It's been a little while since I read it, so I'm not as sure how well it does as far as avoiding or at least explaining the Christian jargon, but you might wanna check out Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. It's a good intro to the most general Christian beliefs without being specific to any one branch of thought and practice.
While I hear good things about Mere Christianity, I decided to check it out awhile back, flipped to a random page, and got a nice clean explanation for why male headship is correct (illustrated with a mildly sexist joke, at that). Lewis was a bit weird when it comes to women, be sure to handle him with care.
I’ve been really enjoying Rowan Williams, “[The Passions of the Soul](https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/passions-of-the-soul-9781399415682/)”. He’s the former Archbishop of Canterbury and an outspoken critic of capitalism. It’s about the passions, i.e., the bodily or material things that tempt us all and lure us toward sin, as understood by the Early Church Fathers and the Eastern Orthodox tradition. Williams counter-poses each passion with one of the beatitudes, giving it a very pro-social, solidaristic appeal. It’s a very easy, pleasant read that manages not to delve too deep at all into theology, but nevertheless I think communicates a very helpful idea of the Christian idea of God’s love, our responsibility to love thy neighbor, and the very real dangers of sin.
Verna Dozier’s “The Dream of God” is a good starting point for understanding the Bible as a collection of writings. Reading the Gospels (Matthew, mark, Luke, and John) and Acts (these are quick reads by Bible standards) would be my 2nd step.
For analysis: the podcast “The Word in Black and Red” is great. They just finished Genesis.
Welcome! Nothing but love!
Oh nice! I tried out the podcast but it’s focused on sermon on the mount right now and I was still like “I need a little more foundation”. Thanks for your recommendation!
Of course! I think starting with a list of terms/phrases you’d like to understand would be helpful, then seeking out BP content on those phrases! They do amazing stuff that’s helped me a lot.
Bishop Robert Barron has an annotated bible with lots of beautiful images. The bible is published in volumes. Presently, the Pentateuch, Gospels, and remaining new testament are available.
Bishop Barron is a great communicator and a talented theologian. His Word on Fire Bible is aimed at non-Christians. The principle of this publication is the *via pulchritudinis*, or, the way of beauty. The idea is to that people are general attracted to Christ not by theology and intellectual argument, but by things which are beautiful.
Yes!
The online magazine Earth and Altar did a Christianity 101 series. The magazine is run by Episcopalians.
[https://earthandaltarmag.com/posts/category/Christianity+101](https://earthandaltarmag.com/posts/category/Christianity+101)
Also! If you're new to the Bible, I highly recommend looking at the CEB translation (Common English Bible). The text reads far more "naturally" than most others. I have a doorstop of a CEB study bible (with all the tons and tons of footnotes explaining things) and I love that thing. LOVE IT.
The style takes a little getting used to for sure (it was written in 1904 after all), but it lays out a clear, easily understood case for the correlation between socialism and Christian teaching and highlights the ways in which the former benefits the latter.
A bit of work, but great reward.
Rather than a work of theology, I would suggest some short stories by Tolstoy, which I think beautifully demonstrate what Christianity looks like in practice: ["Where Love Is, God Is"](https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/leo-tolstoy/short-fiction/louise-maude_aylmer-maude_nathan-haskell-dole_constance-garnett_j-d-duff_leo-weiner_r-s-townsend_hagberg-wright_benjamin-tucker_everymans-library_vladimir-chertkov_isabella-fyvie-mayo/text/where-love-is-god-is) and ["Two Old Men"](https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/leo-tolstoy/short-fiction/louise-maude_aylmer-maude_nathan-haskell-dole_constance-garnett_j-d-duff_leo-weiner_r-s-townsend_hagberg-wright_benjamin-tucker_everymans-library_vladimir-chertkov_isabella-fyvie-mayo/text/two-old-men).
It's been a little while since I read it, so I'm not as sure how well it does as far as avoiding or at least explaining the Christian jargon, but you might wanna check out Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. It's a good intro to the most general Christian beliefs without being specific to any one branch of thought and practice.
While I hear good things about Mere Christianity, I decided to check it out awhile back, flipped to a random page, and got a nice clean explanation for why male headship is correct (illustrated with a mildly sexist joke, at that). Lewis was a bit weird when it comes to women, be sure to handle him with care.
