My Top Five Books

I’ve always thought very highly of Abraham Lincoln. I don’t recall where I learned this, but I found out that he had a “top five” list of the books that most influenced the person he had become as president of the United States. One was the Bible, I believe two others were about George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, I forget one of them, and the last was Sufferings in Africa, which I’ve also read. His example inspired me to do the same, and since then I have kept a list of the books that have most influenced who I have become. So here they are... my current top five books.

The first time I ever read the whole Bible through was just after I "surrendered" in my mid-twenties. I started with the New Testament - Matthew. At that time, I didn't even know that the gospels all told basically the same thing. Then a little while later I hurt my back, and was couch-ridden for a week. I went back to the Old Testament and realized how important it was to understanding the New. Needless to say, this book has made a different man out of me. For the record, I enjoy reading the Bible in several different versions, the 2011NIV being my current favorite, the ESV a close second.

Nothing equals Scripture, but this is the only other book with a permanent spot in my top five books. This devotional has an amazing story. Chambers only wrote a couple of books in his life. This, his most famous work, was complied after his death by his wife from the notes that she took of his teachings. When you read it, you get the feeling that someone is reading your mind, and knows exactly what you need to be taught that morning. You need to own this one.

I got this book for free from the Voice of the Martyrs website before I even knew who Richard Wurmbrand was. I started reading it without any expectations whatsoever. I started highlighting, and realized I was highlighting everything. Then I started dog-earring the pages... and did that to about three quarters of them. This book changed my life radically. If you aren't shaken by it, you've got serious problems.

Lewis really has the inside track on spiritual warfare. Everyone who's anyone in the theological world has read this book, and been influenced by it to some degree. He does a great job of highlighting the little things you would never think of. Some of the best Lewis quotes are here too. Eye opener!

 This book was given to me by a friend...on his birthday. It's actually two works in one. Piper writes the first part, which is indispensable to understanding the second part. The second work is what really shaped my life - Jonathan Edwards' The End for which God Created the World. It is difficult to grasp if you are used to just reading regular stuff, but well worth the effort. Note: I am not a card-carrying Calvinist.

Honorable Mentions

These three books deserve an honorable mention. Even though they don't really seem to fit with those above, they each had a major impact on me, either shortly before, or just after I graduated high school. One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest was the first book I ever read cover-to-cover, and definitely influenced my strange sense of humor. I read The Phantom of the Opera in one sitting, and it literally scared me into the corner. From that point on, my taste in novels (and movies) was narrowed down to top-notch psychological thrillers. Crime and Punishment awakened my interest in philosophy before I even knew I had one, and officially made a reader out of me. This picture is of the actual books that I read, and will read again (when time permits). Interestingly, I read all of these before any of my current top five, including the Bible.

ADDENDUM:

What follows is a list of books that I've read that either challenge My Top Five for a spot, or just really deserve an Honorable Mention for having made a lasting impression on me.

This was my textbook for Inductive Bible Study. It's a really good tool for learning how to identify the different types of literature in the Bible and how to interpret and apply them. For example, the OT says not to allow a witch to live - you need to know how to handle that one before you go out killing witches. It also does a great job of helping you to understand your own presuppositions and preconceptions that you bring to the text. That's important, because you want to be careful not to read into the Bible, but from it. I still use this one a lot. They also have a smaller, compact version called Journey Into God's Word that I would highly recommend for anyone old enough to drive.