Daily Archives: May 13, 2009

Brief Reading List for Anglican Laity

There was Discussion below on a reading list for clergy. I thought that it would be fitting to begin where it’s most proper—a brief recommended reading list for laity.

Bible, BCP, and Hymnal go without saying…

Then:

1. Augustine, Enchiridion

2. Luther’s Large & Small Catechisms

3. Athanasius, On the Incarnation

4. The Rule of St. Benedict

5. Michael Ramsey, The Anglican Spirit

6. Luke Johnson, The Creed

7. Martin Thorton, Christian Proficiency

8. Luke Johnson, Living Jesus

9. Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline

Most of these are pretty self-explanatory. Of the modern works, the Ramsey and the Thorton give the primary introductions to Anglican thought and Spirituality; the Johnson books are the best I know at laying out biblical Christology and the creedal core of the catholic faith that fall neither into scepticism (a la Borg and Crossan) or fundamentalism. The Foster has a tendency to get protestant, but is a good introduction to the basic Christian disciplines.