Recommended Books
The Heart of Christianity by Marcus Borg
World-renowned Jesus scholar Marcus J. Borg shows how we can live passionately as Christians in today's world by practicing the vital elements of Christian faith. For the millions of people who have turned away from many traditional beliefs about God, Jesus, and the Bible, but still long for a relevant, nourishing faith, Borg shows why the Christian life can remain a transforming relationship with God. Emphasizing the critical role of daily practice in living the Christian life, he explores how prayer, worship, Sabbath, pilgrimage, and more can be experienced as authentically life-giving practices. 
Reading the Bible Again for First Time: Taking the Bible Seriously but Not Literally by Marcus Borg
One of the vital challenges facing thoughtful people today is how to read the Bible faithfully without abandoning our sense of truth and history. Reading the Bible Again for the First Time provides a much-needed solution to the problem of how to have a fully authentic yet contemporary understanding of the scriptures. 
Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time by Marcus Borg
Of the many recent books on the historical Jesus, none has explored what the latest biblical scholarship means for personal faith. In Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, Marcus Borg addresses the yearnings of those who want a fully contemporary faith that welcomes rather than oppresses our critical intelligence and openness to the best of historical scholarship. Borg shows how a rigorous examination of historical findings can lead to a new faith in Christ, one that is critical and, at the same time, sustaining. 
The God We Never Knew by Marcus Borg
Borg writes brilliantly about navigating the tension between faith and rationality and answers with great clarity many of the questions faced by contemporary people of faith. 
Speaking Christian by Marcus Borg
Borg illuminates the ways that the very language Christians use has become dangerously distilled, distorted, and disconnected from the beliefs which once underpinned it. 
A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose by Eckhart Tolle
A brilliant manifesto on the growth and healing potential of mastering the present moment. 
Practicing the Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
This book shows us how to free ourselves from “enslavement to the mind.” The aim is to be able to enter into and sustain an awakened state of consciousness throughout everyday life. Through meditations and simple techniques, Eckhart shows us how to quiet our thoughts, see the world in the present moment, and find a path to “a life of grace, ease, and lightness.” 
Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism: A Bishop Rethinks the Meaning of Scripture
by John Shelby Spong Bishop Spong, writes skillfully about the meaning of scripture. He reveals how literal interpretations of Scripture have been used to justify slavery, ban textbooks and deny rights of gays and lesbians and justify war and revenge. He liberates the Bible's message of hope for all people. 
Why Christianity Must Change or Die by John Shelby Spong
In this compelling and heartfelt book, Bishop Spong sounds a rousing call for a Christianity based on critical thought rather than blind faith, on love rather than judgment. A faith that focuses on life more than religion. 
Leaving Church by Barbara Brown Taylor
In these sermons, Barabra Brown Taylor walks us through the church year from the expectancy of Advent to the fires of Pentecost and beyond. Her themes arise not only from a particular feast or fast, but out of the perennial questions of faith: doubt, grace, anger, and jubilation. These sermons are simply great stories well told. 
An Altar in the World by Barbara Brown Taylor
A beautiful and honest spiritual memoir. 
Misquoting Jesus by Bart Ehrman
For almost 1,500 years, the New Testament manuscripts were copied by hand––and mistakes and intentional changes abound in the competing manuscript versions. Religious and biblical scholar Bart Ehrman makes the provocative case that many of our widely held beliefs concerning the divinity of Jesus, the Trinity, and the divine origins of the Bible itself are the results of both intentional and accidental alterations by scribes. 
Spirit Matters by Michael Lerner
Spirit Matters shows how deeply we've been hurt personally, emotionally, ecologically, and politically by living in a world that systematically represses our spiritual needs-and how we might create a personal life and society that embodies what Michael Lerner describes as an Emancipatory Spirituality. It is a spirituality that affirms that there is enough, that generosity, atonement, joy, and celebration of the grandeur of the universe can be basic building blocks in constructing our own lives together. 
The Left Hand of God by Michael Lerner
Addressing the central mystery of contemporary politics–why so many Americans vote against their own economic interests. The Left Hand of God provides an invaluable, timely, and blunt critique of the current state of faith and government. Lerner challenges the Left to give up its deeply held fear of religion and to distinguish between a domination-oriented, Right-Hand-of-God tradition and a more compassionate and hope-oriented Left-Hand-of-God worldview. 
Mystics and Zen Masters by Thomas Merton
Thomas Merton was recognized as one of those rare Western minds that are entirely at home with the Zen experience. In this collection, he discusses diverse religious concepts-early monasticism, Russian Orthodox spirituality, the Shakers, and Zen Buddhism-with characteristic Western directness. Merton not only studied these religions from the outside but grasped them by empathy and living participation from within. "All these studies," wrote Merton, "are united by one central concern: to understand various ways in which men of different traditions have conceived the meaning and method of the 'way' which leads to the highest levels of religious or of metaphysical awareness." 
New Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton
New Seeds of Contemplation seeks to awaken the dormant inner depths of the spirit so long neglected by Western man, to nurture a deeply contemplative and mystical dimension in our lives. 
Zen and the Birds of Appetite by Thomas Merton
Exploring the relationship between Christianity and Zen, especially through his dialogue with the great Zen teacher D.T. Suzuki, this book makes an excellent introduction to a comparative study of these two traditions, as well as giving the reader a strong taste of the mature Merton. 
The Ascent to Truth by Thomas Merton
A beautiful introduction to mysticism and the contemplative path. 
