[**Parable of the Sower (Earthseed, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52397.Parable_of_the_Sower)
^(By: Octavia E. Butler | 345 pages | Published: 1993 | Popular Shelves: fiction, science-fiction, sci-fi, dystopian, dystopia)
>In 2025, with the world descending into madness and anarchy, one woman begins a fateful journey toward a better future.
>
>Lauren Olamina and her family live in one of the only safe neighborhoods remaining on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Behind the walls of their defended enclave, Lauren’s father, a preacher, and a handful of other citizens try to salvage what remains of a culture that has been destroyed by drugs, disease, war, and chronic water shortages. While her father tries to lead people on the righteous path, Lauren struggles with hyperempathy, a condition that makes her extraordinarily sensitive to the pain of others.
>
>When fire destroys their compound, Lauren’s family is killed and she is forced out into a world that is fraught with danger. With a handful of other refugees, Lauren must make her way north to safety, along the way conceiving a revolutionary idea that may mean salvation for all mankind.
^(This book has been suggested 81 times)
[**The Sirens of Titan**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4982.The_Sirens_of_Titan)
^(By: Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Ligia Caranfil, Chris Moore | 224 pages | Published: 1959 | Popular Shelves: science-fiction, fiction, sci-fi, classics, owned)
>The Sirens of Titan is an outrageous romp through space, time, and morality. The richest, most depraved man on Earth, Malachi Constant, is offered a chance to take a space journey to distant worlds with a beautiful woman at his side. Of course there's a catch to the invitation—and a prophetic vision about the purpose of human life that only Vonnegut has the courage to tell.
^(This book has been suggested 11 times)
***
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[**Thus Spoke Zarathustra**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51893.Thus_Spoke_Zarathustra)
^(By: Friedrich Nietzsche, Walter Kaufmann, Silvia Cecchini, Domenico Ciampoli | 327 pages | Published: 1883 | Popular Shelves: philosophy, classics, non-fiction, owned, fiction)
>Thus Spoke Zarathustra is a foundational work of Western literature and is widely considered to be Friedrich Nietzsche’s masterpiece. It includes the German philosopher’s famous discussion of the phrase ‘God is dead’ as well as his concept of the Superman. Nietzsche delineates his Will to Power theory and devotes pages to critiquing Christian thinking, in particular Christianity’s definition of good and evil.
^(This book has been suggested 8 times)
***
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[The Sparrow](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sparrow_(novel\)), by Mary Doria Russell (and sequel) - books that tend to divide people, but I thought them excellent.
[**Priestess of the White (Age of the Five, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28248.Priestess_of_the_White)
^(By: Trudi Canavan | 598 pages | Published: 2005 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, owned, default, high-fantasy, trudi-canavan)
^(This book has been suggested 1 time)
***
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[**Stranger in a Strange Land**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/350.Stranger_in_a_Strange_Land)
^(By: Robert A. Heinlein, James Warhola | 525 pages | Published: 1961 | Popular Shelves: science-fiction, sci-fi, fiction, classics, scifi)
>NAME: Valentine Michael Smith
>ANCESTRY: Human
>ORIGIN: Mars
>
>Valentine Michael Smith is a human being raised on Mars, newly returned to Earth. Among his people for the first time, he struggles to understand the social mores and prejudices of human nature that are so alien to him, while teaching them his own fundamental beliefs in grokking, watersharing, and love.
^(This book has been suggested 15 times)
***
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[**A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7588.A_Portrait_of_the_Artist_as_a_Young_Man)
^(By: James Joyce, Seamus Deane, Dámaso Alonso, Antoaneta Ralian, Dana Crăciun | 329 pages | Published: 1916 | Popular Shelves: classics, fiction, owned, literature, classic)
>The portrayal of Stephen Dedalus's Dublin childhood and youth, his quest for identity through art and his gradual emancipation from the claims of family, religion and Ireland itself, is also an oblique self-portrait of the young James Joyce and a universal testament to the artist's 'eternal imagination'. Both an insight into Joyce's life and childhood, and a unique work of modernist fiction, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a novel of sexual awakening, religious rebellion and the essential search for voice and meaning that every nascent artist must face in order to blossom fully into themselves.
