G
GKC
Guest
Evangelicals do not uniformly applaud him, I find. Some portions of the Anglican spectrum to which he was drawn can rub them the wrong way. OTOH, you can find RCs who speak well of him. Things differ.
GKC
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GKC
C
CatholicServant
Guest
Thank you GKC - as you can see, I have limited knowledge of Evangelicals…I come from a Baptist background and most of my non-Catholic friends and family are Baptists and love Lewis but generally don’t read Chesterton…
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GKC
Guest
I, as you can guess, read and collect both. Along with related authors (Belloc, Sayers, Knox, etc). Started when I was still nominally a Baptist, over 50 years ago.
GKC
A
a_priori
Guest
The Church has been around for 2000 years. The authors who wrote during the first 1900 years are underrepresented.
L
ltwin
Guest
The list covers the last 50 years and, while not all evangelicals are dispensationalists, many of them are and both Left Behind and the Late Great Planet Earth definitely were influential byproducts of “popular” evangelicalism. I remember about 10 years ago or so Left Behind was EVERYWHERE. Now, though, the rapture is not nearly such a hot topic anymore. (It’s still a topic, but not like it was 10 years ago.)
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GKC
Guest
I’d guess I was actually nominally about 52 years ago. Maybe 53.I was nominally a Baptist too - but about 35 years ago
Man, I’m old.
GKC, old.
C
Cat
Guest
I’ve read 24 of them.
I highly recommend Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger by Ron Sider for Catholics. It’s more “Catholic” than “Evangelical Protestant.”
I’m grateful the book was written when it was written. I think it helped dull the influence of the Prosperity Gospel (“Name It and Claim It”), which would have weakened or even destroyed Evangelical Protestantism. Yes, this fallacy is still around and still grasped by many Evangelical Protestant Christians, but there are also a very large number of Evangelical Protestant Christians who are committed to a simple lifestyle and giving a large percentage of their income to charitable and faith-based organizations.
Right after Rich Christians was published and became a phenomenon among Evangelical Protestants, several other “simple lifestyle” books came out, many of them published by the Mennonites who are known for their simple lives and amazing charitable outreaches. My husband and I were married that year, and this “Simple Lifestyle” fad was hugely influential in our lives and still is to this day.
While many of our friends were buying huge castle-houses and going after the Good Life, we made the decision early on to buy a small, older, ranch home in the middle of the city. Our entire family got involved with the very expensive sport of figure skating, but…we did it a lot cheaper than a lot of other families, mainly because we (our daughters) got involved early with the discipline of synchronized skating instead of going after the illusive Singles skating. Our daughters are now 29 and 31, and both of them are still involved with figure skating: our oldest daughter coaches a Learn To Skate class once a week (and gets her ice practice time for free!), and our youngest daughter is coaching the 2nd best synchro team in the U.S. and getting all her expenses paid. We LOVE this sport. It has kept us from running after a lot of other things that we really don’t love that much.
Anyway, the Simple Lifestyle Movement didn’t last very long, only a few years. It’s a kind of a hard sell–people LIKE spending money on themselves! And there’s a lot of “guilting” in trying to live simply–we tend to worry about things like, “Do I really need more underwear or should I wear these ripped ones another few months?”
And I still recommend Rich Christians–it’s a very convicting book. I think it’s a book that applies to Christians in the U.S. of all varieties–Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox.
I highly recommend Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger by Ron Sider for Catholics. It’s more “Catholic” than “Evangelical Protestant.”
I’m grateful the book was written when it was written. I think it helped dull the influence of the Prosperity Gospel (“Name It and Claim It”), which would have weakened or even destroyed Evangelical Protestantism. Yes, this fallacy is still around and still grasped by many Evangelical Protestant Christians, but there are also a very large number of Evangelical Protestant Christians who are committed to a simple lifestyle and giving a large percentage of their income to charitable and faith-based organizations.
Right after Rich Christians was published and became a phenomenon among Evangelical Protestants, several other “simple lifestyle” books came out, many of them published by the Mennonites who are known for their simple lives and amazing charitable outreaches. My husband and I were married that year, and this “Simple Lifestyle” fad was hugely influential in our lives and still is to this day.
