Reading list for mystical Christians
It seems a bit strange that a Pagan would compile a reading list for Christians. Well, I've met loads of Christians who are interested in spiritual development (going beyond the "I'm saved so I can sit back and relax" attitude) but don't know where to start. So here are some books and websites that are more or less within the Christian worldview, but give ideas for how to develop spiritually.
Websites
- Notes from a Small Curate - a blog by a Christian with some interesting ways of interacting with the world
- The Wild Things of God - what an amazing website - full of fascinating stuff about Christian mysticism
- The Voice in the Stillness: An overview of some Christian ways of meditation
- Second Spring - a journal of faith and culture
- Imagination, Faith and Culture - a site about Christianity and fantasy novels
- Dwight Longenecker - a Christian who is interested in spiritual development, specifically the Hero Journey concept discovered by Joseph Campbell
- Inklings Resources - Tolkien, CS Lewis, WH Lewis, Owen Barfield, Charles Williams, etc.
- The Gnostic Archive - everything you ever wanted to know about Gnosticism but were afraid to ask
- Seven Sermons to the Dead - a Gnostic treatise by CG Jung, based on a vision that he had
- Directory of Lesbian and Gay Christian sites
- A Prayer in the Dark by Nathan Foster - a reflection on darkness and receptivity from a gay Christian
Books - non-fiction
- Secret Fire: The Spiritual Vision of J.R.R. Tolkien by Stratford Caldecott
- CS Lewis
- Mere Christianity
- The Great Divorce
- The Four Loves
- Carmina Gadelica - a collection of prayers from the Highlands and Islands, edited and translated by Alexander Carmichael (Florian Classics)
- The Way We Pray by Maggie Oman Shannon - a book comparing various spiritual techniques from many different religions
- The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels
- Angels & Goddesses: Celtic Christianity & Paganism in Ancient Britain by Mike Howard
- Memories, Dreams, Reflections (the autobiography of CG Jung) - great book about Jung's spiritual journey
- The Quantum Self by Danah Zohar - the links between Qabalah and quantum mechanics
- The Mystical Qabalah by Dion Fortune - all about the Qabalah - more Christians should know about this great spiritual tradition
- The Art of Pilgrimage by Phil Cousineau
Books - fiction
- CS Lewis
- The Chronicles of Narnia (7 books)
- Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold
- Out of the Silent Planet
- Perelandra
- That Hideous Strength
- JRR Tolkien
- The Silmarillion
- The Lord of the Rings trilogy
- The Wild Girl by Michèle Roberts - novel about Jesus and Mary Magdalene, written from the Gnostic point of view
- The Crock of Gold by James Stephens - mystical Irish pantheism
- Books by Robertson Davies - writing from a mainly Jungian perspective, but there's some interesting reflections upon Christianity in his books, especially The Deptford Trilogy
Humour
- If God was a programmer... (answers all those thorny theological questions)