Here are 100 books that Naming the Animals fans have personally recommended if you like
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In my late high school years and during college I was confronted with a question that has dogged many artists over the years who are in the church: should a Christian be in the arts or not? As it turns out, the first person to be described as filled by the Spirit in the Bible was an artist. I had to wait until my college years to find that out by reading Francis Schaeffer’s book Art and the Bible. This and Madeleine L’Engle’s Walking on Water gave me a theology that valued art. Now I'm a full-time artist and curate a small art gallery, but I've never stopped looking for good books on Art and Faith.
Kelly Crow of The Wall Street Journalsaid that the Art World is like a cocktail party that has been going on for quite some time. Without questionRainbows for the Fallen World: Aesthetic Life and Artistic Taskis 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,…
Conversations with some of today's most intriguing artists-Sandra Bowden, Dan Callis, Mary McCleary, John Silvis, Edward Knippers, Erica Downer, Albert Pedulla, Tim Rollins and K.O.S., Joel Sheesley and Makoto Fujimura-focuses on the intersection of Christianity and creativity.
In my late high school years and during college I was confronted with a question that has dogged many artists over the years who are in the church: should a Christian be in the arts or not? As it turns out, the first person to be described as filled by the Spirit in the Bible was an artist. I had to wait until my college years to find that out by reading Francis Schaeffer’s book Art and the Bible. This and Madeleine L’Engle’s Walking on Water gave me a theology that valued art. Now I'm a full-time artist and curate a small art gallery, but I've never stopped looking for good books on Art and Faith.
The best mediator over the past several decades in the awkward relationship between Art and the Church has been Christians in the Visual Arts (CIVA). The beginning of their story was told beautifully in Faith and Vision: Twenty-Five Years of Christians in the Visual Arts. Between its covers are more than 200 images that showcase the work of CIVA’s most accomplished artists and highlight the quality and breadth of its many traveling exhibitions, conferences, directories, and publications. Founded in 1979, Christians in the Visual Arts (CIVA) was born as a response to the absence of a tangible Christian community within the contemporary American art world. As it matured, CIVA grew to become a place of aesthetic stimulation and spiritual encouragement both to its members and to the several thousand artists and institutions in its formal network. This book is the record of a generation or two of Christians…
This book is a record of the first 25 years of Christians in the Visual Arts and features more than 200 images that showcase the work of CIVA’s most accomplished artists and highlight the quality and breadth of its many traveling exhibitions, conferences, directories, and publications.
In my late high school years and during college I was confronted with a question that has dogged many artists over the years who are in the church: should a Christian be in the arts or not? As it turns out, the first person to be described as filled by the Spirit in the Bible was an artist. I had to wait until my college years to find that out by reading Francis Schaeffer’s book Art and the Bible. This and Madeleine L’Engle’s Walking on Water gave me a theology that valued art. Now I'm a full-time artist and curate a small art gallery, but I've never stopped looking for good books on Art and Faith.
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.
How can art enhance and enrich the Christian faith? What is the basis for a relationship between the church and visual imagery? Can the art world and the Protestant church be reconciled? Is art idolatry and vanity, or can it be used to strengthen the church? Grounded in historical and biblical research, William Dyrness offers students and scholars an intriguing, substantive look into the relationship between the church and the world of art.
Faith and art were not always discordant. According to Dyrness, Israel understood imagery and beauty as reflections of God's perfect order; likewise, early Christians used art to…
In my late high school years and during college I was confronted with a question that has dogged many artists over the years who are in the church: should a Christian be in the arts or not? As it turns out, the first person to be described as filled by the Spirit in the Bible was an artist. I had to wait until my college years to find that out by reading Francis Schaeffer’s book Art and the Bible. This and Madeleine L’Engle’s Walking on Water gave me a theology that valued art. Now I'm a full-time artist and curate a small art gallery, but I've never stopped looking for good books on Art and Faith.
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.
