Sunday 1 February 2009

Reading Plan

I have read a number of times Luci Swindoll's book, "Wide my world, Narrow my bed". One particular chapter is entitled Academics and she outlines two different goals and reasons for reading and books that might fit into each category.
These are her goals and the suggested list of books for each goal.

"God-A knowledge of His Abilities. Suggested goal from the Bible:
1 Chronicles 28:9
....know the God of your father, and serve him with a whole heart and a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will let you find Him;.."

"Suggested Reading List
1) The Confessions of St. Augustine
2) Ethics-Dietrich Bonhoeffer
3) Pilgrim's Progress-John Bunyan
4) Mere Christianity-C.S. Lewis
5) Knowing God-J.I. Packer
6) Man's Problems-God's Answers-Dwight Pentecost
7) Robust in faith-Oswald Saunders
8) The God Who is There-Francis Schaeffer
9) True Spirituality-Francis Schaeffer
10) Basic Christianity-John R.W. Stott
11) The Strong and the Weak -Paul Tournier
12) The Knowledge of the Holy-A.W. Tozer

Humanity-A Knowledge of Our Responsibilities

Suggested Goal, from Report to Greco by Nikos Kazantzakis
"Nothing is certain. For that very reason, every individual, has a great responsibility in our amorphous uncertain age, a greater responsibility than every before. It is in such uncertain, possibility filled times that that the contribution of a people and of an individual can have incalculable value.
What, then, is our duty? It is to carefully distinguish the historic moment in which we live and to consciously assign our small energies to a specific battlefield."

Suggested Reading List
1) The Speeches of Winston Churchill
2) Civilisation-Kenneth Clark
3) Crime and Punishment-Fyodor Dostoevsky
4) An American Tragedy-Theodore Dreiser
5) Interpretations of Life-Will and Ariel Durant
6) Markings-Dag Hammarskjold
7) Scarlet Letter-Nathanial Hawthorne
8) Report to Greco-Nikos Kazantzakis
9) Orthello-William Shakespeare
10) Travels with Charley-John Steinbeck
11) Anna Karenina-Leo Tolstoy
12) The Power of Art-John Warbeke"

Wide my World, Narrow my Bed by Luci Swindoll (1960)

So there are the two lists. If you are reading this what would be your goals in reading? And if your goals were similar, what books would be on your list?

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