Reddit reviews The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming

If you're interested in this painting, check out the book "The Return of the Prodigal Son" by Henri Nouwen. It's an incredible read and the cover folds out so that you can look at that painting while reading the book.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Return-Prodigal-Son-Homecoming/dp/0385473079

You absolutely must read The Return of the Prodigal Son. It transformed the way I understood God as the loving Father even as I was being the wayward son. Seriously, this is a great book for exactly what you are going through right now.

Love this parable - it has so many layers that it's definitely worth rereading over and over because there's always something new to discover.

Henry Nouwen has an awesome book that explores this parable that I definitely recommend - it's a short/totally manageable read, and is really insightful.

The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming by Henri Nouwen. Taken from a parable from Jesus himself expressing the love of God, Nouwen interacts with Rembrandt's life and his painting and connects it with this parable from the perspective of the youngest son, the oldest son, and the father. Really puts the love of God in perspective.

Henri Nouwen ([Life of the Beloved](http://www.amazon.com/Life-Beloved-Spiritual-Living-Secular/dp/0824519868), [Return of the Prodigal Son](http://www.amazon.com/Return-Prodigal-Son-Story-Homecoming/dp/0385473079), [Seeds of Hope](http://www.amazon.com/books/dp/0385490496))
Karl Rahner (The Great Church Year, Love of Jesus and the Love of Neighbor)
Thomas Merton ([New Seeds of Contemplation*](http://www.amazon.com/New-Seeds-Contemplation-Thomas-Merton/dp/0811217248))

Here's some novels with some very interesting themes: Timothy Findley's Pilgrim (about a man that cannot die, about the nature of man and, to some extent, divinity and religion), David Adams Richards' The Friends of Meager Fortune (about sin/evil and gossip in the context of a small lumber town), Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum (the nature of truth and the power of text wrapped up in a massive, world-changing conspiracy involving the Knights Templar), George Orwell's 1984 (totalitarianism, language, and politics in general? this was very formative to my grade 7 self), Ayn Rand's Anthem (think of it as the anti-Animal Farm, except even less subtle and Rand is never a very strong writer or [IMO] political thinker, still offers a relevant counter-balance and much more readable than Atlas Shrugged due to this books shorter length and less ambitious scope).

As a theology graduate, I recommend these books on modern Christian thought: Stanley Hauerwas' and William Willimon's Resident Aliens and Where Resident Aliens Live (calls for the Church to view itself as a colony living within the nations of the world -- a big part of the call is for Christians to disentangle themselves from secular politics), Stanley Hauerwas' After Christendom (he calls this a "prequel" to Resident Aliens, it lays a lot of groundwork that Resident Aliens assumes -- Hauerwas is, strictly speaking, an ethical thinker but this book covers topics ranging from the how justice to the language we use, but ends on a note knowing that for all the ground he'll cover, Hauerwas' own thought on these topics is incomplete and is part of an ongoing discussion with other thinkers). Reinhold Neibuhr's The Nature and Destiny of Man (Neibuhr is probably the most influential American ethicist -- his influence is felt wide even if his name isn't credited so often. Last election both Obama and McCain referred to him as their favourite American political thinker, his approach to understanding justice has shaped how American Christianity views politics; Hauerwas [who I have obvious sympathies for] views this influence in a negative light, while simultaneously admitting some level of indebtedness to him; these two volumes are Neibuhr's attempt to consolidate the entire history of philosophy). Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Discipleship (aka The Cost of Discipleship) is an important text to see the roots of discontent with Neibuhr's own political theology and Bonhoeffer offers a very different, very radical version (Bonhoeffer was a student of Neibuhr but found more comfort in the politics of Islam and the black churches of Detroit than Neibuhr; Bonhoeffer tried to organize a peaceful, church based resistance to German's Nazi regime, this book advocates pacifism. The German Church was unwilling to offer any to resistance to the evils of Hitler's regime so he famously was executed after getting involved in a plot to bomb Hitler); Bonhoeffer's book is an interpretation of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount and uses the ethics found within to argue that the Lutheran Church had a bad view of God's grace that didn't involve Christian ethics. Of these I'd consider Discipleship and Resident Aliens to be must reads as Discipleship is a pretty traditional book on ethics while Resident Aliens is a call to live by these sorts of ethics (Hauerwas and Willimon are both Bonhoeffer fans).

For some classic texts, I suggest Plato's Republic (I'm a bit of a Platonist in my weaker moments, and Republic is such a comprehensive text; Plato covers everything from the nature of art, education, family, and the soul), St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans (some theologians consider this particular epistle to be THE primary Pauline text, a book which provides the tools for the Gentile community to interpret Jewish scriptures truthfully; in the history of European thought Paul's writings in Romans have been important. A lot of Luther's political thought comes from his interpretation of Romans and Luther's political theology has had a lasting impression on the direction of European thought. I suggest the NIV translation [not my favourite but it's pretty accessible while not prone to over simplify some of the grammatical ambiguities of the Koine Greek text]), St. Augustine's Confessions (Augustine's autobiography, it presents his thoughts on the nature of God's love, the human condition, and evil; it's much less dense than City of God which covers his political thought [if you ever soldier through that, I suggest an abridged version]). Of these I'd consider the epistle to the Romans to be essential (it's so short yet pretty dense, as the history of interpretation shows) and Republic (extremely important to the history of political thought).

Also, if you want some good books on spirituality I recommend Khalil Gibran's The Prophet (a poem about his thoughts on various topics: he was a Christian deeply influenced by his Arabic roots and a universalist) and Henri Nouwen's The Return of the Prodigal Son (Nouwen was a Catholic priest who struggled with his vows of celibacy and his need for intimacy, and [as it was later revealed when he died] his homosexuality; this book is an extended commentary on the parable of the prodigal son using Rembrandt's painting of it as a lens through which to understand the themes Nouwen seeks to talk about, it's a deeply personal book). Both are easy reads (The Prophet is easily read in one sitting, The Return of the Prodigal Son easily read in two or three). Nouwen's books have been very important to me as of late in understanding my own spiritual position in relation to my own work and volunteering. He's moved me and given me the resources to understand how I can deal with the pain another shares with me as they seek to understand the pain in their lives.

Have you read Nouwen's book about it?