The Last Battle - C.S. Lewis

The Unicorn says that humans are brought to Narnia when Narnia is stirred and upset. And Narnia is in trouble now: A false Aslan roams the land. Narnia's only hope is that Eustace and Jill, old friends to Narnia, will be able to find the true Aslan and restore peace to the land. Their task is a difficult one because, as the Centaur says, "The stars never lie, but Men and Beasts do." Who is the real Aslan and who is the imposter?

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and The Silver Chair - C.S. Lewis

A voyage to the very ends of the world. Narnia... where a dragon awakens... where stars walk the earth... where anything can happen. A king and some unexpected companions embark on a voyage that will take them beyond all known lands. As they sail father and farther from charted waters, they discover that their quest is more than they imagined and that the world's end is only the beginning.

 Eustace and Jill escape from the bullies at school through a strange door in the wall, which, for once, is unlocked. It leads to the open moor...or does it? Once again Aslan has a task for the children, and Narnia needs them. Through dangers untold and caverns deep and dark, they pursue the quest that brings them face to face with the evil Witch. She must be defeated if Prince Rillian is to be saved.

The Horse and His Boy and Prince Caspian - C.S. Lewis

The Horse and his Boy is a stirring and dramatic fantasy story that finds a young boy named Shasta on the run from his homeland with the talking horse, Bree. When the pair discover a deadly plot by the Calormen people to conquer the land of Narnia, the race is on to warn the inhabitants of the impending danger and to rescue them all from certain death.

 The Pevensie siblings are back to help a prince denied his rightful throne as he gathers an army in a desperate attempt to rid his land of a false king. But in the end, it is a battle of honor between two men alone that will decide the fate of an entire world.

The Magician's Nephew and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrob - C.S. Lewis

When Digory and Polly are tricked by Digory's peculiar Uncle Andrew into becoming part of an experiment, they set off on the adventure of a lifetime. What happens to the children when they touch Uncle Andrew's magic rings is far beyond anything even the old magician could have imagined. Hurtled into the Wood between the Worlds, the children soon find that they can enter many worlds through the mysterious pools there. In one world they encounter the evil Queen Jadis, who wreaks havoc in the streets of London when she is accidentally brought back with them. When they finally manage to pull her out of London, unintentionally taking along Uncle Andrew and a coachman with his horse, they find themselves in what will come to be known as the land of Narnia.

 Lucy is the first to find the secret of the wardrobe in the professor's mysterious old house. At first, no one believes her when she tells of her adventures in the land of Narnia. But soon Edmund and then Peter and Susan discover the Magic and meet Aslan, the Great Lion, for themselves. In the blink of an eye, their lives are changed forever.

Orthodoxy - G.K. Chesterton

Chesterton (The Man Who Knew Too Much) capped his brilliant literary career with this exploration of "right thinking," and how it led to his acceptance of the Christian faith. Although this is a very personal account of his conversion, Chesterton makes it clear he came to a rational decision based upon his scholarly examination of Christianity's arguments, intending to provide a "positive" companion to the previous Heretics.

Purgatorio - Dante

Beginning with Dante's liberation from Hell, Purgatory relates his ascent, accompanied by Virgil, of the Mount of Purgatory - a mountain of nine levels, formed from rock forced upwards when God threw Satan into depths of the earth. As he travels through the first seven levels, Dante observes the sinners who are waiting for their release into Paradise, and through these encounters he is himself transformed into a stronger and better man. For it is only when he has learned from each of these levels that he can ascend to the gateway to Heaven: the Garden of Eden. The second part of one of the greatest epic poems, Purgatory is an enthralling Christian allegory of sin, redemption and ultimate enlightenment.

Christianity and Culture - T.S. Elliot

Two long essays: “The Idea of a Christian Society” (on the direction of religious thought toward criticism of political and economic systems) and “Notes towards the Definition of Culture” (on culture, its meaning, and the dangers threatening the legacy of the Western world).

Fear and Trembling - Sorin Kierkegaard

Writing under the pseudonym of Johannes de silentio, Kierkegaard uses the form of a dialectical lyric to present his conception of faith. Abraham is portrayed as a great man, who chose to sacrifice his son, Isaac, in the face of conflicting expectations and in defiance of any conceivable ethical standard. The infamous and controversial 'teleological suspension of the ethical' challenged the contemporary views of Hegel's universal moral system, and the suffering individual must alone make a choice 'on the strength of the absurd'. Kierkegaard's writings have inspired both modern Protestant theology and existentialism.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain

Mark Twain is someone who is know to have written about what he knew and 19th century life along the Mississippi River was certainly that. This is one of those unique stories that can be read on many levels. It is an adventure story, coming of age drama, social commentary and even a historical satire. The joy of reading this for a book club is that we were able to talk about it and judge it on all of these levels.

