Top Summer Reads From HuffPost Religion Bloggers

Summer is the time to kick-back, relax and pick up that fun reading we have been putting off for just the right beachy moment. We asked several of our all star bloggers to share what they are reading right now and the resulting list is inspirational, educational and surprisingly challenging for the season. I guess we can learn something in the hot months too. If you have any additions leave them in the comments below.

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Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi And His Struggle With India

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Hindu blogger and Dean of Religious life at USC, Varun Soni recommends: Joseph Lelyveld's Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and his Struggle with India. "It contributes unique and essential insight to the ever-expanding field of literature about Gandhi's life and legacy. What is particularly illuminating is Lelyveld's astute examination of Gandhi's personal struggles in reconciling his spiritual idealism with his political compromises, especially in regards to his life's mission of empowering low-caste communities and promoting Hindu-Muslim unity."

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Hindu blogger and Dean of Religious life at USC, Varun Soni recommends: Joseph Lelyveld's Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and his Struggle with India.

"It contributes unique and essential insight to the ever-expanding field of literature about Gandhi's life and legacy. What is particularly illuminating is Lelyveld's astute examination of Gandhi's personal struggles in reconciling his spiritual idealism with his political compromises, especially in regards to his life's mission of empowering low-caste communities and promoting Hindu-Muslim unity."

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Wookiee1972 said on 25 Monday 2011 am31 10:12 am: I think some of the commenters are missing the point here. Pretty much none of these are explicitly religious books. There are couple of *biographies* of religious figures, but that's not nearly the same thing. And yet many are using this as an opportunity to slam religion. Sigh.

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Comments

[paulancheta]

11:37 PM on 08/03/2011

I recommend Paul Kriwaczek's "In Search of Zarathustra: Across Iran and Central Asia to Find the World's First Prophet" (Vintage Books, 2002). The book explores the meaning of Zoroaster's divine message and the relationship of the religion he founded and those of the prophets and messengers that followed him. Mr. Kriwaczek's narration is less of a scholarly tome and more of a travelogue through 3,000 years of human achievement across Europe, the Near East, and Central Asia in search of religious truth.

[CDL1]

01:32 AM on 07/27/2011

Jane Roberts The Eternal Validity of the Soul is a great book that goes into the heart of physical reality and conscious existence.

[Thomas David DuBois]

09:13 PM on 07/25/2011

I highly recommend the book _Heart of Buddha, Heart of China: The Life of Tanxu, a Twentieth Century Monk_ (Oxford 2011) by my good friend James Carter. This book follows the life of a well known Buddhist reformer, a monk who at wanted to spiritually revive both Buddhism and China during the early twentieth century. The book is a very pleasant read, and shows the evolution of one man's thoughts and plans in superb detail.

Another important and enjoyable book is _The Religious Question in Modern China_ (Chicago, 2011), by Vincent Goosaert and David Palmer. Like Carter, these two authors show how religious ideas were shaped by the often painful reality of history.

Both books are reasonably priced and available on Amazon.com .

[methodman]

12:36 PM on 07/25/2011

"The Right Use of Will Series by CeAnne De Rohan should be on this. Starting from book2 onwards. Of course it's not happy and shallow so it won't make the list.

[Wookiee1972]

10:12 AM on 07/25/2011

I think some of the commenters are missing the point here. Pretty much none of these are explicitly religious books. There are couple of *biographies* of religious figures, but that's not nearly the same thing.

And yet many are using this as an opportunity to slam religion. Sigh.

[Jay Esteban]

07:06 AM on 07/26/2011

Interesting point! So are you saying that religion exists as something separate from people?

[Jay Esteban]

12:01 PM on 07/23/2011

A very unusual book for readers of religious/spiritual literature is "Eminent Gurdjieffians: Lord Pentland", by British author James Moore. G I Gurdjieff's esoteric teaching has been a shy but powerful spiritual influence in three continents. In the US the Gurdjieff Foundation of New York and the Gurdjieff Foundation of California were for decades led by a British aristocrat. How did someone who spent his early years in India during the British Raj, then at a typical English "Public School" followed by Cambridge University and the House of Lords end up in Manhattan as the leader of an esoteric movement?

Fourth Way aficionados and students of all religious movements will be fascinated and surprised by this well-crafted biography of Henry John Sinclair, 2nd Baron Pentland (6 June 1907 – 14 February 1984).

