Deep Chat book list

People at Severn are often interested in deepening their understanding of faith and how it connects with life, and sharing thoughts on this together.

For a few years, the Deep Chat group has read or listened to a range of interesting books and podcasts which have sparked ideas, started lively conversations and engaged us in our wider communities with fresh ways of seeing things.

Here is a list of what this group has discussed so far, with their titles and quotes from their blurb, shared so you might enjoy exploring too. If you would like to join the group or have a suggestion for other books or podcasts we could look at together, get in touch here.

Falling Upward (Richard Rohr) - link
”A spirituality for the two halves of life... A new understanding of how our failing can be the foundation for ongoing spiritual growth.”

Me, We, Everybody (Rob and Trace Bell) - link (podcast series)
”Understanding the evolution of consciousness through Spiral Dynamics.”

A More Christlike God (Bradley Jersak) - link
”A more beautiful gospel… Toxic images of God abound, but what if instead, God truly is completely Christlike?”

The Orthodox Heretic (Peter Rollins) - link
”A series of parables that demonstrate how radical faith has never been concerned with escaping the world we inhabit but rather with engaging it more fully.”

Misreading Scripture With Western Eyes (E. Randolph Richards, Brandon J. O’Brien) - link
”Removing cultural blinders to better understand the Bible... how better self-awareness and understanding of cultural differences allow us to see the Bible in fresh and unexpected ways.”

How To Read The Bible Well (Stephen Burnhope) - link
”What it is, what it isn’t and how to love it (again).”

Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools (Tyler Staton) - book link, though we actually listened to the podcast
”An invitation to the wonder and mystery of prayer… a vital, sustaining, powerful connection with God that is more real and alive than you could have ever imagined.”

The Lost World of Genesis One (John H. Walton) - link
”Ancient cosmology and the origins debate... understanding Genesis 1 within the context of the ancient Near Eastern world and unpacking its implications for our modern scientific understanding of origins.”

Jesus and the Powers (Tom Wright and Michael F. Bird) - link
”Christian political witness in an age of totalitarian terror and dysfunctional democracies… How can Christians engage with the turbulent politics of our times while remaining true to the teaching and example of Jesus?”

Destiny Disrupted (Tamim Ansary) - link
”A history of the world through Islamic eyes… why our civilizations grew up oblivious to each other, what happened when they intersected, and how the Islamic world was affected by its slow recognition that Europe—a place it long perceived as primitive and disorganized—had somehow hijacked destiny.”