Excellent! I grew up in the church, never missed service, believed without question.. I began my search of the criticisms a few years ago. I like that you have encouraged Christians to do that, but I know you also realize that many Christians are afraid to search.. They feel it reflects a weakness in their faith. What I learned is that my belief in God was made more absolute, yet my belief in the way the bible is interpreted by modern evangelicals was not MY belief at all-it was my parents' belief. I have learned much and my doctrine is different than my upbringing, but I want others to realize that reading and learning is ok! Another thing I found really great in this video is that you warned at the end about the "agendas" of bible studies... I think that is a huge problem in the modern day church. Thanks, Steve! More thought provoking discussion!!
I respect that you did this. So many book tubers avoid the subject or act as if they are too “sophisticated” to consider it. I would add to this list Saint Thomas Aquinas, CS Lewis (Mere Christianity), The Douay- Rheims Bible.
An absolutely fascinating video with really great suggestions. I am constantly devouring religious text (it's so bloody interesting) I was raised in the church but now, as an atheist, I read more than I ever have on the subject.
I've found this universally to be true: all the atheists I know are more scripturally literate than the faithful, especially when it comes to Christianity!
+Steve Donoghue I agree! Whether they were raised in a religious environment or not. I love stories (hello Booktube!) mythologies/religions are often kept at arms length because of the power they possess or the harm they may have caused...Hogwash to that, says I. The best human is an educated one.
Thank you for these recommendations, I can't even begin to fathom the wealth of knowledge and thought that will come through these works. I just recently received my own copy of the King James Version of the Bible and these parings will be so valuable in bettering my understanding of Christianity. I wouldn't have found these anywhere else, thank you Steve, once again you rock!
One does not simply read a theology chunker to check out if they are good, so it's good that someone have done the checking og some and can then recommend them to us deadly people. "The Birth of Christianity" is something I'm definetly going to get hold of.
I was baptized Anglican, but have not stepped foot in a church in many moon (other than for my own wedding). I purchased the NIV Bible for Women earlier this year and am looking for more books. Thanks for sharing these Steve, I have added them to my TBR.
I really like this video, I can't say that I am a big follower of any religion. But I like learning the history of different religions I found it helpful in understanding other aspects of history.
I have to agree with Jo regarding the "agendas" of study Bibles. I'd never considered that but you're absolutely right. I just had my husband (who's a pastor) watch this and he found it really interesting. He's a people person, though, and not a scholar, so I'm sure he saw the huge tomes and was ready to run. He's more of a Max Lucado or Rick Warren kind of guy. He does enjoy some scholars, though - and I'd be interested to hear what you think of some of the most impacting ones of the current day - incuding the ones Bridget mentioned and even someone as current as John Ortberg. We need another video please! This one was great!
And P.S. - I've always loved the New American Standard version because of it's more poetic feel. KJV always seemed too archaic to me - but the NASB captures the beauty of the language without all the cumbersome terms. Even the NIV misses that - and the NIV was the most common version used when I attended Bible college back in the day -
Thank you for the book recommendations. I’ve always been fascinated by both sides of this subject. I’ve haven’t heard of any of the books you show in this video except the King James Bible. I always take the time to explore opportunities to hear other people’s perspectives on controversial topics not to change my beliefs but to try to understand people more fully and why they belief what they do. I don’t know why people fear this so much. I find it to be a very interesting and fulfilling experience.
OMGosh Mr. Donoguhe! this is so refreshing! Thank you. I was hesitant at 1st because I wasn't sure what you were going to present. "Is this a 'tongue & cheek' reel-them-in video then bam!" I was thinking but I clicked on anyway. I'm so glad I did. I can not find anyone (maybe I still haven't looked hard enough) that will post book videos like this. I've seen the "Birth of The New Testament" quite a bit and hesitated each time about getting it. It's the size 1st (I read big books and love them) which is larger than any book I've read; then I wasn't sure about the content. I guess I'll check it out at the library. Anywho, I won't drag on. I'm going to subscribe to your channel (congrats on your increase --- 1,000+) and I'm looking forward to more videos like this from you if you plan on doing it. Also, maybe this will inspire others to share their books on faith. I have.
