Cygnus' Study

Books

I am often asked what I use as source for my information. My study is being done independently and the majority of the ideas here are my own. They may be inspired by other authors, but they are ultimately mine unless otherwise noted.

Below I have listed some of the books that I feel are absolute musts. I also rate them from 1 to 4 stars with 4 stars being the best.

This first list are books that have inspired me in life:

	The Masked Rider by Neil Peart review
	Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman review
	Conversations with God - Part 1 and Part 2 by Neale Donald Walsch review

The following list are Bible related books, some of which I have used in my study:

	Bible - New Revised Standard Version written by ?, edited by ? review
	The NIV Study Bible same authors and editors as above. review
	The Apocrypha as translated by Edgar J. Goodspeed review
	The Other Bible edited by William Barnstone review
	The Age of Reason - Parts 1 - 3 by Thomas Paine review
	The Five Gospels - What Did Jesus Really Say? Robert W. Funk. Roy W. Hoover, and The Jesus Seminar review
	The Complete Gospels edited by Robert J. Miller review
	Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography by John Dominic Crossan Jesus through the eyes of history - made easy for the layperson.
	Deceptions and Myths of the Bible by Lloyd M. Graham A very good read. Provides alternate sources and interpretations for the stories in the Bible. Similar to my work, it goes through the Bible methodically. Differently, it relates a different perspective, and related stories from other cultures.
	Who Wrote the Bible? by Richard Elliot Friedman A very thorough study into theories regarding original authorship of the Five Books of Moses. Expands on the Documentary Hypothesis, which was the concept that there had been 4 authors and an editor of the first five books of the Bible. Reads like a mystery novel.
	The Lost Gospel: The Book of Q & Christian Origins by Burton L. Mack Written by a professor of the New Testament at School of Theology at Claremont, the author relates the story of a historical Jesus vs. the mythological one found in the four narrative gospels in the Bible. Tells about Jesus' earliest followers and how they saw a Cynic, and a Bearer of Wisdom, but not a Son of God or Messiah.
	Who Wrote the New Testament? The Making of the Christian Myth by Burton Mack In this book, Mack breaks down the beginning of the early Christianity. He clearly shows how the words of a very real man were mythologized.
	Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism: A Bishop Rethinks the Meaning of Scripture by Bishop John Shelby Spong This Episcopalian Bishop divulges truths about the Bible and its believers that most Christians are too afraid to admit.

Other books that I reccomend that I do not have reviews for, yet:

The Lost Books of the Bible and the Forgotten Books of Eden

The New Strong's Concordance of the Bible by James Strong

The Nag Hammadi Library edited by James M. Robinson

The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels

The Acts of Jesus by The Jesus Seminar, Robert Funk (Editor)

Honest to Jesus: Jesus for a New Millenium by Robert Funk

The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Jewish Mediterranean Peasant by John Dominic Crossan

The Birth of Christianity: Discovering what happened in the years immediately after the execution of Jesus by John Dominic Crossan

Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time: The Historical Jesus & The Heart of Contemporary Faith by Marcus J. Borg

The Unauthorized Version by Robin Lane Fox

Holy Blood, Holy Grail by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh & Henry Lincoln ***1/2

The Messianic Legacy by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh & Henry Lincoln

Why I am Not a Christian & Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects by Bertrand Russell

Best of Robert Ingersoll : Selections from His Writings and Speeches by Robert G. Ingersoll & Roger E. Greeley (Editor)