100 books like Faith and Vision

What if creativity was not a talent given to a chosen few, but an invitation extended to us all? What if the desire for beauty was not gratuitous in life, but central to our faith? Drawing upon the biblical account of Creation and the witness of a myriad of creative thinkers, this book asserts that all of us—from plumbers to painters and meteorologists to musicians—were made in the image of an imaginative God. In that light, Naming the Animals encourages us to see creativity as an essential part of God’s design for partnership with humanity. This is a great introduction to the Art and Faith conversation.

Kelly Crow of The Wall Street Journal said that the Art World is like a cocktail party that has been going on for quite some time. Without question Rainbows for the Fallen World: Aesthetic Life and Artistic Task is a critical voice for Christians to hear in that conversation, and it is a classic that should be required reading for everyone. But there are other conversations at the art cocktail party and, as in most professions, there is a peculiar language that must be learned in order to pick up the nuances and meanings in the discussions. How is the newcomer to the party to learn the vocabulary and begin to understand the accents at this party? Objects of Grace: Conversations on Creativity and Faith stands out as a one-of-a-kind method to begin picking up “art speak.” Objects of Grace is a collection of conversations with some intriguing artists—Sandra Bowden,… show more.

Possibly the most helpful book for those looking to engage both Art and the Church. In Visual Faith the reader will find a wonderful overview of art history from a Christian perspective, beginning with art in the Early Church and coming all the way up to Warhol, Pollock, and art today. There is also an entire chapter devoted to making and looking at art. If there was one book I’d give to people in my church who were interested in engaging with art, this would be it.

From the moment that Jesus Christ first proclaimed the Kingdom of God, he appealed to our imagination. He made that appeal through the parables, the paradoxes of the Gospel, his miracles, and those moments when the heavens opened and the ordinary was transfigured. In this book, the poet Malcolm Guite explores how the creative work of poets and other artists can begin to lift the veil, kindling our imaginations for Christ. N.T. Wright has commended this book, calling it “A small treasure-house of beauty and imagination, helping us in turn to imagine God’s world and God’s love with multi-faceted and grateful wisdom.” Although I heartily recommend other recent books, Lifting the Veil is my favorite new work in the Art and Faith conversation. 

I was overwhelmed as I stood before Grünewald’s 16th-century Crucifixion in Colburg, France. At almost nine feet tall, the powerful Crucifixion was at the time the largest ever painted in Europe. 

Blood flows from Christ’s side and head, which hangs low into the breast. Some of the thorns have broken off and are projected into the flesh, which is marked with pustules, sores, and lesions. The wounds are visible, the ribs protrude, and the skin and lip colors evoke death. The nails have become instruments of torture. 

Hayum’s comprehensive historical investigations underscore the healing mission of Grünewald’s Crucifixion: ugliness can be empathetic; ill patients could identify with Christ’s suffering and pray for healing and redemption.

The medieval images that survive today might seem like simplistic or bizarre pictures now. But medieval viewers saw them differently. They treated images as tools for understanding, analyzing, and remembering complex ideas about the world.

Bolzoni works to crack that “code” through the case of late medieval Italy: she illustrates how viewers’ relationships to images changed the more they learned, how preachers communicated with their congregations in ways that listeners would visualize and internalize, and how certain images—like six-winged angels or trees of life—served as effective conduits of information but also as platforms for layered conceptual associations that got increasingly sophisticated the more that authors and audiences thought about them.

This beautiful, fascinating book is well worth seeking out from a library or used bookseller.

Trusting God reinforced the benefit of putting our faith into action. It was constructive learning what will happen when we view our circumstances through the eyes of faith, faith in God! We see the simple yet profound knowledge that no detail in our life is insignificant to our creator. If you believe in Christ, you will see that God has a plan and the power to carry out your life's pursuit. As your trust grows, so will your personal and business success. We will gain confidence to see that our true destinies are in His hands, not anyone else's. God Guides us step by step. When we trust, we will avoid needless detours. No matter what happens in your life, you will see that nothing is impossible for God and that things meant for your harm will turn into something good when you trust God.

While most of us won’t suddenly move from being homeschooled in an African village to attending a huge high school in California, readers can learn so much from Katie!

If you love books that emphasize strong families and congenial characters who face relevant issues, you’ll love Faith Under Pressure.

I was inspired by the respect within Katie’s family, her desire to bloom where she’s planted, and her commitment to start a Christian club at school.

When agreeing to tutor a bully threatens her new friendships, Katie faces a new level of anxiety, and her faith will be tested like never before. 

I didn’t know Rachel Held Evans personally, though I did meet her at one of the “Why Christian?” conferences she co-hosted with Nadia Bolz-Weber. But Rachel, who grew up in a white conservative culture like I did, boldly gave me permission to struggle with my faith, to dare to doubt cultural overlays on the basic truths of the gospel. This book—only partially completed when she died suddenly a couple years ago but finished from her various blogs and other writings by author-friend, Jeff Chu—continues to remind me that “wholehearted faith” is to “love God with my whole being and to love my neighbor as myself.” The two greatest commandments. It’s as simple—and as difficult—as that.

If you are a parent and your children are over the age of eighteen, you know that your relationship with them shifts radically as they become adults. If you’ve raised your children to be independent thinkers, guess what? They will think and act independently, sometimes making choices that cause pain and confusion. Mary does a terrific job of helping parents remain grounded in their faith as they figure out how to love and support their sons and daughters in this new season. Her love for and knowledge of Scripture is very evident throughout. (Note: I would not have included the word “Wayward” in the title. Mary does not focus on adult kids who have made poor choices, but rather ones whose lives look different than what we might have imagined.)