I was a Christian for many years before I was an atheist, and even now I study the religion from a scholarly perspective. What one holds as faith has no bearing on the reliability of one’s scholarship pertaining to that faith. It’s insulting of you to say that atheists cannot be reliable on Christianity because they’re atheist. In that same vein, you cannot be reliable on matters of ancient Rome since you are not an ancient Roman. All scholars who study Rome should therefore give up their profession. 
It most certainly is not insulting. I have a personal relationship with God; therefore, I can say with full confidence that I know infinitely more about Christianity than any objective scholar studying it. Do not presume that you have just as relliable a capacity to judge a faith externally as someone who is intimately involved in it. And I will freely admit that I cannot understand Roman religion as an ancient Roman did, but any honest scholar would admit as much. Don’t presume just because you are an atheist that everyone else believes that Christianity is just some other field to study. I believe I have a relationship with God and Jesus Christ, whether you share that belief or not, and therefore I know more about true Christianity than any atheist ever could.
And you think I didn’t have a personal relationship? That is, until I realized that it was no more real than a child’s imaginary friend, or Santa Claus. Christianity is just another field of study. You may participate, but that doesn’t mean jack squat.
Such pompous arrogance as well.
That stance is fine for you. But just realize that someone who still adheres to the faith is going to believe that he has a much more intimate and real knowledge of it than someone who does not.
I think the difference is subjective and objective knowledge. I certainly respect Chris’ knowledge on the subject of Christianity. As well as William’s, who I know for a fact could talk circles around me when it comes to early Christianity and yet he is an Atheist. Some of the greatests biblical scholars have not been Christian. I look at someone like Robert Funk, one of the greatest modern greek grammarians, and he was very far from what I would consider orthodox Christian. He was a Jesus Seminar guy for Pete’s sake. Not many evangelicals get along with the Jesus Seminar folks.
That being said, there is a difference from knowledge about and experience. But once again, this is objective versus subjective knowledge.
I looked into the “True Spirituality” book, and it looks very cool. The idea behind the book seems interesting enough that I might want to read some of it. I think that’s what I’m going to get. I am quite ignorant of Christianity both objectively (well, at least compared to most of the people here) and subjectively. Thanks everybody.
Wow. Really? ?μοουσιον vs. ?μοιουσιον, in this day and age? That little iota, that “jot and tittle” that has sent so many to the stake, still branding some as “not Christians,” and therefore “beyond the pale?” I’m speechless.
And…GlottalGreekGeek, I’m glad someone suggested something to help you out, amidst all this carping. I hope it works out.
<?xml version="1.0"?>
That “True Spirituality” book is not easy to find. I looked at three bookstores today. Not just any three bookstores - one was a mega used bookstore, and another was a bookstore dedicated to spirituality, and they both had large sections dedicated to Christianity.
I checked online, and there’s a Borders near here which carries it, so I think that’s my best option (I only order books online if I have no alternative).
Meanwhile, I learned a lot about the covers of “Christianity” books today.
GGG…you’re looking in the wrong spots…try a Christian bookstore…they might just have it in stock. Surely you have those in California? 
Not necessarily in Mountain View, and there’s a limit to the distance I’ll go over this. Borders is fine for me.
EDIT : I checked. The closest Christian bookstore is in San Jose, which is much further away than Borders (and it’s easy to get lost in San Jo). I will be visiting San Francisco, and there are one or two there, but I have other things I need to do that weekend. I think it’s going to be Borders.
GGG: sorry that I didn’t answer your question sooner.
Orthodoxy is loosely Chesterton’s spiritual autobiography, although it contains much more than that. He was a brilliant author and a fascinating theologian. I guarantee that if your friend likes Lewis, she’ll like Chesterton.
here’s one of my favourite excerpts:
Now, to put the matter in a popular phrase, it might be true that the sun rises regularly because he never gets tired of rising. His routine might be due, not to a lifelessness, but to a rush of life. The thing I mean can be seen, for instance, in children, when they find some game or joke that they specially enjoy. A child kicks his legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life. Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “do it again”; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them.
