bk0-TOC.htm)
Neill Q. Hamilton, Jesus for a No-God World (http://www.religion-online.org/cgi-bin/relsearchd.dll/showbook?item_id=405)
William Hamilton, The Modern Reader's Guide to the Gospels (http://www.religion-online.org/cgi-bin/relsearchd.dll/showbook?item_id=1114)
Richard Heard, An Introduction to the New Testament (http://www.religion-online.org/cgi-bin/relsearchd.dll/showbook?item_id=531)
Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible (http://www.apostolic-churches.net/bible/mhc/)
Robert Ingersoll, Some Mistakes Of Moses (http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/robert_ingersoll/some_mistakes_of_moses.html)
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (http://www.ccel.org/j/jfb/jfb/JFB00.HTM)
Jastrow, Marcus, A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature Vol. I (http://www.cwru.edu/UL/preserve/Etana/JAST.DICv1/JAST.DICv1.html)
Jastrow, Marcus, A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature Vol. II (http://www.cwru.edu/UL/preserve/Etana/JAST.DICv2/JAST.DICv2.html)
Thomas Jefferson, The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth (http://nothingistic.org/library/jefferson/jesus/)
Joachim Jeremias, The Central Message of the New Testament (http://www.religion-online.org/cgi-bin/relsearchd.dll/showbook?item_id=1475)
Joachim Jeremias, The Lord's Prayer (http://www.religion-online.org/cgi-bin/relsearchd.dll/showbook?item_id=1118)
Joachim Jeremias, The Sermon on the Mount (http://www.religion-online.org/cgi-bin/relsearchd.dll/showbook?item_id=1117)
B. W. Johnson, The New Testament Commentary: John (http://www.ccel.org/j/johnson_bw/bwjntc3/htm/i.htm)
B. W. Johnson, The People's New Testament (http://www.ccel.org/j/johnson_bw/pnt/PNT00A.HTM)
Edwin Johnson, Antiqua Mater (http://www.radikalkritik.de/antiqua_mater.htm)
Michael Kelley, The Burden of God: Studies in Wisdom and Civilization from the Book of Ecclesiastes (http://www.visi.com/~contra_m/ab/burden/burden.html)

[Im_A]

hey does anyone know any good post-modern material to read?

i'm a huge, huge fan of brian mclaren, whom is a christian also, but i just wanted to know if anyone else knows of any more good post-modern material.

plus thanks for the reference of blue like jazz, i bought it today and was just flipping through the pages, and already found an awesome quote, so i'm stoked to read more of it.

[CaDan]

hey does anyone know any good post-modern material to read?


"The Understanding of Faith" by Edward Schillebeeckx.

Be warned: Schillebeeckx is a hard read.

[sculpturegirl]

So, do people who don't think that Christ was resurrected believe that he is the Son of God?

[~Wisdom Seeker~]

This is an excellent thread.

This is a book that confirmed much of what I had already learned over the years through other history books about how todays Christian religion was formed, by whom, and with what agenda. It's in my opinion an invaluable resource. I recommend it highly. Constantine's Sword: The Church and the Jews---A History (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0618219080/ref=pd_rd_fs_c/102-0919470-9070558?v=glance&s=books)

[Toney]

This is an excellent thread.

This is a book that confirmed much of what I had already learned over the years through other history books about how todays Christian religion was formed, by whom, and with what agenda. It's in my opinion an invaluable resource. I recommend it highly. Constantine's Sword: The Church and the Jews---A History (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0618219080/ref=pd_rd_fs_c/102-0919470-9070558?v=glance&s=books)

Bump!

This excellent thread has been idle since September. It's a good appendage to the more recent thread, Liberal Christian books/writers? (http://www.christianforums.com/t1145401-liberal-christian-bookswriters.html).

I read Constantine's Sword after Wisdom Seeker recommended it. It is an absolute must; essential reading for Liberal Christians who wonder when and why things went astray.

