*Other than* any book or books considered holy writ by your belief system, what book/s had the most influence over your decisions in your spiritual life?
2006-09-24 08:00:32 · 21 answers · asked by Chickyn in a Handbasket 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Clarkie -- the Oompa Loompas didn't get all the blueberry juice out when they squeezed me. Is this one better?
2006-09-24 08:43:34 · update #1
I said OTHER THAN your faith's holy writ!!! That means NOT the bible!
2006-09-24 08:44:25 · update #2
It's a tie between "The Guru Papers" and God Without Religion
the Guru papers are an amazing collection of essays about authoritarianism written by graduate students for term papers about eastern and western religions that unmask the search and grip of Power, Control, and Authority to do so
God Without Religion- is a refreshing look at the need for spirituality aside from your own dogma of religion, and looks at the effects of our religion and wars caused, so the author asks us to instead of believing blindly, to look at things as a detective would and analyze things comparing to ethics, truth and principles shared by all
Out of the Shadows -was another great one, especially the chapter that focuses on addiction, but more importantly the vulnerability of people in religion to sexual abuse thanks to the conditions it fosters of trust, obedience and the god factor if you tell or betray the perp
When God was a Woman -blew me away using archealogy finds showing long before monotheism there were matriarchal societies with a goddess as a woman, we know her today as Sophia, Wisdom or the love of the same called Philo Sophie
Christianity in Crisis...one of the first books that helped me challenge my own faith that led to challenging other accepted truths blindly and seeking out my own truth and faith (not without painful undoing of brainwashing and getting out of a cult)
well that's all I can think of for now
2006-09-24 10:15:24 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Thomas Berry - The Voice of the Infinite in the Small :
It allowed me to step outside of my beleif matrix I grew up with and explore a connection with nature that I had refused.
Carol Tavris - The Miss Measure of a Woman :
Although this book is not intended to be spiritual - it helped me to challenge the labels and beleifs I held about myself and society in general based upon gender, sex, and societal roles.
There are many others :) But these are the two most important offhand.
2006-09-24 15:09:14 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Personal Power Through Awareness by Sanaya Roman
2006-09-24 15:03:31 · answer #3 · answered by a_delphic_oracle 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Alvin Plantinga Reader
CS Lewis' Mere Christianity
Bertrand Russell's Why I am not a Christian
Richard Rorty's Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity
The Onion: Our Dumb Century
2006-09-24 15:02:57 · answer #4 · answered by BABY 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I would say Lonsome Dove by Larry Mcmurtry. I like the characers Gus and Call so much that I think the more like them I can be, the better the person I am. It is a great read
2006-09-24 17:56:37 · answer #5 · answered by alanc_59 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Age of Reason by Thomas Paine
2006-09-24 15:12:44 · answer #6 · answered by Byron A 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
"Buddhism - Plain and Simple" This book really helped me to get a more practical insight on the suffering I've experienced, the cause of suffering and what we can do about it to realign ourselves to a more realistic outlook. Although I am Christian, I have found this book to be indispensable.
2006-09-24 15:06:48 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The End of Faith
Bible, Old & New
Skeptics and Believers
Probably the Bible...I realized that Christianity, Judiasm, and Islam are a load of fairy tales.
2006-09-24 15:31:00 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Other than the Bible, "Evidence that demands a verdict" by Josh McDowell really forced me to honestly examine my belief system and re-think my faith...
2006-09-24 15:02:54 · answer #9 · answered by stronzo5785 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I don't need no other book than the Holy Bible.
2006-09-24 15:05:40 · answer #10 · answered by I-C-U 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