Spiritual
Journey Press
P.O. Box 3041, Mercerville, NJ 08619
Welcome to Spiritual Journey Press! Let's explore our journeys together! Use the mail order form to purchase Endless Possibilities and other Spiritual Journey Press products.
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P.O. Box 3041, Mercerville, NJ 08619
Welcome to Spiritual Journey Press! Let's explore our journeys together! Use the mail order form to purchase Endless Possibilities and other Spiritual Journey Press products. |
|
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Spirituality Books - Subjects List This bibliography of spirituality books is compiled from previous Top Ten Books lists, and is updated monthly. A variety of perspectives, cultures and literary categories are represented. 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. To quickly reach a specific category you are interested in, click below:Autobiographies and Journals Spiritual Disciplines Scholarly Studies Spiritual Formation Devotionals Workbooks Biblical Studies Churches Mysticism Journeying Judaism Other Religions Fiction
Augustine, The Confessions. Augustine's autobiographical account of his journey to Christ is rightly acclaimed a spiritual masterpiece. Irving Howe, A Margin of Hope. Why recommend an intellectual autobiography composed by a politically liberal/socialist Jewish literary critic? A Margin of Hope is a tour de force of the mind. Jon Katz, Running to the Mountain. Katz is a fifty year old Jewish man who doesn't believe in religion, but who nevertheless wants to discover a "spirituality" which does not depend upon faith in God or church. He brings Merton's works as his inspirational guide. Light reading. Thomas Merton, The Seven Storey Mountain. A classic twentieth century spiritual autobiography written by a Trappist monk whose writings have reached millions of people. It will take you up to his entrance into Gethsemeni Monastery in Kentucky. In the next journal, The Sign of Jonas, Merton's initial enthusiasm and naivete begin to confront the reality of life as a Trappist. Five later journals have been published, taking us to the end of his life. The most controversial, Learning to Love (vol. 6), chronicles Merton's struggle with human love and solitude. The Asian Journal of Thomas Merton is Merton's most fascinating journal, covering his trip in 1968 to Asia (during which he died). Besides the journals, Merton wrote thousands of letters to a veritable pantheon of luminaries. I enjoyed Shannon's collection, The Hidden Ground of Love. I would recommend two biographies of Merton: Michael Mott's The Seven Mountains of Thomas Merton and Monica Furlong's Merton: A Biography. Morton Kelsey, The Other Side of Silence : Meditation for the Twenty-First Century. Twenty years ago, The Other Side of Silence was published, the first book to join Christian meditation with Jungian psychology. This is the revised edition. Morton Kelsey, Spiritual Living in a Material World. This little gem of a book by a modern pioneer in the field of Christian spirituality is well worth the few dollars it costs to own. Kelsey provides a basic primer on a number of spiritual disciplines and on journeying in general. Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Way of the Heart. This slim volume is one of the best introductions to solitude, silence and prayer I have read. Mother Teresa, Everything Starts from Prayer: Mother Teresa's Meditations on Spiritual Life for People of All Faiths. This slim work records Teresa's sayings on prayer, love, silence and service, and serves nicely as a devotional primer for people just starting out in their spiritual lives. Donald S. Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life. Whitney encourages the quest for godliness (the goal of the classical spiritual journey paradigm) through the employment of spiritual disciplines. Howard Baker, Soul Keeping. Baker speaks with deep humility and honesty about the course of his own journey, and reminds of us that even our "desert" experiences can trigger spiritual growth. Soul Keeping is an accessible entry into the classical Christian tradition of spiritual formation. Bruce Demarest, Satisfy Your Soul: Restoring the Heart of Christian Spirituality. This is an excellent overview of the subject of spiritual formation from an evangelical perspective. Thomas Merton, Life and Holiness. Merton's employs a probing intellect and personal honesty as he reflects on how Christians can reach for holiness in a modern world racked by anxiety. The Wisdom of the Desert is a collection of monastic episodes which makes a great devotional aid. Seasons of Celebration is a book of essays on spirituality based on the church calendar. Love and Living is an interesting complement to Learning to Love, while The Ascent to Truth is Merton's attempt to explain St. John of the Cross; people not familiar with John should not attempt this book. For those who wish to sample the full range of Merton's writings