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I'd give a similar answer to this question as I did the other one, except that having read some of these books already, I doubt I could read them now without being nauseated by what I'm reading. There are certain things that, once you read them, you can't get them out of your head. (pornography, for example). I've read some very anti-Christian books and ...

You must read any of these books the same way you would read the Bible and any other work for that matter: in context. Any deeper examination of your faith by asking question or reading arguments counter to your beliefs, if read earnestly, and in the spirit of truly wanting more understand should only draw you closer to your faith. For instance "The God ...

The reason why Christian books (and music) are valid objects to have copyright protection is simply because the great deal of effort in making them and in some cases a livelihood based on them. For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” Is it about oxen that God is concerned? Surely he says this for ...

This is opinion only, but I'll throw my two cents in. I'm also not going to add in supporting Bible verses as I'll stick to commonly accepted, cross-denominational concepts that any Christian should be familiar with. (If comments ask for verses, I will come back and edit them in.) Most of the self-help books that I've read personally are, in retrospect, ...

Argument in Favor - It produces better quality work. If Christian authors have to support their families by themselves, writing becomes of secondary importance to them. Paul was supported by the donations of various Churches on his trips. 2 Corinthians 11:9 ... the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied what I needed. 2 Corinthians 8:3 ...

Sure, we may read them. (1 Corinthians 10:23) But really, why read a productivity self-help book when The Ultimate Productivity blog says it all? And which is a better use of time: reading self-help books on becoming a better person, or actually helping the needy like the Bible tells us to? (James 1:27) Self-help was suggested to Jesus in the moment of ...

I would like to quote the apologetic mandate verse 1 Corinthians 7:1-2 (New International Version) We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. The new atheist movements books as hard as they are to swallow is good books to have under ...

The ultimate Puritan spiritual classic is The Pilgrim's Progress (1678, 1684) by John Bunyan. It is an allegory for the journey of the individual Christian to God's kingdom, beset by characters like "Mr Worldly Wiseman" and "Lord Hate-good", travelling through places like "Vanity Fair" and "the Slough of Despond". It has had enormous influence in literature ...

There are many, many things out there that claims similar events happening in their lives. Obviously, it is common sense not to believe all those stories. One story consists of someone visiting hell; one story consists of person going heaven and back.Some stories even tell the tale of being on footsteps on heaven. How do we deal with these stories? Here is ...

When I was young I was tormented by many false teachers so I looked the guy up for you. Derek Prince looks like a not so bad guy among some pretty bad ones.  Yet he also seems pretty bad under the names you provided. As an Arminian with a very strong almost hyper Charismatic bent and bizarre over emphasis and horrible obsession with demonic activity, you ...

From my theological vantage-point, I always wish to emphasize that the Bible is not a single book, but a collection of many books written by different people, at different times, and with differing opinions. When you jumble all that together, you effectively uproot every verse of the Bible from its literary context and risk taking verses out of context. This ...

This site appears to be down at the moment, but they claim, "There is no complete English edition of his writings at the present moment in one collected volumes. Hence, we offer our readers and missionaries the following materials that can be used as supplement for meditation, and/or instruction on Kolbe's Total consecration to the the Immaculate." ...

Albeit that the question is a little unclear as mentioned, I can still hopefully offer some thoughts for the heart of what you asked: How do you bridge the gap between giving a person a book and letting them make the most of it >and giving a person a book with the expectation that it will do some good? Christian writing today is not the same as the ...

I think bonus question 2 is from George Muller. Look for his autobiography, in which he talks about his devotional practice. http://www.foundationsforfreedom.net/Topics/Devotions/Devotions020.html

Yes. Each of us, even we atheists, have a core set of principles and beliefs at our heart. These are the primary motivating sources for those things we do throughout the day. Based on the principle that it's better to be motivated by a truth than by a falsehood, I would say it is imperative for all people to continually challenge and refine their internal ...

I am not suggesting that we are not to guard our hearts and minds. It is important to remember Romans 12:2 (KJV) which begins; And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,... When operating in the world it seems important to not go blindly. When faced with debate about evolution, for example, it would be ...

The Ox lists honoring a man (as opposed to God) as one of his objections to honoring those in places of dignity , but I don't know what he's talking about in book 10 of City of God maybe someone else can find it. But here's what Aquinas says about it in the Summa Objection 1. It seems that it does not belong to observance to pay worship and honor ...

Scene: The captain's office in a frontier fort, somewhere near enemy territory. Enter a sentry. Captain: What is it? Sentry: I think it's possible that there may be some enemies out there, sir. Captain: Enemies? Where are they? How many? How are they armed? What direction are they heading? Are they coming here? Sentry: I'm not really ...

Both of the currently existing responses answer the question well. This response looks specifically at some of the costs associated with modern book publishing. Book publishing is a massive industry, and it takes a significant number of people to bring a book to market. There are authors, editors, marketers, executives, administrators, accountants, lawyers ...

I'm going to come from a different perspective. Summary: You can read whatever you want, provided it doesn't take you away from God. Self-help is a very broad category. You have everything from the Pleasuring: The Secrets of Sexual Satisfaction (PG-13 link there) all the way down to Boundaries for kids. The problem with saying "All X is bad" is that ...

I'm not aware of anything the Catholic Church has said specifically about Emanuel Swedenborg, but from my quick read of the two linked wikipedia articles, it seems many of his teachings are direct contradictions of Catholic teachings. For example, Swedenborg claims that there is marriage in heaven; a view not supported by Catholic teaching and contradictory ...

The concept of prohibiting books is silly, all knowledge from both sides of the spectrum are viable sources. It is for the reader to discern what makes sense and what doesn't make sense. Would an atheist feel prohibited from reading the bible, just because he/she isn't a proponent? No, of course not, never fear knowledge, only fear the prohibition of it.

An explanation for the first question is that God is in control over everything and that everything happens because he has allowed it. Sometimes he strike people with afflictions, but that does not mean he really wants to do it. Note the word "willingly" in the second verse. He does not do it willingly, but that does not mean he doesn't do it. An ...

The complete writings of St. Maximilian Mary are available in Italian. A good portion are also available in English. A three-volume paperback version was published years ago, probably in the '80s. I don't have anything on hand, but be assured, a good portion of his writing is out there--well worth reading. You can check with Academy of the Immaculate for a ...