Books on Spirituality by Academics
This section contain works related to
spirituality by scholars from fields such as psychology and sociology. For your convenience
(since many of these books may not be readily available in your local bookstore), I have
directly linked each book to its page at Amazon.com; just click its title and you can
order in no time! Spiritual Journey Press is an associate of Amazon.com.
Mystics
of the Christian Tradition by Steven Fanning. From visions and
voices to self-torture and levitation, mystical phenomena have shaped the
Christian heritage. Spanning two thousand years of Christian history, Mystics of
the Christian Tradition examines the lives, times, and mystical experiences of
almost one hundred Christian mystics from Jesus to the later Roman Catholic
saints. Steven Fanning is an Associate Professor of History at the
University of Illinois at Chicago.
The
Story of Christian Spirituality : Two Thousand Years, from East to West
by Gordon Mursell (Editor)
Drawing from East and West, the authors present a full and fascinating
picture of humanity’s desire for the divine—across the centuries.
Highlighting the contribution of key individuals, this volume explores the ways
in which Christians from the earliest times to the present day have sought to
express and live out the deepest truths of their faith.
Contents
--The Early Church Fathers
--Celtic and Anglo-Saxon Spirituality
--Saints and Mystics of the Medieval West
--The Eastern Christian Tradition
--The Russian Spirit
--The Protestant Tradition in Europe
--Catholic Saints and Reformers
--The Anglican Spirit
--The Protestant Tradition in America
--Spiritualities of the Twentieth Century
--Epilogue
--Further Reading
Beautifully illustrated throughout, The Story of Christian Spirituality is a
readable and vivid guide to the spiritual riches of one of the world’s most
influential religions. This beautiful and highly informative book provides the
historical development of Christianity to both the student and serious religious
reader. (Review from Amazon.com).
The
Story of Christian Music : From Gregorian Chant to Black Gospel : An
Authoritative Illustrated Guide to All the Major Traditions of Music for Worship
by Andrew Wilson-Dickson
This book narrates a continuing history of such music and
projects ahead to how music may be applied in worship by future generations.
Introduction
to the History of Christianity
by Tim
Dowley (Editor)
The 2000-year history of Christianity is a dramatic, intriguing,
and often surprising story, told here by more than sixty specialists from ten
countries.
A
Journey into Christian Art
by Helen De Borchgrave
Searching always for the spirituality that inspired their work, de Borchgrave's
work shows us how Christian artists through the ages strove in mosaic, paint,
and stone "to enrich the mind, touch the heart, and feed the soul."
For all who want to broaden and deepen their appreciation of religious art, this
magnificent volume offers over 100 superb color reproductions of some of the
world’s greatest paintings
The
Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order by Samuel P.
Huntington. The thesis of this provocative and potentially important book
is the increasing threat of violence arising from renewed conflicts between
countries and cultures that base their traditions on religious faith and dogma.
This argument moves past the notion of ethnicity to examine the growing
influence of a handful of major cultures--Western, Eastern Orthodox, Latin
American, Islamic, Japanese, Chinese, Hindu, and African--in current struggles
across the globe. Samuel P. Huntington is a distinguished political scientist at
Harvard University.
Hidden
Gospels : How the Search for Jesus Lost its Way
by Philip Jenkins
In this book, Philip Jenkins takes on the interpretations of Jesus Seminar
scholars and provides historical and textual evidence to contradict them.
This book was recently reviewed positively in the Wall Street Journal (of all
newspapers!).
Peter
Ackroyd, The Life of Thomas More.
Whitbread award-winning biographer Peter Ackroyd masterfully introduces us to
one of the great figures in England's history in "The Life of Thomas More."
Learn why More--a lawyer, humanist, and saint--came to be known as "a man for all
seasons." (from the Amazon.com site)
Robert Coles, The Secular Mind.
Coles is a professor of psychiatry and medical humanities at Harvard. The Secular Mind
is an intellectual ramble through the past few centuries. Coles seeks to show how
literary giants anticipated twentieth century secular culture. The book is weaker as
he looks to the future. Many of Coles' other books are worthy of note. The Call to
Service examines community service and altruism, and contains plenty of sermon
illustrations. Coles has spent a great deal of time studying the moral and spiritual
growth of children. Two representative works are The Spiritual
Life of Children and The Moral
Intelligence of Children.
George
Gallup, Jr. The Next American Spirituality.
Gallup's newest
book on trends in religious observance in the United States. Just
published, this book "reveals a striking picture of 24 hours in the
spiritual life of Americans."
Alister E. McGrath, Christian
Spirituality : An Introduction
This text fills the need for a clear, informative, helpful
and well-written introduction to Christian spirituality. It introduces this area
of Christian theology as a serious and exciting field of study to those
encountering it for the first time.
Alister E. McGrath, Beyond
the Quiet Time : Practical Evangelical Spirituality
Spirituality fades easily in a fast-paced culture. Alister McGrath says
evangelical spirituality needs to slow down and turn on the imagination to
become more deeply in love with Christ. McGrath shows how to feel Bible study
more personally. Chapters encourage Christians to look at the gospel with awe.
Mark R. McMinn,
Psychology,
Theology, and Spirituality in Christian Counseling (AACC Library).
Part of the AACC professional series that offers
counselors the latest techniques, theory, and general information that is vital
to their work. This book explores the importance of the spiritual
disciplines in psychotherapy, helping counselors to integrate the biblical
principles of forgiveness, redemption, restitution, prayer, and worship into
their counseling techniques.
Richard
V. Peace. Conversion in the New Testament. In order to be effective in evangelism, one must clearly understand the
dynamics of conversion. Richard Peace here examines two very different
conversion experiences-- Paul's and the twelve disciples'--and explains their
implications for contemporary evangelism. By showing how conversion can take
place either suddenly or gradually over time, Peace gives good reasons, and
suggests practical ways, to replace one-sided evangelism techniques with more
holistic methods. Dr. Peace was one of my doctoral advisors at Gordon-Conwell
Theological Seminary.
Creative
Spirituality: The Way of the Artist
by Robert Wuthnow
Creative Spirituality, an intriguing
discussion on the artistic process, zeroes in on the mysterious place where
creativity and the sacred meet. As more and more artists admit to seeking and
experiencing divine inspiration, author Robert Wuthnow (After
Heaven) decided to examine this important link. Relying on his expansive
knowledge of spirituality and culture, he offers this groundbreaking book that
speaks to the ways morality and spirit influence the modern arts.
Growing
Up Religious : Christians and Jews and Their Journeys of Faith
by Robert Wuthnow
In this book from Robert Wuthnow we follow the lives
of ordinary people to see how the past operates to inform the ever changing
spiritual life of America. In a nation where people are always reinventing their
religious practices, Robert Wuthnow examines the lives of those who grew up
religious and returned to religion in later life.
Robert
Wuthnow, After Heaven :
Spirituality in America Since the 1950s. by Robert Wuthnow argues that
professional and social mobility makes it hard for Americans to sustain spiritual life
because they don't feel rooted in one place; therefore, they embark on spiritual searches
"characterized more often by dabbling than by depth."
Counseling
The
Spiritual Connection: Values, Faith and Psychotherapy by Benjamin
Conley. The book identifies the underlying values and faith assumptions
upon which all forms of psychotherapy are based. It identifies the basic
spiritual values of human connectedness that allow people to blossom into their
fullness. It is a reference book on the relationship of psychotherapy, values,
faith, and spirituality. Benjamin Conley is a member of the Spiritual
Journey Press Contact List and his web site is Anthos
Publishing.
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