BOOKS.

[IainH]

I thought I'd start a thread to suggest good reading. I found this book on Amazon titled "Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible" by E. Randolph Richards and Brandon J. O'Brien. IVP Press. It was interesting to read a book by American authors, that doesn't presume God is an American or that the western way of life is Gods idea.
  The authors spent time as missionaries in Indonesia in a society that was more in line with God's than ours. They also brought out some of the failings in western Christianity but, I think  the similarities with us ends there. They just couldn't help categorizing and ended with......wait for it.....YES, three things you can do. If you use your winnowing fork there are a few worthwhile moments.

[jaybreak]

I found this book on Amazon titled "Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible" by E. Randolph Richards and Brandon J. O'Brien. IVP Press. 

I found this book randomly as well, on amazon, and I put it on my "to read" list. It looked interesting...thanks for the review.

I received my copy of the Judaism book (the one I mentioned in this teaching post), though I haven't gotten to it yet. You can order a free copy here; good on them for providing that. Not quite sure of that site/organization in general, since they seem a bit on the "end times" hysteria side of things. That doesn't mean we can't raid something useful from them.

To the original intent of your thread: were you looking for specifically religious books, or anything in general? This is a big area for me.

[IainH]

Jay, I'd have say wide open, I devour fiction of all kinds (except romance). I like nonfiction but, I tend to take a long time unless it captures my interest. The book I mentioned in my first post I read at novel speed because I had high hopes for it. I was encouraged that two seminary professors would write such a book. For someone outside of our thing, maybe it would push them further. 
  I enjoyed science fiction when I was younger, particularly Philip K Dick. Really my "search" began after reading his books. The idea of alternate realities existing simultanteously intrigued the young me
 Nowadays, I tend to read action and crime. Simple escapism.
 Hopefully, I'd like us to share books that have helped shape us and bring us into a better understanding of what God wants us to be.

[Ed Hurst]

Thanks, Jay; I grabbed the free PDF copy. I'll take a look at it. Iain, I've read quite a bit of Dick's works, too, but I've lost my interest in that kind of fiction these days.

Most of the stuff I kept from the last move are the expensive Bible and computer reference books. I still take the reference books with a grain of salt, but some of them are frankly near impossible to replace these days. I've kept a couple from my Bible college days. I also kept just a few history texts from my teaching days. These have the most frequent use:

Eerdman's Handbook to the Bible
Old Testament Survey: The Message Form and Background of the Old Testament; LaSor, Hubbard and Bush
The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah; Edersheim
The Interlinear Bible; Green

[jaybreak]

 Hopefully, I'd like us to share books that have helped shape us and bring us into a better understanding of what God wants us to be.

Good topic. I'd have to think about this one.

I haven't read any Dick novels (I think...I'd have to check my library), but some of them are on my list. I'm currently reading White Fang. The author, Jack London, wrote the high school reading list standby, The Call of the Wild. It's not bad. It's about the life of a young mostly-wolf...wolf. It's not a pretty book; kind of grim how he's treated. A good read regardless.

[jaybreak]

I thought I'd start a thread to suggest good reading. I found this book on Amazon titled "Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible" by E. Randolph Richards and Brandon J. O'Brien. IVP Press. It was interesting to read a book by American authors, that doesn't presume God is an American or that the western way of life is Gods idea.
  The authors spent time as missionaries in Indonesia in a society that was more in line with God's than ours. They also brought out some of the failings in western Christianity but, I think  the similarities with us ends there. They just couldn't help categorizing and ended with......wait for it.....YES, three things you can do. If you use your winnowing fork there are a few worthwhile moments.

I might recommend Orthodoxy and Heretics from GK Chesterton. Yes, he is western and a Catholic but I believe he was heart-lead...more so than C.S. Lewis. And he often railed against modernity and its patterns of thinking. Some his prose might be dense but there's always some humor in it, and he doesn't take himself too seriously (he was called "The Prophet of Mirth" for a reason).

You may get something out of it. I definitely did, and still do, but I'm biased.

Gutenberg has them for free:
Orthodoxy
Heretics

[IainH]

I thought I'd start a thread to suggest good reading. I found this book on Amazon titled "Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible" by E. Randolph Richards and Brandon J. O'Brien. IVP Press. It was interesting to read a book by American authors, that doesn't presume God is an American or that the western way of life is Gods idea.
  The authors spent time as missionaries in Indonesia in a society that was more in line with God's than ours. They also brought out some of the failings in western Christianity but, I think  the similarities with us ends there. They just couldn't help categorizing and ended with......wait for it.....YES, three things you can do. If you use your winnowing fork there are a few worthwhile moments.

I might recommend Orthodoxy and Heretics from GK Chesterton. Yes, he is western and a Catholic but I believe he was heart-lead...more so than C.S. Lewis. And he often railed against modernity and its patterns of thinking. Some his prose might be dense but there's always some humor in it, and he doesn't take himself too seriously (he was called "The Prophet of Mirth" for a reason).

You may get something out of it. I definitely did, and still do, but I'm biased.

Gutenberg has them for free:
Orthodoxy
Heretics

I've heard of him but, never read his works, I will now.

[IainH]

With my focus on furniture lately, I got a book for y'all: The Anvil of Adversity. It's the biography of JE (Ed) Broyhill founder of the once great Broyhill Furniture Industries. It was written by William Stevens, his son in law in 1966 and his admiration of the man is obvious but, that does not detract from the story. Not exactly a rags to riches, rather an overalls and bare feet to three piece suit and nice shoes story, he worked extra hard towards his achievements.
  I waited in line to shake his hand at the Broyhill chair 3 fourth of July picnic in 1985, he was in his nineties and weary by the time I reached him but, when I said "Gaither Walker was my great Grandpa" he perked right up and told me "they don't make 'em like Pa Walker no more" and inquired about the health of my kin. It caused some dropped jaws among my coworkers. Tom Broyhill, Ed's much older brother grew up with my great Grandpappy. Tom gave Ed his start. Dad had many stories related to his grandfather and Tom & Ed. There was some intermarriage between the Walker and Broyhill clans way back. 
   The book has been out of print for a while but, used copies can be found on eBay and Amazon cheap. It is an interesting window on the development of industry in Western NC in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. If you're into that type of stuff.

[jaybreak]

I might be interested in reading that, partially because you recommended it, but also because reading about the work ethic of past generations interests me. Different priorities drove them, some good, some bad. Still provokes consideration.