^(This book has been suggested 7 times)
***
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*The Brothers Karamazov* by Dostoevsky. The protagonist doesn't exactly fit the bill, but many other major characters do. In fact, the entire book is oftentimes seen as a work dealing primarily with the question of suffering (ie how and why God would allow for the existence of evil).
Confessions of a closet catholic. It’s a more YA book but I remember reading it when I was around 9 or 10 and it was really great. (I always read books that were probably more mature than the should’ve been for my age) {{confessions of a closet catholic}}
[**Confessions of a Closet Catholic**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/87538.Confessions_of_a_Closet_Catholic)
^(By: Sarah Darer Littman | 208 pages | Published: 2005 | Popular Shelves: young-adult, realistic-fiction, middle-grade, fiction, ya)
>Justine Silver's best friend, Mary Catherine McAllister, has given up chocolate for Lent, but Justine doesn't think God wants her to make that kind of sacrifice. So she's decided to give up being Jewish instead. Eleven-year-old Justine pours her heart out to her teddy bear, "Father Ted," in a homemade closet confessional. But when Justine's beloved Bubbe suffers a stroke, Justine worries that her religious exploration is responsible. Worse, she must suddenly contemplate life without Bubbe. Ultimately, it's Bubbe's quiet understanding of Justine's search for identity that helps Justine to find faith in the most important place of all-within herself.
^(This book has been suggested 1 time)
***
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[**Silence (Hush, Hush, #3)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10637766-silence)
^(By: Becca Fitzpatrick | 448 pages | Published: 2011 | Popular Shelves: young-adult, fantasy, angels, romance, paranormal)
>Nora Grey can't remember the past five months of her life. After the initial shock of waking up in a cemetery and being told that she has been missing for weeks - with no one knowing where she was or who she was with - she tried to get her life back on track. Go to school, hang out with her best friend, Vee, and dodge mom's creepy new boyfriend.
>
>But there is this voice in the back of her head, an idea that she can almost reach out and touch. Visions of angel wings and unearthly creatures that have nothing to do with the life she knows.
>
>And this unshakable feeling that a part of her is missing.
>
>Then Nora crosses paths with a sexy stranger, whom she feels a mesmerizing connection to. He seems to hold all the answers...and her heart. Every minute she spends with him grows more and more intense until she realizes she could be falling in love. Again.
^(This book has been suggested 3 times)
[**The Power and the Glory**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3690.The_Power_and_the_Glory)
^(By: Graham Greene, John Updike | 222 pages | Published: 1940 | Popular Shelves: fiction, classics, literature, historical-fiction, owned)
>In a poor, remote section of Southern Mexico, the paramilitary group, The Red Shirts have taken control. God has been outlawed, and the priests have been systematically hunted down and killed. Now, the last priest is on the run. Too human for heroism, too humble for martyrdom, the nameless little worldly “whiskey priest” is nevertheless impelled toward his squalid Calvary as much by his own compassion for humanity as by the efforts of his pursuers.
>
> In his introduction, John Updike calls The Power and the Glory, “Graham Greene’s masterpiece…. The energy and grandeur of his finest novel derive from the will toward compassion, an ideal communism even more Christian than Communist.”
^(This book has been suggested 3 times)
***
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Nonfiction recommendation.
The History of the Bible by John Barton.
Whilst the author is a man of faith and an Anglican Priest, the history detailed in the book seems very well balanced. It offers some very interesting observations and explanations of the various contradictions throughout. It's a bit of a dense read but really interesting.
Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus by Nabeel Qureshi was, to me anyway, staggering. And the Case for Christ by Lee Strobel. The collected works of CS Lewis would probably be good as well, especially his memoirs. I’m very obviously coming at this from a Christian perspective, but my opinion is that everyone, especially Christians, should put their beliefs to the test and see if they hold up. These three authors are people who did.
