50 Great Books Every Christian Should Read

At least so says the Online Christian Colleges blog.  I received a notice of the post in e-mail.  Usually that’s not a very productive way to get me to blog about something unless you’re someone I know, and more importantly, someone who knows what I like to blog about.  So, folks, don’t make a habit of it.

In this case, I almost didn’t bother to look at the post, as lists of things every ____ should read generally drive me nuts, but I did go and look, and there are some rather interesting items but as a list of 50 books every Christian should read, I’d say, “Not so much.”

For example, The Talmud.  Should Christians be acquainted with Judaism to some extent?  Yes, I would agree.  But reading the entire Talmud?  Have you tried?  It really isn’t a book to be read so much as one to be diligently studied.  And no, I haven’t read all or even most of it myself.  My interests went the other direction, back to the ancient near east.  Now Enuma Elish, the Hymn to Aten, Gilgamesh, and Hammurabi’s code–those everyone should read, and in the original languages.  (No, I don’t mean that about the original languages.  Just joking.)

What about The Purpose Driven Life, #19 on the list?  In this case, I have read it, though I must confess to a “seminary read” of large portions.  I really don’t find it profound enough to be on the top 50.  If our pastor hadn’t been preaching through it, I would never have bothered.

There are quite a few good suggestions, though I think many will object to particular selections, such as Tillich’s Systematic Theology.  I love it, but it is really slow reading for most.  I haven’t found that many people who want to hear quotes from it.

In any case, check out the list.  What would you add?  What would you remove?