Pursuing Veritas

I was recently talking with a friend who wants to learn more about church history and they asked for some top ten lists to get acquainted with important people and books from the history of Christianity. So I sent them the following list.

Now, a quick caveat here: These are books that specifically influenced theology, faith, and Biblical interpretation. Christians certainly can and have influenced other reasons of knowledge (think of Shakespeare, Florence Nightingale, William Wilberforce, Isaac Newton, or Bach, for example). But since the question came from a theological perspective, want to answer the question in that direction. Relatedly, I’m excluding Biblical books from this list, for hopefully obvious reasons.

Also, this is part two of these lists and I want to cover as much ground as possible, so if your favorite writing isn’t represented here, check out my recent list of influential Christian theologians.

The Passion of Perpetua and Felicity, Unknown (c.203-211): one of the most popular and influential accounts of early Christian martyrdom and one that continues to inspire women and men of faith around the world.

Confessions, Augustine of Hippo (c.400): the most influential spiritual biography of all time and one of the few writings from ancient Christianity that contemporary Christians have not just heard of but might have actually read.

The Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri (1321): this poetic journey through paradise, purgatory, and hell shapes both popular and theological perspectives on ethics, the afterlife, and faith.

Interior Castle, Teresa of Avila (1588): the record of a mystical journey through the stages of faith to union with God.

Paradise Lost, John Milton: telling the tale of the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, this poem continues to influence conceptions of heaven, hell, sin, Satan, angels, and more.

Pensées, Blaise Pascal (1670): a brilliant philosopher and mathematician’s defense of Christianity, explication of beauty, and argument for belief in God.

Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan (1678): an allegorical account of the journey of faith, Bunyan’s tale continues to shape Christian storytelling, meaning making, and art.

Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis (1952): originally delivered as radio addresses during World War II, Lewis’s summary of the core of Christianity continues to change minds, transform hearts, and influence apologetics around the world.

The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien (1954-55): an epic tale set in Middle Earth, Tolkien not only indelibly influenced modern fantasy writing, but transformed narrative theology and Christian storytelling.

Letter from a Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King Jr. (1963): a succinctly written account of Christian justice, mercy, and moral action.

Some Honorable Mentions: The anonymous Didache, Ephrem the Syrian’s Hymns, Theological Orations by Gregory Nazianzen, Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich, Martin Luther’s 95 Theses and Freedom of the Christian, Spiritual Exercises by Ignatius of Loyola, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Cost of Discipleship.

What about you: what writings would you include in your top ten list? What would you exclude from this list?