Good reads within the Protestant tradition?

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I hope this doesn’t open a can of worms!

My spiritual library is composed of works and readings from all three of the major branches of Christianity - Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox. What readings within Protestantism have you found that have helped your faith or helped your spiritual life to grow?

For myself, I have always found John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress to be excellent beyond compare, though now that I am older and more learned in matters of doctrine and theology, I can see the obvious Calvinism laced throughout it;)
I feel wierd even admitting this, but I find Billy Graham’s Peace With God to be a powerful read.
That’s not even to mention C.S. Lewis, Karl Barth, John Wesley, and other greats that I have read too. While I am careful in my reading of Protestant authors, I think it is important to be well-read in all aspects and branches of Christianity, provided one focuses most on their own I would say. My Catholic section dwarfs my Protestant and Orthodox sections, ha. 😉

Thoughts? What are some good reads? What Protestant writings have helped your overall spiritual life and faith?
 
You’ve mentioned some good ones. Dietrich Bonhoeffer is a must read I think. Especially later in life his views were very catholic (Letters from Prison).

I do also find Billy Graham to be helpful in a very concrete way - applying universal Christain teachings to living in the modern US.

Alistair Begg is a solo-scriptura evangelical, but his book, The Hand of God: Finding His Care in All Circumstance, is still good. I can’t speak to his other writings.

Metropolitan Anthony Bloom is my all-time favorite Orthodox author. My spiritual director introduced me to his writings years ago.
 
theidler—

One of my favorite writers is the poet George Herbert. He was a near contemporary of John Donne, whose poetry I also love. (The Catholic poet Gerard Manley Hopkins is wonderful, too.)

For fiction, Lewis’ and George MacDonald’s stories are ones I most often find myself re-reading.

In non-fiction, probably Philip Yancey has been the most help to me. He’s insightful, but writes in a very accessible way. I’ve turned to his books The Jesus I Never Knew, The Gift of Pain, Where is God When It Hurts, Disappointment With God during some traumatic losses, and found reliable assistance there. Online, I like to read N.T. Wright, and I need to order some of his books.
 
Oh, yeah, Bohoeffer’s Discipleship and Life Together have had a big impact on me. Though we don’t have too many poems from him, his “Christians and Others” is very good, containing ideas that I think will stay with me the rest of my life. Thanks, Mrs. Sally.
 
Thanks guys, all very cool responses.
George Herbert’s poetry is fantastic - very Catholic in tone actually.
Bonhoeffer is amazing as well. I find him very inspirational. There is a film out about him too actually.
I really love Karl Barth’s Dogmatics in Outline - very direct and impacting theology.
Paul Tillich’s sermons and more layperson-oriented writings are quite good too, especially in terms of Christian existentialism.
Even though I profoundly disagree with Luther on many points, he is most certainly an entertaining writer if anything.
 
theidler said:
I hope this doesn’t open a can of worms!

My spiritual library is composed of works and readings from all three of the major branches of Christianity - Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox. What readings within Protestantism have you found that have helped your faith or helped your spiritual life to grow?

For myself, I have always found John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress to be excellent beyond compare, though now that I am older and more learned in matters of doctrine and theology, I can see the obvious Calvinism laced throughout it;)
I feel wierd even admitting this, but I find Billy Graham’s Peace With God to be a powerful read.
That’s not even to mention C.S. Lewis, Karl Barth, John Wesley, and other greats that I have read too. While I am careful in my reading of Protestant authors, I think it is important to be well-read in all aspects and branches of Christianity, provided one focuses most on their own I would say. My Catholic section dwarfs my Protestant and Orthodox sections, ha. 😉

Thoughts? What are some good reads? What Protestant writings have helped your overall spiritual life and faith?
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Bonhoffer, Webber, C.S. Lewis
 
I really like Alister McGrath (Anglican), particularly The Passionate Intellect.
 
Not long ago I read Phillip Yancey: The Jesus I Never Knew…used to edit Christianity Today …a good writer…I found the book …profound…I recommend it…:cool: (Good question…I hope no can of worms pops up)…there are and have been…Protestant Writers and thinkers from whom we can learn much…very good topic…blessings!):cool:
 
N.T Wright has a few good ones rooted in History. Much of his scholarly work is rich and deep.

“The Resurrection of the Son of God”, "
“Paul (in Fresh Perspective)”,
The New Testament and the People of God

I guess the one book I would recommend most from N.T Wright is
Justification: God’s Plan & Paul’s Vision

The Evangelical crowd hated it, and thought it taught a very Catholic view of Justification 😃 Probably because it put justification in it’s 1st century Jewish context. and not in a 16th century Penal setting!

C.S Lewis The Great Divorce is a short, yet fun read! 👍
 
‘Heaven is For Real’ by Todd Burpo (Wesleyan)! It’s amazing!
 
onemangang said:
N.T Wright has a few good ones rooted in History. Much of his scholarly work is rich and deep.

