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Twenty Things You Should Read
Designed to introduce twentysomethings to such classic Christian thinkers and writers as C. S. Lewis, D. L. Moody, and Thomas a Kempis, 20 Things You Should Read is a compilation of the most influential writers and writings in Christian literature. In this unique collection, renowned twentysomething writers David Edwards, Margaret Feinberg, Janella Griggs, and Matthew Paul Turner present readers with 20 selections from their favorite Christian writers, thinkers, and theologians, accompanied by their own personal reflections on the influence each respective writer or thinker has had on them personally and on Christian culture as a whole.
- GenresNonfiction
208 pages, Paperback
First published April 6, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 5, 2020
A collection of writing excerpts from those who are viewed as having made outstanding accomplishments in the advancement of their faith and /or religion . Among those cited are St. Augustine, Julian of Norwich, Martin Luther, John Calvin, William Law, Frederick Douglass, and Dwight L. Moody. The selected includes those widely recognized such as Charles Wesley and his role in the foundation of the Methodist church through his preaching and the creation of six thousand hymns many still used today - "Christ the Lord is Risen Today" and "Hark! Little known are also cited -Brother Lawrence of France whose life exemplified service to others and his letters though written by an uneducated man provide reflection for many. The total compilation was done by a group of authors each of whom provide commentary on selected writers preliminary to their respective writing.
The substance was educational and informative particularly the "Vital Stats" provided about each of the 20 writers which gave when and where the selected lived, his or her writing or preaching style, noteworthy accomplishments and timeless wisdom. The reader is told that Frederick Douglass was born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey to a slave woman and an unknown White man in February 1818 on the coast of Maryland. In bondage for 20 years, he was ultimately successful in escaping. He impersonated a sailor and traveled to New York City from the the coast of Maryland only to settle in New Bedford, Massachusetts where he married and assumed the name of Frederick Douglass. He helped recruit African Americans from the North for the Union Army. He defended their rights and those of women after the war. The excerpt from Douglass's "My Bondage and My Freedom" is worth reading this book for and is sufficient enticement for me to read his book in its entirety.
The substance was educational and informative particularly the "Vital Stats" provided about each of the 20 writers which gave when and where the selected lived, his or her writing or preaching style, noteworthy accomplishments and timeless wisdom. The reader is told that Frederick Douglass was born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey to a slave woman and an unknown White man in February 1818 on the coast of Maryland. In bondage for 20 years, he was ultimately successful in escaping. He impersonated a sailor and traveled to New York City from the the coast of Maryland only to settle in New Bedford, Massachusetts where he married and assumed the name of Frederick Douglass. He helped recruit African Americans from the North for the Union Army. He defended their rights and those of women after the war. The excerpt from Douglass's "My Bondage and My Freedom" is worth reading this book for and is sufficient enticement for me to read his book in its entirety.
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January 15, 2016In Dante's visit to heaven, he sees images in the form of something like candles, that turn out to be the spirits of believers. Some of them, including Thomas Aquinas and St. Benedict, speak to him and try to answer his questions about faith. Near the end, in Longfellow's translation, Dante says:
From that time forward what I saw was greater
Than our discourse, that to such vision yields,
And yields the memory unto such excess.
Even as he is who seeth in a dream,
And after dreaming the imprinted passion
Remains, and to his mind the rest returns not,
Even such am I, for almost utterly
Ceases my vision, and distilleth yet
Within my heart the sweetness born of it...
Dante admits a huge and understandable reluctance, shared with the reader, to leave this experience behind, even with faith that someday he will return. In the meantime, David Edwards et al offer a few more voices from the Christian "cloud of witnesses," which might have made up extra Cantos if Dante had been able to stay longer.
On my shelf I have a thirty-year-old Penguin paperback called Part III: The Christian Testament Since the Bible. In spite of that heretical-sounding title, it's simply a compilation of great writings from the Christian tradition, with little or no commentary or explanation. I also have a book by Terry Glaspey about books that Christians should read, which tells you about the books, but gives only brief excerpts. 20 Things tries to hit a middle ground: each writer is given a short introduction, and then it's turned over to them for several pages apiece. The decision to include only the chosen twenty may raise a few eyebrows: G.K. Chesterton, but not C.S. Lewis? Karl Barth, but not, say, Francis Schaeffer? However, twenty it is, and every single excerpt is worthwhile, even Karl Barth. Like a conversation between the spirits in Paradiso, themes and thoughts are repeated. Ideas of faith and salvation jump out like online "word clouds." Even contradictions seem to recede in the constant emphasis on simple and pure love of God.
In fact, the writers included are so powerful that they make the additional material seem a bit lacking, almost coarse by comparison (although I think it improves throughout the book). Pop culture references and phrases like "They were undoubtedly amazing multitaskers back then" are aimed at the "twentysomethings" who are assumed to be the target audience of the book. It's a bit of a jump from Dante's "tour guides" Virgil and Beatrice. But it does help to have at least some introduction to less-familiar writers.
I can say I read the whole thing; but can I possibly say I did justice on one reading to St. Augustine, John Calvin, Frederick Douglass, and A.W. Tozer? This is a book I'll be going back to.
From that time forward what I saw was greater
Than our discourse, that to such vision yields,
And yields the memory unto such excess.
Even as he is who seeth in a dream,
And after dreaming the imprinted passion
Remains, and to his mind the rest returns not,
Even such am I, for almost utterly
Ceases my vision, and distilleth yet
Within my heart the sweetness born of it...
Dante admits a huge and understandable reluctance, shared with the reader, to leave this experience behind, even with faith that someday he will return. In the meantime, David Edwards et al offer a few more voices from the Christian "cloud of witnesses," which might have made up extra Cantos if Dante had been able to stay longer.
On my shelf I have a thirty-year-old Penguin paperback called Part III: The Christian Testament Since the Bible. In spite of that heretical-sounding title, it's simply a compilation of great writings from the Christian tradition, with little or no commentary or explanation. I also have a book by Terry Glaspey about books that Christians should read, which tells you about the books, but gives only brief excerpts. 20 Things tries to hit a middle ground: each writer is given a short introduction, and then it's turned over to them for several pages apiece. The decision to include only the chosen twenty may raise a few eyebrows: G.K. Chesterton, but not C.S. Lewis? Karl Barth, but not, say, Francis Schaeffer? However, twenty it is, and every single excerpt is worthwhile, even Karl Barth. Like a conversation between the spirits in Paradiso, themes and thoughts are repeated. Ideas of faith and salvation jump out like online "word clouds." Even contradictions seem to recede in the constant emphasis on simple and pure love of God.
In fact, the writers included are so powerful that they make the additional material seem a bit lacking, almost coarse by comparison (although I think it improves throughout the book). Pop culture references and phrases like "They were undoubtedly amazing multitaskers back then" are aimed at the "twentysomethings" who are assumed to be the target audience of the book. It's a bit of a jump from Dante's "tour guides" Virgil and Beatrice. But it does help to have at least some introduction to less-familiar writers.
I can say I read the whole thing; but can I possibly say I did justice on one reading to St. Augustine, John Calvin, Frederick Douglass, and A.W. Tozer? This is a book I'll be going back to.
April 27, 2017
I purchased this quick read in 2007, and from it, discovered Bunyan, Tozer, Kempis, Calvin, Luther, and others like St. Augustine. This helped me so much years later when I went to college, I already had sources for research. A great sampling of Saints and their writings in this swift read.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews