Books like Mere Christianity

01

The Problem of Pain

C. S. Lewis · Philosophy

The Problem of Pain is Lewis's systematic attempt to answer one of the oldest and most persistent objections to theism: if God is good and all-powerful, why does pain exist?

Shares faith and human nature with Mere Christianity.

02

Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life

C. S. Lewis · Memoir

Surprised by Joy is Lewis's account of his intellectual and spiritual development from childhood through his conversion to Christianity at Oxford in the early 1930s.

Both dig into faith.

03

Man's Search for Meaning

Viktor E. Frankl · Psychology

Man's Search for Meaning is Viktor Frankl's account of his years as a prisoner in Nazi concentration camps, including Auschwitz, and the psychological theory he developed from that experience.

A kindred philosophy read.

04

Meditations

Marcus Aurelius · Philosophy

Meditations is not a book Marcus Aurelius wrote for anyone to read.

A kindred philosophy read.

05

The Perennial Philosophy

Aldous Huxley · Religion & Spirituality

The Perennial Philosophy is Aldous Huxley's anthology and commentary on the mystical traditions of the world, arguing that behind the diversity of religious forms lies a single metaphysical core: the divine ground or ultimate reality is one; the human soul contains a spark of this reality; the purpose of human existence is to realize this identity; and the path to that realization requires ego-transcendence through contemplation, virtue, and love.

A kindred philosophy read.

06

Fear and Trembling

Søren Kierkegaard · Philosophy

Fear and Trembling was published in 1843 under the pseudonym Johannes de Silentio, and it is Kierkegaard's most sustained meditation on the nature of faith through the lens of the story of Abraham and Isaac.

Shares faith and ethics with Mere Christianity.

07

The Screwtape Letters

C. S. Lewis · Religion & Spirituality

The Screwtape Letters is C.

Shares faith and human nature with Mere Christianity.

08

Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living

Krista Tippett · Philosophy

Becoming Wise draws on Krista Tippett's decades of conversation with scientists, poets, theologians, activists, and philosophers through her radio program On Being.

Both dig into faith.

09

Existentialism Is a Humanism

Jean-Paul Sartre · Philosophy

Existentialism Is a Humanism began as a 1945 lecture Sartre gave to a packed Paris hall in response to critics who called existentialism pessimistic, quietist, and dangerous.

Both dig into human nature.

10

Letter to a Christian Nation

Sam Harris · Philosophy

Letter to a Christian Nation is a short, blunt book written in direct address to American Christians.

Both dig into ethics.

11

Leviathan

Thomas Hobbes · Philosophy

Leviathan, published in 1651 in the aftermath of the English Civil War, is one of the founding texts of modern political philosophy.

Both dig into human nature.

12

Lying

Sam Harris · Philosophy

Lying is a short philosophical essay — barely 80 pages — in which Sam Harris argues that lying is almost never justified and that most people dramatically underestimate its costs.

Both dig into ethics.