100 Books Every Christian Should Read

What makes a Christian book? Different Christians have provided different answers throughout church history. Some have favored devotionals and accounts about “the real world.” Others have praised how fiction, from romance to fantasy, allows readers to consider spiritual ideas in ways they would never consider before.

There’s also great value in reading books from different Christian traditions. Reading something written by someone from a different denomination challenges us to consider how we prioritize things and whether we can learn from their perspective. As religious studies professor Rebecca Todd Peters says, ecumenical Christian dialogue is about seeing how big the body of Christ is, “about sharing our faith with one another across our lines of difference, and about learning from one another new ways to follow God.”

Furthermore, there is value in reading books from other periods. Reading something from an earlier time helps us consider what Christianity’s truly everlasting values really are, how our current concerns fit into the big picture. As C.S. Lewis put it, “It is a good rule, after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between.”

The following selection provides something for each of these tastes—old and new, “realistic” and fanciful. Where possible, these selections also include links to articles that will tell you more about the writers who created these inspiring works.

Further Reading: What Books Should Christians Read to Help Them Grow?

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