I can't think of a single book that I can credit for having changed my view on a particular issue. Usually by the time I've read a book, my views have already started to change.
For instance, by the time I read Karen Armstrong's The Bible: A Biography, I had already begun to suspect that the bible was a creation of man, not God. The book just affirmed those views. And when I read John Shelby Spong's Living in Sin: A Bishop Rethinks Human Sexuality, my opinions on homosexuality and premarital sex had long since done a 180.
I will say that when I read Sue Monk Kidd's The Dance of the Dissident Daughter the research she submitted opened my mind to the effect of patriarchy on religion. But I don't know if that counts as a change in viewpoint.
Okay, maybe the closest I can think of is Brian McLaren's The Last Word and the Word After That. His fictional book has made me question (very strongly, I might add) the existence of hell. I was so moved by his research and biblical exegesis that I tried to convince my mother to reject what she's been taught her whole life regarding eternal damnation. She wasn't having it. But I think that's as good an example as any of a book having a profound effect on my views.
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P.S. Yes, I read a lot of books on religion. Two that are currently in my reading cue are Daniel Helminiak's What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality (as if I needed additional convincing) and Bart Ehrman's Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible (and Why We Don't Know About Them).
4 comments:
I mention this book a lot: The Art of Possibility by Ben Zander did, in fact, change my life by changing the way I view people upon first meeting them. I used to be very skeptical and distrusting. Now, I am more open to their possibilities.
If you haven't already, you should also read What's So Amazing About Grace by Phillip Yancy and another book of his: The Jesus I Never Knew. Wonderfully affirming.
Oh and fiction: Lamb, the story of Biff, Christ's childhood friend. Hilarious and well-written.
oh, Lamb is written by Christopher Moore.
Thanks for the recommendations! I've added them to my Amazon Wish List.
You might also like "The Story of B." It's an interesting fictional, but still philosophical, account of how civilization has gotten to where it is - especially with regard to religion.
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