The reader is able to travel down the Mississippi with Huck and Jim, seeing them both imperiled when they left the safety of the river, as they try to escape their own forms of bondage. Finally Huck realizes that he must become "uncivilized" if he is to accept Jim's humanity and yet, civilization is perhaps the most unattractive "character" in the novel. This is bravely told and important reading for modern readers.

Til We Have Faces - C.S. Lewis

This is a re-telling of a classic myth told by my favorite storyteller. The characters stir your passions and are as real as if they were standing before you. As a Greek tale it well describes man's inner self in a language and tone that opens the story up to modern readers, a task, it seems, only Lewis is capable of.

Money, Greed and God - Jay Richards

This book was preaching to the choir but I would suggest it is one of the better treatise on the topic of Christianity and economic policy. I think many would see capitalism as a "frenemy" when it comes to a Christian worldview. Richards does a wonderful job seating the blame for the failed economic systems where it belongs; in the attempted manipulation and intervention by government. Richards doesn't advocate full fledged Libertarianism, but recognizes the dangers of a few "experts" making financial decisions that affect the populous.

Christians shouldn't be ashamed of capitalism. The truth is we haven't really ever seen capitalism allowed to work. It is constantly manipulated to suit one agenda over another. The Christian shouldn't divinize capitalism either. Even a perfect capitalist society won't lead to utopia. We have to have eyes for the world to come and work to make this world as just and fair as possible. Capitalism is just a tool in the tool box.

Idols for Destruction - Herbert Schlossberg

The definition of an idol is "an image or representation of a god used as an object of worship." Schlossberg culls the pages of history and pulls out big picture idols that we may not even recognize as "images" or "high places" of worship. Yet, man is an idol factory (thank you John Calvin) and these are but a few.

Schlossberg's depth of study is truly impressive here. He weaves the idols together, shows their interdependence and leaves the reader armed with knowledge to confront the idols of our age. Unfortunately he also leaves the reader with a sense of morbid depression. It is the short-coming of the book I think. The truth is that there is only hope (socially) in a new Heaven and new Earth. The old are passing away and running headlong into judgment. It is a theme I have to constantly remind myself of when a book like this opens the depth of depravity before me. I wish Schlossberg had said as much.

The Trial - Franz Kafka

This is a very odd story. It is one of many novels that Kafka never finished, although the ending does seem conclusive. It is written in a dream-like style and most commentators think it is a reflection of Kafka's experience under the Austro-Hungarian regime. As a trained lawyer, Kafka would have had a great awareness of the arbitrary and secretive nature of law under a totalitarian government.

While it is easy to interpret the story under the guise of the not-so-hyperbolic picture of the futility of life under these circumstances, I wander if Kafka didn't have more in mind. To me, I find this a compelling allegory and critique of moralism. Maybe I am stretching too far, but some of his language along with the ubiquitousness of the "legal authority," the apparent "freedom" after his arrest and the surety of his condemnation all make me think of moralistic religion. Who knows, maybe his is not trying to be so clever as that. Either way, in Kafka's story the law brings death and no defense could be made in his favor. If it is a look a moralism, or in Kafka's mind perhaps all religion, it is obvious that he never discovered the one aid in the "legal system" on which he could cast himself. In the end he was led to his fate alone and even rushed toward it because resistance was futile. He never met the one who died "like a dog" and endured the "shame" so that he would not have to.

Hard Times - Charles Dickens

Dickens uses art to confront ideology that would have certainly discarded artists had it been able to thrive. 18th and 19th century England is on display as the Industrial Revolution is in full swing. Man is degraded to his economic value, education is attempting to produce rational drones and the city is a metaphorical cancer on nature. Such is the life portrayed in this novel. Dickens makes no apology for his rejection of industry and modernism and he conjures sympathy in the reader.

The characters are less developed than in Dickens' other writing but are memorable for their absurdity, failure and/or innocence. It is an enjoyable story.

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorn (1850)

Dana says: I have wanted to read this book for a very long time.  This the first Hawthorne book I have ever read I think. The first few chapters were a bit slow and I was thinking, "oh boy, what have I gotten myself in to?" but by the end of chapter 3 I was hooked. I won't comment on the story as most people are familiar with it but I will say reading it along with a few different guides from Leland Ryken (Christian Guides to the Classics on Scarlet Letter and Realms of Gold, chapter 6 on Scarlet Letter) was extremely helpful in understanding the authors intent and worldviews expressed in the book. I will also comment on the fact that this is one of the few books I have read so far that very obviously stands apart in a class of its own and really evidences why it is such a famous, classic, and timeless work. Masterfully written and certainly warrants rereading in the future!  Also, it should be noted that this book produced the best discussion at Ladies Book Club to date.