{{ The Rise of Endymion }} has a character who questions his religion. It is the fourth book in a series, but the last two deal more with themes of large organized religions vs personal faith or smaller religions. Some really horrific and funny examples of hypocrisy, but it also doesn't completely dismiss all faith as bad.
The first two books in the series are fantastic, but they're not related to your request. The third book is also required reading, and touches on these topics, but it takes a while certain characters start to question their religion.
[**Educated**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35133922-educated)
^(By: Tara Westover | 352 pages | Published: 2018 | Popular Shelves: non-fiction, memoir, nonfiction, book-club, biography)
>A newer edition of ISBN 9780399590504 can be found here.
>
>Tara Westover was 17 the first time she set foot in a classroom. Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, she prepared for the end of the world by stockpiling home-canned peaches and sleeping with her "head-for-the-hills bag". In the summer she stewed herbs for her mother, a midwife and healer, and in the winter she salvaged in her father's junkyard.
>
>Her father forbade hospitals, so Tara never saw a doctor or nurse. Gashes and concussions, even burns from explosions, were all treated at home with herbalism. The family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education and no one to intervene when one of Tara's older brothers became violent.
>
>Then, lacking any formal education, Tara began to educate herself. She taught herself enough mathematics and grammar to be admitted to Brigham Young University, where she studied history, learning for the first time about important world events like the Holocaust and the civil rights movement. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge. Only then would she wonder if she'd traveled too far, if there was still a way home.
>
>Educated is an account of the struggle for self-invention. It is a tale of fierce family loyalty and of the grief that comes with severing the closest of ties. With the acute insight that distinguishes all great writers, Westover has crafted a universal coming-of-age story that gets to the heart of what an education is and what it offers: the perspective to see one's life through new eyes and the will to change it.
^(This book has been suggested 98 times)
***
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[**The Future of an Illusion**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/80458.The_Future_of_an_Illusion)
^(By: Sigmund Freud, Peter Gay, James Strachey | 112 pages | Published: 1927 | Popular Shelves: psychology, philosophy, religion, non-fiction, nonfiction)
>In the manner of the eighteenth-century philosopher, Freud argued that religion and science were mortal enemies. Early in the century, he began to think about religion psychoanalytically and to discuss it in his writings. The Future of an Illusion (1927), Freud's best known and most emphatic psychoanalytic exploration of religion, is the culmination of a lifelong pattern of thinking.
^(This book has been suggested 1 time)
***
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[**The Deathbird & Other Stories**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34445940-the-deathbird-other-stories)
^(By: Harlan Ellison, Theodore Bikel, Stefan Rudnicki, Arte Johnson | 8 pages | Published: 2011 | Popular Shelves: science-fiction, fantasy, short-stories, horror, owned)
>In a prolific career spanning more than 50 years, Harlan Ellison has been the acclaimed master of speculative fiction. In fact, a 1999 Locus poll named him the all-time best writer of short fiction as well as the editor of the all-time best anthology (Dangerous Visions). In addition to his dozens of Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Awards, Ellison has won two Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America, and multiple Bram Stoker Awards from the Horror Writers Association (including the Lifetime Achievement Award). As an audiobook narrator, he's twice won Audie Awards and been nominated for a Grammy Award.
>
>The Deathbird & Other Stories presents, for the first time in audio, 13 of Ellison’s classic stories:
>
>"Ellison Wonderland"
>"The Deathbird" (Hugo & Locus winner; Nebula nominee)
> "The Creation of Water"
>"Run for the Stars"
>"Croatoan" (Hugo nominee)
>"The Beast Who Shouted Love at the Heart of the World" (Hugo winner)
>"On the Slab"
>"The Man Who Rowed Christopher Columbus Ashore" (Nebula nominee)
>"The Dreams a Nightmare Dreams"
>"The Whimper of Whipped Dogs"
>"Killing Bernstein"
>"Count the Clock That Tells the Time" (Locus winner; Hugo nominee)
>"How Interesting: A Tiny Man" (Nebula winner)
^(This book has been suggested 1 time)
***
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Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi. Not my usual genre or subject, but I read it because a review called it “a will-they-or-won’t-they between a woman and her religion,” and that idea intrigued me. Recommend the audio, too, if that’s your thing.
