Books that Helped me Grow

By Charles Colson (1931-2012)

January/February 1985

First and foremost, for me, is Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. It is the book which God used to lead me to Christ. I was impressed most of all by the chapter on pride, because it so thoroughly and accurately described my own life. As a matter of fact it brought me powerfully under the conviction of sin and caused me to seek out the righteous God who would cleanse me. In the first week that I was given Lewis’ book, I read and studied it the way I used to study law books. On a yellow pad I made notes under two columns, one headed “there is a God,” the other headed “there is not a God.” On another sheet I had two more columns: “Jesus Christ is God” and “Jesus Christ isn’t God.”

As I went through Mere Christianity I was confronted with a mind so powerful, with arguments so compelling, that I was left with no recourse but to accept the reality of the God who is and who has revealed himself through Jesus Christ, Lewis’ logic is magnificently presented in this wonderful little book. It is number one on my list.

If I were to put the other books in order, the second most influential for me would be Augustine’s Confessions. I see so many parallels between Augustine’s life and my own  – living in the world, then suddenly confronting the Scripture and the truth of Christ and being dramatically converted and giving his life to serving Christ. In Confessions one finds the most eloquent explanation of the nature of the human will, of the besetting sin which is within us, and then of the redeeming work of God. Though written almost 1600 years ago, it is as timely as today’s newspaper. I don’t know any other book which has given me as much insight into the nature of man and the nature of God.

Under number three I would have to list all of Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s writings, but most particularly the chapter in Gulag Archipelago entitled “The Ascent.” In it Solzhenitsyn describes his own conversion. He also gives a magnificent insight into the nature of man and the sin which is in each of us. I was profoundly affected by Solzhenitsyn’s work and consider him to be the most significant prophetic voice of God in the world today.

The Cost of Discipleship by Deitrich Bonhoeffer, along with his Letters and Papers from Prison, made a significant impact on me in the early days of my Christian life. Though I would have some theological differences with Bonhoeffer, his emphasis on obedience and the necessity of the Christian to die to self in order to serve Christ has shaped much of my thinking as a Christian. His attack upon cheap grace is very pertinent today.

I also had a particular identification with his Letters and Papers from Prison, because so many of the things that Bonhoeffer wrote about I experienced while in prison. In prison he wrote the poem “Who Am I,” which is found in the preface of The Cost of Discipleship and is my favorite poem. I think Bonhoeffer wrote it for himself and for all mankind at the same time.

A man in a bookstore gave me a copy of John Pollock’s book, George Whitefield and the Great Awakening. It stirred an interest within me for history, particularly the history of the Church, and led me to read many other volumes, particularly the works about the great Wesley awakening.

Other books that have greatly influenced me include:

The writings of Francis Schaeffer. They are a powerful exposition of Christian truth and a call to Biblical fidelity for 20th-century Christians.

The Political Illusion and The Presence of the Kingdom by Jacques Ellul. These are two magnificent and prophetic books that talk about the Christian’s role in the world and warns us of the danger of putting our trust in institutions. Ellul brilliantly deals with the relationship between the church and the state, a particularly timely issue these days.

The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges. This book opened my eyes more fully to the question of what it means to live a holy life. Bridge’s work is a magnificent contemporary discussion of what I believe to be the central covenant of the Christian life – that is, holiness.

Real Christianity by William Wilberforce. Wilberforce is one of my great heroes, a model for my life. He is best known, of course, as a campaigner against the slave trade, But he was also a great Biblical expositor, and this book, recently edited and re-published by Multnomah Press, is a classic statement on Christian living.

The works of Malcolm Muggeridge. Muggeridge is one of the best social critics of the 20th century. His books have enormously influenced my view of contemporary culture.

John Wesley, Anglican by Garth Lean. This is a marvelous, short, pithy biography of Wesley, a man who, along with Wilberforce, is a great model for my life. The book has recently been re-published under a new title.

Charles Colson, former “hatchet man” for Richard Nixon, was converted to Christ while imprisoned for his involvement in Watergate. Now the director of Prison Fellowship, he is also the author of Born Again, Life Sentence, and Loving God.