Christian Literature

There are a lot of Christian books that don't qualify as literature, and many books legitimately called literature that are in no way Christian. While this category may seem a bit redundant for a bookstore like ours, Christian Literature is simply our way of telling the two apart. Only books that are both literary and explicitly Christian (or at least authored by self-professed orthodox Christians) are included here.

Books that don't qualify include Christian genre fiction, books for younger readers, stories that are merely moral without expressing specific Christian truths, and the like. Books that do qualify include spiritual autobiographies and memoirs, high-quality Christian novels (think Dostoevsky and G.K. Chesterton), classics of the faith, etc.

If you're looking for doctrine, theology, Bible curriculum, or materials of that sort, we have other categories named accordingly. The titles here are intentionally selected to reflect work that is universally accepted for its stylistic quality, while simultaneously reflecting a Christian worldview, sometimes explicitly and sometimes through allegory. Both fiction and nonfiction are represented.

But why Christian literature? For one thing, part of our goal at Exodus Books is to help families and individuals think biblically about every aspect of life; art (particularly good art) can help in this regard by applying Christian principles to the universal elements of human experience, activities and feelings with which all of us are familiar but few think about.

Another reason for Christian literature as a category is to help readers recognize the often overlooked presence of genuinely Christian writing that is also genuinely honest and realistic. Too often "Christian" books are filled with sunshine, impossibly resolved situations, or simply positive messages that ignore the presence of sin, despair, and fear in the world. These books are not like that.

The Brothers Karamazov, for instance, is very Christian, but it also takes seriously the atheist's dilemma, the fact of evil, and the presence of tribulation in the life of believers. St. Augustine's Confessions reveals a man running from God before surrending himself wholly to the Holy Spirit; the essays of C.S. Lewis and G.K. Chesterton are pithy, funny, and perceptive; Martin Luther's Bondage of the Will is historically and theologically significant (and also makes excellent devotional reading).