“The Resurrection of the Son of God”, "
“Paul (in Fresh Perspective)”,
The New Testament and the People of God

I guess the one book I would recommend most from N.T Wright is
Justification: God’s Plan & Paul’s Vision

The Evangelical crowd hated it, and thought it taught a very Catholic view of Justification 😃 Probably because it put justification in it’s 1st century Jewish context. and not in a 16th century Penal setting!

C.S Lewis The Great Divorce is a short, yet fun read! 👍
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It’s not true that Evangelicals hate N.T. Wright’s perspective on Paul and justification. Yes, some have disagreed with him. Many have not.
 
My favorite spiritual classic is “Testament of Devotion” by Thomas R. Kelly.

Dietrich Boenhoeffer’s “Letter’s and Paper’s From Prison” is a haunting spiritual exercise in reading…I am using a devotional book right now…“Thru the Year with Boenhoeffer”…each day of the year has passages from his writings to meditate on…I use it in the mornings.

Marcus Borg…“Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time” and “The God We Never Knew” are great reads.
 
AbideWithMe said:
It’s not true that Evangelicals hate N.T. Wright’s perspective on Paul and justification. Yes, some have disagreed with him. Many have not.
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Yes, you are right. I should have known better than say Evangelicals as a whole, thus implying that there is any type of unity within that tradition.
 
Chuck Colson’s Being the Body.

In this book, Mr. Colsondiscusses the dire need for the Christian churches (Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant) to work together and take a stand against sin and evil in this world. He makes a very strong case for unity for Christianity.

He describes the formation of the organization “Evangelicals and Catholics Together.”

Mr. Colson describes his personal journey towards acceptance of various Catholic traditions, including making the Sign of the Cross. Keep in mind that he is a Baptist.

I cite this book as one of the reasons I converted to Catholicism.

I am a convert to Catholicism from evangelical Protestantism, and I like anything written by Chuck Colson.
 
I also like anything by Dr. James Dobson, beginning with his classic Dare To Discipline.

I have read every book that Dr. Dobson has ever written. My husband and I viewed his classic film series, Focus on the Family (done back before there was a radio show of the same name), and we raised our two daughters using all of Dobson’s methods. Raising them was a delight, and both daughters grew up beautifully.

My husband and I have also managed our marriage based on many of Dobson’s principles. His book, Love Must Be Tough is amazing–an actual instruction manual on how to deal with unfaithfulness, as well as other less serious but still hurtful shortcomings, in a marriage. I think that every couple, not just Christian couples, should read this book, and I think that singles should read it because it is such a good manual on how to have a strong marriage.

And of course, we admire and support his pro-life stand. As far as I know, Dr. Dobson was the first prominent Protestant leader to publically take a stand against abortion and speak about the evils of abortion. He did this back in the 1970s, when many Protestants were totally unaware of what was going on with Roe v. Wade and thought that abortion was a very rare event. Back then, many Protestant churches, including many evangelical churches (including my evangelical church) were actually teaching that although abortion is tragic, it is better for a baby to be aborted than abused.

If you can get hold of a 1st edition of the classic Protestant book, The Act of Marriage, by Tim and Beverly LaHaye (it’s a sex manual for Christians), you will see that the LaHayes taught that abortion, while sad, was sometimes unavoidable. After Dr. Dobson spoke out and condemned abortion wholeheartedly, subsequent editions of The Act of Marriage also condemn abortion wholeheartedly. And at this point, I know of no evangelical Protestant denominations that teach acceptance of abortion, and most even condemn abortion in cases of rape or incest.

So Dr. Dobson really opened the eyes and hearts of many Protestants back then.

I realize that Dr. Dobson teaches some things that are not in sync with Catholic theology, and I caution Catholic readers to look out for this.

But I also know that Dr. Dobson has always been supportive of Catholics. Indeed, in his book Bringing Up Girls, he devotes an entire chapter to Rick Santorum and his family, and actually endorses Sen. Santorum for President.

And he has often stated that Catholics put Protestants to shame when it comes to the battle for the unborn.
 
Why would Catholics go to Protestant resources when there is a vast ocean of rich Catholic writings from Church Fathers to Saints to Popes to scholars, etc.?
 
jam070406 said:
Why would Catholics go to Protestant resources when there is a vast ocean of rich Catholic writings from Church Fathers to Saints to Popes to scholars, etc.?
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I have read protestant books because they’ve been recommended by friends. I also find that the modern examples make some concepts easier to understand. Others have found favorite authors before conversion and there is no reason to stop reading them.

The OP stated clearly that he also reads Catholic authors. I don’t think anyone is recommending that Catholics stop reading Catholic authors, we are just discussing other options.
 
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