in a single volume, I would recommend A Thomas Merton Reader. J.I. Packer, Knowing God. As the book's title states, the purpose of the work is to draw us into a deeper personal relationship with God. A very inexpensive Knowing God Study Guide ($4.99 retail; Amazon.com sells it for $3.99) is also available. Ronald Rolheiser, The Holy Longing. You have to admire a Catholic priest who opens a book on Christian spirituality by discussing the spirituality of Mother Teresa, Madonna and Princess Diana! A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy and The Pursuit of God. Delve into the attributes of God in a prayerful way with a master! Tozer's style is compelling. Take, for example, this quote from The Knowledge of the Holy: "Upon God's faithfulness rests our whole hope of future blessedness." Amen! Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy. Willard desires to count the cost of Christian discipleship and thus rescue it from the mediocrity which is so often characteristic of church life today. John Bunyan, The Pilgrim's Progress. This is still the best description of the classical spiritual journey, as viewed from a Protestant perspective. N.T. Wright, The Way of the Lord: Christian Pilgrimage Today. Pilgrimage is deeper than tourism. A tourist visits a place, while a pilgrim seeks an encounter with God utilizing place as a sign of God's presence. Wright explores Holy Land sites and places them within the context of Christian faith. 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. C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves. The Four Loves are affection, friendship, erotic love and our love of God. Bernard McGinn, The Foundations of Mysticism, Origins to Fifth Century. This is a classic scholarly introduction to the beginnings of Christian mysticism and the monastic movement. J.I. Packer, A Quest for Godliness : The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life. An excellent survey of Puritan spirituality by a renowned evangelical theologian. 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." Daniel Fountain, God, Medicine and Miracles. Dr. Fountain is well-known as an American Baptist medical missionary. His new book shares an important truth: people find more complete healing when treated as integrated persons. Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Revive Us Again : Bibical Insights for Encouraging Spiritual Renewal. This call to spiritual renewal is unique in that the messages are based on Old Testament passages (what did you expect from a professor of Old Testament?). John Stott, Basic Christianity. An evangelical classic which has been used by countless Sunday School classes. John Stott, Evangelical Truth: A Personal Plea for Unity, Integrity, and Faithfulness. Philip Yancey, The Bible Jesus Read. One of the most popluar contemporary evangelical writers turns his attention to 5 Old Testament books/sections in order to help readers see the wisdom of the "Bible Jesus read" in a fresh way. N.T. Wright, Following Jesus. In this very accessible book, Wright reflects on the theme of discipleship. The first half offers a series of NT book overviews (the one on Mark is the best). N. Gordon Cosby, By Grace Transformed. Cosby's insists on maintaining both an inner spiritual life and a commitment to social justice, and this reminds us of the Endless Possibilities' description of the redemptive and mission level journeys.Philip Yancey, Church: Why Bother? My Personal Pilgrimage. Yancey honestly probes a question many of us have asked: why bother being a part of a local congregation? Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Church. This book has found tremendous success in communicating how churches can fulfill their mission journeys. If this reminds you of my Endless Possibilities' emphasis on God's will and fufilling our "goal-oriented" journeys, give yourself a pat on the back! The Spiritual Formation Bible, published by Zondervan. This NIV Bible encourages the reader to employ various classical methods for reading the Bible (lectio divina, Ignatian, Franciscan, five-fold questions). Also available in hardcover. The Spiritual Renewal Bible. This is an adequate Bible for someone looking for devotional inspiration. It is nicely laid out and contains outlines of each book of the Bible. Experiencing God Study Bible. A "must have" for the devotees of the Experiencing God course. The code picture structure is complicated, and the colored sections bleed through the thin paper. The Journey. Judson Poling, the Bible's editor, states that this version is "a Bible for the not yet convinced." If you know someone who is a "spiritual seeker," this might be a nice gift Bible. Henry T. Blackaby, Experiencing God. This book makes the Christian life come alive by deepening the Christian's grasp and experience of God's love, presence and spiritual power. James Bryan Smith, A Spiritual Formation Workbook. Based on Richard Foster's Renovare renewal