List: Books about religion and theology

Composing my little essay on the Creative Force of the Universe the other day - and reading with great sadness lately about bitter disputes over life and death, and what religions and God say about them - has me reflecting on the reading I've done on religion and theology. One of the ways that Flora keeps things tidy is lists - lists on paper and lists in my head that divide the world into categories, themes, whatever can help me manage information but also discern patterns and connections. The following is a list of books I've read, with the best reads highlighted in red. Some of these are more "mainstream" and some more "out there" - I'm not advocating any particular ideas contained within, though I will say I have found value in every single book. And I'm still reading - my public library informs me just today that A Quaker Reader awaits me. So, if anybody out there actually reads this and has other suggestions - they are welcome in the comments!

The Bible and the Gospels

• The Gnostic Gospels - Elaine Pagels. One of the first accessible books to describe and translate the long-lost Nag Hammadi texts. An important primer on what was excluded from the Bible that gets thumped today.
• Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas - Elaine Pagels. How the gnostic Gospel of Thomas contrasts with the Gospel of John to illustrate competing beliefs in early Christianity.
• Reading the Bible Again for the First Time: Taking the Bible Seriously but Not Literally - Marcus Borg.
• The Book of J - Harold Bloom. Explores authorship and origin of Old Testament texts.
• God: A Biography - Jack Miles. Approaching the Hebrew Tanakh as literature.

Where are all the women?

• She Who Is: The Mystery of God in Feminist Theological Discourse - Elizabeth Johnson. A classic on feminist theology and feminine spiritual imagery within Christianity.
• Adam, Eve and the Serpent - Elaine Pagels. The Adam & Eve story, its variants, how it's been used to oppress women, and why it needn't be interpreted that way.
• Mary: A Flesh-and-Blood Biography of the Virgin Mother - Lesley Hazleton. What would the world and experience of the historic Maryam have been like?
• Rebirth of the Goddess: Finding Meaning in Feminist Spirituality - Carol Christ. Review of Goddess scholarship, with the author's personal story of finding a spiritual home there.
• The Woman with the Alabastar Jar: Mary Magdalen and the Holy Grail - Margaret Starbird. Posits that Jesus and the Magdalene were married, but early church history buried this knowledge, to the woe of both genders thereafter. Whether you believe this theory or not, it's gaining visibility, and making the Catholic church hot under the collar, and I like the idea of it.
• The Goddess in the Gospels: Reclaiming the Sacred Feminine - Margaret Starbird. Follow-up to her first book, explaining her "trail of evidence" in scripture and Medieval art and history.

Buddhism

• Heart of a Buddha's Teaching - Thich Nhat Hanh. Good explanation of Buddhism.
• The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying - Sogyal Rinpoche. An explanation of beliefs on life and death in Tibetan Buddhism, much-read in the hospice movement. Beautiful book, a must-read in my opinion.
• Stepping Into Freedom - Thich Nhat Hanh. Intended for students of Buddhist monastic training, but it includes wonderful meditations for different life situations.

Islam

• Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet - Karen Armstrong. The historian author of A History of God tackles Muhammad and illustrates Islam in the process. I love the way Armstrong writes, and this book is apparently well respected in Muslim circles.
• The Trouble With Islam: A Muslim's Call for Reform in Her Faith - Irshad Manji. At turns angry and very funny, a controversial exploration of why Islam is the way it is in the world today.
• The Place of Tolerance in Islam - Khaled abou El Fadl. Haven't actually read this yet, but it was recommended and just arrived from the library!

Religious histories and comparisons

• A History of God: The 4,000 Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - Karen Armstrong. Clear, thorough history of the three monotheistic religions, how they intertwined and have gone through cycles of dogmatism and mysticism over the centuries. Again, I love the way Armstrong writes.
• Living Buddha, Living Christ - Thich Nhat Hanh. Parallels between the two religions.
• Stealing Jesus: How Fundamentalism Betrays Christianity - Bruce Bawer. Explains the surprising and recent history of American Christian fundamentalism - that it's not back-to-basics theology, but recent heresy.
• The Jesus Sutras: Rediscovering the Lost Scrolls of Taoist Christianity - Martin Palmer. Texts discovered in China that show Christianity made it there by the 9th century and mingled with Buddhism and Taoism. Fascinating illustration of how all the major religions really can weave together.
• The Quakers in America - Thomas Hamm. History of Quakerism and its three main branches in the United States.
• A Chosen Faith: An Introduction to Unitarian Universalism - John Buehrens. Primer on the history and beliefs of Unitarian Universalism.
• Out of the Flames - Lawrence & Nancy Goldstein. Biography of Michael Servetus, a heretic burned in the 1500s for his non-trinitarian beliefs, which later informed Unitarianism.
• Abraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths - Bruce Feiler. Explores the shared historical ancestor of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and what he means to each today.

Personal Stories
I like all of these, actually, because I've always loved memoires; it's hard to pick the red items.

• Meeting Faith: The Forrest Journals of a Black Buddhist Nun - Faith Adiele. Adiele became a Buddhist nun in Thailand for a year. Amazing memoire.
• Seeking Enlightenment...Hat by Hat: A Skeptic's Guide to Religion - Nevada Barr. Personal story and reflections on faith.
• Traveling Mercies - Some Thoughts on Faith - Anne Lamott. Personal story and reflections on faith.
• The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness - Karen Armstrong. Story of Armstrong's recovery from convent life and path back to physical health and the study of theology.
• Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith - Kathleen Norris. Each chapter is an essay built around a religious or theological word or phrase.

Fiction That Entertains and Makes You Think

• Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal - Christopher Moore. Portrayal of Joshua's life which is very funny, if crude at times, but underneath it is some unexpected and well-researched depth.
• The Gospel According to Jesus Christ - Jose Saramago. Cousin Flora hasn't read this, but Husband Enrico recommends it highly. Controversial take on the life of Jesus as man, prophet, and instrument of higher powers.
  

Useful Reference and Basics
I haven't read all these completely, some are more reference or classics.

• The Nag Hammadi Library - complete translation of the texts
• Ancient Christian Gospels: Their History and Development - Helmut Koester
• The Qur'an
• The Dhammapada - classic text of Buddhist teachings
• The Upanishads - classic text of Vedic teachings that are part of the foundation of Hinduism and Buddhism
• The Tao Te Ching - Lao Tsu. Beautiful, poetic, classic text of Taoism
• The World's Religions - Huston Smith