Take And Read: Spiritual Reading: An Annotated List, by Eugene H. Peterson
Having read many of the books discussed here before, I must admit that I did not think about who was writing the book until after I read it. I would have been spared more than a few puzzled moments when the author promoted the works of some hack named Eugene Peterson [1], whose works have been nothing if not uneven with some of them great (A Long Obedience In The Same Direction) and some of them terrible (The Message). This book is neither, but it is a thoughtful example of spiritual reading and some suggestions for reading for those who wish to involve themselves in the lengthy tradition of Christian mysticism. Even if I have mixed feelings about the book and the self-promotion the author engages in, there is still a lot to appreciate here. The author clearly has read and appreciates a lot of works and is part of a lengthy tradition of writers who have thought about matters of prayer and meditation and spirituality. The author gives a great deal of respect to that tradition even as he seeks to make it better known.
This book is a very short one at a bit more than 100 pages. The books that the author suggests to read [2] come in twenty chapters. The author begins with some basics (1), after which he goes through some of what he considers to be classics (2) as well as books dealing with the Psalms (3). After that come books that discuss prayer (4) as well as some prayerbooks and hymnbooks (5). The author then turns his attention towards worship and liturgy (6) as well as the subjects of spiritual formation (7) and spiritual discipline (8). This leads to a discussion of uniquely North American spirituality (9) as well as suggestions for writings by various novelists (10), poets (11), and pastors (12). The author discusses books relating to Jesus (13), mysteries (14), as well as suggestions for Bible commentaries (15) on various books of the Bible. There are suggestions for books that deal with a sense of place (16) as well as saints (17), sin and the devil (18), and history (19). Finally, the author suggests readers look at some of the author’s other books (20), before the author closes with an index of authors and books.
Ultimately, it would take a considerable length of time for anyone to read even part of the works that the author suggests, and the fact that many of such books are out of print will make finding these books, much less reading them, quite a challenge for most readers of modest reads. The author has clearly not chosen books because of their popularity or accessibility but presumably because the author has read them and liked them and thinks other people should read and like what he does. I wonder how broadly the author has chosen among the books he liked, because there are somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 books chosen here, and it is likely to be a substantial portion of his own library that he recommends others read. The author is even aware of the Neoplatonic influence into Hellenistic Christianity and appears to approve of it, which I found strikingly remarkable here, if not praiseworthy. And if this book is not one that I can wholeheartedly recommend as authoritative, at the very least it provides an interesting sample of books that one can take or leave as they prefer. After all, whoever would turn down encouragement to read more by C.S. Lewis or Bonhoeffer or others of like excellence?
[1] See, for example:
[2] Some of the many book suggestions:
Charles Williams, The Descent Of The Dove
Hans Urs von Balthasar, Prayer, The Glory Of The Lord: A Theological Aesthetics
Baron Friedrich von Hugel, Selected Letters, The Life Of Prayer
George Herbert, The Country Parson and The Temple
Augustine, The Confessions
Gregory The Great, Pastoral Care
Gregory of Nyssa, The Life Of Moses
Karl Barth, The Epistle To The Romans, Evangelical Theology: An Introduction
Teresa of Avila, The Collected Works
John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, Commentary On The Psalms
John Henry Newman, Apologia Pro Vita Sua
William Foxwell Albright, From The Stone Age To Christianity
Thomas a Kempis, The Imitation Of Christ
Ignatius Loyola, The Spiritual Exercises
Unknown, The Cloud Of Unknowing
Blaise Pascal, Pensees
Pseudo-Dionysius, Complete Works
Athanasius, The Life Of Antony
Bonaventure, The Soul’s Journey Into God/The Tree Of Life, The Life of St. Francis
John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress
George Fox, Journal
John Of The Cross, Collected Works
Bernard Of Clairvaux, Selected Works
Soren Kierkegaard, Purity Of Heart
Various authors, The Philokalia
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Pslams: The Prayer Book Of The Bible
C.S. Lewis, Reflections On The Pslams, Letters To Malcolm: Chiefly On Prayer
Hans-Joachim Kraus, Commentary On The Psalms
Arthur Weisler, The Pslams
A.F. Kirkpatrick, The Psalms
Thomas Merton, Brad In The Wilderness
Alexander MacLaren, The Psalms
William L. Holladay, The Psalms Through Three Thousand Years: Prayerbook Of A Cloud Of Witnesses
Walter Brueggemann, The Message Of The Psalms
Claus Westerman, Praise And Lament In The Psalms
Martin Luther, Luther’s Works
Martin Buber, I And Thou
Eugen Rosenstok-Huessy, I Am An Impure Thinker
Friedrich Heiler, Prayer: A Study In The History And Psychology Of Religion
Neville Ward, The Following Plough
Simon Tugwell, Prayer In Practice, Prayer: Living With God
John Cassian, Conferences
P. T. Forsyth, The Soul Of Prayer
Jacques Ellul, Prayer And The Modern Man
Kenneth Leech, True Prayer
Harry Emerson Fosdick, The Meaning Of Prayer
James M. Houston, The Transforming Friend
Richard Foster, Prayer: Finding The Heart’s True Home
Alexander Whyte: Lord, Teach Us To Pray
The Book Of Common Worship
John Baille, A Diary Of Private PRayer
Jeremy Taylor, The Golden Grove
David Head, He Sent Leanness: A Book Of Prayer For The Natural Man
David Adam: The Edge Of Glory: Prayers In The Celtic Tradition
John Oliver Nelson, The Student Prayerbook
Ernest T. Campbell, Where Cross The Crowded Ways
The Hymnbook of the Presbyterian Church
Erik Routley, Rejoice In The Lord
Intervarsity Hymns
Edge Induced Cohesion 