On the Incarnation

One of the few books that appeared on both the Renovare Top 25 list and the listpeople submitted is Athanasius’ “On the Incarnation”. I don’t plan on reading and blogging about every book on these lists. However, I found it hard to resist a book called “On the Incarnation” less than a week before Christmas. What better time to consider the incarnation?
 

There is a great contrast between how Athanasius considers the incarnation and how we will celebrate it this week. For a book on the incarnation, there is almost no mention of what we consider the “Christmas story”. In roughly 90 pages, Athanasius never mentions shepherds or angels, he never talks about a snarky innkeeper or a Messiah-holding manger. It is not that Athanasius does not believe in the veracity of these historic events. In fact, the one element he does talk about several times is the virgin birth. Athanasius does not focus on the dramatic events of the Bethlehem night; instead he focuses on why God came in flesh. Athanasius writes, “The Lord did not come to make a display. He came to heal and to teach suffering men. For one who wanted to make a display the thing would have been just to appear and dazzle the beholders. But for Him Who came to heal and to teach the way was not merely to dwell here, but to put Himself at the disposal of those who needed Him.”

Instead of focusing on the displays and events of a singular starry night, Athanasius understands the incarnation through the resurrection and the crucifixion. The significance of incarnation manifests itself in God’s love for humanity that results in God making God’s self known through the life, teaching, and miracles of Jesus, so that all people might be saved.

During this Christmas season, may we not be overcome by the dazzle and the displays, but remember the bigger picture of who Jesus is and what Jesus came to do.

My Own Personal Top 25

In my previous post I listed the 25 books that people sent in as the most transformative in their Christian journeys. After the last post some late submissions came in: Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time by Marcus Borg, An Altar in the World by Barbara Brown Taylor, A Theology of Liberation by Gustavo Guitierrez, Walking the Bible by Bruce Feller, and Money, Possessions, and Eternity by Randy Alcorn.

Now that I have heard all of your great submissions, here is the list of 25 books that have most significantly shaped by understanding of God, myself, and others. I am not saying that these are the 25 best Christian books of all time, just the ones that have shaped my faith the most.



Soren Kierkegaard

My own personal top 25
in alphabetical order

1. A Plain Account of Christian Perfection by John Wesley
2. Celebration of Discipline by Richard J. Foster
3. Church Dogmatics by Karl Barth
4. Come Be My Light by Mother Teresa
5. Dark Night of the Soul by John of the Cross
6. I See Satan Fall Like Lightning by Rene  Girard
7. In God’s Presence by Marjorie Suchocki
8. Jesus of the Disinherited by Howard Thurman
9. John Wesley's Sermons by John Wesley
10. Letter from the Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King
11. Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
12. Martin Luther's Large & Small Catechism by Martin Luther
13. On Job: God-Talk and the Suffering of the Innocent by Gustavo Gutierrez
14. Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year by Anne Lamott
15. Origen: The Song of Songs, Commentary and Homilies by Origen
16. Overcoming Life's Disappointments by Harold S. Kushner
17. Preaching by Fred Craddock
18. Silence by Shusaku Endo
19. Struggling with Scripture by Walter Bruegemann
20. Take This Bread: A Radical Conversion by Sara Miles
21. Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion by Gregory Boyle
22. Teaching the Dead Bird to Sing by W. Paul Jones
23. The Divine Hours by Phyllis Tickle
24. The Powers That Be: Theology for a New Millennium by Walter Wink
25. Works of Love by Soren Kierkegaard

25 Transformative Books

In my most recent post, I noted the new book by Renovare, “25 Books Every Christian Should Read” and asked people what book they have read that has been the most transformative in their Christian journey.

I have learned several things from this exercise. First, people have a hard time narrowing down to one book. I got an email from one voracious reader who said he simply could not choose. Likewise, I received emails from many with the names of multiple books.

Second, and most obviously, the list from Renovare and the list I have received are dramatically different. Five books do appear on both lists (Athanasius’ Incarnation, Rule of St Benedict, Pilgrim’s Progress, Return of the Prodigal Son, and Mere Christianity). As is probably expected, the books I received are much more modern than historical. The only book that got multiple mentions is “The Shack”. The only author mentioned multiple times is Henri Nouwen.

Third, and perhaps most interesting, are the number of novels and books of philosophy and psychology. Many of these authors would not necessarily be described as “Christian” and yet their work has been transformative in Christian thought.

Fourth, almost half the books on this list begin with the word "The". If you want to write a book that transforms Christians' lives, begin with a definite article.

Without further delay, below is the list I have received (in alphabetical order). Since I did not ask people if I could publish their names, I won’t. Roughly half of the inputs received came from clergy, from a wide range of denominations

1. A Tale of Three Kings by Gene Edwards

2. Abraham's Curse by Bruce Chilton

3. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya

4. Father Melancholy's Daughter by Gail Godwin

5. Gracias by Henri Nouwen

6. Jesus of the Disinherited by Howard Thurman

7. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

8. Oasis of Wisdom: The Worlds of the Desert Fathers and Mothers
by David G. R. Keller

9. On the Incarnation by St Athansius

10. Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan

11. Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen

12. Sex, Ecology, Spirituality: The Spirit of Evolution by Ken Wilber

13. Testimony: Talking Ourselves into Being Christians by Thomas G. Long

14. The Death and Resurrection of the Beloved Son by Jon Levenson

15. The Good and Beautiful God by James Bryan Smith

16. The Good Book by Rev. Peter Gomes

17. The Holy Longing: The Search for a Christian Spirituality by Ronald Rolheiser

18. The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

19. The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind by Julian Jaynes

20. The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning

21. The Rule of St. Benedict by St Benedict

22. The Shack by William P. Young (mentioned three times)

23. The Wounded Healer by Henri Nouwen

24. When the Heart Waits by Sue Monk Kidd

25. Wisdom Jesus by Cynthia Bourgeault

If you did not submit a book, feel free to make a constructive comment in the comment box below.