Books

My Top 5 Fiction Books for the Soul

The Way of a Pilgrim Anonymous

The protagonist discovers the Jesus Prayer on his quest across 19th-century Russia to learn to pray continually. He shows us a way of praying that saturates our lives without taking time away from our routine activities.

* * *

Hannah Coulter Wendell Berry

This book celebrates the “old ways” of living, in which God, family, community, and “place” are central. You leave it more likely to find contentment in the ordinary and to honor the relationships you’ve been given.

* * *

The Pilgrim’s Progress John Bunyan

You cannot help but see yourself in the struggles and victories of Christian, the main character. Bunyan understood the lure of false gospels such as legalism, and provided a helpful mirror in which to see our own struggles.

* * *

In This House of Brede Rumer Godden

This is a masterfully written story of a 40-something woman with a successful government career who enters an English Benedictine monastery. It sounds a call to holiness that reminds us that we all have tools for spiritual growth at our disposal.

* * *

The Chosen Chaim Potok

This is a compelling story of friendship between two deeply devout Jewish young men—one “liberal” and one “conservative”—that helps us see what it means to have spiritual integrity and yet compassionately and respectfully engage with friends of differing faiths.

James Wilhoit is professor of Christian Education at Wheaton College.

Copyright © 2009 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Related Elsewhere:

Previous Top 5 lists have featured managing your money, devotionals, how character shapes belief, food, Atheism, China, Presidents, World Christianity, Ancient-Future Faith, the Civil Rights Era, Social Justice, Church History, Popular Culture, the Civil War, Apologetics, Atheism, and Sex.

Also in this issue

The CT archives are a rich treasure of biblical wisdom and insight from our past. Some things we would say differently today, and some stances we've changed. But overall, we're amazed at how relevant so much of this content is. We trust that you'll find it a helpful resource.

Cover Story

Sci-Fi's Brave New World

James A. Herrick

News

California's Temper Tantrum

Reverence for the Mystery

John Calvin with Knox Bucer-Beza

Review

Novel Teachers

Brandon O'Brien

Searching for Radical Faith

Mike Barrett

Praying 'Thy Kingdom Come ...'

Compiled by Richard A. Kauffman

Q&A: Louie Giglio

Interview by Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra

News

Yechiel Eckstein: Evangelicals’ Favorite Rabbi

John W. Kennedy in New York City

Editorial

Who Do You Think You Are?

A Christianity Today Editorial

Review

Making Movies to Change the World

Mark Moring

CDs on The List

Review

Live: Hope at the Hideout

Andy Whitman

Bibliophiles We

Meager Harvest

Telford Work

Books Uncommon and Offbeat

John Wilson, editor of 'Books and Culture'

News

Political Exile

Memo to Worship Bands

John G. Stackhouse Jr.

Review

Learning from Secular Nations

Lisa Graham McMinn

News

Quotation Marks

News

Smuggling Debate

Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra

2009 Christianity Today Book Awards

News

Gas-Powered Gospels

News

Get 'Lost'

Todd Hertz

News

Atheists' Outreach

Laurie Fortunak

News

News Briefs: February 01, 2009

News

Passages

Compiled by CT Staff

News

Go Figure

Bush's Faith-Based Legacy

Tony Carnes with additional reporting by Sarah Pulliam

News

Fault Line of Faith

Compass Direct News

News

Prosperity Gospel on Skid Row

Bobby Ross Jr.

News

Readers Write

News

Stocks Squeeze Seminaries

Collin Hansen

View issue

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The Bulletin

Pete Hegseth’s Future, Farmers on Tariffs, and Religious Decline Stalls

Mike Cosper, Clarissa Moll

Hegseth scrutinized for drug boat strikes, farmers react to Trump’s tariffs, and a Pew report says religious decline has slowed.

The Debate over Government Overreach Started in 1776

Three books to read this month on politics and public life.

The Call to Art, Africa, and Politics

In 1964, CT urged Christians to “be what they really are—new men and women in Christ.”

Turn Toward Each Other and Away from the Screen

Perhaps technology has changed everything. But God is still here, still wiring humans for connection and presence.

Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

BONUS: Amanda Knox on the Satanic Panic and Wrongful Convictions

How elements of the satanic panic and conspiratorial thinking shaped a wrongful conviction.

Death by a Thousand Error Messages

Classroom tech was supposed to solve besetting education problems. The reality is frustrating for students and costly for taxpayers.

The Chinese Christian Behind 2,000 Hymns

X. Yang

Lü Xiaomin never received formal music training. But her worship songs have made her a household name in China’s churches.

The Surprising Joys of a Gift-Free Christmas

Ahrum Yoo

Amid peak consumerism season, I prayed for ways to teach my children about selfless giving.

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