A much appreciated and thoughtful video, Steve! I work with students writing NT exegetical papers and the scholarship of that task is a real eye opener for many of them the first time they do this (as it was for me as well).
I love the King James version - I started reading it once a year when I was 8, and now read it at least 4 times a year as a palate cleanser and to keep my head on straight. I appreciate your recommendations and plan to check out "Christ" asap. Have you ever read or reviewed "The Shadow of a Great Rock" by Harold Bloom?
Great video! I have never heard of any of these (except the Bible of course). I wish my library had The New Covenant. It sounds like that would be a good place to start.
Ohh, this is great! I've read the Bible but not the King James version. And I didn't know about any of the others, so now I have a looot of titles to look up. :O Thank you! :D
I'm an atheist and have been well aware my whole adult life the huge influence the KJV Bible has had on literature and one day want to read/study it for that reason. My hesitation has been that anyone seeing me reading it, or in my library, will automatically assume it's for religious purposes (with horror or delight and with a great deal of awkwardness and avoidance depending on the person lol). It's amazing how one book can cause so much trouble (what an understatement! lol) I should probably do it via online sources.
You really shouldn’t care too much about what others think of you. Especially when it comes to book reading! My friend even used to read the Koran and the Bible together in our school library, haha.
Maybe one more video about Biblical Fiction? it would be awesome. I love JJ Benitez, Operation Trojan-Horse series, about timetraveling astronauts living with Jesus, it is very sciency but respectful, but I believe this books are only published in Spanish and Portuguese.
I was terrified to watch, and then to further comment on this video. Lol I am an unapologetic atheist. - though by which I don't mean those annoying @$$holes on reddit who continuously attack religion. I hate it when Christians (and other religions but Christians have been my main experience) go out of there way to tell me how wrong my belief (or lack of belief) is. I've been told over and over by my own mother that it's "just a phase" and I'll "grow out of it" - I'll be 31 this year lol... I think a lot of "attacks" on organized religion are misguided. Christianity itself isn't the problem. The morals set down by this ideal actually are pretty above board. In fact, just taking most of the ten commandments.. or sure just boil it all down to "treat your neighbor as you want to be treated" these are great ideals. The problem is when atrocities are carried out in the name of God, and *insert religion here*. Narrow minded people who cherry pick scripture so that it suits their needs and use it as a weapon against what they don't agree with. Bigotry and murder in the name of God. It speaks to fallibility of man, not inherently a problem with the scripture. I tend to gravitate towards the whole live and let live ideal heh :P I won't mock someone's belief in god because it's something I don't believe in, as long as I don't get the condescension from those with faith about how misguided and foolish I am for not believing in the the power of God. We can all get along... right?? :P
Much Love man! As a Baha’i, here are some Baha’i quotations on the topic I love: _“The fundamental purpose animating the Faith of God and His Religion is to safeguard the interests and promote the unity of the human race, and to foster the spirit of love and fellowship amongst men. Suffer it not to become a source of dissension and discord, of hate and enmity.”_ -Bahá’u’lláh, Founder of the Bahá’í Faith. _“If religion becomes a cause of dislike, hatred and division, it were better to be without it, and to withdraw from such a religion would be a truly religious act,”_ said ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, son of Bahá’u’lláh. _“Any religion which is not a cause of love and unity is no religion.”_ _“…every individual member of humankind is exhorted and commanded to set aside superstitious beliefs, traditions and blind imitation of ancestral forms in religion and investigate reality for himself. Inasmuch as the fundamental reality is one, all religions and nations of the world will become one through investigation of reality.”_ - Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 433. Hope you are healthy and stay safe! Peace
I applaud you heartily for taking on the challenge, but first you need to define the parameters of "Christianity". World Christianity consists of 6 major ecclesiastico-cultural blocs, divided into 300 major ecclesiastical traditions, comprising of over 33,000 distinct denominations in 238 countries. Independents: 22,000 denominations Protestants: 9000 denominations Marginals: 1600 denominations Orthodox: 781 denominations Catholics: 242 denominations Anglicans: 168 denominations Source.....the two-volume World Christian Encyclopedia (Barrett, Kurian, and Johnson; Oxford University Press. To get any two or three of those to agree on what should constitute a starter kit for Christian reading is impossible. Indeed, many of these denominations have their own version of the Bible so cannot even agree on that. A better idea might be to take the 6 major ecclesiastico-cultural blocs in turn and do a list for each. I'll even put my money where my mouth is and volunteer to do a Traditional Roman Catholic list......starting with discarding the KJV Bible because even the original version is incomplete and full of doctrinal problems caused by the politics in the British Isles at the time of compilation. .
