Recommended Reading List

Well, I know I've never done this before, but I'm going to recommend a page on the "Contending for the Faith" website. Its clear they don't intend it to be referenced in this way, but the list of books that are the subject of their 2010 Spring Lectures looks like a great list! I haven't read them all, but I have read most of them and I highly recommend all of those to anyone who has been feeling "stuck" or "bound" by the traditions within the American Restoration Movement churches, especially my "tribe", the Churches of Christ. To you, please take heart that there are others who have been wrestling with these "issues" for years and have written some very readable and well-documented books on the subjects which our tradition has turned into "issues". These authors expose how good we have been at answering questions that no one is asking and at driving away anyone who dared to actually read and think about the God of the Scriptures. This tradition of destructive criticism and isolationism is being continued by the folks involved in "Contending for the Faith", which is especially ironic since one of their core doctrines is a plea for simple New Testament Christianity. Their practice of ever-increasing exclusivity and drawing lines to maintain their self-identification of faithfulness is self-destructive, so its not worth being drawn into fighting or arguing about their "issues". But in the meantime, I'm happy to utilize their research and spread the word about their "Recommended Reading List"!
The world is watching!