Christianity has often been suspicious of the human imagination, equating it with what is imaginary or merely made-up, while in the secular world the arts are often seen as little more than a source of entertainment. In Lifting the Veil, Malcolm Guite explores the vision from which all his writing springs - that there is a radiant reality at the heart of things which our dulled sight misses, and that the imagination is an aspect of the image of God in us that can awaken us to the presence and truth of God shimmering through all creation.
I blame my mother. She took us to the public library every week and let us check out as many books as we could carry. Consequently, reading was a joy rather than a burden. The writing came after I got over my false assumptions about English Lit and Modern Poetry. As a screenwriter, I craft silly stories to make audiences laugh. That’s why I watch movies after an exhausting week. As an author, I gravitate towards non-fiction–trying to reconcile my artistry with my faith. I’ve written about movies, music, video games, technology, and art–with an eye toward lifting our spirits and comforting our aching souls.
I wonder about the relationship between art and activism. I’ve long loved the sharp and prophetic songs of Sho Baraka.
Like his raps, Sho’s book simultaneously enlightened and entertained me. It has rhythm and flow, interweaving short stories and poems with insightful and enduring truths. I appreciated how he explained where hip-hop comes from and connected it to Scriptural roots. He discusses how flawed so many of our heroes may be, and yet they still accomplish amazing things.
After reading Sho’s provocative work, I want to practice the same kind of integration of faith and action.
A deep exploration of the intersection of faith, creativity, and justice from acclaimed hip-hop artist and creative polymath Sho Baraka
“Sho has the courage to say what many are thinking and the candor to say what many are not. His words have positively influenced me for years—now this book gives the world that influence.”—Lecrae
You were created to help bring truth and beauty into this broken world. God made you with an imagination and a yearning for justice. No matter your calling or vocation, you can help shape a better world around you through your creativity.
I am an ordained minister with over 10 years of experience serving as a pastor in both the hospital and church settings. I’m also a mom of three children, ages 2, 5, and 7. I routinely get asked for resources to help raise children in the Christian faith. As both a pastor and a mother, I am a strong advocate for teaching children a theology they won’t have to heal from. All the books I recommend are progressive, inclusive, and diverse. I’ve done extensive research when it comes to faith-based literature, and I’m passionate about finding the best books to recommend to families.
The illustrations are incredible, and the language invites readers of every age to imagine how expansive God is. I love the use of the female imagery for God. This has been lost for too long. If you’re looking to instill a theology that’s broad, diverse, and full of wonder, start here.
Teach your kids that God's love transcends single-gender expression--God is creative, fierce, protective, and her love as a Mother knows no bounds.
With lyrical, rhyming text and exquisite illustrations, Mother God introduces readers to a dozen images of God inspired by feminine descriptions from Scripture. Children and adults alike will be in awe of the God who made them as they come to know her as a creative seamstress, generous baker, fierce mother bear, protective mother hen, strong woman in labor, nurturing nursing mother, wise grandmother, and comforting singer of lullabies.
This gorgeous picture book welcomes children into a fuller,…
I am passionate about writing, reading, and recommending books that help people understand how to improve their relationship to God and to others. Verbal advice only goes so far. The wonder of books is that they contain the wisdom of years and lived experience that can encourage and equip readers long after the writers are gone. In addition to being an author of Christian living books, I have a graduate degree in biblical studies as well as decades of experience in adult education, public relations, and ministry to women. I also speak internationally on spiritual living.
This is the ONE book I recommend to younger women who want a mentor’s advice on what’s truly most important in life. The author writes from the perspective of a “seasoned sister” who was often asked to share how she was able to raise a large family, work, run a ministry, and write multiple books while at the same time maintaining a vital spiritual relationship with God.
Lucinda Secrest McDowell gives practical, accessible advice about love, authenticity, prayer, dealing with suffering, sharing one’s story, and much more. I recommend listening to the audio version read in the author’s own voice. This book also works well for book clubs and Bible study groups.