All of these books are sometimes dark, sometimes lighthearted, always filled with the grace of Jesus. We don't necessarily endorse every idea you'll find in any of these titles, but we do heartily endorse the authors' desire to create beautiful works that illuminate God and our world from the perspective of the redeeming love and justice of Christ.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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59 Items found Print
Active Filters: 8th grade (Ages 13-14)
Ben-Hur
Signet Classics
by Lew Wallace
from Signet Classics
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$9.95
Ben-Hur
by Lew Wallace
from Heritage Press
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Book of the Dun Cow
by Walter Wangerin Jr.
from HarperCollins
for 8th grade-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.99
Daughter's Devotion
by George MacDonald, edited by Michael R. Phillips
from Bethany House
for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Father Brown Stories Part II
by G. K. Chesterton
from Ignatius Press
Mystery for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$23.50
Favorite Father Brown Stories
Dover Thrift Editions
by G. K. Chesterton
from Dover Publications
Mystery for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$5.50
Fellowship of the Ring
Lord of the Rings Trilogy #1
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Ballantine Books
Fantasy for 8th-12th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Fellowship of the Ring
Lord of the Rings #1: Deluxe Hardcover
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
Fantasy for 8th-12th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$40.00
Fellowship of the Ring
Lord of the Rings Trilogy #1
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
Fantasy for 8th-12th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.99
Four Adventures of Richard Hannay
by John Buchan
from David R. Godine
Action Adventure for 8th-10th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Gentlewoman's Choice
by George MacDonald, edited by Michael R. Phillips
2nd edition from Bethany House
for 8th-12th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
Hobbit
by J. R. R. Tolkien
2nd edition from Ballantine Books
Fantasy for 5th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Hobbit
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
Fantasy for 5th-9th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$35.00
Hobbit
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
Fantasy for 5th-9th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$19.99
Hobbit
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
Fantasy for 5th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$13.99
Hobbit
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
Fantasy for 5th-9th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.99
Hobbit & Lord of the Rings - Mass-Market Boxed Set
by J. R. R. Tolkien
Mti from Ballantine Books
Fantasy for 4th-12th grade
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$35.96
Hobbit & Lord of the Rings - Softbound Boxed Set
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
Fantasy for 4th-12th grade
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$72.00
Life of Our Lord
by Charles Dickens
from Simon and Schuster
for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$16.00
Lord of the Rings - Hardbound Boxed Set
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
Fantasy for 8th-12th grade
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$67.20
Lord Peter
by Dorothy Sayers
Reprint from Harper & Row
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$18.99
Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses
by Martin Luther
from P&R Publishing
for 7th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
Mere Christianity
by C. S. Lewis
from HarperCollins
Religion/Philosophy for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.99
Mourt's Relation
by Dwight B. Heath, editor
from Applewood Books
Primary Source Document for 8th-12th grade
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
Out of the Silent Planet
Space Trilogy Book 1
by C. S. Lewis
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Allegorical Science Fiction for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.00
Out of the Silent Planet
Space Trilogy Book 1
by C. S. Lewis
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Allegorical Science Fiction for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Out of the Silent Planet
Space Trilogy Book 1
by C. S. Lewis
46th Printing from Collier Books
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Perelandra
Space Trilogy Book 2
by C. S. Lewis
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Allegorical Science Fiction for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.99
Perelandra
Space Trilogy Book 2
by C. S. Lewis
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Allegorical Science Fiction for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Pilgrim's Progress (Read & Reflect with the Classics)
by John Bunyan
from B&H Books
for 8th-12th grade
in 17th Century Literature (Location: LIT4-17)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Pilgrim's Progress in Modern English
by John Bunyan, retold by James H. Thomas and illustrated by John M. Cadel
from Moody Press
for 7th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Quo Vadis (abridged)
by Henryk Sienkiewicz, edited and abridged by James S. Bell, Jr.
from Moody Press
for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Quo Vadis?
by Henryk Sienkiewicz, translated by Stanley F. Conrad
from Ignatius Press
for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Return of the King
Lord of the Rings Trilogy #3
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Ballantine Books
Fantasy for 8th-12th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Return of the King
Lord of the Rings #3: Deluxe Hardcover
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
Fantasy for 8th-12th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$40.00
Return of the King
Lord of the Rings Trilogy #3
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
Fantasy for 8th-12th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.99
Return of the King
Lord of the Rings Trilogy #3
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
Fantasy for 8th-12th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Robinson Crusoe
Signet Classics
by Daniel Defoe
from Signet Classics
Realistic Adventure Novel for 8th-Adult
in 18th Century Literature (Location: LIT5-18)
$5.95
Robinson Crusoe
by Daniel Defoe
from Oxford University
for 8th-12th grade
in 18th Century Literature (Location: LIT5-18)
$7.95
Robinson Crusoe
by Daniel Defoe
from Dover Publications
for 8th-Adult
in 18th Century Literature (Location: LIT5-18)
$11.00
Robinson Crusoe
by Daniel Defoe, with an introduction by Virginia Woolf
Reissue from Modern Library
for 8th-12th grade
in 18th Century Literature (Location: LIT5-18)
$9.00
Robinson Crusoe
by Daniel Defoe, illustrated by Edward A. Wilson
from Heritage Press
for 8th-12th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
Robinson Crusoe
Classics Club
by Daniel Defoe, with illustrations and maps from early editions
from Walter J. Black, Inc.
for 8th-12th grade
in 18th Century Literature (Location: LIT5-18)
Robinson Crusoe (abridged)
Everyman's Library Children's Classics
by Daniel Defoe
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Historical Fiction for 6th-12th grade
$16.95 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Silmarillion
by J. R. R. Tolkien & Christopher Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
Fantasy for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Silmarillion
by J. R. R. Tolkien & Christopher Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
Fantasy for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.99
Silmarillion
by J. R. R. Tolkien & Christopher Tolkien
Fantasy for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$75.00
Story of King Arthur and His Knights
Signet Classics
by Howard Pyle
from Signet Classics
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 7th-9th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$6.95
The Robe
by Lloyd Douglas
from Houghton Mifflin
Historical Fiction for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$19.99
Thirty-Nine Steps
Dover Thrift Editions
by John Buchan
from Dover Publications
Action Adventure for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$3.00
Thirty-Nine Steps
by John Buchan
from Penguin Classics
Action Adventure for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$13.00
Thirty-Nine Steps
by John Buchan
from Houghton Mifflin
Action Adventure for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
This Present Darkness / Piercing the Darkness
by Frank E. Peretti
from Crossway Books
for 8th-Adult
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Two Towers
Lord of the Rings Trilogy #2
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Ballantine Books
Fantasy for 8th-12th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Two Towers
Lord of the Rings #2: Deluxe Hardcover
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
Fantasy for 8th-12th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$40.00
Two Towers
Lord of the Rings Trilogy #2
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
Fantasy for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.99
Watership Down
by Richard Adams
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Animal Fiction for 7th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$19.99
Watership Down
by Richard Adams
Reissue from Atheneum
for 10th-Adult
1972 Carnegie Medal
in Scribner Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SCRIB)
$29.99
Westminster Confession of Faith
by Westminster Assembly
from Free Presbyterian Publications
for 7th-Adult
in Creeds, Confessions & Catechisms (Location: XTH-CREED)