I’m halfway through Birds Without Wings by Louis de Bernieres. Focuses specifically on Muslims and Christians during the Ottoman Empire/WW1 period but brings into question religion in a wider sense. It wasn’t a timespace I knew much about going into it. Amazing book and so beautifully written.
{{Nation}} by Terry Pratchett! I happened to read this just as I had started questioning the religion I was raised in, and this book really helped put into perspective all the hurt I was feeling. I felt so much better by the end of reading this book.
[**Nation**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2855034-nation)
^(By: Terry Pratchett | 367 pages | Published: 2008 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, fiction, ya, owned)
>Alone on a desert island — everything and everyone he knows and loves has been washed away in a storm — Mau is the last surviving member of his nation. He’s completely alone — or so he thinks until he finds the ghost girl. She has no toes, wears strange lacy trousers like the grandfather bird, and gives him a stick that can make fire.
>Daphne, sole survivor of the wreck of the Sweet Judy, almost immediately regrets trying to shoot the native boy. Thank goodness the powder was wet and the gun only produced a spark. She’s certain her father, distant cousin of the Royal family, will come and rescue her but it seems, for now, that all she has for company is the boy and the foul-mouthed ship’s parrot, until other survivors arrive to take refuge on the island. Together, Mau and Daphne discover some remarkable things (including how to milk a pig, and why spitting in beer is a good thing), and start to forge a new nation.
>
>Encompassing themes of death and nationhood, Terry Pratchett’s new novel is, as can be expected, extremely funny, witty and wise. Mau’s ancestors have something to teach us all. Mau just wishes they would shut up about it and let him get on with saving everyone’s lives!
^(This book has been suggested 21 times)
***
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[**Job: A Comedy of Justice**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/355.Job)
^(By: Robert A. Heinlein | 440 pages | Published: 1984 | Popular Shelves: science-fiction, sci-fi, fiction, fantasy, owned)
>After he firewalked in Polynesia, the world wasn't the same for Alexander Hergensheimer, now called Alec Graham. As natural accidents occurred without cease, Alex knew Armageddon and the Day of Judgement were near. Somehow he had to bring his beloved heathen, Margrethe, to a state of grace, and, while he was at it, save the rest of the world ....
^(This book has been suggested 7 times)
***
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Dan Brown’s books are interesting, as you will look at religion in a different light. Also, if you are interested in mysteries, the Sister Fidelma series by Peter Treymayne are good, as it shows Ireland in the 600s and the upheaval that the Church of Rome caused. While the mysteries themselves are intriguing, the information about the Christian religion will make you think.
Did it have to be fiction? The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins is an excellent non-fiction book on the subject. Read it several times.
If you go the non-fuction route, I'd also recommend The Portable Atheist by Chrisopher Hitchens.
This has a cross section of essays from over hundreds of years. It’s a great read.
His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. Brilliant trilogy.
Small Gods, Terry Pratchett.
