Quiz: Name the five most influential philosophy books in Western Civilization. Go ahead, make your list. Don’t worry if you are not an expert in the history of philosophy. Just name the five most influential philosophy books of which you have heard.
There are a lot of viable candidates for that list of five. The number of possible lists is vast. But there is one book that, while it should be on everyone’s list, would show up on very few lists unless mentioned in advance. What is this most important work of philosophy that nobody remembers to list? The Bible.
In terms of influence on Western Civilization, it is hard to think of a book which would rate higher than the Bible. The only question is whether it is properly labeled a philosophy book. A few years back, when George W. Bush was asked to name the philosopher who influenced him the most, he replied “Jesus Christ.” That answer met with much derision. It is not his answer which is odd, however, but the derision.
Jonathan Pennington has set out to fix this state of affairs in his new book, Jesus the Great Philosopher. It is a book which should never have needed to be written. The main argument is so obviously true that it is hard to see how anyone could spin out a book stating the obvious. The fact that this argument is not obvious, however, is exactly why it is good this book exists.
Read the rest at the Circe Institute
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