Available from http://www.gurdjieffstudiesbooks.org
and
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Eminent-Gurdjieffians-Pentland-JAMES-MOORE/dp/0954947010
but, curiously, not from amazon.com

[Kirk Job-Sluder]

03:04 PM on 07/22/2011

Nice article, definitely some things to put on my reading list.

[John Camp]

01:37 PM on 07/22/2011

Slave -- John MacArthur. (New, insightful and profound)
Worldliness -- C.J. Mahaney (Short, readable and impactful)
The Letters of John Newton (Timeless, encouraging, and inspiring)

[YourSpiritualTruth]

08:30 AM on 07/22/2011

I recommend "Authentic Freedom, Claiming a Life of Contentment and Joy" by Lauri Ann Lumby. Terrific read for those seeking a deeper understanding of the connection between Eastern Energy Medicine and Christian spiritual practices and teachings. Great for recovering Catholics and others seeking a broader understanding of Jesus' message. Available on Amazon.com: http://astore.amazon.com/yourspirtrut-20/detail/1878282697

[Wendy1844]

05:10 AM on 07/22/2011

I recommend Guns, Germs and Steel. Fascinating book! I'm also a Bahá'í and was pleasantly surprised to see the comment on this book was written by one of my faith also. But I think anyone would enjoy it and learn a lot about human history. It was quite an eye opener about race and how humanity advances. it's been a while since I read it, so it was a pleasant surprise to see it listed here. BTW, there was a TV show in three parts as I recall based on the book. It may be available on Netflix or something. I think it was on PBS originally.

[CDL1]

01:29 AM on 07/27/2011

Great book. If you find the time you should read The Third Chimpanzee. Its one of his other books. I noticed you'd said you were part of the Baha'i faith. I'm really curious to know more about it and to chat with some followers. Can you tell me a little more about it or throw me a link to a Baha'i forum??

[Wendy1844]

10:34 AM on 07/28/2011

The Third Chimpanzee, eh? Provocative title! :) I'll have to look for that one.

The Bahá'í Faith is the newest of the world religions. We follow the teachings of Bahá'ulláh ("Glory of God" 1817-1892). He taught "The betterment of the world can be accomplished through pure and goodly deeds, through commendable and seemly conduct." The main principles of the Faith are the oneness of God, the oneness of religion, and the oneness of mankind.

There's actually an article about the Bahá'í vision for world peace in HuffPo today. You might find it interesting. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonathan-gandomi/a-vision-for-world-peace_b_906540.html

If you had questions, that might be a good thread to ask them. I check back here every few days, and there are other Bahá'ís who do, too.

If you'd like more information, you can also check out www.bahai.us or www.bahai.org. Enjoy!

[naschkatze]

05:29 PM on 07/21/2011

Bonhoeffer is a great read.

[earthling1111]

04:46 PM on 07/21/2011

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values, by Robert M. Pirsig

[amleth]

12:52 AM on 07/22/2011

My copy is in tatters from re-reading and making notes in the margins. One of the most brilliant tomes of our time. So sad it became a generational fad and has not been known to so many in recent times.

I don't know if you are aware that the son in the story was killed by a mugger in SF years ago.

When I was in show biz in NY I looked into producing this as a one-man show and wrote the first draft of a script for it. I wish I had had the fortitude and talent to see it through.

Fanned and faved.

[hangdogit]

01:06 AM on 07/22/2011

I read it decades ago -- fascinating!

[Lewsgirl]

04:25 PM on 07/21/2011

Finally James Martin has written something here that I can agree with. Bonhoeffer was an exemplary Christian. As fine and brave a man as Luther himself.

[blizzard man robot voice]

04:21 PM on 07/21/2011

Seems that most comments in the religions section of HP are atheists. Weird.

[Dan Jighter]

03:57 PM on 07/25/2011

The comments themselves are atheists?! Wow!

What is weird is that there is even a HP Religion Section in the first place. What is weird is various people's religious beliefs or the agenda of the Religion Section. Atheists, as people who reject such BS, are just responding in defiance of this weirdness.

[Philip F Harris]

03:23 PM on 07/21/2011

You missed a great series, The Waking God Trilogy! Book I: The Journey Begins; Book II: The Sacred Rota; and, Book III: The Second Coming of Humanity!