Good Christian books?

Question

I have heard of one, Life Purpose Driven, any good? After leaving the LDS/Mormon church, I took a "spiritual journey" and have concluded that I am a Christian and wish to join a Christian church, when I find one...but for now I want to further develop my spirituality, discover what Christianity is all about. I currently am reading the book " Christianity, everything your parents didn't teach you" Which I love, but I want something a little deeper. Also I don't even know what bible to read, I have the KJV but it is an LDS bible with Joseph Smith translations and all that, I have also seen a NIV bible, the one with Jesus' words in red? Does it matter which one? Thoughts, thank-you so much! As you can see I have no one else to talk to!

Alex- I read the Bible as a lds member

Answer 1

I can recommend some good academic-type books:

There is a great book that we read for a college course I took on the Biblical World. It is called "The World That Shaped the New Testament" by Calvin Roetzel. I highly recommend this if you are interested in having a deeper appreciation and understanding of the New Testament. I loved that book! It is not long, and it is masterful in how it conveys so much information in such a small amount of space.

It helped me understand things like the differences between the Pharisees, Sadducees, Scribes, and everyone else (the "people of the land.") It helped me even get a greater appreciation for Jesus and his teachings, because Jesus was concerned for the "little man" and it helped me understand what their lives were like back then.

It also helped me understand the Temple's function in Jesus' time. It helped me understand what Scriptures the people had back then. Many relied on the Greek translation, the Septuagint.

Another great book, which I'm reading right now, is called "The Story of Christianity" by Justo Gonzalez. It is a 2-volume history of Christianity. This was the textbook that one of my professors used when she taught the History of Christianity. I think it's very good.

My favorite translation of the Bible is the New Revised Standard. It is the one that I have personally found to be the most accurate, and it is also the one that is required for all the college courses I took in Biblical studies. This is because it is usually regarded as the most accurate.
However, don't get too caught up on one translation. None of them are perfect. If you like a particular one, then that's fine. Use what you feel speaks to you the most. But it's good to keep an open mind to other translations, and most of all, to the original languages, which cannot be replaced by any translation, no matter how good. I know some Hebrew, but I know no Greek. So for the Greek (New Testament) I rely on Strong's concordance, Greek dictionaries, and an interlinear Greek New Testament. Of course, this is if you want to do careful word studies, which may not be necessary for your particular spiritual path. It's up to you.

Ok, and last but not least.......I'm doing a series of Blogs on my 360 page on Christianity which you might like. It is Introduction to Christianity which came with a series on World Religions, and it is taught by Dr. Luke Timothy Johnson. It is a series of college lectures (12 lectures), and what I am doing is typing notes on the lectures, and putting them on my blog. I also have put a few extra bits of information, like timelines, and notes from the Gonzalez book on there. Please feel free to add me as a friend if you'd like to see the blogs. (I'll accept!)

If you don't like them, you don't have to read them of course. But it's free, and I welcome people's comments too. Just be patient with me, because I've been ill, and sometimes take a while to get the new blogs up.

God Bless you!

Answer 2

I enjoy the NAV Press Bible study books, which are workbooks that take you through an indepth study of individual books of the Bible. I also enjoy the Aglow Bible study workbooks, which are topical- dealing with major life issues. They are both nondenominational and cost around $7 a book. you can find then at any CHristian bookstore or order them online. I'll post links.

As to what Bible to read, the KJV is fine, just get one not cross referenced or edited by the LDS church. NIV is good too. As long as it is a translation and not a paraphrase it will be accurate. I use a KJV with a Hebrew/greek concordance in the back, so I gan easily get the definitions of the original words.

