Books for new-ish Christian

[christianmum123]

I was brought up very loosely COE but have only been a regular church goer for the past couple of years. I really like the church I go to but often feel completely out of my depth in terms of my knowledge of the bible and Christian teachings. I have been to bible study intermittently but don't really feel like I can ask questions as everyone else is just on a completely other level to me. Can anyone recommend any books (other than the bible obviously! 😀) for new-ish Christians? Or any online resources? I'm not really sure exactly what it is I'm after, but hoping someone on here may have some ideas...

Not really a study aid but I would also recommend The Chosen. You can find all episodes free on YouTube. Really brings the Bible to life (if you can get past the terrible accents!).

Nick Page has written some fantastic books about the history of Christianity, the theology of the resurrection etc and a really accessible guide to the Bible.
I use excerpts from them for teaching different bits of Christianity to all ages from Yr 7 to 13. His analysis is really useful rather than just a simple explanation of the story.
It is always worth understanding the progression of Christianity as a faith separate from the original teachings of Jesus to see why some of the doctrine exists as it does.

This one for contextualising the Bible and understanding how to use it.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bible-Book-Users-Guide/dp/0007119674/ref=mpssa111?adgrpid=127333497591&gclid=CjwKCAjwu5yYBhAjEiwAKXkeDoM-mnoBTX6Jh09iB111eyCyw1mUTYFrQlWUocLibTKpE-Znb67xoCEYkQAvDDBwE&hvadid=606302405714&hvdev=m&hvlocphy=1007171&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=b&hvrand=10397876419237773103&hvtargid=kwd-316392510168&hydadcr=28432_2402362&keywords=nick+page+the+bible+book&qid=1661413811&sr=8-1

I really love this one for the history :

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00CIVLZ26/ref=dbsaadefawmmbiblvppii_i1

What sort of doctrines are we talking about?

I''m not @ballonsinhightrees but the main elements of Christian doctrine (Christology, Trinitarianism, and Soteriology) are all definitely a long way from the recorded teachings of Jesus, tracing their roots to various (contradictory) themes in Paul's writings. Scholars have argued ever since about how compatible Paul's thought is with Jesus. I find it interesting that some of Paul's letters are almost certainly earlier than the canonical Gospels (apart maybe from Mark)!

It's arguable that Christianity only really "solidified" after the Ecumenical Councils.

I also find it fascinating to look at the textual history of the whole Bible, not just the New Testament. But I enjoy academic approaches, and I know that many people think that is somehow missing the point.

All of this is discussed in good theology texts such as McGrath so I would highly recommend those alongside Biblical exegesis!

@PhotoDad Thanks, that's very interesting. I'm struggling to fit into 'church' for some of these reasons. Keep being drawn to Messianic Judaism, but it's pretty niche! Sorry for the subject change.

Very briefly, it's a long debate whether Christianity is really more Paulianity! The doubts are there in the NT (eg the letter of James) and we all have to remember that the "alternative" theology of John's Gospel was written some 50 years after Paul's earliest letters. I know I'm a broken record, but as a Christian, I care about how we today got to the system that we have, and as a Protestant I'm interested in the teachings and history of other traditions too. Maybe I overthink these things (1 Corinthian 1:22-23 mocks Jewish and Greek approaches to finding truth... but that's written by Paul!)

I'm also a Protestant and care/ think deeply about these things 😊Will definitely look into it in more depth, I'm sure there's some good material out there.

"Why we are Catholic" by Trent Horn.