Wednesday, June 18, 2003
Thanks for the suggestions on books for the summer. I'm going to be meeting with my buddy Scott at Starbucks every week or so, and we're going to read DIVINE CONSPIRACY (Dallas Willard) together. Huge book, chock full of stuff - based around the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 ("Discourse on the Hill"). I read it last year with Russ and others on another email list, but I didn't invest too much into it then. Hopefully we'll plow through and sharpen each other's iron in the process (Prov 27:17).
I've had some discussion on what kinds of books I read, how do I balance non-fic with fiction, etc. For the most part, Christian literature is based in the non-fiction Christian-Living department, with some fiction thrown in to show "we" can right stories without cussing and sex. If the story is right, I love Christian fiction - huge Frank Peretti fan (read most of his), and I'd recommend the Narnia Chronicles (CS Lewis) to anyone. I also like Jefferson Scott - he hasn't written anything lately, but he had a couple of books based on a near-future where virtual reality has some evil stuff going on. Anyway, good story drives any book for me, whether it's fiction or non-fic. Without a decent story, or way of putting things, or challenging conversation with the author, I'm just not usually interested. I read "non-Christian" books in the general market that might have Christian/ethical themes, because they usually tell better stories.