Carolyn the Red Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 I am finishing up reading "A Canticle for Leibowitz", a (long time) post-apocalyptic science fiction story. Much of the story revolves around a very changed catholic church, especially an order of priests who have tried to preserve literacy and as many pre-apocalypse books as possible. The changes portrayed, and the very political role which the church takes, would probably have made me think more about my attraction to the religion back when I called myself a believer. Just wondering, does anyone know of any other books which have that kind of make-you-think-about-it religious content? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pandora Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 Any books by Rushdie (an ex-Muslim author) are wonderful. I haven't read too many skeptical Christian books, unless you consider the non-fiction to be actually fiction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbobrob Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 Tom Robbins books have some wonderful bits about religion (Skinny Legs and All, Another Roadside Attraction, to name a couple). One book compares mystics to fish in a muddy pond, living the wild spiritual life, while those who go to church and follow what their church leaders say are like fish in an aquarium, eating the religiously processed fish food, devoid of the real spirit of the faith. Most have a critical message about religion within. "Lamb" by Christopher Moore is a great story. It is about Biff, Jesus's childhood friend, and the story of Jesus through the "missing years" between birth and his Death. Funny, and the best Fan Fiction about the Gospels I've ever read. Um, not near my book shelf, or I'd probably be able to give you a couple more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deva Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 Just wondering, does anyone know of any other books which have that kind of make-you-think-about-it religious content? Have you read any of the short stories of Flannery O'Connor? She was a devout Catholic writing in Bible belt Georgia in the 1940s-1950s. Very powerful stuff. They are all religious without being in your face or preachy. Get ahold of "Flannery O'Connor, the Complete Stories" and read "The Lame shall Enter First",-- the most powerful anti-religious hysteria, anti-religious hypocrisy and anti-suicide story ever! Then read "A Good Man is Hard to Find." That one has a shock ending. Those two are worth the price of the book. Thomas Merton was a fan of hers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babelfish Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 The Prince of Nothing series by R. Scott Bakker if you like fantasy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 You could try the Starbuck Chronicles by Bernard Cornwall. The anti-hero of that series is Luke Starbuck, a Northerner who has a fundamentalist preacher for a father. He enlists with the Confederacy partly because of this ... it's an interesting series of tales. Damn, I wish Cornwall would continue with it, but so far he has stopped at Antietam (or Sharpsburg if any rebels are reading this ). Casey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carolyn the Red Posted July 13, 2007 Author Share Posted July 13, 2007 Ooh, thanks for the suggestions. I had one more thought. "A Complicated Kindness" by Miriam Toews was a very funny book, I thought, about a teenage girl in a mennonite community, basically about all of her family leaving the community in different ways. Don't know how spot on the community was, it's not nearly my background. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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