I do love watching your videos, Steve. I love how quick you are to laugh and how articulate you are. And now I find I also love that you find Hitchens's God is Not Great a ridiculous book. It is precisely that. For every valid and sympathetic criticism Hitchens makes in the book, he takes a half-dozen cheap shots. What bothers me most about it is how he seeks to persuade his like-minded readers that his and their contempt is intellectual rigor. He wants them to believe that their snide laughter at his insults of the faith and its figures is a result of his scholarship -- when in fact his scholarship is paltry at best and his excusing them from doing their own legwork on that front inexcusable. I agree: we must all, wherever we stand on the divide, read serious works from both perspectives. I will look for The Misery of Christianity, just as I would hope that atheists would read, say, Marilynne Robinson's essays.
Wow! That is so interesting! I am a Roman Catholic and I know very little about my own religion. I am going to for sure pick up those books! Thanks for the video! Only You would talk about religious books on BookTube! Lol
As a fellow Roman Catholic, be aware that none of the books Steve presented meet Catechism standard for the Catholic Church. They are undoubtedly interesting, and certainly relevant to Non-Catholics, but if you are looking to return to your roots, then seek out works by Catholic authors. There is nothing wrong with reading a wide variety and I do that myself (to challenge myself!) but be aware that even the KJV Bible does not meet doctrinal standards.
Great video! Whether you accept the claims of Christianity or not, it's well nigh impossible to fully appreciate western art and literature, or to understand western history, if you're biblically and ecclesiastically illiterate.
I think making the assumption that Jesus is the son of God and he died for our sins is quite a leap of faith. You can tell this isn't a fantastic starting point by realising the scholars could disprove literally everything else, be left with that first assumption, and the only conclusion would be that Christianity was true. Proving that Christianity is true is impossible (this is why it is called faith and everyone is agnostic in this sense) so it isn't interesting, but the history of the religion is very interesting indeed!
Excellent! I grew up in the church, never missed service, believed without question.. I began my search of the criticisms a few years ago. I like that you have encouraged Christians to do that, but I know you also realize that many Christians are afraid to search.. They feel it reflects a weakness in their faith. What I learned is that my belief in God was made more absolute, yet my belief in the way the bible is interpreted by modern evangelicals was not MY belief at all-it was my parents' belief. I have learned much and my doctrine is different than my upbringing, but I want others to realize that reading and learning is ok! Another thing I found really great in this video is that you warned at the end about the "agendas" of bible studies... I think that is a huge problem in the modern day church. Thanks, Steve! More thought provoking discussion!!
instaBlaster.
The youtube channel Christendumb is a worth checking out. He's a former Christian minister.
I respect that you did this. So many book tubers avoid the subject or act as if they are too “sophisticated” to consider it. I would add to this list Saint Thomas Aquinas, CS Lewis (Mere Christianity), The Douay- Rheims Bible.
Augustine’s Confessions is excellent.
