Earlier this summer, the United Church Observer posted an article revealing the most highly recommended theological or philosophical authors according to a select group of United Church of Canada clergy. The top five:
- Marcus J. Borg is an American theologian and a prominent voice among contemporary Jesus scholars. He is the author of 19 books.
- Douglas John Hall is a United Church minister and emeritus professor of theology at McGill University in Montreal, where he served on the faculty from 1975 to 1995. He has written 16 books.
- John Dominic Crossan is a former Catholic priest who co-founded the Jesus Seminar, a group of 150 biblical scholars trying to establish the historicity of the deeds and sayings of Jesus.
- C. S. Lewis was an Irish-born British writer, lay theologian and proponent of Christian apologetics, a branch of theology that aims to present a rational defence of the Christian faith.
- Karen Armstrong is a former Roman Catholic nun who has written more than 20 books on faith, studying what Islam, Judaism and Christianity have in common and how they’ve shaped world history and modern culture.
So What?
When I first read the list I was delighted to learn that it existed. I do not recall seeing any similar reading lists shared by other denominations. While ideally such lists would be established by a group larger in size (this list was compiled by 30 clergy), any list can serve as a tremendous resource.
- Are you aware of any reading lists created by your denomination or an entity with which your local congregation is affiliated in some way? If so, how are these shared within your church? If not, does your congregation produce its own reading list or introduce those within your church to authors with similar theological perspectives in an intentional manner?
- Are any names in the top five (or any that are absent) a surprise to you given the progressive nature of the United Church of Canada?
- Who would you include on your top five list?