Pursuing Veritas

As a follower of Jesus, I believe it’s important to love God with all of who we are: our hearts, souls, and minds. Much has been said about this last aspect of our humanity, most of it better than I could say it here. But as I pursue veritas with my life and mind, some of my most constant and fruitful conversation partners have been good books.

The more I learn and experience, the more I’m convinced that you cannot know where you are or who are without knowing where you come from. To those ends, I find it absolutely vital to read, to engage with the great minds and thinkers of our world. So I’ve compiled a list (I’m big into lists) of key books for the educated Christian mind.

Before diving in, a couple of caveats: first, this is a specialized list, one tailored for a particular worldview that’s interested in the life of the mind. I don’t think that everyone should read all of these books (though there are quite a few that I think everyone would benefit from engaging). Second, this is a list for American Christians. As such, at points it touches on particular viewpoints or issues that are of particular importance in the context of contemporary American Christianity. Finally, this list takes seriously the great tradition of liberal arts and broad learning. Accordingly, while clear emphasis is given to particular realms of inquiry, the hope is that by completing the list, one will have both breadth and depth on many subjects.

One final framework before the list: there are three major influences on the creation of this list. First, there are the Great Books of Western Civilization. Scholars will continue to debate the canon and it’s ongoing relevance or evolution. Here, we’re interested in learning from the greats. The second influence are the Classics of Christian Orthodoxy. These are the great books and works of the Christian Tradition, of which there is certainly some overlap with the general Western canon, but which here includes a more intentional theological bent. And finally, there are some Key Contemporary Texts. These are works that, while they may not possess the staying power of the great traditions, nonetheless are informative and indicative for particular questions or topics facing the Christian mind today.

Those frames in mind, here’s my list of 300 Books for the Educated Christian Mind.

Well, there it is. I’m about 76% percent of the way through, so there’s much more learning to be done. What about you: What else should be on this list? What are the great books that have formed you?