While many of our friends were buying huge castle-houses and going after the Good Life, we made the decision early on to buy a small, older, ranch home in the middle of the city. Our entire family got involved with the very expensive sport of figure skating, but…we did it a lot cheaper than a lot of other families, mainly because we (our daughters) got involved early with the discipline of synchronized skating instead of going after the illusive Singles skating. Our daughters are now 29 and 31, and both of them are still involved with figure skating: our oldest daughter coaches a Learn To Skate class once a week (and gets her ice practice time for free!), and our youngest daughter is coaching the 2nd best synchro team in the U.S. and getting all her expenses paid. We LOVE this sport. It has kept us from running after a lot of other things that we really don’t love that much.
Anyway, the Simple Lifestyle Movement didn’t last very long, only a few years. It’s a kind of a hard sell–people LIKE spending money on themselves! And there’s a lot of “guilting” in trying to live simply–we tend to worry about things like, “Do I really need more underwear or should I wear these ripped ones another few months?”
And I still recommend Rich Christians–it’s a very convicting book. I think it’s a book that applies to Christians in the U.S. of all varieties–Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox.
C
cajunhillbilly
Guest
I have either read or heard of most of those books in the list. Francis Schaeffer shaped a lot of my early Christian life. I have since moved on to older writers and hope some day to read the PreNicene Fathers. I have read Augustine, Aquinas as well as Luther and Calvin. So feel I am well- rounded in my reading
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a_priori
Guest
I agree cajunhillbilly. When I first read him I was a young dispensationalist. Schaeffer taught me some of the skeletal system and language of philosophy and set me on a path that took me away from Evangelicalism altogether.
C
cajunhillbilly
Guest
Yea I am moving toward a more liturgical view as well. That is why I am Anglican
C
commenter
Guest
This RC certainly speaks well of Lewis! He “baptized my imagination”. Today he is second only to Chesterton for me.
I suspect half of the listed authors would put him as the most influential writer. “Mere Christianity”, and his other books, influenced a lot of people who never read it, maybe never heard of it, but their minister, teacher, or favorite writer read it. They may or not have agreed with all his ideas, but had to take him into account. I have seen many of his ideas, categories, or ways of approaching the topic, echoed in other writers, perhaps sometimes without realizing it came from Lewis.
But I’d like to hear from Evangelicals on CAF, what books have influenced them.
A
adowcday
Guest
I’ve read 14 or so of the books on the list. I think that the list left off a lot of widely read books, but that’s to be expected. It was an interesting selection: nothing by Bill Hybels or Brian McLaren, no charismatic/pentecostal books (including books about spiritual gifts), few of the classics on prayer in the evangelical tradition, no bible commentaries. More importantly, there was nothing from the Catholic tradition (pre-Reformation) or from the Reformers or other protestant leaders from centuries past (or even prior to WWII): Luther, Calvin, John Wesley, Jonathan Edwards, etc. – I guess Augustine and Luther aren’t as influential as they are said to be.
A
a_priori
Guest
The list was derived from the opinions of “evangelical leaders”. Interesting list, but Warren is no Augustine.
L
ltwin
Guest
The list only looks at the past 50 years, not the entire history of Evangelicalism, Protestantism or even Christianity. It would be impossible to put all of that in a 50 book list. Obviously, if we were looking at the entire history of Evangelicalism, this list would look a lot different.
Number 32 The Cross and the Switchblade was written by Pentecostal pastor/evangelist David Wilkerson.
Number 12 Power Evangelism is a charismatic book. John Wimber, the author, was the founder of the Vineyard Movement of churches and was a prominent teacher on spiritual gifts and signs and wonders.
Brian McLaren isn’t really considered evangelical by most evangelicals. He’s in “liberal mainline dressed up as trendy evangelical leftist” territory these days. Real evangelicals know the difference.
Seriously, his place on the theological spectrum has even been described as “post-evangelical.”
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adowcday
Guest
You are correct on all counts.The list only looks at the past 50 years, not the entire history of Evangelicalism, Protestantism or even Christianity. It would be impossible to put all of that in a 50 book list. Obviously, if we were looking at the entire history of Evangelicalism, this list would look a lot different.
