Reading classic literature shouldn't just be about trying to pass your high school English test.

Knowing the classics is a great way for Christians to better understand and share their faith.

St. Paul even quoted Greek philosophers and writers in his own letters to better connect with his audience,

and we should be able to do the same today. Classic novels also help us better articulate Christian

doctrine, classical virtue, and they give us a deeper

understanding of our own humanity and how God redeems it. So today, we're not going to review

the top 10 Christian books, but the top 10 classic novels, the ones most widely discussed in

the Western canon, that a Christian would most benefit from reading. So let's jump right in. Number 10,

Brave New World by Algeus Huxley.

Written in 1932, this is one of the classic dystopian novels, and it's amazing how much Huxley

correctly predicted. For example, he describes a reproduction process similar to in vitro fertilization

over 40 years before IVF was invented. The novel follows the residents of a society so firmly committed to utilitarianism

that the concept of childbirth is considered a vulgar joke.

I include Brave New World on this list because it's a kind of anti-gospel.

The bad news of what life is like when humanity embraces a cold, utilitarian, technocratic way of thinking.

This is especially the case when one of the characters who is considered a savage,

visits the so-called civilized world and is disgusted by what he sees.

I recommend this book because it holds up a disturbing mirror to our own society

and shows why the gospel is so badly needed.

Number nine, Dracula by Brom Stoker.

Written in 1897, Dracula is one of the pioneers in Gothic horror, a genre that focuses on

ancient supernatural threats, often in the context of dreary places like castles and cemeteries.

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