The Ottery
“If an otter can’t have fun doing something, it just simply won’t do it.”

The Top Ten Books That Have Shaped My Faith

October 10th, 2006

Inspired by a similar idea on the Think Christian blog, I decided to add to Christianity Today’s “Top 50″ list by naming the books that have been most influential for me. The following are listed not necessarily in order of importance, but in chronological order of when I read them. Of course, those early books do tend to be quite formative–especially when they’re such good stories!

1. Madeleine L’Engle’s “Time Trilogy” (A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in the Door, and A Swiftly Tilting Planet)
I can think of no better introduction to the unfathomable aspects of a personal God than L’Engle’s books, which so skillfully combine scientific wonder with imaginative mythology with very concrete love between family members. My dad first read her books to me when I was five and six years old, and some of the images still spring to mind today.

2. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
A quest where the hero sets out to lose something? A sense that we’re all part of a grand story, even if we can’t fully understand our part in it? Grace acting through apparently irredeemable characters to save us from ourselves? Even a six- and seven-year-old can sense the depth here.

3. C.S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia
It’s probably cheating to count them as one book. If I had to pick two out of the seven, they would be The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Eustace’s de-dragoning, Lucy reading the book in the magician’s house—and Dufflepuds!) and The Last Battle (to this day, Emeth is the best answer I can think of when people ask whether non-Christians go to heaven).

4. C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce
Why is it that Lewis is the only writer I’ve ever read who makes heaven seem appealing? The Great Divorce is like the best points from Mere Christianity and The Four Loves all rolled up into vivid characters.

5. Kathleen Norris, The Cloister Walk
I started reading Norris because she reminded me of my mom—both were former military brats who reclaimed their Christian faith in their twenties and subsequently spent a lot of time hanging out with monks. As a poet, Norris continually provides fresh images for a spirituality rooted in ancient church tradition.

6. The Venerable Bede, The Life and Miracles of Cuthbert, Bishop of Lindisfarne
After Cuthbert has spent the night in the sea praying, two otters come up and dry his feet. He blesses them. Need I say more? This short work launched my obsession with Celtic Christianity and with early hagiography.

7. Gerard Manley Hopkins, The Complete Poems
This guy definitely got Incarnation. And sprung rhythm.

8. Esther de Waal, Living with Contradiction: An Introduction to Benedictine Spirituality
Yay, paradox. There’s nothing more helpful to living in Christ.

9. Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy
Willard emphasizes how the scriptures are not merely prescriptive, but also descriptive of life in the kingdom of heaven. This helped me to stop whacking myself over the head for not having followed all the prescriptions yet.

10. Flannery O’Connor, The Habit of Being (a collection of her letters)
O’Connor reassures me that it’s okay to be a cranky Christian. Plus, she doesn’t romanticize faith. Not one bit. And she’s really funny.

I’d love to hear your own top ten lists–send them in!

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