Tolle, Lege discussion

I start this topic with the presumption that others are interested- so far I'm the only member here!

Here are authors and works that I am immediately interested in reading with a like-minded group:

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, especially The Cost of Discipleship.
Martin Buber, especially I and Thou.
Soren Kierkegaard, especially Fear and Trembling.

Obviously given the name of the group I am very fond of Augustine, but as I am more familiar with him I don't have the same sense of urgency to read him right now! I certainly would be happy to do so if there was a sudden influx of folks interested!

If I get a rush of suggestions by some miracle, I will set up a poll.

I appreciate your starting this group very much. As a Christian, I am open to reading almost anything, even, on occasion, books I do not like. Sometimes in rereading things, another layer is peeled off and we are able to glean a deeper meaning. In my opinion, this is the way God works, not only in Christian literature but in everything else also.

I am especially fond of both Kierkegaard and Bonhoeffer, less so of Buber. I might also suggest Karl Barth or Friedrich Schleiermacher, simply because each had such a great effect on our modern thought. Indeed, it is my opinion that it is difficult to understand the 19th and 20th century theology as a whole without understanding what these men wrote.
Additionally, although not a pro-Christian book, Feuerbach's The Essence of Christianity was a seminal work for many who followed him, notably Karl Marx.

Oh man. Barth and Schleiermacher would both be great. And I'm so excited for a third person joining the group!

How many people do you think we should wait for before diving in? Do you think there are others out there?

It is difficult to say if there are that many Christians who are reading serious Christian literature on Goodreads. In addition, I think there are a great many who are already busy with other things. I myself have less time for Goodreads now than I once did.
Without desiring to cast any aspersion, most of those with whom I correspond on a casual basis here seem to prefer a very moderate kind of theology. While they would enjoy reading The Shack (a book which horrifies me), I doubt they would enjoy reading On the Eternity of the World. Again that is purely my opinion.
Perhaps it is a case of advertising and if we simply begin and have lively conversations, others will join. Following this line of thinking, I further suggest that we begin with something shorter and less intense than, say, Kierkegaard.

Hello. I also thank you for starting this group and will try to participate as much as I can. I teach humanities at a small, private, Christian, classical, Great Books school. We're brand new this year, so funds are always an issue, as is staffing, so my time is frequently quite limited and my reading somewhat controlled by whatever I'm teaching at the moment. My time period in humanities is the ancients and will be reading the Greek philosophers this summer. I'm excited about this group; I haven't read many of these things since college and that's been a while... :-)

Welcome! Now we are four!

What would be shorter and less intense, would you say, Rhonda?

Perhaps Edwards' Freedom of the Will? OK just kidding although it would be an excellent read at some point.
What would you think of Fulton Sheen's Peace of Soul? It has great relevance to modern life's problems.

You know what? For the first read, since we are so small, I am just going to make an executive decision.

Unless someone can make a really convincing argument otherwise, I'd like to read Karl Barth's Dogmatics in Outline, for the following reasons: I'd like to read something very well known and Important with a capital I as we're growing the group- I think we're more likely to draw people in like that. It is shorter and more accessible than most of Barth's other work. Most of us are never going to sit down and read the thirteen volumes of the full Dogmatics, but this isn't an abridgment per say- it was written by Barth himself.

If someone has already read it, I beg you to stay and help us along, not flee because you don't want to re-read! ;-)

I'm willing to read Barth, as my time permits.