Suggested Reading

On this page I’ve listed some of the books I’ve read that have been particularly interesting and/or informative. My readers may find some of these books to be worthy of their time.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

I have somewhat “progressive” views in the areas of politics and Christian doctrine. Please do not apply a “guilt by association” criteria by rejecting all of my recommendations simply because some are left of center.

Conquering Mountains is a book written by a friend who is also a Sister in Christ. It is a mother’s brutally honest description of her battle with faith and doubt, joy and discouragement, during her daughter’s recovery from a life-threatening car accident while serving as a missionary in Malawi, Africa. A copy of this book can be obtained at the link below:

Conquering Mountains by Joni O’Connor Jenson

These are some books I have found to be very useful in my study of the Bible:

  • Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible - James Strong

  • The Jewish Study Bible - The Jewish Publication Society, Berlin, Brettler & Fishbane

  • The New Bible Commentary Revised - Guthrie, Motyer, Stibbs & Wiseman

  • The NIV Exhaustive Concordance - Goodrick & Kohlenberger III

  • True to Our Native Land - An African American New Testament Commentary - Blount, Byron & Powery

This list of books on the topic of human suffering was highly influential when I was preparing the Bible Study Wrestling with Suffering.

  • Christ and Human Suffering - E. Stanley Jones

  • Is God to Blame? - Gregory A. Boyd

  • When Bad Things Happen to Good People - Rabbi Harold S. Kushner

  • Disappointment with God - Philip Yancey

  • The Question that Never Goes Away - Philip Yancey

  • Where is God When it Hurts? - Philip Yancey

These books on the Right vs. Left Political divide helped clarify my thoughts on this subject.

  • God and other famous liberals – F. Forrester Church

  • Lies my teacher told me – James W. Loewen

  • Prius or Pickup – Hetherington & Weiler

  • Strangers in their own land – Arlie Russell Hochschild

  • Thou shalt not be a jerk – Eugene Cho

These are some books on the subject of the proper role of Christianity in politics that I have found enlightening. They reassured me that I’m not imagining things about Christian Nationalism.

  • Bring back your people – Aaron Scott

  • How to End Christian Nationalism – Amanda Tyler

  • Losing our Religion – An Altar call for Evangelical America – Russell Moore

  • The Kingdom, The Power, and The Glory – Tim Alberta

Here are books I’ve read about racism that opened my eyes to the systemic nature of this problem and its continued impacts in 21st Century America:

  • Caste - Isabel Wilkerson

  • How to be an Antiracist – Ibram X. Kendi

  • So you want to talk about race – Ijeoma Oiuo

  • Stamped from the Beginning – Ibram X. Kendi

  • Waking up White – Debby Irving

  • White Fragility – Robin Diangelo

  • White too Long – Robert P. Jones

These books impacted in a sigificant way the attitudes I have towards the LGBTQ+ community.

  • Love is an Orientation – Andrew Marin

  • Unclobber, Rethinking our misuse of the Bible on Homosexuality – Colby Martin

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