[jb]

On another forum I used to be involved with, someone had a long-running thread that asked "What are you reading?" It was pretty interesting knowing what other people were feeding their minds with. It helped flesh-out more details of my fellow-forummer's personalities, presuppositions, interests, etc. and I found it fascinating.

So I want to start something like that here. I think I'll even make it a "Sticky" so it doesn't get buried and can remain as a long-running thread.

For myself, I generally don't just serially read one book at a time. I attack several at a time because I usually can't wait to get done with the one I'm working at in order to start another. The cosequence is that sometimes there are books I never finish, but I do tend to finish a lot.

I just got done reading R. C. Sproul's Consequences of Ideas. It's a nice concise, lay-person's introduction to western philosophy, from the perspective of an evangelical scholar & preacher (I didn't know prior to this that Dr. Sproul's undergrad degree was in philosophy).

Right now I'm reading a book called God and the Philosophers. My wife bought it for my birthday about a month ago, and it is a really good read. It is a collection of entries from contemporary theistic philosophers and their faith journeys. Some of them are rather conservative evangelicals, while a few are somewhat more liberal, but they're all interesting. The collection is edited by Thomas V. Morris, and since he is an Episcopalian, there seems to be a somewhat unevenly heavy distribution of Episcopalians and Anglicans, though there are a few of other stripes. Just about every one of them has something that really resonated with me and my experience. Prior to reading this, the only two names I recognized in the volume were Peter Van Inwagen and Eleanor Stump.

I've also been listening to G. K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy in audio-book format during my commute and lunch hour. I'm not sure I'm getting the most out of it, though, since it done in a computer-generated female voice (hey, it was a free download). At some point I will probably re-read it in print form. Chesterton is great! What he says is deep and thought-provoking, but the way he expresses his thoughts can often provoke a good belly-laugh. If you're not familiar with Chesterton, you need to read his stuff!

I also just got done listening to Chesterton's The Man Who Was Thursday on audio (this one was read by an actual human being). It's described as "Metaphysical" fiction. I'll just say it was a really great book, and somewhat lighter reading that the other stuff I've been consuming lately.

I've also been listening to Jason Rennie's "Darwin or Design."

Next ones on my bookshelf are Chesterton's The Everlasting Man and Ann Rice's Out of Egypt. I've also got Priveleged Planet and Darwin's Black Box sitting there waiting for me to dive into.

[Rick]

Chesterton sounds interesting. So does God of the Philosophers. There've been many times when I've run up against a question and wished I had someone to discuss it with who'd thought about it and had resolved it or at least come to peace with it, and who wouldn't simply give a canned or "just accept it" sort of response.

I recently read (mostly) Darwin's Black Box and am now a couple or three chapters into The Edge of Evolution.

Other books I've been in lately include Mere Christianity and The Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism and Intelligent Design. There's also been The Great Turning Point, by Dr. Terry Mortenson and Strobel's A Case for Christ. I seem to be pretty bad about starting books and then neglecting them for a time.

Then there's fiction. I purchased and read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows within a couple of days of its release.

[jb]

I finished Orthodoxy a week or two ago.

I haven't finished God and the Philosophers, but that hasn't stopped me from starting another book. I've started the Anne Rice book Out of Egypt. It's written as if it were Jesus himself relating the story, and the story starts when he is seven years old. I'll have to say it's a bit jarring as an evangelical Christian to read something coming from Jesus' POV in the first person like that. First-person accounts put the reader in the shoes of the character relating the story--seeing the world through their eyes and experienc, and it is a bit uncomfortable for me to put myself in Jesus' shoes like that. The book does raise some interesting dilemas, like Jesus' limited knowledge in contrast to the Divine Ominiscience one might expect him to have. Especially since the account starts with Jesus as a seven-year-old still under the care of his family (one of my own children is seven years old right now). However, it is a fascinating read so far, and really does help flesh out your understanding of the ancient near-east milieu in which the New Testament is set. It is interesting that Rice's Roman Catholic background shows in some twists: James--Jesus' half-brother--is part of the family, but he is the child of a previous wife of Joseph's who died before he married Mary. This gets Rice around the issue of Jesus having a brother, but Mary being a perpetual virgin. Overall this is a pretty good book, and quite mind-expanding. (This is the first Rice book I've ever read--I generally haven't had much interest in the type of fiction she's written previously).