Perspective-Altering Books

The following list of books
I credit for the evolution
of my current spiritual beliefs

1.
The book that first lighted my path into
Evolutionary & Process Thinking

Pierre Teilhard De Chardin was one of the most distinguished thinkers and scientists of our time. He fits into no familiar category for he was at once a biologist and a paleontologist of world renown, and also a Jesuit priest. He applied his whole life, his tremendous intellect and his great spiritual faith to building a philosophy that would reconcile Christian theology with the scientific theory of evolution, to relate the facts of religious experience to those of natural science.

The Phenomenon of Man, the first of his writings to appear in America, is Pierre Teilhard's most important book and contains the quintessence of his thought.

I first read the book in Dr. Score's Intro to Philosophy class at Southwestern University. I have read it multiple times since  - particularly at low moments in my life.  The idea of the Omega Point is central to my own spirituality.

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2.
The book that resurrected me
from a very dark time in my life

Father Richard Rohr, a Franciscan priest of the New Mexico province who founded the Center for Action and Contemplation, has written a book that spoke to me on so many levels.  Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life examines the differences between these two halves of our lives but, more importantly, how the experience of a great fall can be the needed catalyst.  

In the first half of our life we focus on establishing our identity. But as we grow older we need to see ourselves in a different and more life giving way...and it is in "falling down" that we in fact move upward in this second half of our lives.  

Rohr offers a new paradigm for understanding this great life mystery -- how our fallings can become the foundation for our ongoing spiritual growth.  

I can not recommend this book more highly. Particularly if you, like me, are 50-something, knockin' at the door of 60 ... this is definitely a book you should read.
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3.
The books that I have
enjoyed intellectually
that concurrently strengthened my faith
 
If she authored it, I'm reading it:
Elaine Pagels, née Hiesey, is an American historian of religion. She is the Harrington Spear Paine Professor of Religion at Princeton University. Pagels has conducted extensive research into early Christianity and Gnosticism.

Pagels produced a long list but I started with The Gnostic Gospels. Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best nonfiction books of all time. 

The Gnostic Gospels is a landmark study of the long-buried roots of Christianity, a work of luminous scholarship and wide popular appeal. First published in 1979 to critical acclaim, winning the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award, The Gnostic Gospels has continued to grow in reputation and influence over the past two decades.

For a quick overview on this one, view the PBS Frontline episode

From there I have continued to enjoy her efforts, and highly recommend these I've read: 
  • Revelations: Visions, Prophecy, and Politics in the Book of Revelation
  • Reading Judas: The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity
  • Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas
  • The Origin of Satan
  • Adam, Eve, and the Serpent
  • The Johannine Gospel in Gnostic Exegesis
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4.
Two books that helped me navigate
one of the most difficult decisions of my life


John Eastburn Boswell was an American historian and a full professor at Yale University. Many of Boswell's studies focused on the history of those at the margins of society who for too long faced rejection by the Church.

Thank you Dr. Snell for personally introducing me to John Boswell in 1982 and getting my signed copy of “Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality”.  In the same year Boswell's enlightening “Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe" was released Boswell died of AIDS-related complications.  It was the same year that I lost my best mate Jason and a best pal from church camp to the same plague, and made the decision to hang my black Geneva gown up in the closet for a final time and have never reached in for it again.

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Terry’s “Good Living” Guide:

Body:
Avoid the 3 PsBsSs
Processed Foods, Phthalates, Plastics;
Beef, Butter, Breads;
Sedentary activities, Sugars, Salt.
Trust me,
you’ll be feeling better in no time!

Mind & Spirit:
Avoid the 3 F’s
Manufactured in these mediums are
misinformation, fear, anger and hate!

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