Recommended Reading for the Times We Live In
We decided to set the month of July aside to interview authors on The Desert Sanctuary that we found interesting and compelling in one way or another. Some of these were recommendations from other people, but we were extremely pleased with the final eight that made the cut.
Once most of them were recorded, I could look at them as a whole and realize some consistency, even though they are all quite different.
1. The books were not about theology.
It didn’t take long in my deconstruction journey to get tired of the new progressive theology. Don’t get me wrong, a few of the points were valid, and I needed to make some decisions about what I believe, but very soon, I realized that theologians, platforms, and endorsement trading get very old very quickly. It’s just a codependency that I don’t need in my life at this time. I can still have connections, friendships, and community without sacrificing my energy, money, and volunteer labor to the latest theologian with a new idea about interpreting ancient Scriptures. Hundreds of thousands are coming to the same conclusions intuitively, and theologians are cashing in on them as always.
2. Only one was a man
We are at a point in time where white males need to give up their seats to let marginalized groups and women move forward. We did a conference called Leaning Forward this past year where we had only women speak. I see conferences where women are included minimally, along with token queer people and people of color, but they still revert back to white male patriarchy almost without thinking. I am on a record-breaking pace with my personal reading this year. I am reading people of color, queer folx, and women so much that I have to recover occasionally because it enlightens and challenges me greatly.
3. More Survivor Stories
The women in our Leaning Forward conference challenged us to listen to survivor stories, especially of women. Most men in ministry read books about leadership and theology. They generally don’t understand what marginalized groups experience deeply because they don’t listen to their stories. I would recommend all people who are deconstructing to do as much healing work as you can possibly afford and fill your reading list with stories of marginalized people, including lots of women’s survivor stories.
Here are some other books on my completed reading list:
– Looking for Alaska by John Green
– All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
– In My Time of Dying by Sebastian Junger
– The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
– Healing Trauma by Peter Levine
– The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
– Someone You Love is Gay by Brandon Park
– Inner Engineering by Sadguru
– Tibetan Book of the Dead
Discover who you are, read stories, heal, and keep asking questions.
https://www.amazon.com/Evolving-Religious-Trauma-Karl-Forehand-ebook/dp/B0CWMJWY48/
Karl Forehand is a former pastor, podcaster, and award-winning author. His books include Out into the Desert, Leaning Forward, Apparent Faith: What Fatherhood Taught Me About the Father’s Heart, The Tea Shop, and Being: A Journey Toward Presence and Authenticity. He is the creator of The Desert Sanctuary podcast and community. He has been married to his wife Laura for 35 years and has one dog named Winston. His three children are grown and are beginning to multiply! You can read more about the author here.