An absolutely fascinating video with really great suggestions. I am constantly devouring religious text (it's so bloody interesting) I was raised in the church but now, as an atheist, I read more than I ever have on the subject.
I've found this universally to be true: all the atheists I know are more scripturally literate than the faithful, especially when it comes to Christianity!
+Steve Donoghue I agree! Whether they were raised in a religious environment or not. I love stories (hello Booktube!) mythologies/religions are often kept at arms length because of the power they possess or the harm they may have caused...Hogwash to that, says I. The best human is an educated one.
Thank you for these recommendations, I can't even begin to fathom the wealth of knowledge and thought that will come through these works. I just recently received my own copy of the King James Version of the Bible and these parings will be so valuable in bettering my understanding of Christianity. I wouldn't have found these anywhere else, thank you Steve, once again you rock!
th-cam.com/channels/dRyXxr5VZ2Cl2xudUCJaxA.html
Fantastic, educational video. More starter kits please! I've written several of these down for future reference.
Adding The Life of Christ by Fulton Sheen! Awesome meditative intro to the gospels
Another excellent video. Thanks you for the recommendations and spot on encouragement for all to explore this important subject in a serious manner.
One does not simply read a theology chunker to check out if they are good, so it's good that someone have done the checking og some and can then recommend them to us deadly people. "The Birth of Christianity" is something I'm definetly going to get hold of.
I was baptized Anglican, but have not stepped foot in a church in many moon (other than for my own wedding). I purchased the NIV Bible for Women earlier this year and am looking for more books. Thanks for sharing these Steve, I have added them to my TBR.
I really like this video, I can't say that I am a big follower of any religion. But I like learning the history of different religions I found it helpful in understanding other aspects of history.
Fascinating list, Steve, thank you! I too enjoy the KJV for the beautiful English.
I have to agree with Jo regarding the "agendas" of study Bibles. I'd never considered that but you're absolutely right. I just had my husband (who's a pastor) watch this and he found it really interesting. He's a people person, though, and not a scholar, so I'm sure he saw the huge tomes and was ready to run. He's more of a Max Lucado or Rick Warren kind of guy. He does enjoy some scholars, though - and I'd be interested to hear what you think of some of the most impacting ones of the current day - incuding the ones Bridget mentioned and even someone as current as John Ortberg. We need another video please! This one was great!
And P.S. - I've always loved the New American Standard version because of it's more poetic feel. KJV always seemed too archaic to me - but the NASB captures the beauty of the language without all the cumbersome terms. Even the NIV misses that - and the NIV was the most common version used when I attended Bible college back in the day -
Thank you for the book recommendations. I’ve always been fascinated by both sides of this subject. I’ve haven’t heard of any of the books you show in this video except the King James Bible. I always take the time to explore opportunities to hear other people’s perspectives on controversial topics not to change my beliefs but to try to understand people more fully and why they belief what they do. I don’t know why people fear this so much. I find it to be a very interesting and fulfilling experience.
This was such an interesting theme for a video, Steve - for both christians and non-christians alike! :) xx
That was such a wonderful video, Steve. Thank you so much for making it.
OMGosh Mr. Donoguhe! this is so refreshing! Thank you. I was hesitant at 1st because I wasn't sure what you were going to present. "Is this a 'tongue & cheek' reel-them-in video then bam!" I was thinking but I clicked on anyway. I'm so glad I did. I can not find anyone (maybe I still haven't looked hard enough) that will post book videos like this. I've seen the "Birth of The New Testament" quite a bit and hesitated each time about getting it. It's the size 1st (I read big books and love them) which is larger than any book I've read; then I wasn't sure about the content. I guess I'll check it out at the library. Anywho, I won't drag on. I'm going to subscribe to your channel (congrats on your increase --- 1,000+) and I'm looking forward to more videos like this from you if you plan on doing it. Also, maybe this will inspire others to share their books on faith. I have.
