Hello everyone,
I’m really interested in the concept of religion and how it affects not only us individually, but every society.
Over the years, I’ve read multiple books by the famous biologist and atheist Richard Dawkins like ‘The God Delusion’. Now, I’d like to read a book about religion from a religious standpoint. I don’t have anything specific in mind, it can be a classical story dealing with religious topics or a ‘scientificly’ written analysis on Christianity. Thanks 🙂
by Muted-Cry-1907
9 Comments
Were you looking for any specific time period , place or particular aspect of Christianity – i.e. early Christianity? Modern Christianity?
I am sure Christians and those well versed in Christian theology/religion more generally will have more pertinent recs for you. But A History of God by Karen Armstrong might be a good place to start. Despite the title, it deals primarily with Christianity and Islam. It gives an overview of how the philosophy of these religions evolved throughout their histories.
Mere Christianity by CS Lewis is a classic, and deals with the logical arguments for God and Christianity specifically. It’s not very long. Evidence That Demands a Verdict by Josh MacDowell is another. A more recent publication is Is Atheism Dead? By Eric Metaxes. Among other things, he has a section on Biblical archeology. He’s a story teller, so if you enjoy your information delivered with a story along with it, you might enjoy that.
You could check out Dennis Prager’s work where he dives into each book of the Bible. He’s written already on Genesis, Exodus, Deuteronomy
The Reason For God by Timothy Keller.
Misquoting Jesus or How Jesus Became God by Bart Ehrman. Or any of his books really. Bart is a biblical scholar and it’s fascinating to learn which parts were written by who and why. And what tools scholars use to determine this.
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14328
The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius is a major work of medieval Christian philosophy
Joseph Ratzinger wrote “Introduction to Christianity,” which I personally recommend, and the three-set “Jesus of Nazareth” series.
Ratzinger began his career in the nouvelle theologie (“new theology”) movement, the central idea of which was ressourcement, or a return to the sources. The sources in mind were the Bible and the writers of the early Church, like Irenaeus (d. 203) or Origen (d. 253).
So, I think in Ratzinger, one can find a happy medium between modern biblical scholarship, the witness of the early Church, medieval Scholasticism, and contemporary philosophical thought.
Henri de Lubac was another author in this same movement, and I don’t know what exactly you mean by the societal effect of religion, but it makes me think of his book, “Christianity: Christ and the Common Destiny of Man.” I feel like Ratzinger and de Lubac have a similarly accessible style; only, de Lubac assumes a bit more background knowledge, the kind of stuff that Ratzinger writes about.
They both would represent Catholic authorship. Kallistos Ware (“The Orthodox Church: An Introduction to Eastern Christianity”) and C.S. Lewis (“Mere Christianity”), respectively, represent Orthodox and Protestant authorship. Although, both of them are respected beyond their own spheres.
Ratzinger would definitely be my recommendation, but whether Ware or Lewis, I suspect the three of them will be writing with the same discussion in mind as Dawkins, if on the other side of it.
There are plenty of other good authors, but they may not be in exactly the same discussion, like St. Ephrem, who beautifully writes about paradise or the resurrection but in a completely different mindset. It just depends on what you’re looking for in particular.
I hope something here helps! Best wishes!
*Orthodoxy* and *The Everlasting Man* by GK Chesterton are good places to start
Veritas: A Harvard Professor, a Con Man and the Gospel of Jesus’s Wife by Ariel Sabar is a riveting investigation about the historical and scientific/interpretive study of ancient christian manuscripts (and the production of forgeries) that is a wild, thrilling ride.