The Inerno - Dante Alighieri

This is my first go at epic poetry. Dante (the poet) leads the reader (and Dante the pilgrim) through the circles of hell without apology. He lays bare the utter sickliness of sin and the righteousness of punishment. His mind has no want of creativity in his inventions of torchure. Virgil corrects the pity that may be conjured up when we meet some of the residents of Hell, reminding us of the hell they inflicted on others while living.

Dante is fearless in condemning some who were still living, either as future residents in Hell, or in what is perhaps his greatest invention in the story, the soul of a living shell who is then inhabited by a demon. Such was Dante's view of unrepentant sin. He is not politically correct and certainly has a better view of the sin/man relationship than our modern society.

This Barnes and Noble edition was extremely helpful with the detailed notes and explanations that would have left my appreciation of the story far short of what it is.

The Chosen by Chaim Potok (1967)

Dana says: This was my first time reading a book having to do with modern Jewish culture. This books deals with Hasidic Jewish culture which I find to be so extremely different from Old Testament Jewish culture that I don't think I would have recognized it as Jewish if I wasn't told it was. Though some of the culture I find to be very odd there are other parts of it that are very admirable, such as the intense studying of the Torah, Talmud, and religious traditions done by individuals and family members together (fathers and sons). The book also paints an interesting and positive picture of young men who are very serious about and engaged in their academic studies overall which seems so different than the sentiment of today. But this not what the book is about. It mostly deals with family relationships, expectations of parents on children, friendship, and differing views on Zionism in the Jewish community during the 1940s to name a few things. The book is an easy and quick read. I did enjoy it but I am not sure I think is has the marks of a Classic.

Gulliver's Travels - Jonathan Swift

Gulliver's Travels is one of those books that stands clearly as one of the great classics of English Literature. Gulliver's progression from one fantastic world to the next slowly instills a change in the narrator and brings him to the point of despising his own country and even the human race. Though it is really well done, there were a few times that I found the allegory very hard to interpret. Some of the most obvious satire took aim at the corruption of the judicial process, the madness of legislators and the avarice of humanity. At times I found myself laughing out loud especially with some of the descriptions of lawyers and state-funded science programs (the cure for colic was worth the price of the book). The final adventure was in some ways the most ridiculous but was also the most revealing. The satire takes a very serious and sad turn and I was left feeling a little melancholy about my own race.

Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz (1895)

Dana says: I think this is the first book I ever read that upon finishing the last page I immediately wanted to start over again on page one. A captivating story, well written, with a lot to think about. A fascinating look into Rome and the early Christians. My favorite aspect of the book was the conversion of the main character and the way he changes over the course of the book. I also found myself really loving the character of Petronius and wanting to stop and pray for his salvation!  I enjoyed all aspects of this book minus the ridiculous Roman Catholic agenda that is artifically stuck into the story.  This is a small part of the story and the author was a Roman Catholic so I don't blame him but I also don't buy it.   Anyway, this is definitely in my top ten fiction books of all time list.  Highly recommended.

Matt says: I think this certainly qualified as an epic. It is vast, historic and personal. The historical aspect of the book, getting a dramatized vision of life under Nero was my favorite part. The way the Roman's lived, their dying "spirituality," the degradation of humanity all made the world ripe for Christianity. I've often wandered why Christ came when he did, not earlier or later in history, which seems to be so obvious once Roman society is so vividly described. I enjoyed all of the characters. I think the story was artful. The emotional outpourings of love were a little too much for my taste. I would 100% recommend this book for anyone interested in Rome in the 1st century and the spread of Christianity under it.

By This Standard: The authority of God's law today - Greg Bahnsen

First the housekeeping complaints: this is one of the most poorly edited books I've read. I'm fairly sure it was self-published or just not read by the editor. I would recommend reading this book but not this version, or just be prepared for random periods and hyphens to break up the flow of your reading.

Now, am I converted to Theonomy? No. I am more aware of the difficulties associated with both sides of the argument. Most of the book is leveled at those who outright reject the Law which I think is an unfair characterization of "non-theonomic" reformed folk. The Holy Spirit teaches us to love the law and it guides us in obedience and righteousness. The rub comes with the application of the political use of the law and its penal sanctions. To make a compelling argument for Theonomy one needs to define the applicable laws (moral vs. religious vs. ceremonial) without grey zones. Is blaspheme a moral offense? Yes a thousand times! Do we put to death blasphemers as was prescribed in the OT? No, nor should we. Do we put to death adulterers? No, and if adultery is lust in the heart then we would all be guilty. It turns a bit Pharisaical because it deals with the letter of the law (some laws) and neglects the bigger purpose of the law (to drive us to Christ).

I see the problem that civil laws then become arbitrarily legislated. I do believe that civil law is founded only on the immutable Word of God. How I can reconcile all this I haven't quite worked out.