I am lucky to have friends that are much smarter and well read than me, so when I reached out to a few of them in regards to the questions that I have regarding faith, theology, and philosophy, I got some great responses back. Just to give you an idea of some of their backgrounds: they are all people of faith that have found meaning and truth in the tenets of Christianity, but they come from very different places. One is what could be called a secular philosopher, another is a well rounded intellectual, another is a graduate of a post-christian ivy league seminary, and another one is a practicing minister from a traditional seminary. Not too shabby.
In the past, a lot of my thoughts about God have already come from a place of Christian preconceptions or have worked themselves out from a biblical authoritarian position, so to speak. This time around, I am looking for a broader base of knowledge and study which includes thoughts on faith from people that may not come from my exact background, but that have also come to enlightening conclusions about faith. I very much doubt that I will get through all the materials my friends have recommended, but I am sure that I will be able to glean from many of them. Since I am sure many of you are curious, I will share some of them with you. (I hope my friends will not mind me passing on their thoughts and recommendations, which I am quoting with each :
Philosophy
"Paul Ricoeur was one of the leading French philosophers of the 20th century. He also happened to be a Catholic and is a bit of hero of mine. Figuring The Sacred really helped me to understand the structure and dynamics of sacred experience. This was both demystifying in many ways and helped me to understand the inherently symbolic nature of sacred experience (i.e. it always points to something else). Not a quick or easy read but very worth it..."
"Merold Westphal is currently one of the leading english speaking continental philosophers. I believe he teaches at Fordham in NY. His text would be the first one I'd suggest you go to. It'll hit your doubts and concerns about religion head on. He looks at the post-modern objections to the sacred, takes them on board and tries to move to some kind of synthesis. You may not agree with all his conclusions, but I'm sure you'll find it a very useful text and perhaps a hopeful one as well. Again, not an easy read as it's unfettered philosophy but very worth it..."
"Alasdair Macintyre is another Catholic philosopher and one of the leading moral thinkers of our time. He teaches at Notre Dame. After Virtue might be one to pick up later on down the track, but definitely worth a read at some stage. A brilliant critique of the predominant moral systems we practice in various forms, whether religious or not."
Science:
"I read this book for a survey course on religion and spiritualism in the US. Gould was a big-time paleontologist and evolutionary biologist."
"I would also highly recommend listening, reading, and or watching anything John Lennox has done, a truly humble presence with an unbelievable sharp mind, he's done a series of lovely debates and conversations with skeptics and atheists in the past ten years, his writing isn't as good as his speaking but i have found many of his books to be compelling, one is called God's Undertaker :"Has science buried God", it's not the thickest tome out there but it gives some interesting direction and insight from a scientific perspective if that interests you."
Misc. Lectures on Religion and Atheism:
"... a compilation book of lectures from The Veritas Forum, which is a podcast of conversations between intellectuals, professors, scientists, historians, and philosophers of various faiths (and or no faiths) that has been very impactful on me and i imagine this series of compiled talks would be something you would find really thought provoking and connected to many of your questions, for me it's not so much the books but the people and thinkers behind them..."
by Terry Eagleton
Theology and Spirituality:
"I read this book by Cornelius Plantinga and it was one of the best books I read during seminary, both in theological depth and in plain old good writing. I haven't read this article, but I think it covers the same stuff. It kind of just explores sin and how it came about and what it is. Might be a good read on that end. Good to have read in any case, just because it is that good."
"Mapping the Doctrine of Atonement" from
"by Kevin Vanhoozer. Another great writer, this is a more technical piece on the different perspectives on what Christ came to do and why it was so strange. It kind of works through church fathers and other theologians and how they have understood Christ's roles. It helped me see a broader picture of how God dealt with sin in Christ. It might be helpful. This may be something completely different than what you are needing, and if so, disregard it."
"You may have heard of Karen Armstrong, as she is quite a prolific author, but in thus book she chronicles her internal struggles with issues of faith and it can be a good launching point to other stuff she has written. She is definitely not a Christian apologist, but perhaps more along the lines of a pluralistic mystic."
Other Authors:
Diana Eck, David Lamberth, Greg Epstein, Dallas Willard, F.W. Boreham,
Clearly I have a lot on my plate.... but what about you, readers of mine, what books have been influential in the foundation of your metaphysical world view?
3 comments:
Can I protest this book supremacy? :) Books may be at the bottom of the list of what formed my spiritual worldview. In my case, it's been a variety of things, including personal experience (for instance, growing up in a messed up church showed me what God is NOT like), art (including some books, classic fiction most of the times), people... Yeah, that's it. People have been the most influential in my approach to metaphysics. Spirituality can, and must be, academically studied, but not limited to that. Not saying you're implying that, I'm just suggesting to broaden the approach.
Marta, I totally agree. By no means is this post or blog meant to encompass all my approaches to these problems. People, experience, and art definitely come into it.
That being said, I think that different seasons of doubt ask for different kinds of solutions and I feel that this one is more intellectual than my past doubts, so I am excited to read stuff.
I, too, am struggling with this issue. This black hole of not knowing what or how to believe is unsettling, and sometimes I miss the old days- the bubble we all grew up in. My own 'journey' in this hasn't been shaped by books on the topic as much as by my general studies of literature/ lit. criticism. That's part of the problem! It has been one big mesh of ideas/perspectives (and my interaction with those). As a result, I now read between the lines, even when there is- perhaps- nothing there and it has made it hard to get through Bible passages. Everything is deconstructed and I find myself practicing a very "pick-and-choose" spirituality these days, which is based more on random ideas of other people than any of my own discoveries. Can't help but think of "The Waste Land", however cliché.
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