By James Gómez in Rabbit Trails — 30 Dec 2023

Top 5 Books, Articles, and Videos of 2023!!!

As 2023 ends, I thought I'd share a list of my top 5s from the year. In this article, I will share my five favorite books for the year, five most popular articles, and five favorite YouTube videos.

If your year has been anything like mine, you've experienced significant peaks and valleys over the last 365 days. My hope for 2024 is to have many more highs than lows and plenty more times of joy than sorrow. Without further ado, here are my top 5's for 2023:

Top 5 Books

God Can't: How to Believe in God and Love after Tragedy, Abuse, and Other Evils by Thomas Jay Oord. I was first introduced to the work of Thomas Jay Oord while taking a class through The Bible for Normal People. This book is an excellent introduction to Process Theology, which holds that God's goodness is the primary characteristic worthy of our worship. As such, God never uses coercion to manipulate creation, even when it comes to stopping evil. Ultimately, process theology creates an entire understanding of God as primarily excellent and relational and its implications regarding the problem of evil.
The Heart of Christianity: Rediscovering a Life of Faith by Marcus J. Borg. Marcus Borg is a synonym for heretic coming out of a reformed-baptist evangelical tribe. So naturally, since walking away from this particular flavor of Christianity, I dove headlong into Borg's work to see what all the fuss was about. In all transparency, Marcus Borg is the reason I can intellectually remain a Christian, and I owe much to his life and work. The Heart of Christianity was the first book of Borg's that I read, and it is a phenomenal introduction and overview of Christian thought and life from a progressive Christian lens. I cannot recommend this book enough.
The Shortest History of Israel and Palestine by Michael Scott-Baumann. October 7th was a global wake-up call regarding the plight of Palestinians under the oppressive regime of Israel. I admittedly was pretty ignorant of the larger context around the Israel/Palestine conflict. This book was the first of many I began reading to understand the last century of conflict between these two groups of people. If you view October 7th and Hamas's actions as the start of this conflict, I strongly encourage you to pick up this book to learn about the decades of oppression that triggered this most recent chapter.
Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flames by Thich Nhat Hanh. I have had a short fuse in controlling my anger for as long as I can remember. This year, more than any other, has left me in a state of constant internal rage. I'm not talking about yelling at people or mistreating my family. This rage was much more profound. Anger tethered to my bones affected my mood and thoughts. Prayer, counseling, and meds seemed utterly ineffective in helping me work through my feelings. Enter the Buddhist Master Thich Nhat Hanh, who in this book helped give me language and tools to process my emotions. This book is super short but packed with practical applications and empathy. My emotional life has significantly improved since reading and applying the lessons provided by Master Thich Nhat Hanh.
The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions by N.T. Wright and Marcus J. Borg. This is the second book with Marcus Borg as an author. This book contrasts a traditional view of Jesus with a progressive perspective. My Reverand let me borrow this book after I mentioned taking an interest in the work of Marcus Borg. Going into the book, I assumed N.T. Wright would convince me to hold to a traditional view of Jesus. In reality, the exact opposite happened. I walked away from the book more convinced of Borg's position and was re-affirmed that a Christian can be intellectually honest and deeply spiritual.