In Their (Almost) Own Words:
Faith Journeys of Theologians
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The following books and websites chronicle the lives and faith journeys of some well-known persons of faith. With permission from the CHARIS Ecumenical Center, we’ve borrowed from a recent bulletin and added additional resources from our own resource center. This is a work in progress and we welcome your additions!
Karen Armstrong. The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness. Knopf, 2004
Gregory Baum – Amazing Church: A Catholic Theologian Remembers a Half- Century of Change. Orbis, 2005
Gregory Baum, editor Journeys: The Impact of Personal Experience on Religious Thought. Paulist, 1975 (Autobiographical essays by Monika Hellwig, Andrew Greeley, Rosemary Radford Ruether, Charles Curran, Richard McBrien, and others)
Hildegard of Bingen. Journal of Hildegard of Bingen by Barbara Lachman. Crown, 1993
Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Letters and Papers from Prison, Touchstone, 1997 and a novel, I Am: A Credible Life by Paul Barz. Fortress, 2008
Marcus Borg. “Me and Jesus-the Journey Home: An Odyssey (external link)”
Frederick Buechner.The Longing for Home: Reflections at Midlife. HarperSanFrancisco, 1996
Richard John Neuhaus. As I Lay Dying: Meditations on Returning. Basic Books, 2002
Reinhold Niebuhr. Leaves from the Notebook of a Tamed Cynic. Westminster John Knox, 1991 and Remembering Reinhold Niebuhr: Letters of Reinhold and Ursula Niebuhr. Westminster John Knox, 1991
Kathleen Norris. Dakota: A Spiritual Geography. Ticknor and Fields, 1993
Henri Nouwen. Sabbatical Journey: The Diary of His Final Year. Crossroad, 1998 and the video, “Journey of the Heart”, Vision Video, 2003
Flannery O’Connor. The Habit of Being: The Letters of Flannery O’Connor by Sally Fitzgerald, 1979
Eugene Peterson. “Transparent Lives: the Contemplative Christian” in Christian Century, November, 2003
Gail Ramshaw. Under the Tree of Life: the Religion of a Feminist Christian. Continuum, 1999
Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI). Milestones: Memoirs 1927-1977. Ignatius, 1998
Edward Schillebeeckx, OP. “Dominican Spirituality (external link)”
Alexander Schmemann. Journals of Alexander Schmemann. St. Vladimir’s Press, 2000
Dorothy Soelle. Against the Wind. Augsburg Fortress, 2004
Barbara Brown Taylor. Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith. HarperSanFrancisco, 2006
Mother Teresa. Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light by Brian Kolodiejchuk. Doubleday, 2007
Joan Chittister. In Search of Belief, Liguori, 1999 and Scarred by Struggle, Transformed by Hope, Benetvision, 2003
John Cobb. “A Critical View of Inherited Theology (external link)”
William Sloane Coffin. Credo. Westminster John Knox, 2004 and the video, “An American Prophet”, Westminster John Knox, 2004
John Dominic Crossan. “Almost the Whole Truth (external link)“. His book length autobiography is A Long Way from Tipperary: A Memoir. Harper Collins, 2000
Dorothy Day. The Long Loneliness: An Autobiography. HarperSanFrancisco, 1981
Diana Eck. Encountering God: A Spiritual Journey from Bozeman to Benares. Beacon, 2003
Mircea Eliade. Journal (4 volume autobiography). University of Chicago Press
Douglas John Hall. Bound and Free: A Theologian’s Journey. Fortress. 2005
Kosuke Koyama. “Christ’s Homelessness (external link)”
Hans Kung. My Struggle for Freedom: Memoirs. Eerdmans, 2003
C. S. Lewis. Surprised by Joy. Harcourt Brace, 1984, A Grief Observed, Bantam, 1961, and Mere Christianity, HarperSanFrancisco, 1953
Richard Lischer. Open Secrets: A Spiritual Journey Through a Country Church, Doubleday, 2001
Martin Marty. Cry of Absence. Harper and Row, 1983
Paul Tillich. “My Search for Absolutes (external link)”
Desmond Tutu. Crying in the Wilderness. Eerdman’s, 1992
Geza Vermes. Providential Accidents: An Autobiography. Rowman and Littlefield, 1998
James Wallis. Revive Us Again: A Sojourner’s Story. Abingdon, 1983
Robert Webber. Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail: Why Evangelicals are Attracted to the Liturgical Church. Jarrell, 1985 Webber’s own story and the stories of others.
N.T. Wright. “My Pilgrimage in Theology (external link)”
Philip Yancey. What’s So Amazing About Grace. Harper Collins, 1997
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