Number 32 The Cross and the Switchblade was written by Pentecostal pastor/evangelist David Wilkerson.
Number 12 Power Evangelism is a charismatic book. John Wimber, the author, was the founder of the Vineyard Movement of churches and was a prominent teacher on spiritual gifts and signs and wonders.
Brian McLaren isn’t really considered evangelical by most evangelicals. He’s in “liberal mainline dressed up as trendy evangelical leftist” territory these days. Real evangelicals know the difference.
O
OmegaPoint
Guest
I have to be honest in that I am not overly impressed with that list. There are some real lightweight books on that list.
C
Cat
Guest
I think it’s really interesting that Evangelical Protestants HAVE a list of 50 books that have been written in the last 50 years, and that many Evangelical Protestants, myself included, have read a sizeable number of those books.
Many of us who have not read all of those books have at least heard them taught in various seminars, conferences, Bible studies, etc. Evangelical Protestants are always attending seminars, conferences, Bible studies, etc.
Catholics (myself included) QUICK!—name 50 books written in the last 50 years that have shaped Catholics!
Duh…um–well, there’s all the books by Dr. Scott Hahn. A lot of Catholics have read them.
And a lot of Catholics HAVEN’T read them.
And…um…there’s um…a few books by David Currie. Not very many Catholics have read them, so they probably don’t count.
And…well…oh, Flannery O’Connor’s books, which most Catholics haven’t read because they’re kind of boring and hard to understand. So they probably really haven’t “shaped” Catholics.
And…!!!
My point is, Catholics have not been shaped by books.
When I was Evangelical Protestant, we were definitely “shaped” by books. So many of the books on that list started what I refer to as “bandwagons.” Evangelical Protestants all jumped on the latest best-selling bandwagon, whatever it was, and rode along cheering and trying to catch other Christians up onto the bandwagon until the bandwagon ran into a bumpy part of the road. Then we all started falling off that bandwagon, and had to wait until the next bandwagon came along.
Perhaps that sounds futile and silly. But many of those bandwagons were good. The Hiding Place was and still is a major force in my life, mainly because of the teaching that shines bright throughout that beautiful book–“We will love and honor God regardless of our circumstances.”
This is SUCH an important part of Christianity! We are not Christians because we have a wonderful set of circumstances–health, wealth, beauty, good laws, friends we can trust, etc.
We are Christians because it is the Truth, and we remain true to Christ even if we are betrayed, stripped of all our belonging, marched naked in front of our torturers, treated with capriciousness, and even killed.
I think it was probably this book’s truth that caused my husband and I to remain true to Jesus even after we were kicked out of our Evangelical Free Church in 2002. If we had not been permeated (shaped!) by The Hiding Place, we probably would have walked away from organized religion and possibly even away from Jesus Himself.
But we knew and believed what Betsie ten Boom said in The Hiding Place–“There is no pit so deep that Jesus isn’t deeper still.”
This is just one example of a book from that list that was a bandwagon at the time it came out, but still managed to “shape” the lives and thought-processes of Evangelical Protestants. I’ve mentioned another in this thread–Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger. This book definitely has continued to shape my husband and me in regards to our practices when it comes to earning and spending money. We may not be giving 50% of our income to help the poor, but we are definitely giving more of it away than many other people give, and we definitely live way below our earnings.
Catholics don’t have this “shaping by books.” And I’m thinking it would be good if we DID have “shaping by books.”
Some might say that we are “shaped by the Mass” or “shaped by Jesus Christ Himself.”
Oh really? is that why so many Catholics are co-habiting? Or practicing homosexuals? Or never attending Mass except when parents beg? Or advocating women priests or “reproductive choce” or contraception? Or never read the Bible or pray? Or get drunk, and then try to tell Cat that this is good and fine for Christians since Jesus turned water into wine for His first miracle (Cat doesn’t agree with you).
Is that why so many Catholics have fallen away–because they were shaped by the Mass and Jesus? I don’t think so
I think that having good books helps us to take the Mass and Jesus seriously. Without the good books, I think many of us fail to understand or appreciate the Mass, Jesus, and all of the riches of Christianity.
