Hi, 

At Mere Orthodoxy we believe that knowledge begets delight. 

On its own, that isn’t enough to produce maturity, of course, and maturity in Christ is the ultimate goal. And you’ll need healthy spiritual rhythms, wise counselors, a rich life of personal disciplines, and so on to get there. 

But a joyless maturity will never commend itself to others or grow healthy churches or movements. So in the pursuit of maturity, we put a strong emphasis on joy and even simple happiness—and we believe that a deeper encounter with the rich doctrines of Christianity is a sure route to joy.

Because of that concern, we see a large part of our work as educating our readers in timeless truth and helping them apply those truths to their context. To help with that, we are offering new donors their pick of some of the books we have enjoyed and benefited from this year. Donors will be able to choose books from this bundle as a thank you for supporting our work.

Sacred Seasons: A Family Guide to Center Your Year Around Jesus by Mere O contributor Danielle Hitchens

Digital Liturgies: Rediscovering Christian Wisdom in an Online Age by Mere O contributor Samuel James

Called Into Questions: Cultivating the Love of Learning Within the Life of Faith by Mere O founder Matthew Lee Anderson

A Quiet Mind to Suffer With: Mental Illness, Trauma, and the Death of Christ by John Andrew Bryant

Begotten or Made? by Oliver O’Donovan

Each of these books was chosen because of how it educates us into a specific kind of formation with specific relevance to our current cultural moment. 

• Hitchens will help you develop rhythms of Christian practice in your home with your family or household. 
• James will help you develop a thicker understanding of how digital technology is forming you as a person. 
• Anderson will teach you how to ask good questions and to engage questions in a Christ-shaped way. 
• Bryant’s book is the best thing I have ever read on the Gospel and mental health. 
• O’Donovan’s is the best thing you’ll find on Christian ethics and sexuality, particularly transgender issues, and it features a foreword from our founder, Matthew Lee Anderson. It is also probably the best place to start if you want to begin reading O’Donovan, who is the preeminent Protestant ethicist of the past century.

For donors who give $100 to our campaign, you’ll be able to pick one book from the bundle. Donors giving at $250 can pick two. Donors giving at $500 can pick three. Finally, donors who give $1000 or more will receive the entire bundle.

Our hope is that these books will help you become more grounded and rooted in your understanding of the Christian message and that they will enrich your daily experience of practicing the faith in our disorienting and confusing times. You can give to our campaign using this link.

Under the Mercy,

~Jake