The book club I host at my house is discussing books to review during the upcoming year. We have identified a few books as well as several general topics of interest, so I thought I'd see if anyone out there has any suggestions for books within these topics. We have some interest in studying the historical development of ideas, especially those of a religious nature, such as the concept of hell. We have some interest in neuroscience as it relates to belief, ancient philosophers, and introductions to Biblical criticism.
If I had to guess by your listed book interests, I'd think that much of your group had read Plato's Republic. If not, that may be worth a read. Written well before the time of Jesus, it's got some conceptual ideas which, in my discernment, seem to have been cross-pollinated into the Jewish philosophy which helped to create some of the philosophical elements in the story of Jesus.
ReplyDeleteIf you are interested in some of the influence behind the apocalyptic nature of the New Testament, as well as elaboration of angels and demons, you may want to check out the (free!) apocryphal Book of Enoch. The site that that is on has an overwhelming wealth of information on myth and religious philosophy such that you could keep any book club busy from here to eternity! :-)
Happy reading!
I bet one or two have read Republic, though I haven't. I'll check the site with the Book of Enoch that you linked to in your post. Thanks!
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