Answer 3

The book is called "Purpose Driven Life", and yes it's good. For the most part, any Max Lucado book is pretty good. As far as bibles go, it doesn't really matter. Some people have a preference for one version or another, but a Bible is a Bible. Personally, I love the student bibles. I like them because they usually have good studies or notes or such that go with them. My bible is pretty cool, in the beginning of it, before the actual Bible part, there is a study course you can you (actually several based on what you want to study or how much time you have-365 day Study, Jesus's teachings Study, The Old Testament Study, the Essentials in 2 weeks Study, Peter's letters and teachings Study, the New Testament Study, etc.). It gives you which passages to do and there are questions and stuff that go with it. And at the end of the Bible there is a dictionary, index, and some maps of Biblical areas. Most "student" or "study" bibles are similar. Since you are interested in deepening your spirituality and delving more into the Christian faith, a good study bible might be your best bet.

And anytime you want to talk, feel free to send me a message.

Answer 4

I just stay with the bible as there are so many "how to" christian books out there, I don't know where to begin. I did like "women...God's secret weapon" by Ed Silvoso. As for Bibles, It took me a while to get use to the NIV, but a differnernt translation also helped me see things inthe bible that I didn't see before, beside getting a rhema from the chrisyian bible, that I never got fromt he mormon KJV or the Pearl of great price or the Doctrine Covenants, ect. OH Yea get the book "In the beginning" by Dr walt Brown, its about the science behind creationism, its better to get both sides of the story, because all the school system teaches us is darwinism, and even in UT, the school system there taught about darwinism as well. You can go online and read the book, if you don't want to purchase it at www.creationscience.com

Answer 5

Praise God!

Well, when it comes to the Bible, it generally does not matter which translation you read. But it would be beneficial for you to choose that which is more comprehensible to you. I personally am reading two translations (New International Version [NIV] and New Living Translation [NLT]) right now so I can compare certain verses (though I use NIV more often).

Good Christian books? Indeed The Purpose-Driven Life is a great Christian book. As for other recommendations, I'm afraid I cannot help you with that since I have stopped visiting our local Christian bookstore, and the books I am currently reading now are Christian leadership books. Well, I believe the Lord shall lead you to a good book that shall help you grow spiritually. Visit your local Christian bookstore and browse, browse, browse!

God bless you, my friend!

Answer 6

How wonderful that you have become a Christian.

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis is an excellent book about what being a Christian entails. It's very thought provoking. He wrote the Chronicles of Narnia.

I like the NIV okay, but the New King James is more poetic and flows better and best of all is the New Living.

Any books by Beth Moore would help you a great deal.

Answer 7

The Sacred Romance, by John Eldrege is a great book. It's all about having that deep relationship with God and really living your life for Him.

Also, I don't believe it matters which translation you read. However, it is important that you are able to understand the words that you are reading. I recommend the NIV, ESV (English Standard Version) or NLT (New Living Translation). Those are all in the language style we use today and it makes the Bible much more easy to follow and understand.

Answer 8

Hey Divinity
Most of the books listed here are really great. If you are into christian fiction, then the 'Left Behind' books are really good. They have a lot of religious and scriptural background in them. They focus on the theory of the rapture, and what the people do who have been left behind.
A lady's devotional bible is a good start. They usually pick a theme, and study it. Student bibles are also pretty good.
If you go to a Christian book store, you can find a lot of titles. A friend of mine has quite a library. She reads a lot of John Hagee. He is an author who uses Daniel and Revelations to show whats going on in the world.
Good Luck.

Answer 9

If you have just found your spirituality then pleeeeeaaaaaaase read the Bible before reading any other "religious" book. You will need to have knowledge of the scriptures to determine if the other books you read are of God or not and trust me there are some out there that have alot of wacky teachings. Whatever you read just remember that the Bible is the source of all spiritual growth and place no other piece of literature above the inspired word of God.

In Jesus Name

Answer 10

You might consider getting a Women's Devotional Bible and sitting down and reading. It has study scriptures and different poems to read, and stories. It has helped me in the past. You need the New King James Version that explains all about the real christianity that has concordance of words of Christ in red. The author is a guy with the name Thomas Nelson.