Do you have the strength of soul you need to live out God’s story for your life? Let award-winning author Lucinda Secrest McDowell show you how to become soul strong! How do I know my life makes a difference? How am I supposed to balance life when it seems I can’t catch a break? How do I move forward spiritually and with purpose? The answer to these questions and more is in learning how to live Soul Strong. The journey of faith is truly “a long obedience in the same direction.” It’s a deep commitment and an even deeper empowerment.…
I am a retired professor, was raised in a refugee camp, one of a family of 9 living in one tent. studied in Palestine, Egypt, Germany, and America, have Ph.D. in economics; scholarships financed my education journey. I lived a life no human has lived or can live, because some of the times I lived had come and gone and cannot come back again. I taught at 11 universities on 4 continents, published 60 books in Arabic and English: books on economics, politics, culture, history, conflict resolution, philosophy, racism, novels, and poetry. True intellectuals cannot stay in one area because issues that shape mankind's history and man’s destiny are interconnected.
Believers in God see him as the creator of man and women in his own image. Firm believers tried throughout history to model themselves as they imagined God. But God, the author says, evolves through his relationship with man, and man becomes rival to God. So believers and non-believers discover that God, the protector of the poor and weak, becomes a warrior who nearly destroys all humans and animals he created by causing the flood. So rational people realize that God is a tribal chief who gets angry, kills, destroys, loves some and forgets many more. This book is a must-read for all believers and non-believers. I found this book unusual in telling amazing stories about God and his actions and reactions.
What sort of "person" is God? What is his "life story"? Is it possible to approach him not as an object of religious reverence, but as the protagonist of the world's greatest book—as a character who possesses all the depths, contradictions, and abiguities of a Hamlet? This is the task that Jack Miles—a former Jesuit trained in religious studies and Near Eastern languages—accomplishes with such brilliance and originality in God: A Biography.
Using the Hebrew Bible as his text, Miles shows us a God who evolves through his relationship with man, the image who in…
As a conservative Mennonite from Pennsylvania, I have observes many people who, despite numerous desperate attempts at locating lasting fulfillment, find themselves always craving more and never satisfied to relax and be content. I have consequently dedicated myself to helping these folks obtain the satisfaction they inwardly crave. This lead to hours of contemplating, praying, and reading numerous books on the subject.
Max, with his absorbing style and captivating stories and word pictures, explains how God’s story shall become ours when we follow His leading.
Max does a marvelous job of illustrating that there is purpose for our pain; and yes, God dearly loves each of us and has some amazing plans for us if we will only trust Him.
Note: This is a booklet of 48 pages which has only two Chapters.
Life is sometimes full of blocked entrances and locked doors. You have hopes and dreams, but the path to them is often cluttered with obstacles. Seasons of life arrive that are hard to explain. In Romans 8:28, Paul writes, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” When God’s story becomes yours, closed doors take on new meaning. God owns the key to every door and will use the one…
A giving heart must also be a receiving heart was a phrase that always stuck with me. We all need a little help from our friends, after all. And it should be a two-way street. Seeing healthy, giving, and loving friendships always makes a good read that much better. Friendships will always play an important part in the books that I write. Below is my list of the best Christian romance books with strong friendships.
The author has a great YouTube channel that offers writing advice for Christian authors. After getting so much value from her channel, I was happy to buy her first novel Free. It’s such a clever book that had me quickly rooting for the main character. She overcomes so much. And I found the process of the ship’s crew and captain slowly warming up to her to be heartwarming. It’s a great story of a person without a family finally finding one on the high seas!
17-year-old Ruth is used to being independent and trusting God to provide for her needs, even with the little protection life in the 17th century provides her. But when a strange turn of events lands her on a cargo ship with no immediate way off, what is Ruth to do? The sailors are rough and rowdy, but Ruth finds First Mate Leonard particularly intimidating. What is hiding behind Captain Edward’s passive nature? Will she ever be free? As the sailors face the trials of ocean travels, they realize their young servant holds a key to peace and happiness that they…
