Faith - Based Books That Have Greatly Shaped Me

I figured it'd be worth putting this here for those that follow me. This list consists of serious, mostly non-fiction books that my parents, relatives, or other people have introduced me to that had a significant impact on my faith. It is by no means exhaustive, but if I had to pick a list of books that did the most outside of the Bible itself, this would be it. I don't stand 100% by every teaching that the authors of these works of literature put forth. My parents taught me to think, not mindlessly follow a pastor, teacher, or system of theology. Paul said that if even an Apostle came preaching anything but the Gospel, don't listen to them. So I don't. I was taught to let Scripture speak for itself, don't force it to fit what I believe is true. If what I believe is true conflicts with a plain reading of Scripture (in the original text, not any translation, as things sometimes get lost in translation,) always assume your belief is wrong, and find out where the error is. 

• Turn Back The Night: A Christian Response to Popular Culture by Stephen R. Lawhead.
  This book probably did more to solidify my involvement in culture than any other book. In the "only sinners go to the movies and listen to rock music" culture I found myself in in my late teens and early twenties, it was a beacon of hope amidst a sea of heresy.

• The New Evidence that Demands A Verdict by Josh McDowell
  When I turned 12, my parents encouraged me to read this set. Having raised me on Christian principles (act justly, love mercy, walk humbly with your God; the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, etc) and as I'd made a profession of faith at a much younger age, they figured I was ready for it. Me, I was just curious because the guy was also named Josh. It wasn't until I finished reading it that they noted that I'd been named for Mr. McDowell, not the Joshua of the Bible. The book did much to solidify my faith. 

•  Martyrdom: The Final Triumph of Faith by Scott Anderson and Dan Cruver.
  Mr. Anderson was my Sophomore High School Bible Teacher. He's a genuinely kind man, and I'm lucky to have known him. Mr. Cruver was the Senior Bible teacher at my High School. I didn't know him as well, but he was also a truly kind individual. Though I didn't know it at the time, my Sophomore class was a guinea pig for the rough draft of this book. This small book did a lot to shape my views on pain and suffering and how to cope with their existence, and my life has been infinitely happier for it. Mr. Anderson is now the President and CEO of Desiring God Ministries, and Dan Cruver is the President and Founder of Together For Adoption. 

• Found: God's Will: John MacArthur by John MacArthur
  This book was given to my church youth group for a short study. It didn't make a great impact at the moment, but later in life, I found it helped me greatly.

• Paradise Lost by John Milton
  Read it as part of my Senior reading project. I found it inspirational. I'd never thought about what Christ or Heaven's perspective on my Savior's offering must have been, and when my Sr. English teacher did a dramatized reading of scenes of Milton's epic, it opened my eyes to a beautiful picture.

• The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer
  It was required reading for one of my Bob Jones Bible classes. Oddly enough, it did more to drive me away from the school I was attending's variety of Fundamentalism than the teacher intended. Tozer's admonition to avoid the error of "seeking God and ____" convinced me that the institution had failed to apply this simple principle to its way of life, and no amount of talk would convince anyone otherwise. 

• After the Flood by Bill Cooper
  This book's impact is not so much one of theology or doctrine as it is interest. The beliefs that it struck a chord with were already firmly established. However, the curiosity it sparked was one of interest in history from a Christian perspective. You don't really understand history until you dig in and try to understand things from all points of view. Today, we really scoff - at least in Christian circles - at some of the splits and schisms in the Body of Christ's history. But at one point, they were serious issues. At some point in history, some follower of the Crucified Savior stood his ground and professed a devotion to, for example, the Date of Easter with just as much fervor as we today stand by our positions on politics. It behooves us to get in the shoes of the losers now and then, lest history repeat itself, or in some cases, so that history can repeat itself and justify the fallen.