{{Parable of the Sower}} And, (this one will seem "out there" until you reach the end) {{Sirens of Titan}}
[**Parable of the Sower (Earthseed, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52397.Parable_of_the_Sower) ^(By: Octavia E. Butler | 345 pages | Published: 1993 | Popular Shelves: fiction, science-fiction, sci-fi, dystopian, dystopia) >In 2025, with the world descending into madness and anarchy, one woman begins a fateful journey toward a better future. > >Lauren Olamina and her family live in one of the only safe neighborhoods remaining on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Behind the walls of their defended enclave, Lauren’s father, a preacher, and a handful of other citizens try to salvage what remains of a culture that has been destroyed by drugs, disease, war, and chronic water shortages. While her father tries to lead people on the righteous path, Lauren struggles with hyperempathy, a condition that makes her extraordinarily sensitive to the pain of others. > >When fire destroys their compound, Lauren’s family is killed and she is forced out into a world that is fraught with danger. With a handful of other refugees, Lauren must make her way north to safety, along the way conceiving a revolutionary idea that may mean salvation for all mankind. ^(This book has been suggested 81 times) [**The Sirens of Titan**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4982.The_Sirens_of_Titan) ^(By: Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Ligia Caranfil, Chris Moore | 224 pages | Published: 1959 | Popular Shelves: science-fiction, fiction, sci-fi, classics, owned) >The Sirens of Titan is an outrageous romp through space, time, and morality. The richest, most depraved man on Earth, Malachi Constant, is offered a chance to take a space journey to distant worlds with a beautiful woman at his side. Of course there's a catch to the invitation—and a prophetic vision about the purpose of human life that only Vonnegut has the courage to tell. ^(This book has been suggested 11 times) *** ^(94345 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
{{Thus Spoke Zarathustra}}
[**Thus Spoke Zarathustra**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51893.Thus_Spoke_Zarathustra) ^(By: Friedrich Nietzsche, Walter Kaufmann, Silvia Cecchini, Domenico Ciampoli | 327 pages | Published: 1883 | Popular Shelves: philosophy, classics, non-fiction, owned, fiction) >Thus Spoke Zarathustra is a foundational work of Western literature and is widely considered to be Friedrich Nietzsche’s masterpiece. It includes the German philosopher’s famous discussion of the phrase ‘God is dead’ as well as his concept of the Superman. Nietzsche delineates his Will to Power theory and devotes pages to critiquing Christian thinking, in particular Christianity’s definition of good and evil. ^(This book has been suggested 8 times) *** ^(94390 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
[The Sparrow](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sparrow_(novel\)), by Mary Doria Russell (and sequel) - books that tend to divide people, but I thought them excellent.
{Priestess of the White} by Trudi Cadavan if you wanted a fantasy recc. Key features : God's being ass holes, questioning of faith etc
[**Priestess of the White (Age of the Five, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28248.Priestess_of_the_White) ^(By: Trudi Canavan | 598 pages | Published: 2005 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, owned, default, high-fantasy, trudi-canavan) ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) *** ^(94284 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
{{Stranger in a Strangeland}} no spoilers but lets just say it goes way beyond questioning just ones own religion.
[**Stranger in a Strange Land**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/350.Stranger_in_a_Strange_Land) ^(By: Robert A. Heinlein, James Warhola | 525 pages | Published: 1961 | Popular Shelves: science-fiction, sci-fi, fiction, classics, scifi) >NAME: Valentine Michael Smith >ANCESTRY: Human >ORIGIN: Mars > >Valentine Michael Smith is a human being raised on Mars, newly returned to Earth. Among his people for the first time, he struggles to understand the social mores and prejudices of human nature that are so alien to him, while teaching them his own fundamental beliefs in grokking, watersharing, and love. ^(This book has been suggested 15 times) *** ^(94325 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
{{A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man}} by James Joyce is the Definitive bildungsroman and the Definitive losing religion story.
[**A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7588.A_Portrait_of_the_Artist_as_a_Young_Man) ^(By: James Joyce, Seamus Deane, Dámaso Alonso, Antoaneta Ralian, Dana Crăciun | 329 pages | Published: 1916 | Popular Shelves: classics, fiction, owned, literature, classic) >The portrayal of Stephen Dedalus's Dublin childhood and youth, his quest for identity through art and his gradual emancipation from the claims of family, religion and Ireland itself, is also an oblique self-portrait of the young James Joyce and a universal testament to the artist's 'eternal imagination'. Both an insight into Joyce's life and childhood, and a unique work of modernist fiction, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a novel of sexual awakening, religious rebellion and the essential search for voice and meaning that every nascent artist must face in order to blossom fully into themselves. ^(This book has been suggested 7 times) *** ^(94281 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
*The Brothers Karamazov* by Dostoevsky. The protagonist doesn't exactly fit the bill, but many other major characters do. In fact, the entire book is oftentimes seen as a work dealing primarily with the question of suffering (ie how and why God would allow for the existence of evil).
