{"id":1516,"date":"2007-12-04T14:34:30","date_gmt":"2007-12-04T14:34:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/idolchatter\/2007\/12\/spiritual-reads-for-the-season.html"},"modified":"2007-12-04T14:34:30","modified_gmt":"2007-12-04T14:34:30","slug":"spiritual-reads-for-the-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2007\/12\/spiritual-reads-for-the-season.html","title":{"rendered":"Spiritual Reads For the Season"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are many of us in the faith-based world who enjoy movies, music and culture with an eye and ear towards spiritual matters. This holiday season, why not forego a movie or two and pick up one of a number of books that really capture the season and bring inspiration and, perhaps more importantly, opportunities for reflection. If you\u2019re up for it, here\u2019s our list of the Top Ten Bedstand Reads for this holiday season:
\n10. \u201cThe Little Book of Big Ideas: Religion,\u201d by Dr. Jeremy Stangroom.<\/strong> From Christianity, Islam and Judaism to Buddhism, Confucius and Zarathustra, this short read covers the majors and the minors and the words of their leaders, from Jesus to Muhammad, from Calvin to Rashi. A nice way to really learn what\u2019s behind the names and words that are frequently thrown around by those who don\u2019t really know what they mean.<\/p>\n


\n9. \u201cThe 4:8 Principle,\u201d by Tommy Newberry.<\/strong> Do you want better health, a more successful career, a stronger marriage and a purpose-filled life? \u201cThey\u2019re all within your reach when you change the way you think,\u201d claims this \u201907 release.
\n8. \u201cThe Most Important Person on Earth,\u201d by Dr. Myles Monroe.<\/strong> This is motivating and captivating, focusing on something called \u201cThe Holy Spirit Governor of the Kingdom.\u201d Not exactly the baby Jesus in swaddling clothes, but part of the Christmas story nonetheless.
\n
\n7. \u201cThe Greatest Presidential Stories Never Told,\u201d from the History Channel.<\/strong> This one makes our list for those who aren\u2019t into religious reading but want to learn from history and apply it to our futures. And, in an election year, it\u2019s both informative and entertaining, moreso than the debate repeats and endless polls and banter.
\n6. \u201cSuccess Stories of The World\u2019s Most Cynical Man,\u201d by K. Solomon.<\/strong> For the Scrooge in all of us\u2014or as a gift to the Scrooge in your life\u2014this book shows how a little scrooge-ness went a long way for a man who had it all: wealth, wisdom, wine and women.
\n5. \u201cThe Seventeen Traditions,\u201d by Ralph Nader<\/strong>. Though not an overtly religious book, this takes us back to some wonderful traditions that have likely been lost on most of us, including the family table, disciplines, listening, scarcity and simple enjoyments.
\n
\n4. \u201cBecome a Better You,\u201d by Joel Osteen<\/strong>. I don\u2019t tend to be a Joel Osteen fan, but I see the impact he\u2019s having around many of those I come across. We all want to be the best version of ourselves we can be and such is the focus of this book.
\n
\n3. \u201cBreaking Free,\u201d by Beth Moore.<\/strong> This is the only older book on our list\u2014it presents a truly wonderful strategy for breaking loose of some of the issues or habits or problems that have tended to hold too many of us back for far too long.
\n2. \u201cTen Eternal Questions,\u201d by Zoe Sallis<\/strong>. From a neutral perspective, the ten questions all stem from the issue of why Jesus came and what that has to do with us now. From what we believe about God, or Karma, or heaven, or ethics, Sallis edits the words of Bono, Mandela, Geldof, Peres, the Dalai Lama and more to give you food for thought.
\n1. The original Christmas Story<\/strong>. Amidst all of the rustle and bustle of the season, why not enjoy the shortest read from the original source? The first two chapters of Matthew and Luke and the first 14 verses from John take about 10 minutes to read and, in them, you\u2019ll have the whole Christmas story. From there, your response will at least be an educated one, and one you\u2019ve come to by your own choice, straight from the source!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are many of us in the faith-based world who enjoy movies, music and culture with an eye and ear towards spiritual matters. This holiday season, why not forego a movie or two and pick up one of a number of books that really capture the season and bring inspiration and, perhaps more importantly, opportunities…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":104,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books"],"yoast_head":"\nSpiritual Reads For the Season<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2007\/12\/spiritual-reads-for-the-season.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Spiritual Reads For the Season\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There are many of us in the faith-based world who enjoy movies, music and culture with an eye and ear towards spiritual matters. 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