/lit/ - Literature

>>18233990
Anything by GK Chesterton, Orthodoxy or The Everlasting Man are great. Also try a few books about Pauline theology

>>18234002
Thank you! I will check them out. Anything by the saints or church fathers you'd recommend?

CS Lewis wrote some interesting apologetic/theological books, he was an Anglican but from what I've read I still think he's got some right ideas and good analogies/explanations for various topics within Christianity

>>18233990
start with the First Seven Councils brother

>>18234711
Thanks brother! Can't wait to dive into this.

Read the Puritans.

>>18235291
Amen to that. Have you read a lot of their works? If so, got any favourites?

>>18235701
My favorites are Richard Baxter and Jeremiah Burroughs. I've also read most of Thomas Brooks' works and Watson's works. Currently working through The Christian in Complete Armor by Gurnall.

Some of my favorite works are
>The Saint's Spiritual Delight by Baxter
>The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Burroughs
>The Evil of Evils by Burroughs
>Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices by Brooks
>The Mute Christian under the Smarting Rod by Brooks
>A Body of Practical Divinity by Watson
>A Lifting up for the Downcast by William Bridge
>An Alarm to the Unconverted by Joseph Alleine
>The Fountain of Life Opened by John Flavel

>>18234002
this plus the sayings of the desert fathers

>>18234711
>>18234767
The first seven councils are extremely important but can be difficult to understand and their impact on the lived Christian life isn't so direct outside of basic summaries (We worship the Holy Spirit because Ephesus declared Him to be Divine, we venerate icons because Nicaea II declared the opposition to icons as equivalent to denying the Incarnation etc). You should absolutely study the councils and the Fathers but maybe postpone it a little.

I would say if you're a fairly new Christian and you want to get into theology, your first point of study should be the Liturgy. The Liturgy is the epicenter of lived theology and the place where all the abstract concepts and ideas you will read about will be realized. The average Christian throughout history couldn't read and lacked the education to understand to understand patristic theology so the Liturgy was developed not just to worship God (that's the primary reason ofc) but also to instruct the faithful who are worshipping. Everything from the architecture of the church to the structure and flow of the hymns, to the doors which the priest enters and exits the sanctuary are pedagogical and meant to convey to everyone present the necessary theology to be a good Christian

I'm Orthodox, not Catholic so I can't recommend and good books on the Mass but for Divine Liturgy, you could read for example St. Maximus the Confessor's On the Ecclesiastical Mystagogy, St Germanus of Constantinople's On the Divine Liturgy, Fr Emmanuel Hatzidakis' The Heavenly Banquet, and The Divine Liturgy by Hieromonk Gregorios

Alongside the liturgy I think it's important to read the lives of the saints. In both the East and West the lives of the saints were some of the most common literature and just like the Liturgy, they are written both to give a historical account of the Champions of the Faith who preceded us but also to instruct us how we ought to act. Because every century and every nation has produced saints, it shouldn't be too difficult to find a a particular saint or martyr whose life is especially interesting or relatable to you and read up on them.

I'm not sure if there's a Catholic equivalent, but a great starting point for Orthodox is Saint Nikolaj Velimirovic's Prologue from Ohrid which gives a brief biography of each saint who is commemorated on the calendar for each day of the year as well as a reflection and short homily by Saint Nikolaj. you can read the Prologue online here http://prologue.orthodox.cn/