A much appreciated and thoughtful video, Steve! I work with students writing NT exegetical papers and the scholarship of that task is a real eye opener for many of them the first time they do this (as it was for me as well).
There's scarcely any mental activity I know of that's more sheer, thrilling FUN than exegesis! I absolutely love it -
I love the King James version - I started reading it once a year when I was 8, and now read it at least 4 times a year as a palate cleanser and to keep my head on straight. I appreciate your recommendations and plan to check out "Christ" asap. Have you ever read or reviewed "The Shadow of a Great Rock" by Harold Bloom?
Great video! I have never heard of any of these (except the Bible of course). I wish my library had The New Covenant. It sounds like that would be a good place to start.
I would recommend a book called "The Lord" by Romano Guardini as well.
Great video I love learning and reading about religion.
Great video, Steve! As a Lutheran, I'd throw in some Martin Luther into the mix. Bonhoeffer and CS Lewis, too.
Agreed on all three, but I wanted to limit myself to ten candidates! I'll have to do a Part Two!
Ohh, this is great! I've read the Bible but not the King James version. And I didn't know about any of the others, so now I have a looot of titles to look up. :O Thank you! :D
Wow, what is the agenda of the bible study is so important. Great video
What do you think of the Jerusalem Bible? Thar was the one they gave us in Comp Lit at Princeton.
What tape did you use to protect the cover?
Excellent list. The Skeptics Bible is available on Kindle for 9.99. Cannot pass THAT up.
Jesus was a good guy.
Thank you for the information, appreciate it!
I'm an atheist and have been well aware my whole adult life the huge influence the KJV Bible has had on literature and one day want to read/study it for that reason. My hesitation has been that anyone seeing me reading it, or in my library, will automatically assume it's for religious purposes (with horror or delight and with a great deal of awkwardness and avoidance depending on the person lol). It's amazing how one book can cause so much trouble (what an understatement! lol) I should probably do it via online sources.
You really shouldn’t care too much about what others think of you. Especially when it comes to book reading! My friend even used to read the Koran and the Bible together in our school library, haha.
Love this! Have you read ‘A Course in Miracles’?
Maybe one more video about Biblical Fiction? it would be awesome. I love JJ Benitez, Operation Trojan-Horse series, about timetraveling astronauts living with Jesus, it is very sciency but respectful, but I believe this books are only published in Spanish and Portuguese.
Yes indeed - a Biblical Fiction Starter Kit is in the works! SO many intriguing books to discuss!
I was terrified to watch, and then to further comment on this video. Lol I am an unapologetic atheist. - though by which I don't mean those annoying @$$holes on reddit who continuously attack religion.
I hate it when Christians (and other religions but Christians have been my main experience) go out of there way to tell me how wrong my belief (or lack of belief) is. I've been told over and over by my own mother that it's "just a phase" and I'll "grow out of it" - I'll be 31 this year lol...
I think a lot of "attacks" on organized religion are misguided. Christianity itself isn't the problem. The morals set down by this ideal actually are pretty above board. In fact, just taking most of the ten commandments.. or sure just boil it all down to "treat your neighbor as you want to be treated" these are great ideals.
The problem is when atrocities are carried out in the name of God, and *insert religion here*. Narrow minded people who cherry pick scripture so that it suits their needs and use it as a weapon against what they don't agree with. Bigotry and murder in the name of God.
It speaks to fallibility of man, not inherently a problem with the scripture.
I tend to gravitate towards the whole live and let live ideal heh :P
I won't mock someone's belief in god because it's something I don't believe in, as long as I don't get the condescension from those with faith about how misguided and foolish I am for not believing in the the power of God.
We can all get along... right?? :P
Much Love man! As a Baha’i, here are some Baha’i quotations on the topic I love:
_“The fundamental purpose animating the Faith of God and His Religion is to safeguard the interests and promote the unity of the human race, and to foster the spirit of love and fellowship amongst men. Suffer it not to become a source of dissension and discord, of hate and enmity.”_ -Bahá’u’lláh, Founder of the Bahá’í Faith.
