Mere Christianity

A classic that (in my opinion) should be read by every follower of Messiah. C. S. Lewis here has written a clear and compelling defense and vision of the core of Christianity. He goes through a sort of moral argument for God, outlines the basics of what it means to be a Christian, and talks a bit about Christian virtue. As with most of Lewis' writings, this one is filled with little nuggets of wisdom. I'll share two of these here that stood out to me:

On the nature of atonement, C. S. Lewis makes passing reference to the various atonement theories. But as far as being a Christian, he says it doesn't matter so much that you get the mechanics of atonement right so much as you partake of Christ. It's like eating. Knowing the details of how vitamins and minerals work in your body doesn't fill your belly. Eating the food does.

On theology, I love his metaphor of the beach. Here Lewis responds to critics who claim that experiential knowledge of God is more real and therefore theology is inferior. Lewis concedes that experience is more real, just like standing on a beach looking out at the ocean. But, theology does something experience can't–it takes the collective experience of believers across the ages and arranges them together into a sort of map. It's not as real as being at the beach, but it gives you a much bigger picture then you could ever get from just your own two eyes.

This one is definitely a must read.