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Wednesday, October 11, 2006 

Words that shouldn't shape

In light of Christianity Today's list of books that shape evangelicals, Purgatorio has published a list of 50 books you shouldn't read. Some I disagree with, but over all, it's a beautiful sight. Marc Heinrich says this about the list:

"These are books that have influenced evangelicalism that one should generally steer clear of due to errant theology, outright heresy, just plain lousy writing, being extremely dated, your own time stewardship or a combination thereof. I’m not saying these shouldn’t be read at all, some cover issues that need to be addressed, but don’t go here for soul food."

In No Particular Order:

1. The Satan Seller - Mike Warnke
2. Good Morning Holy Spirit - Benny Hinn (I actually just learned who this is)
3. Left Behind - Tim Lahaye and Larry Jenkins
4. Your Best Life Now - Joel Osteen
5. Letters to a Skeptic - Gregory Boyd
6. Wild at Heart - John Eldredge
7. I’m OK, You’re OK - Thomas Harris
8. The Ryrie Study Bible
9. The Scofield Reference Bible
10. The Weigh-Down Diet - Gwen Shamblin
11. Living Positively One Day At a Time - Robert Shuller
12. Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism: A Bishop Rethinks the Meaning of Scripture - John Shelby Spong
13. Absolutely Free - Zane Hodges
14. Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time: The Historical Jesus and the Heart of Contemporary Faith - Marcus J. Borg
15. Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why - Bart D. Ehrman
16. The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant - John Dominic Crossan
17. The Five Gospels: What Did Jesus Really Say? The Search for the AUTHENTIC Words of Jesus - Robert W. Funk
18. Christ Versus Religion - Witness Lee
19. The Prayer of Jabez - Bruce Wilkinson (not to mention he didn't really write it!)
20. The Laws of Prosperity - Kenneth Copeland
21. The Good Book: Reading the Bible with Mind and Heart - Peter J. Gomes
22. The Late Great Planet Earth - Hal Lindsey with C. C. Carlson
23. Velvet Elvis - Rob Bell
24. The Openness of God: The Relationship of Divine Foreknowledge and Human Free Will - Richard Rice
25. A Heretic’s Guide to Eternity - Spencer Burke
26. Institute for Basic Youth Conflicts Manual - Bill Gothard (haha! someone finally admits it)
27. A Theology of Liberation: History, Politics and Salvation - Gustavo Gutiérrez
28. Revolution - George Barna (the blogging community hates this one)
29. The Bible Code - Michael Drosnin
30. Discovered: Noah’s Ark - Ron Wyatt
31. The Purpose Driven Life - Rick Warren
32. Effective Biblical Counseling - Larry Crabb
33. Battlefield of the Mind - Joyce Meyer
34. The ELCA Gender-Neutral Hymnal
35. The Lost Message of Jesus - Steve Chalke (the British version of emergent leader McLaren)
36. The God Who Risks: A Theology of Providence - John Sanders
37. The Grace of God and the Will of Man - Clark H. Pinnock
38. The Oneness of God - David K. Bernard
39. Woman Thou Art Loosed - T.D. Jakes
40. Jerusalem Countdown - John Hagee (this one's for Dad)
41. What Love is This? - Dave Hunt
42. Chosen But Free - Norm Geisler (This being on the list made my day gorgeous. I had to read and use this book for school. It's terrible writing, terrible logic, and terrible overall.)
43. King James, His Bible, and Its Translators - Laurence Vance
44. Jonathan Edwards 1703 - 1758 A Biography - Ola Elizabeth Winslow
45. Uprooting the Spirit of Fear - Creflo A. Dollar
46. The Beautiful Side of Evil - Johanna Michaelsen
47. Tithing: A Call to Serious, Biblical Giving - R T Kendall
48. Experiencing the Presence of God - Charles G. Finney (don't get Daniel started on Finney)
49. Why Churches Die - Ergun Caner and Mac Brunson
50. Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith - Anne Lamott