(ok some might find that a little odd out of context… but what I love about Chesterton is not only his brilliant use of the language, but his unique way of looking at things.)
In the beginning of the book he explains that he was raised into Orthodox Christianity, and then decided to go off and find something new:
For if this book is a joke it is a joke against me. I am the man who with the utmost daring discovered what had been discovered before. If there is an element of farce in what follows, the farce is at my own expense; for this book explains how I fancied I was the first to set foot in Brighton and then found I was the last. It recounts my elephantine adventures in pursuit of the obvious. No one can think my case more ludicrous than I think it myself; no reader can accuse me here of trying to make a fool of him: I am the fool of this story, and no rebel shall hurl me from my throne. I freely confess all the idiotic ambitions of the end of the nineteenth century. I did, like all other solemn little boys, try to be in advance of the age. Like them I tried to be some ten minutes in advance of the truth. And I found that I was eighteen hundred years behind it. I did strain my voice with a painfully juvenile exaggeration in uttering my truths. And I was punished in the fittest and funniest way, for I have kept my truths: but I have discovered, not that they were not truths, but simply that they were not mine. When I fancied that I stood alone I was really in the ridiculous position of being backed up by all Christendom. It may be, Heaven forgive me, that I did try to be original; but I only succeeded in inventing all by myself an inferior copy of the existing traditions of civilized religion. The man from the yacht thought he was the first to find England; I thought I was the first to find Europe. I did try to found a heresy of my own; and when I had put the last touches to it, I discovered that it was orthodoxy.
My two cents. I would get her Fear and Trembling by Soren Keirkegaard. Reason being 1 Kierkegaard’s serves as a good introduction into existentialism from the theistic perspective. 2 He deals primarily with Christian issues and is a lot more fun to read than the stuff she’s reading now. 3 many modern day Pentecostals have no institutional memory of anything that comes before C.S. Lewis.
If that doesn’t strike then I would try God’s Smuggler which is an interesting Christian let’s smuggle bibles into Russia story courtesy of the cold war. You also might want to try something that gives her an insight into the basic history of the church that won’t offend her sensibilities but might serve as a springboard for other questions. In this regard I would try Kenneth Scott Latourette.
Re:Turendil
While I do want to give her something stimulating, I don’t really want to restructure her beliefs. One of the reasons I asked about this is that, since I am not a Christian myself, I can’t be sure of what stirs a Christian (of course not all Christians are alike, and not all Christians are moved by the same books). And I don’t want to approach this with the attitude that her beliefs need correcting.
However, I still appreciate your input, and thanks for the two cents!
Re: klewlis
I think I will also give her Orthodoxy, but in a different form, namely, this one
http://www.ccel.org/c/chesterton/orthodoxy/orthodoxy.html
However, I’m going to wait until after the holiday party, since it would tip off that I’ve been looking at Christian books for her.
oh sweet. It’s been so long since I’ve been to ccel… I didn’t know they were offering all those other formats.
Personally, I hate reading books on screen or printed out… but maybe that’s just me.
Well just a thought. What about the Imitation of Christ, which was big best seller, so to speak of the middle ages. Boethius’s Consolation of Philosphy is also interesting because although he is clearly christian the book has a pagan feel to it .. especially when wisdom mystically appears like a pagan goddess.
Rule of St. Benedict ? If these have already been given - I kind of skimmed through the other suggestions.
none of the book suggestions I gave you would challenge or re-structure her beliefs. That wouldn’t be right. They are all theistic centered. However they are the types of books that can be read multiple times and the more one reads them the more inclined one is to seek out other references.
The Imitation of Christ is a good reccomend for a classical Christian work. However, if I had to go with a classic it would have to be St. Augustine’s Confessions, far and away my favorite book by an Father. He’s very philosophical too which makes it at times deep weeds.
I liked parts of Confessions… but found much of it to be rather dry. Loved Imitation of Christ.
And if we’re going the “classics” route, Grace Abounding by John Bunyan is another good one…
Or the always classic Pilgrims Progress…but only in the original…don’t get a modern paraphrase of it, it’s like reading adapted Shakespeare.