I think it’s too bad that Catholics don’t read, and have very little to read, other than ancient classics of the faith. Those are good, but they’re often so dated that it’s hard to understand how their teaching applies to modern life. And honestly now, how many Catholics, really now–have actually read any of these ancient classics? I’m guessing not many, based on the behaviors of many baptized Catholics.
Many of us who have not read all of those books have at least heard them taught in various seminars, conferences, Bible studies, etc. Evangelical Protestants are always attending seminars, conferences, Bible studies, etc.
Catholics (myself included) QUICK!—name 50 books written in the last 50 years that have shaped Catholics!
Duh…um–well, there’s all the books by Dr. Scott Hahn. A lot of Catholics have read them.
And a lot of Catholics HAVEN’T read them.
And…um…there’s um…a few books by David Currie. Not very many Catholics have read them, so they probably don’t count.
And…well…oh, Flannery O’Connor’s books, which most Catholics haven’t read because they’re kind of boring and hard to understand. So they probably really haven’t “shaped” Catholics.
And…!!!
My point is, Catholics have not been shaped by books.
When I was Evangelical Protestant, we were definitely “shaped” by books. So many of the books on that list started what I refer to as “bandwagons.” Evangelical Protestants all jumped on the latest best-selling bandwagon, whatever it was, and rode along cheering and trying to catch other Christians up onto the bandwagon until the bandwagon ran into a bumpy part of the road. Then we all started falling off that bandwagon, and had to wait until the next bandwagon came along.
Perhaps that sounds futile and silly. But many of those bandwagons were good. The Hiding Place was and still is a major force in my life, mainly because of the teaching that shines bright throughout that beautiful book–“We will love and honor God regardless of our circumstances.”
This is SUCH an important part of Christianity! We are not Christians because we have a wonderful set of circumstances–health, wealth, beauty, good laws, friends we can trust, etc.
We are Christians because it is the Truth, and we remain true to Christ even if we are betrayed, stripped of all our belonging, marched naked in front of our torturers, treated with capriciousness, and even killed.
I think it was probably this book’s truth that caused my husband and I to remain true to Jesus even after we were kicked out of our Evangelical Free Church in 2002. If we had not been permeated (shaped!) by The Hiding Place, we probably would have walked away from organized religion and possibly even away from Jesus Himself.
But we knew and believed what Betsie ten Boom said in The Hiding Place–“There is no pit so deep that Jesus isn’t deeper still.”
This is just one example of a book from that list that was a bandwagon at the time it came out, but still managed to “shape” the lives and thought-processes of Evangelical Protestants. I’ve mentioned another in this thread–Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger. This book definitely has continued to shape my husband and me in regards to our practices when it comes to earning and spending money. We may not be giving 50% of our income to help the poor, but we are definitely giving more of it away than many other people give, and we definitely live way below our earnings.
Catholics don’t have this “shaping by books.” And I’m thinking it would be good if we DID have “shaping by books.”
Some might say that we are “shaped by the Mass” or “shaped by Jesus Christ Himself.”
Oh really? is that why so many Catholics are co-habiting? Or practicing homosexuals? Or never attending Mass except when parents beg? Or advocating women priests or “reproductive choce” or contraception? Or never read the Bible or pray? Or get drunk, and then try to tell Cat that this is good and fine for Christians since Jesus turned water into wine for His first miracle (Cat doesn’t agree with you).
Is that why so many Catholics have fallen away–because they were shaped by the Mass and Jesus? I don’t think so
I think that having good books helps us to take the Mass and Jesus seriously. Without the good books, I think many of us fail to understand or appreciate the Mass, Jesus, and all of the riches of Christianity.
I think it’s too bad that Catholics don’t read, and have very little to read, other than ancient classics of the faith. Those are good, but they’re often so dated that it’s hard to understand how their teaching applies to modern life. And honestly now, how many Catholics, really now–have actually read any of these ancient classics? I’m guessing not many, based on the behaviors of many baptized Catholics.
R
Randy_Carson
Guest
Cat-I think it’s really interesting that Evangelical Protestants HAVE a list of 50 books that have been written in the last 50 years, and that many Evangelical Protestants, myself included, have read a sizeable number of those books.