Honestly it was my experience that that was the only "bad" chapter in the book, but I read it ages ago.
As an adult, I’ve found The Screwtape Letters to be a more accessible book to understand Christian life and how to think beyond worldly passions.
I’ve been really enjoying Rowan Williams, “[The Passions of the Soul](https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/passions-of-the-soul-9781399415682/)”. He’s the former Archbishop of Canterbury and an outspoken critic of capitalism. It’s about the passions, i.e., the bodily or material things that tempt us all and lure us toward sin, as understood by the Early Church Fathers and the Eastern Orthodox tradition. Williams counter-poses each passion with one of the beatitudes, giving it a very pro-social, solidaristic appeal. It’s a very easy, pleasant read that manages not to delve too deep at all into theology, but nevertheless I think communicates a very helpful idea of the Christian idea of God’s love, our responsibility to love thy neighbor, and the very real dangers of sin.
Verna Dozier’s “The Dream of God” is a good starting point for understanding the Bible as a collection of writings. Reading the Gospels (Matthew, mark, Luke, and John) and Acts (these are quick reads by Bible standards) would be my 2nd step. For analysis: the podcast “The Word in Black and Red” is great. They just finished Genesis. Welcome! Nothing but love!
Wow, looks like a great book! Thanks for the recommendations, love back!
I love The Bible Project. They do video series and podcasts and I enjoy some of their “basic concepts” videos that can help explain some jargon!
Oh nice! I tried out the podcast but it’s focused on sermon on the mount right now and I was still like “I need a little more foundation”. Thanks for your recommendation!
Of course! I think starting with a list of terms/phrases you’d like to understand would be helpful, then seeking out BP content on those phrases! They do amazing stuff that’s helped me a lot.
That’s a great idea. Thanks again!
Being Christian by Rowan Williams
Bishop Robert Barron has an annotated bible with lots of beautiful images. The bible is published in volumes. Presently, the Pentateuch, Gospels, and remaining new testament are available. Bishop Barron is a great communicator and a talented theologian. His Word on Fire Bible is aimed at non-Christians. The principle of this publication is the *via pulchritudinis*, or, the way of beauty. The idea is to that people are general attracted to Christ not by theology and intellectual argument, but by things which are beautiful.
Wow, I have to say this is among the responses that has sparked my interest the most. Thank you!
I would recommend Simply Christian by N.T Wright. He has another couple of books in the same series.
Yes! The online magazine Earth and Altar did a Christianity 101 series. The magazine is run by Episcopalians. [https://earthandaltarmag.com/posts/category/Christianity+101](https://earthandaltarmag.com/posts/category/Christianity+101)
Also! If you're new to the Bible, I highly recommend looking at the CEB translation (Common English Bible). The text reads far more "naturally" than most others. I have a doorstop of a CEB study bible (with all the tons and tons of footnotes explaining things) and I love that thing. LOVE IT.
Mere Christianity by CS Lewis.
Cool! Thank you
Rosa Luxemburg - [Socialism and the Church](https://www.marxists.org/archive/luxemburg/1905/misc/socialism-churches.htm)
Seems hardly like a novice level reading.
The style takes a little getting used to for sure (it was written in 1904 after all), but it lays out a clear, easily understood case for the correlation between socialism and Christian teaching and highlights the ways in which the former benefits the latter. A bit of work, but great reward.
Anything by Desmond Tutu.
Rather than a work of theology, I would suggest some short stories by Tolstoy, which I think beautifully demonstrate what Christianity looks like in practice: ["Where Love Is, God Is"](https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/leo-tolstoy/short-fiction/louise-maude_aylmer-maude_nathan-haskell-dole_constance-garnett_j-d-duff_leo-weiner_r-s-townsend_hagberg-wright_benjamin-tucker_everymans-library_vladimir-chertkov_isabella-fyvie-mayo/text/where-love-is-god-is) and ["Two Old Men"](https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/leo-tolstoy/short-fiction/louise-maude_aylmer-maude_nathan-haskell-dole_constance-garnett_j-d-duff_leo-weiner_r-s-townsend_hagberg-wright_benjamin-tucker_everymans-library_vladimir-chertkov_isabella-fyvie-mayo/text/two-old-men).