I'm a book collector but how many of them have I reached for in the past 7 years.
"How To Become A Bishop Without Being Religious"
"Sex Death and Flyfishing"
"Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time"
These are no-brainers. They will be out on my desk wherever I go. But how about "The Systematic Theology of Paul Tillich" or "Christology in Context" that I haven't opened in 20 years?
In truth, the Internet is a wealth of information including the complete works of John Wesley and links to article from the Christian Century etc. from years gone by.
What would you take with you?
What books have been so influential that you would not want to leave them behind?
Make a comment - lets see what each other is reading.
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I was asked why I listed the three books on the original post. The first two are just books I have around because I like the titles. The following is what I found useful about Borg's book.
ReplyDeleteWhat I found helpful about Borg was his point that there are three primary story themes throughout the Scriptures: Exodus (from Slavery to Salvation); Exodus and Return (Feeling alienated from God and coming home.) and the Priestly sin/redemption story. I can see all three stories throughout the Scriptures and have been fascinated to see how you can read the same passage with different opening assumptions and learn different things.
I have never been comfortable with the judging God who is required to punish us for our sins and that needs the payment of blood to appease the anger/pay the penalty. I have never felt like an extraordinarily evil person nor would I look at my own children’s failures and expect them to be perfect. I know that some people have indeed done very harmful things and that the Grace and Forgiveness themes are especially important in these cases.
I feel more at home with the Exile story – there are times when I feel cut off from God and not at home with myself (not in the promised land). I have had to learn to find God wherever I am (How can I sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land). Most recently I re-read the crucifixion narrative from Mark where the curtain in the temple is torn in two and see it not as a sign of destruction or anger but in the removal of the barrier between the Holy of the Holies in the heart of the temple and the rest of the world. Christ removes the separation between God and the world.