Tagging is the New Forward

I was tagged by Off the Wire to fill out the following book list. I guess you could answer "The Bible" to any of these - although true, that might be cheating. At any rate, I love me some readin', so here you go:

1. One book that changed your life: Mere Christianity - C.S. Lewis (I consider this Lewis' quintessential work . It cleared out a lot of cobwebs in my early days) Bonus book: Wild at Heart by John Eldredge (While I don't endorse this book for its underlying theology, I will say much of Eldgredge's insights in this book resonated deeply with me when I read it; it served a good purpose in helping me deal with my tendancy towards passivity.)

2. One book that you've read more than once: The Holiness of God - R.C. Sproul (This was the first "Christian" book I ever read. It completely rearranged how I viewed God. I try to read it annually.) Here are some bonus books I've read more than once: The Dark Tower Series & The Green Mile by Stephen King, Perelandra by C.S. Lewis, The Dark Elf Trilogy by R.A. Salvatore, The Death Gate Cycle by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman. I know, I know... they are not theology. I'm such a sinner. (My wife, by the way, will love that I have posted fiction. She loves fiction. She goes through like five a week. No joke. I call her fiction "brain candy." Look honey - I read brain candy too!)

3. One book you'd want on a desert island: Knowing God - J.I. Packer (Rich in both content and clarity - in my estimation, Packer does a great job of balancing theological soundness with grounded application and understandibilty. It's deep and wide; perfect for desert island reading.) Runners Up: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne (a classic precursor to modern science fiction, giant squid included. Booyah.) and Desiring God by John Piper (you didn't think I'd get through this list without a Piper book, did you?)

4. One book that made you laugh: A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Applicachaian Trail - Bill Bryson (Bryson's account of attempting to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail - Hi. Lar. Ious.)

5. One book that made you cry: Where the Red Fern Grows - Wilson Rawls (I cried like a baby when that boy's dawgs got kilt. Tell no one.)

6. One book you wish had been written: I wish I knew.

7. One book you wish had never been written: The Openness of God: A Biblical Challenge to the Traditional Understanding of God - R. Rice, J. Sanders, C. Pinnock, W. Hasker (In my opinion, challenges the "traditional" view of God simply on the basis that it is tradition, using weak theology to "save" God from culpability when "bad" things happen and presenting God as sovereignly ... not sovereign. I think. I think these guys present a dimished view of God by disproportionally promoting human will at the expense of more comprehensive theology proper.)

8. One book you're currently reading: The Mystery of the Lord's Supper - Robert Bruce (Old school sermons from Scotland on communion - solid. The old school was a good school.) Bonus books: The Mortification of Sin by John Owen (Ouch.) Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman & The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter (Almost every night at bedtime.)

9. One book you've been meaning to read: Above All Earthly Pow'rs - David F. Wells (Comes highly recommended... and it was the inspiration for this year's Desiring God conference.)

10. Tag: You're it - GrahamCracka, The Diddy, TruittTwoFive, Neto, WildFlower, Allie the Jewish Girl, Good Will, Old Hops, Samb, Puergg

11. P.S. : Hey, at least I wrote something...