Top 100 Religious Books

[rug]

Posted: 09/14/2012 8:33 am Updated: 09/14/2012 8:56 am

Books can be life changing. Aside from primary religious texts, many books have shaped our beliefs and influenced our faith. Huff Post Religion asked our community to name one religious book that changed their life.

The flood of responses ranged from classic to modern. Titles ranged well-known authors to no name writers. Our collection is below. There’s C.S. Lewis. There’s Dalai Lama. There’s self-help manuals like The Four Agreements. There are novels of spiritual journeys like The Alchemist. Take a peek.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/14/top-100-influential-relig_n_1836687.html

Slideshow list at link. Some unusual choices there.

[dimbear]

1. Recollections of My Youth, Ernest Renan............

I'm not saying it's a life changer, more of an eye opener.

Renan, of course, one of the most influential authors on religion of the 19th century. His theological observations may be dated, his life remains instructive.

edit: free on Gutenberg, or, if you like, the French original is there too.

[rug]

4. Thanks. I'll go to Gutenberg.

Personal recommendations are better than lists.

[Goblinmonger]

2. Interesting list.

Why in the name of all that is sane, though, did they put Atlas Shrugged on there? That is basically unreadable. Why not go with some Bertrand Russell if they want old school atheists?

[rug]

3. That one stuck out.

They could have listed the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius.

Another one that gave me pause was The Color Purple. Great book but it didn't strike me as religious.

[Goblinmonger]

5. Yeah, Color Purple was odd.

So was Sound and the Fury. Great stream of consciousness novel that touches on religious stuff, I guess, but only as a backdrop for the Southern Gothic era.

[Jim__]

6. Makes you wonder what criteria they used in deciding a book was religious.

Wittgenstein's Tractatus? I guess you could say it was the bible of the Vienna Circle.

[rug]

7. I don't know that one.

Once again, your erudition astounds me.

My impression is that each book selected either has had an impact of personal religious experience or has broken theological or philosophical ground. It's rare to have a book that does both.