Many of us who have not read all of those books have at least heard them taught in various seminars, conferences, Bible studies, etc. Evangelical Protestants are always attending seminars, conferences, Bible studies, etc.
Catholics (myself included) QUICK!—name 50 books written in the last 50 years that have shaped Catholics!
Duh…um–well, there’s all the books by Dr. Scott Hahn. A lot of Catholics have read them.
And a lot of Catholics HAVEN’T read them.
And…um…there’s um…a few books by David Currie. Not very many Catholics have read them, so they probably don’t count.
And…well…oh, Flannery O’Connor’s books, which most Catholics haven’t read because they’re kind of boring and hard to understand. So they probably really haven’t “shaped” Catholics.
And…!!!
My point is, Catholics have not been shaped by books.
When I was Evangelical Protestant, we were definitely “shaped” by books. So many of the books on that list started what I refer to as “bandwagons.” Evangelical Protestants all jumped on the latest best-selling bandwagon, whatever it was, and rode along cheering and trying to catch other Christians up onto the bandwagon until the bandwagon ran into a bumpy part of the road. Then we all started falling off that bandwagon, and had to wait until the next bandwagon came along.
Perhaps that sounds futile and silly. But many of those bandwagons were good. The Hiding Place was and still is a major force in my life, mainly because of the teaching that shines bright throughout that beautiful book–“We will love and honor God regardless of our circumstances.”
This is SUCH an important part of Christianity! We are not Christians because we have a wonderful set of circumstances–health, wealth, beauty, good laws, friends we can trust, etc.
We are Christians because it is the Truth, and we remain true to Christ even if we are betrayed, stripped of all our belonging, marched naked in front of our torturers, treated with capriciousness, and even killed.
I think it was probably this book’s truth that caused my husband and I to remain true to Jesus even after we were kicked out of our Evangelical Free Church in 2002. If we had not been permeated (shaped!) by The Hiding Place, we probably would have walked away from organized religion and possibly even away from Jesus Himself.
But we knew and believed what Betsie ten Boom said in The Hiding Place–“There is no pit so deep that Jesus isn’t deeper still.”
This is just one example of a book from that list that was a bandwagon at the time it came out, but still managed to “shape” the lives and thought-processes of Evangelical Protestants. I’ve mentioned another in this thread–Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger. This book definitely has continued to shape my husband and me in regards to our practices when it comes to earning and spending money. We may not be giving 50% of our income to help the poor, but we are definitely giving more of it away than many other people give, and we definitely live way below our earnings.
Catholics don’t have this “shaping by books.” And I’m thinking it would be good if we DID have “shaping by books.”
Some might say that we are “shaped by the Mass” or “shaped by Jesus Christ Himself.”
Oh really? is that why so many Catholics are co-habiting? Or practicing homosexuals? Or never attending Mass except when parents beg? Or advocating women priests or “reproductive choce” or contraception? Or never read the Bible or pray? Or get drunk, and then try to tell Cat that this is good and fine for Christians since Jesus turned water into wine for His first miracle (Cat doesn’t agree with you).
Is that why so many Catholics have fallen away–because they were shaped by the Mass and Jesus? I don’t think so
I think that having good books helps us to take the Mass and Jesus seriously. Without the good books, I think many of us fail to understand or appreciate the Mass, Jesus, and all of the riches of Christianity.
I think it’s too bad that Catholics don’t read, and have very little to read, other than ancient classics of the faith. Those are good, but they’re often so dated that it’s hard to understand how their teaching applies to modern life. And honestly now, how many Catholics, really now–have actually read any of these ancient classics? I’m guessing not many, based on the behaviors of many baptized Catholics.
I believe that the Catholic Church would benefit from setting up Sunday School in each parish just like you see in the mainline Protestant denominations. (For those of you who are cradle Catholics, Sunday School is for ADULTS and kids.)
What do you think?
J
JustaServant
Guest
I’ve proposed that in our parish.
Last year our parish met every Monday night to go through the Pope’s encyclical. I told our priest we need to do this more often. Part of me misses those Wednesday night Bible studies at our old Baptist church.
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