Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Some interesting theological works

I'm teaching a seminar EVEN NOW WHILE YOU READ THIS about moving beyond dry and boring theology into theology that actually reflects the vibrant, fascinating subject of the topic... God Himself. I did a short talk about it this morning which I'll hopefully be able to post eventually.

In the meantime, here's a short list of a few "theological works" that interest me. It's my list, obviously, so it reflects my own interests and ideas. Please feel free to add your own to the comments section! I'm not looking for theological books that everyone has read, I'm looking for really interesting, sort of offbeat things that people might be interested in. COMB THE INTERNETS MY MINIONS!

Anyway, here are a few works for your consideration:

GRAPHIC NOVELS

BlanketsBlankets by Craig Thomspon

Creature Tech GNCreature Tech by Doug tenNapel

SONGS (I'll add links soon... in the meantime you can search them out you lazy, lazy blog readers)

“Doubting Thomas” Nickel Creek
“24” by Switchfoot
“The Seer’s Tower” Sufjan Stevens
“Letters from the Sky” by Civil Twilight
“Joy” Page CXVI

LITERATURE
SilenceSilence by Shusaku Endo

An amazing book about contextualization, persecution, forgiveness and the voice of God.
The Brothers Karamazov (Signet Classics)The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. The best Christian novel ever. So far as I know.  
The Complete StoriesThe Complete Storiesby Flannery O’Connor. Probably the best theological writer and short story writer to come out of these United States of America. Her novels are also excellent. 

Peace Like a RiverPeace Like a River by Leif Enger

by Graham Greene

The Son of LaughterThe Son of Laughter by Frederick Beuchner

Also, if you're interested in some fascinating theology and parables from outside your way of looking at things, check out a guy named Sundar Singh.

Painting/graphic arts


Okay, kids. I showed you mine, now it's your turn. Add some movies in there, too. The only one I could think of was "In Bruges" and since it's rated R and a bit brutal I decided not to add it here for everyone to see. Ooops. Never mind.

Okay... give me something interesting to look at!



7 comments:

  1. Song: "Revelation" by Jason Falkner
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdyrVeZWSzA

    Book: "Rediscovering Catholicism" by Matthew Kelly
    http://www.matthewkelly.org/be-the-difference/americas-rediscovering-catholicism

    Book: "Testimony" by Neal Morse
    http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4867731.Neal_Morse

    Artist: Manuel Nunez
    http://manuelnunezart.com/

    And I definitely agree with you about "Blankets" and "Creature Tech"...

    ...and, at the risk of seeming to be shill, I'll also plant "Imaginary Jesus" in the book section.

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  2. I should preface this by saying that everything here is theological but not necessarily Christian.

    Songs:
    Any of the songs on the Seven Swans album by Sufjan Stevens.
    Anything by Jon Foreman (solo).
    "Hear Me, Lord" by George Harrison
    "Awake My Soul" by Mumford & Sons
    "After the Storm" by Mumford & Sons

    Movies:
    The Secret of Kells
    Four Lions

    Books:
    American Gods by Neil Gaiman

    Short Stories:
    "Proof of the Existence of God" by James Patrick Kelly

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  3. I can only say that "Silence" was a very powerful read. Well, okay, I could probably say more, but I won't. Read it.

    And Matt, your "Boring Theology" presentation at CSU the other morning was excellent. Thanks. Seemed like I was back in a Gerry Breshears class (only he didn't use arrows and apples!).

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  4. Anything by David James Duncan. The Brothers K is my favorite, but The River Why and God Laughs and Plays are both really excellent. Raising Abel: a rediscovery of the eschatological imagination, by James Alison.

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  5. Sorry, that last is by Doug Frank, an amazing teacher at The Oregon Extension.

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  6. Anonymous2:26 PM

    In the Bear's House by N. Scott Momaday
    it has some really interesting conversations between God and a bear...Momaday is one of my favorite authors

    ReplyDelete