American Theocracy by Kevin Phillips
A must read book for anyone interested in the lethal combination of political power, religious zeal, and hubris. 
Dark Night of the Soul by St. John of the Cross
A must read for anyone interested in exploring mysticism within Christianity. |
Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed Cross the Road by Brian McLaren
In this book, Brian McLaren proposes a new faith alternative, one built on "benevolence and solidarity rather than rivalry and hostility." This way of being Christian is strong but doesn't strong-arm anyone, going beyond mere tolerance to vigorous hospitality toward, interest in, and collaboration with the other. 
Everything Must Change by Brian McLaren
How can the life and teachings of Jesus impact the most critical global problems in our world today? In Everything Must Change, McLaren unveils a fresh and provocative vision of Jesus and his teachings, and how his message of hope can ignite purpose and passion to change the economic, environmental, military, political, and social crises that have overtaken our world. 
Falling Upward by Richard Rohr
This book explores the rich possibilities of spiritual growth and maturity in the second half of life. 
The Naked Now: Learning to See as the Mystics See by Richard Rohr
For Christians seeking a way of thinking outside of strict dualities, this guide explores methods for letting go of division and living in the present. Drawn from the Gospels, Jesus, Paul, and the great Christian contemplatives, this examination reveals how many of the hidden truths of Christianity have been misunderstood or lost and how to read them with the eyes of the mystics rather than interpreting them through rational thought. Filled with sayings, stories, quotations, and appeals to the heart, specific methods for identifying dualistic thinking are presented with simple practices for stripping away ego and the fear of dwelling in the present. 
The Spiral Staircase by Karen Armstrong
This book is a beautifully written account of Karen Armstrong's spiritual journey. 
The Truing of Christianity by John Meagher
This book is one of the most thorough and compelling accounts of the ways the Christian faith has adapted itself through the centuries. With impeccable scholarship, John Meagher invites the reader into a faith journey of profound and beautiful depths. 
The Powers That Be by Walter Wink
This book reclaims the divine realm as central to human existence by offering new ways of understanding our world in theological terms. Walter Wink reformulates ancient concepts, such as God and the devil, heaven and hell, angels and demons, principalities and powers, in light of our modern experience. 
The Cross in Our Context by Douglas John Hall
This book elegantly explores the meaning of the central symbol of Christianity in a postmodern, pluralistic and multicultural context. 
Why Christian? by Douglas John Hall
Hall probes fundamental religious questions and wrestles with the cogency of basic Christian convictions about Jesus and God, about religious belief and the human predicament, about inauthentic forms of Christianity, about what is missing in human life today. Quoting Unamuno's dictum that "Faith that does not doubt is dead faith," Hall's accessible and straightforward book helps readers to reclaim a Christianity of personal, intellectual, and moral integrity. 
Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography by John Dominic Crossan
Crossan probes with great scholarly integrity what can be known about the historical figure, Jesus of Nazareth. 
Attack Upon "Christendom" by Soren Kierkegaard
Kierkegaard's bold critique of the state church of Denmark in the mid 19th century is still very relevant to modern organized religion. 
Works of Love by Soren Kierkegaard
One of Soren Kierkegaard's most important writings, this book is a profound examination of the human heart, in which the great philosopher conducts the reader into the inmost secrets of Love which for Kierkegaard, is one of the central aspects of existence; it saves us from isolation and unites us with one another and with God. 
Parables of Kierkegaard edited by Thomas C. Oden
An entertaining and insightful tour through the enigmatic parables of the great Christian philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard. 
Stages of Faith by James Fowler
Faith, as approached here, is not necessarily religious, nor is it to be equated with belief. Rather, faith is a person's way of leaning into and making sense of life. More verb that noun, faith is the dynamic system of images, values, and commitments that guide one's life. It is thus universal: everyone who chooses to go on living operates by some basic faith. 
The Beginning of All Things: Science and Religion by Hans Kung
This brilliant book places scientists and theologians at the same table for deep conversation on the origins of life. Kung makes a compelling case that science and religion are not mutually exclusive disciplines. 
The Miracle of Mindfulness: A Manual on Meditation by Thich Nhat Hanh
In this beautiful and lucid guide, Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh offers gentle anecdotes and practical exercise as a means of learning the skills of mindfulness--being awake and fully aware. He reminds us that each moment holds within it an opportunity to work toward greater self-understanding and peacefulness. 
Authentic Knowing: The Convergence of Science and Spiritual Aspiration by Imants Baruss
This book explores the convergence of science and spiritual aspirations and deftly weaves through the wide ranging fields of psychology, philosophy, and physics in the quest for truth. 
The Courage to Be by Paul Tillich
In this classic and deeply insightful book, one of the world's most eminent philosophers describes the dilemma of modern man and points a way to the conquest of the problem of existential anxiety. 
A New Kind of Christian: A Tale of Two Friends on a Spiritual Journey by Brian McLaren
An engaging tale of friendship and the growing pains of the spiritual path. 
Intimacy with God by Thomas Keating
A poetic and accessible introduction to the method of Centering Prayer, this guide explains its origins, theological basis, and psychology by drawing on writings such as St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross, and significant texts, such as The Cloud of Unknowing. 
Open Mind, Open Heart: The Contemplative Dimension of the Gospel by Thomas Keating
This book is designed to initiate the reader into a deep, living relationship with God. Written by an acknowledged spiritual master, the book moves beyond "discursive meditation and particular acts to the intuitive level of contemplation." Keating gives an overview of the history of contemplative prayer in the Christian tradition, and step-by-step guidance in the method of centering prayer. |