Q & R: What Order to Read my Books?

Here’s the Q:

My cousin who is a pastor recommended your book, Do I Stay Christian, for me to read as like others, I question my path.  Reviewing your books, I also purchased The Secret Message of Jesus and Faith After Doubt.  Books of similar messages can serve as stepping stones.  Of the books you have written, is there a recommendation of read first, second, third, etc.   And thank you in advance.   My gut tells me your writing will point me in the direction I need to find.

Here’s the R:

That’s a really interesting question, and it’s taken me a while to answer to because … I don’t know how to answer it!

Let me recommend a few starting points and pathways forward based on where you would locate yourself — where your starting point is:

_____ Of the three you’ve purchased already, I’d recommend this order:

Faith After Doubt, Do I Stay Christian, and Secret Message of Jesus

For others seeking where to start …

_____If you are a conservative or traditional Christian (Evangelical, Catholic, etc.) who is just beginning to ask questions and seeking some more space to grow:

I’d recommend you begin with Faith After Doubt, and follow that up with A New Kind of Christian, and then A Generous Orthodoxy.

_____If you are deeply frustrated with your Christian faith and identity:

I’d recommend you begin with Do I Stay Christian, follow that up with The Great Spiritual Migration, and then Life After Doom. You may also benefit from Why did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed Cross the Road?

_____If you have “deconstructed” or “lost your faith” and are trying to rebuild your theology:

I’d recommend A New Kind of Christianity, followed by The Secret Message of Jesus, then We Make the Road by Walking, and then, The Story We Find Ourselves In.

_____If you are seeking to move beyond Christian supremacy, exclusivism, traditional doctrine of hell, etc.: 

I think you’d benefit first from Why did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed Cross the Road?, and then The Last Word and the Word After That.

_____If you are struggling with elements of traditional Christian theology:

Biblical Literalism: Do I Stay Christian?

Hell and Christian Exclusiism: The Last Word and the Word After That

Traditional atonement theories: A New Kind of Christian, Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed Cross the Road

Evolution/Science/Faith: The Galapagos Islands: A Spiritual Journey

Church: The Great Spiritual Migration

Bible: We Make the Road by Walking

Global Crises: Life After Doom, Everything Must Change

_____If you are more interested in spirituality than in theology

I’d recommend Naked Spirituality, Finding Our Way Again, The Great Spiritual Migration

_____If you’re a parent seeking to read something to your kids:

I’d recommend Cory and the Seventh Story, an illustrated book for young readers coauthored with Gareth Higgins.

_____ If you like fiction:

I wrote a trilogy of “instructive fiction/creative nonfiction” called A New Kind of Christian, the Story We Find Ourselves In, and The Last Word and the Word After That.

I have a new science fiction trilogy coming out, starting in July 2025. The first volume is called The Last Voyage.