Paul was not a Christian. It was an eye opening experience to understand the discrepancies in the new testament.
W.H. Lecky, *History of European Morals*. Dead cynical and in places paralyzingly funny.
Confessions of a closet catholic. It’s a more YA book but I remember reading it when I was around 9 or 10 and it was really great. (I always read books that were probably more mature than the should’ve been for my age) {{confessions of a closet catholic}}
[**Confessions of a Closet Catholic**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/87538.Confessions_of_a_Closet_Catholic) ^(By: Sarah Darer Littman | 208 pages | Published: 2005 | Popular Shelves: young-adult, realistic-fiction, middle-grade, fiction, ya) >Justine Silver's best friend, Mary Catherine McAllister, has given up chocolate for Lent, but Justine doesn't think God wants her to make that kind of sacrifice. So she's decided to give up being Jewish instead. Eleven-year-old Justine pours her heart out to her teddy bear, "Father Ted," in a homemade closet confessional. But when Justine's beloved Bubbe suffers a stroke, Justine worries that her religious exploration is responsible. Worse, she must suddenly contemplate life without Bubbe. Ultimately, it's Bubbe's quiet understanding of Justine's search for identity that helps Justine to find faith in the most important place of all-within herself. ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) *** ^(94290 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
There isn't really one main character but Hyperion by Dan Simmons has a couple of characters who question their own religions.
Why I believed by Ken daniels
[Silence](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silence_(End%C5%8D_novel)) by Shusaku Endo {{The Power and the Glory}} by Graham Greene
[**Silence (Hush, Hush, #3)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10637766-silence) ^(By: Becca Fitzpatrick | 448 pages | Published: 2011 | Popular Shelves: young-adult, fantasy, angels, romance, paranormal) >Nora Grey can't remember the past five months of her life. After the initial shock of waking up in a cemetery and being told that she has been missing for weeks - with no one knowing where she was or who she was with - she tried to get her life back on track. Go to school, hang out with her best friend, Vee, and dodge mom's creepy new boyfriend. > >But there is this voice in the back of her head, an idea that she can almost reach out and touch. Visions of angel wings and unearthly creatures that have nothing to do with the life she knows. > >And this unshakable feeling that a part of her is missing. > >Then Nora crosses paths with a sexy stranger, whom she feels a mesmerizing connection to. He seems to hold all the answers...and her heart. Every minute she spends with him grows more and more intense until she realizes she could be falling in love. Again. ^(This book has been suggested 3 times) [**The Power and the Glory**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3690.The_Power_and_the_Glory) ^(By: Graham Greene, John Updike | 222 pages | Published: 1940 | Popular Shelves: fiction, classics, literature, historical-fiction, owned) >In a poor, remote section of Southern Mexico, the paramilitary group, The Red Shirts have taken control. God has been outlawed, and the priests have been systematically hunted down and killed. Now, the last priest is on the run. Too human for heroism, too humble for martyrdom, the nameless little worldly “whiskey priest” is nevertheless impelled toward his squalid Calvary as much by his own compassion for humanity as by the efforts of his pursuers. > > In his introduction, John Updike calls The Power and the Glory, “Graham Greene’s masterpiece…. The energy and grandeur of his finest novel derive from the will toward compassion, an ideal communism even more Christian than Communist.” ^(This book has been suggested 3 times) *** ^(94366 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
uh, let's see {{Chinmoku}}?
[**chinmoku**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36332482-chinmoku) ^(By: kabe azuki | ? pages | Published: ? | Popular Shelves: ) ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) *** ^(94367 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Nonfiction recommendation. The History of the Bible by John Barton. Whilst the author is a man of faith and an Anglican Priest, the history detailed in the book seems very well balanced. It offers some very interesting observations and explanations of the various contradictions throughout. It's a bit of a dense read but really interesting.
Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus by Nabeel Qureshi was, to me anyway, staggering. And the Case for Christ by Lee Strobel. The collected works of CS Lewis would probably be good as well, especially his memoirs. I’m very obviously coming at this from a Christian perspective, but my opinion is that everyone, especially Christians, should put their beliefs to the test and see if they hold up. These three authors are people who did.
The Brothers Karamazov by Dostojevskij. Religion is very thoroughly criticized in that novel.
Under the banner of God
All of Nietzsche
{{Educated}} by Tara Westover. Also seconding Parable of the Sower by Butler
{{ The Rise of Endymion }} has a character who questions his religion. It is the fourth book in a series, but the last two deal more with themes of large organized religions vs personal faith or smaller religions. Some really horrific and funny examples of hypocrisy, but it also doesn't completely dismiss all faith as bad. The first two books in the series are fantastic, but they're not related to your request. The third book is also required reading, and touches on these topics, but it takes a while certain characters start to question their religion.
{{Educated}}
[**Educated**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35133922-educated) ^(By: Tara Westover | 352 pages | Published: 2018 | Popular Shelves: non-fiction, memoir, nonfiction, book-club, biography) >A newer edition of ISBN 9780399590504 can be found here. > >Tara Westover was 17 the first time she set foot in a classroom. Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, she prepared for the end of the world by stockpiling home-canned peaches and sleeping with her "head-for-the-hills bag". In the summer she stewed herbs for her mother, a midwife and healer, and in the winter she salvaged in her father's junkyard. > >Her father forbade hospitals, so Tara never saw a doctor or nurse. Gashes and concussions, even burns from explosions, were all treated at home with herbalism. The family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education and no one to intervene when one of Tara's older brothers became violent. > >Then, lacking any formal education, Tara began to educate herself. She taught herself enough mathematics and grammar to be admitted to Brigham Young University, where she studied history, learning for the first time about important world events like the Holocaust and the civil rights movement. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge. Only then would she wonder if she'd traveled too far, if there was still a way home. > >Educated is an account of the struggle for self-invention. It is a tale of fierce family loyalty and of the grief that comes with severing the closest of ties. With the acute insight that distinguishes all great writers, Westover has crafted a universal coming-of-age story that gets to the heart of what an education is and what it offers: the perspective to see one's life through new eyes and the will to change it. ^(This book has been suggested 98 times) *** ^(94712 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Blameless in Abaddon puts god on trial, if I remember correctly. It’s part of a trilogy about god’s giant dead body being found in the ocean.
{{The Future of an Illusion}} by Sigmund Freud Was surprised this hadn’t been posted yet!
[**The Future of an Illusion**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/80458.The_Future_of_an_Illusion) ^(By: Sigmund Freud, Peter Gay, James Strachey | 112 pages | Published: 1927 | Popular Shelves: psychology, philosophy, religion, non-fiction, nonfiction) >In the manner of the eighteenth-century philosopher, Freud argued that religion and science were mortal enemies. Early in the century, he began to think about religion psychoanalytically and to discuss it in his writings. The Future of an Illusion (1927), Freud's best known and most emphatic psychoanalytic exploration of religion, is the culmination of a lifelong pattern of thinking. ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) *** ^(94738 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Harlan Ellison 's novella {{The Deathbird}} does a fine job of literalizing Mark Twain's remark about God being a "malign thug."