Tattedsaint asked:

hey does anyone know any good post-modern material to read?

I have not read Paul Tillich and know him only by the references Peter Kreeft makes (almost as often as he references C.S. Lewis -- a lot). Tillich has written of a post-theistic Christianity. So has Spong. That premise likely is sine qua non to a post-modern Christian narrative. CaDan, any thoughts on this subject? You reported that Tillich is heavy reading.

[CaDan]

I have not read Paul Tillich and know him only by the references Peter Kreeft makes (almost as often as he references C.S. Lewis -- a lot). Tillich has written of a post-theistic Christianity. So has Spong. That premise likely is sine qua non to a post-modern Christian narrative. CaDan, any thoughts on this subject? You reported that Tillich is heavy reading.

You need to be coversant with Existentialism to really get a lot out of Tillich. However, The Shaking of the Foundations is pretty accessible. The Courage To Be, while short and readily available, is not really a good starting point unless you already know a lot about philosophy.

[seebs]

Let's see. I've got a big stack of Capon books I plan to read "real soon now". The Don Camillo stories are wonderful, but out of print. I just picked up Robert Alter's The Five Books Of Moses, which is a very interesting new translation. And I got a book of stories by Tony Campolo, 'cuz he's always fun to read.

[Brian Augustyn]

Here are some books I highly reccommend:


Church Fathers Outside the ANF-NPNF Collection (http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/fathers/)
W. H. Davis, Beginner's Grammar of the Greek New Testament (http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/davis/)
Edgar J. Goodspeed, An Introduction to the New Testament (http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/goodspeed/)
George A. Jackson, The Post-Nicene Greek Fathers (http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/jackson2/)
H. Latimer Jackson, The Problem of the Fourth Gospel (http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/jackson/)
Kirsopp Lake, Landmarks of Early Christianity (http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/lake/)
J. B. Lightfoot, The Apostolic Fathers (http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/lightfoot/)
Alfred Loisy, The Birth of the Christian Religion (http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/loisy/)
Alfred Loisy, The Origins of the New Testament (http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/loisy2/)
Albert Schweitzer, The Quest of the Historical Jesus (http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/schweitzer/)
E. F. Sctt, The Fourth Gospel: Its Purpose and Theology (http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/scott/)
J. H. Srawley, The Epistles of St. Ignatius (http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/srawley/)
David Friedrich Strauss, The Life of Jesus Critically Examined (http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/strauss/)
J. Tixeront, A Handbook of Patrology (http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/tixeront/)
C. D. Yonge, The Works of Philo (http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/yonge/)
You can find this and tons of other good articles at EarlyChristianwritings.com

Wow. They have e-mail in 1931?

;)
Brian

[Brian Augustyn]

hey does anyone know any good post-modern material to read?

i'm a huge, huge fan of brian mclaren, whom is a christian also, but i just wanted to know if anyone else knows of any more good post-modern material.

I liked McLaren's A New Kind of Christian and the follow-up "Neo" book a bunch. I have, but have not yet read his most recent book, A Generous Orthodoxy

Zondervan publishes a line of books in conjunction with Youth Specialties about the movement which has been termed the "Emergent Church." I believe EC is the insider term for post-modern church. McLaren is one of the founders of the Emergent movement and he is represented in this line of books as are folks of similar mind, such as Mike Yaconelli, Tony Campolo and Dallas Willard. The books, like the theology, aren't strictly speaking "liberal," but much is thoughtful, faithful and challenging.

Check this for EmergentYS: http://www.youthspecialties.com/about/news/2003/emergentYS.php

Also, the book, Real Live Preacher.Com which collects the truly terrific musings on faith and life by Gordon Atkinson, a real live preacher from San Antonio, is terrific. As the title might suggest, RLP started (and continues) as blog and a really good one. Check it out.

The Preacher can be found at: http://blogs.salon.com/0001772/

Read on...

Brian

[Mustaphile]

/me bumps the thread

[Toney]

/me bumps the thread