_“If religion becomes a cause of dislike, hatred and division, it were better to be without it, and to withdraw from such a religion would be a truly religious act,”_ said ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, son of Bahá’u’lláh. _“Any religion which is not a cause of love and unity is no religion.”_
_“…every individual member of humankind is exhorted and commanded to set aside superstitious beliefs, traditions and blind imitation of ancestral forms in religion and investigate reality for himself. Inasmuch as the fundamental reality is one, all religions and nations of the world will become one through investigation of reality.”_ - Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 433.
Hope you are healthy and stay safe! Peace
Interesting video ;) yeah, it is hard to find most of these books or price is quite big ;)
Awesome
I applaud you heartily for taking on the challenge, but first you need to define the parameters of "Christianity". World Christianity consists of 6 major ecclesiastico-cultural blocs, divided into 300 major ecclesiastical traditions, comprising of over 33,000 distinct denominations in 238 countries.
Independents: 22,000 denominations
Protestants: 9000 denominations
Marginals: 1600 denominations
Orthodox: 781 denominations
Catholics: 242 denominations
Anglicans: 168 denominations
Source.....the two-volume World Christian Encyclopedia (Barrett, Kurian, and Johnson; Oxford University Press.
To get any two or three of those to agree on what should constitute a starter kit for Christian reading is impossible. Indeed, many of these denominations have their own version of the Bible so cannot even agree on that. A better idea might be to take the 6 major ecclesiastico-cultural blocs in turn and do a list for each. I'll even put my money where my mouth is and volunteer to do a Traditional Roman Catholic list......starting with discarding the KJV Bible because even the original version is incomplete and full of doctrinal problems caused by the politics in the British Isles at the time of compilation. .
Have you read Hans Kung?
I do love watching your videos, Steve. I love how quick you are to laugh and how articulate you are. And now I find I also love that you find Hitchens's God is Not Great a ridiculous book. It is precisely that. For every valid and sympathetic criticism Hitchens makes in the book, he takes a half-dozen cheap shots. What bothers me most about it is how he seeks to persuade his like-minded readers that his and their contempt is intellectual rigor. He wants them to believe that their snide laughter at his insults of the faith and its figures is a result of his scholarship -- when in fact his scholarship is paltry at best and his excusing them from doing their own legwork on that front inexcusable.
I agree: we must all, wherever we stand on the divide, read serious works from both perspectives. I will look for The Misery of Christianity, just as I would hope that atheists would read, say, Marilynne Robinson's essays.
Wow! That is so interesting! I am a Roman Catholic and I know very little about my own religion. I am going to for sure pick up those books! Thanks for the video! Only You would talk about religious books on BookTube! Lol
As a fellow Roman Catholic, be aware that none of the books Steve presented meet Catechism standard for the Catholic Church. They are undoubtedly interesting, and certainly relevant to Non-Catholics, but if you are looking to return to your roots, then seek out works by Catholic authors. There is nothing wrong with reading a wide variety and I do that myself (to challenge myself!) but be aware that even the KJV Bible does not meet doctrinal standards.
Steve, is that new covenant book the entire new testament?
Yes!
Sweet, it seems so good, thank you!!
@Herodollus I know I'm years late for this, but the version I have is just the gospels and John's apocalypse.
Great video! Whether you accept the claims of Christianity or not, it's well nigh impossible to fully appreciate western art and literature, or to understand western history, if you're biblically and ecclesiastically illiterate.
I think making the assumption that Jesus is the son of God and he died for our sins is quite a leap of faith. You can tell this isn't a fantastic starting point by realising the scholars could disprove literally everything else, be left with that first assumption, and the only conclusion would be that Christianity was true. Proving that Christianity is true is impossible (this is why it is called faith and everyone is agnostic in this sense) so it isn't interesting, but the history of the religion is very interesting indeed!