An Island Library. A Benedictine oblate blog

I saw a question about which two books everyone should read. I think I know what most Christians’ first book would be, but what about the second book?

This question reminds me of the time G.K. Chesterton was asked what book he would want to have if he were stranded on a desert island. Chesterton answered: “Thomas’s Guide to Practical Shipbuilding.”

I think Christians should read the Rule of St. Benedict. Other than the Bible, the Rule has been called the most important book in the development of Western civilization.

For this former atheist and former evangelical Protestant who finally realized where I was, the Rule offers the same benefits as “Thomas’s Guide to Practical Shipbuilding.”

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Footnotes:

Picture is BikiniAtoll2005-0101 by rjdiver