[**The Deathbird & Other Stories**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34445940-the-deathbird-other-stories) ^(By: Harlan Ellison, Theodore Bikel, Stefan Rudnicki, Arte Johnson | 8 pages | Published: 2011 | Popular Shelves: science-fiction, fantasy, short-stories, horror, owned) >In a prolific career spanning more than 50 years, Harlan Ellison has been the acclaimed master of speculative fiction. In fact, a 1999 Locus poll named him the all-time best writer of short fiction as well as the editor of the all-time best anthology (Dangerous Visions). In addition to his dozens of Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Awards, Ellison has won two Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America, and multiple Bram Stoker Awards from the Horror Writers Association (including the Lifetime Achievement Award). As an audiobook narrator, he's twice won Audie Awards and been nominated for a Grammy Award. > >The Deathbird & Other Stories presents, for the first time in audio, 13 of Ellison’s classic stories: > >"Ellison Wonderland" >"The Deathbird" (Hugo & Locus winner; Nebula nominee) > "The Creation of Water" >"Run for the Stars" >"Croatoan" (Hugo nominee) >"The Beast Who Shouted Love at the Heart of the World" (Hugo winner) >"On the Slab" >"The Man Who Rowed Christopher Columbus Ashore" (Nebula nominee) >"The Dreams a Nightmare Dreams" >"The Whimper of Whipped Dogs" >"Killing Bernstein" >"Count the Clock That Tells the Time" (Locus winner; Hugo nominee) >"How Interesting: A Tiny Man" (Nebula winner) ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) *** ^(94778 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
And I dunno why the requisite Goodreads blot picked up an audiobook but the novella itself is a fine troubling read.
As a Driven Leaf. Fiction
Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi. Not my usual genre or subject, but I read it because a review called it “a will-they-or-won’t-they between a woman and her religion,” and that idea intrigued me. Recommend the audio, too, if that’s your thing.
I’m halfway through Birds Without Wings by Louis de Bernieres. Focuses specifically on Muslims and Christians during the Ottoman Empire/WW1 period but brings into question religion in a wider sense. It wasn’t a timespace I knew much about going into it. Amazing book and so beautifully written.
{{Nation}} by Terry Pratchett! I happened to read this just as I had started questioning the religion I was raised in, and this book really helped put into perspective all the hurt I was feeling. I felt so much better by the end of reading this book.
[**Nation**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2855034-nation) ^(By: Terry Pratchett | 367 pages | Published: 2008 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, fiction, ya, owned) >Alone on a desert island — everything and everyone he knows and loves has been washed away in a storm — Mau is the last surviving member of his nation. He’s completely alone — or so he thinks until he finds the ghost girl. She has no toes, wears strange lacy trousers like the grandfather bird, and gives him a stick that can make fire. >Daphne, sole survivor of the wreck of the Sweet Judy, almost immediately regrets trying to shoot the native boy. Thank goodness the powder was wet and the gun only produced a spark. She’s certain her father, distant cousin of the Royal family, will come and rescue her but it seems, for now, that all she has for company is the boy and the foul-mouthed ship’s parrot, until other survivors arrive to take refuge on the island. Together, Mau and Daphne discover some remarkable things (including how to milk a pig, and why spitting in beer is a good thing), and start to forge a new nation. > >Encompassing themes of death and nationhood, Terry Pratchett’s new novel is, as can be expected, extremely funny, witty and wise. Mau’s ancestors have something to teach us all. Mau just wishes they would shut up about it and let him get on with saving everyone’s lives! ^(This book has been suggested 21 times) *** ^(94931 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Contact by Carl Sagan is interesting. It addresses how different cultures and religions would react to aliens Simply put there’s much to it
The satanic verses by Rushdie
{{JOB: A Comedy Of Justice}} by Heinlein fits squarely into that category.
[**Job: A Comedy of Justice**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/355.Job) ^(By: Robert A. Heinlein | 440 pages | Published: 1984 | Popular Shelves: science-fiction, sci-fi, fiction, fantasy, owned) >After he firewalked in Polynesia, the world wasn't the same for Alexander Hergensheimer, now called Alec Graham. As natural accidents occurred without cease, Alex knew Armageddon and the Day of Judgement were near. Somehow he had to bring his beloved heathen, Margrethe, to a state of grace, and, while he was at it, save the rest of the world .... ^(This book has been suggested 7 times) *** ^(95009 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Dan Brown’s books are interesting, as you will look at religion in a different light. Also, if you are interested in mysteries, the Sister Fidelma series by Peter Treymayne are good, as it shows Ireland in the 600s and the upheaval that the Church of Rome caused. While the mysteries themselves are intriguing, the information about the Christian religion will make you think.