movement, this small group workbook reviews the key spiritual contributions of 5 major Christian traditions (contemplative, holiness, charismatic, social justice, and evangelical). James Smith and Richard Foster, Devotional Classics. This is an excellent collection of 52 writings from mystics and saints. W.H. Auden, Forewards and Afterwards. In the first half of the book, Auden has written a brilliant set of essays on Christian doctrine, thought and mysticism. The essays on Protestant Mysticism and Kierkegaard are worth the price of the entire volume. The Cloud of Unknowing (author unknown). In this fourteenth century spiritual masterpiece, the author asserts that we must go beyond intellectual knowledge and directly experience God through love, humilty and contemplation. St. John of the Cross, Dark Night of the Soul. The small but profound work on the mystical life which forever changed my own spiritual journey. St. John's understanding of the stages of the contemplative journey has never been surpassed, but it is not a book for beginners. Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love. Julian's writings are filled with wisdom. Quick Quote: "Then our Lord opened my spiritual eyes, and showed me the soul in the middle of my heart." Simone Weil, Gravity and Grace. Weil's reflections on gravity and grace, detachment, and attention (as prayer) are illuminating and brilliant. Simone Weil, Waiting for God. Born Jewish, this French mystic delighted in being outside the Catholic Church while believing in Jesus. Her observations are often brilliantly insightful, especially when she talks about prayer as "waiting" and "attention." Lewis Jacobs, The Schocken Book of Jewish Mystical Testimonies : A Unique and Inspiring Collection of Accounts by People Who Have Encountered God. This work brings together the few accounts we have by Jewish mystics of their encounters with the divine. Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Sabbath. There is no better work on the spirituality of the Sabbath than this brief reflection by one of the greatest Jewish writers of this century. Simon Wiesenthal, The Sunflower. About 50 famous writers from many religious backgrounds and professions respond to a real-life Holocaust dilemma posed by Wiesenthal: how should he respond to a Nazi SS prison guard, who on his deathbed asks for forgiveness? Thich Nhat Hanh, Living Buddha, Living Christ. This Vietnamese Buddhist monk was a friend of Thomas Merton's. Living Buddha, Living Christ, is a fascinating series of reflections in which Hanh reinterprets Christ's (and the Holy Spirit's) significance from a Buddhist perspective. I disagree with much of what he states, but this is a great book for someone trying to understand Buddhist- Christian dialogue. The audiocassette is performed well. Fragrant Palm Leaves: Journals 1962-1966 is a newly translated journal chronicling Hanh's stay in the U.S. (1962-1964) and return to Viet Nam (1965-1966). He argues for an "engaged' Buddhism (one that seeks to help solve societal problems using Buddhist principles). Shusaku Endo, A Life of Jesus. The greatest Japanese novelist of the twentieth century shares Jesus with non-Christian Japanese readers by taking a novelist's approach to the Gospel narratives. Two other works by Endo which explore Christian themes are The Girl I left Behind and The Final Martyrs. Shusaku Endo, Silence. The story of a seventeenth century Portuguese missionary-priest who is persecuted in Japan. This novel probes the meaning of the Cross and the suffering of Jesus as European Christianity and Japanese culture and tradition confront one another. John Grisham, The Testament. A novel about a lawyer who embarks on a journey of spiritual discovery in Brazil, where a female Baptist missionary is serving. Jon Hassler, North of Hope. Hassler's portrayal of Father Frank Healy proves he knows that pastors, missionaries and preachers are real people. Ernest Hemingway, True at First Light. A novel by Hemingway on a spiritual books list??? Hemingway has been a favorite of mine since high school. In this semi-autobiographical novel, he actually does talk about the human soul (see pages 170-173). audiocassette James Hilton, Lost Horizon. This is the story of the spiritual journey of Robert Conway, a British diplomat in 1930's war-torn China. His plane is hijacked and he is carried off to Shangi-la, where he meets a lama (actually a Catholic missionary who is centuries old) who commits the idyllic valley community to his safekeeping. Will Conway accept this call and stay? Katherine Paterson, Jacob Have I Loved. A beautiful story of two sisters growing up in the Chesapeake Bay region, with allusions to the Biblical Jacob and Esau rivalry. We'd love to have your response to this book list! To share your thoughts, join SJP's new web-based discussion forum - Journey Explorations. Or, to provide personal feedback, click here: article feedback
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