We Are Jonah

Bibliography Pt. 2 - Books that Rocked my World!

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Books That Grew Me Spiritually

1. The Bible

Duh! I'm not quite sure where the point was that I stopped reading the Bible because "it's the thing to do", or to pull out a quote to back me up in a debate, or to find all of the really weird names in there (my fave is still "Mephibosheth") .

But at some point, somewhat recently, I stopped reading it as a passive observer, and started reading it like a student. Like a devoted, hungry student that *needed* to understand, that *needed* to be challenged and inspired and encouraged. Or better yet, like a real child of God that needed every last breadcrumb, every last word that came from the mouth of the Father, to survive.

I've found that I need God's truth. Where else are we going to find a sure anchor in this world? When "news" and "current affairs" bleed into eachother, when we get old enough to realise that our old school teachers are humans just like us, and we know a lot less than we thought they did at our age - you know that you need *something*.

2. Knowing God, by J. I. Packer

The first book that I read that was a hardcore, almost systematic approach to "God", it was still really readable. The best thing about this book is that it's not all about pushing you to live a better life, or to read the Bible or pray more, or anything like that. The simple aim of Knowing God is to tell you how great God is. To provide rich fodder for meditations on God's greatness. What better goal is there for a book?

And better yet, when this stuff goes into your soul - deep down where you can't stop thinking about God's glory, or his amazing mercy, or his absolute, almost-alien holiness - you get inspired to pray more, to work harder for him, to love others more. It's win, win!

3. Blue Like Jazz, by Don Miller

Hmm, what could I possibly say about Blue Like Jazz? This book gave me hope for Christianity when I was really, really messed up and couldn't see how God could possibly love - let alone use - seriously screwed up people like Christians.

Don Miller showed me that it is possible to be a "real" Christian without looking down your nose at people that are different from you. He gave me hope for an experience of Christian community that I still haven't found, but I'm not giving up on. He gave me an example of Christians who haven't given up their ancient, historic roots but who are still vitally relevant to the world of today.

Most importantly, though, he showed me that it's alright to be brutally, horribly honest about where you're at. Personally, this book did so much for me (so thanks Annie for lending it to me, BTW)

Books that Inspired my Creativity

1. The Bible

I know I already listed it, but there is nothing that has inspired me to write a new song, or jot down pages and pages of notes, or even write a short story, like the Bible. I read a really good quote the other day which lamented the way that the world is draining away our creativity with its marketing slogans, reality TV and mind-numbing jingles.

We need a touch of the divine, guys - we need the words of God to awaken creativity and passion in us. We need to be able to dream - to dream of what could be and what *will* be. The Bible is so, so much more than just a crusty old book of theology - it is reality written down!

2. Lord of the Rings, by J. R. Tolkien & Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis

Yep, the nerd in me had to come out somewhere, and this is it. I love the idea of world building, and our friend Tolkien has refined it to perfection! Where else can you find books that devote pages to explaining the historical migrations of tribes of hobbits, all to make a point about how one of the characters has hairier feet than the rest?! (though the question could be raised of how many actually give a rip why Samwise has hairy toes...)

Seriously, though, these books really are literary classics, with good reason. They weave together powerful stories, rich in symbolism, pathos and epic grandeur. I love that these two guys were friends, too, inspiring each other to write awesome, well-crafted stories for the glory of God. It is extra cool that Tolkien would give Lewis crap for writing such a blatant allegory to Christ in Narnia, while you have to look a little deeper to find it in LoTR...

3. Uh... Comics

Now the *real* nerd comes out! Seriously, there are so many well written (not to mention drawn) graphic novels out there that it is a shame that the comic book industry is still seen as "trashy" by so many. They were my staple diet for most (oh, ah, I mean "some!") of my teenage life, and look how I turned out (...)

Particular faves have been X-Men, the earliest issues of Night Man, X-Factor, Bat Man and Spidey (though I thought Scarlet Spider was cooler, so nyeh)

Books that Trained Me Intellectually

1. Yes, the Bible

You should have known I was going to put this here, too, you know.

I firmly believe that if the Bible is the Word of God, we need to be diligent in understanding what it means. How many cults and crazy people have taken the Word of God out of context, butchered it, and then used it to justify everything from gay marriage to genocide? How many people own a Bible (which may or may not be propping their couch up), yet they don't really know what God has to say about how they spend their money, treat their wife or spend their time and attention on?

Consequently, I have devoted myself to learning what the Bible *actually* says, to come to the Word as a humble student, eager to learn whatever mysteries God is willing to reveal to one such as myself. And seriously, when you gather with a small bunch of people, read through the Word and together figure out what God is saying to us - it all comes together! It all makes sense! And it is so awesome!

2. The Picture of Dorian Gray and other Works, by Oscar Wilde

This short-ish story by (also loaned from Annie), and the assorted poetry that came with it, is a really gripping tale of obsession, arrogance and external beauty vs internal character. Oscar Wilde, though a really weird guy, had a way with words that entrances you. I'd definitely recommend it if you're the olde-school language type...

3. Every Damned Reading that I had to do in Uni

OK, I studied communications and professional writing, so I learned a bunch of stuff about communication theory, the history of public communication in Australia, syntax, editing principles, grammer, public relations, book writing, radio writing, screenplay writing and a whole lot more.

I'm slowly forgetting everything now, but I still use a lot of the grammatical principles that I learned on many long nights at Uni.

4. The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, by Lesslie Newbigin

This book was a heavy slog - and I don't think that I could have handled it if not for my Uni training (as above) - but it is a very intelligent, very thoughtful look at the current paradigm permeating the public sphere of the Western world. Newbigin knows his philosophy and postmodern theory inside out, and uses it to great effect to show how the dichotomy of "fact" and "value" - where "facts" like evolution are to be accepted by all, while "values" like Christian morality *cannot* be pushed on others - is misguided, not to mention can never really be put into practice.

I thoroughly recommend this book, if you are the sort of person that can sit there and philosophise about how you can know *anything* at all.

OK, there are many more, but I will leave it there for now. Next time, I think I will go on to Pt 3 - People who have Influenced Me. You may be surprised!

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