(2021 Update: This post is one of ~80 posts that were in drafts and not archived by the Wayback Machine.)
I’d like to share with you some books that helped me understand spiritual abuse as well as books that have reoriented me towards a different(and more healthy)view of Jesus and Christianity.
Soul Repair by Jeff VanVonderen & Dale & Juanita Ryan
Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne absolutely exploded my view of what it meant to be a Christian. With absolutely radical love he dismantled so much of the Christianity I held onto. This book is especially for you if you grew up in the church and evangelical subculture. I can’t recommend this book highly enough.
Prodigal God by Tim Keller
Repenting of Religion: Turning from Judgment to the Love of God by Greg Boyd is a compelling book that I’ve almost finished. Its a bit more academic than the others here, so its not exactly a breezy read. But, it is well worth it. Boyd argues that we have turned Christianity into the very thing it was not meant to be – that is, eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We now seek this knowledge and idolize it, though we were never meant to have it. And as long as we are eating of this tree, we are not receiving true life. Very thought provoking book that will especially help if you have found yourself (like me) prone to judging others and yourself without mercy. He opens the door to a radically different way of receiving life by trusting in God and not your own ability to judge between good and evil. From the book jacket:
Drawing on biblical images including the Tree of Knowledge, the Samaritan woman at the well and Jesus’ reputation as a “friend of sinners,” Boyd argues that “the church must be the community of people who simply love as God loves.” Christians who judge others are, in effect, eating forbidden fruit, labeling people as good or evil in exchange for a tainted boost of spiritual energy. Even in the context of church discipline with the best of motives, Boyd is skeptical about the benefits of confrontation and rebuke, decrying the “trust we have in our power of judgment rather than the power of God and his love flowing through us.”