As soon as Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” hits the speakers, Russell Moore knows it’s time to list his favorite books of the year. His 2025 selections reflect a world shaped by theological questions, technological disruption, and the deep human longing for meaning. These books, each compelling in its own way, stand out not only for their ideas but for how they moved him.
Theological Explorations and Recovered Contexts
Leslie Baynes’ Between Interpretation and Imagination explores how C.S. Lewis drew on Scripture, especially the Gospel of John, to deepen the world of Narnia. Moore praises her insights, particularly how biblical themes become more visible with Aslan’s presence.
In Augustine the African, Catherine Conybeare reframes Augustine not through modern identity politics but through his historical African roots. Moore sees this as a needed corrective to Western theological lenses and appreciates how Conybeare allows Augustine to remain his own person rather than a cultural symbol.
Graham Tomlin’s Blaise Pascal impressed Moore by clarifying Pascal’s deep engagement with reason, mystery, and God. The book dismantles clichés about Pascal’s wager and presents him as a companion for modern seekers.
Imaginative and Emotionally Rich Fiction
Ian McEwan’s What We Can Know led Moore into a layered narrative crossing centuries. He describes it as a haunting story about memory, guilt, and humanity’s yearning for atonement.
Daniel Nayeri’s The Teacher of Nomad Land resonated deeply. Moore calls it a fast-paced, deeply moral tale of sacrifice and hope during WWII Iran. He even texted friends, urging them to read it.
Stephen King’s Hansel and Gretel, paired with Maurice Sendak’s art, preserves the original tale’s terror while offering rare redemption. Moore admires its refusal to look away from horror and its embrace of courage.
Technology, Disconnection, and Hope
Nicholas Carr’s Superbloom is, to Moore, one of the year’s most urgent reads. Carr shows how social media amplifies anger and isolates us, even as it claims to connect. Moore echoes Carr’s warning: reality is being replaced by illusion, and the church must wake up.
Jonathan Rauch’s Cross Purposes also challenged Moore. Though still an atheist, Rauch now argues Christianity is vital to democracy’s health. Moore sees the book as both critique and encouragement—urging the church to be deeply Christian, not politically reactionary.
Poetic Vision and Rural Wisdom
Adam Plunkett’s Love and Need reintroduces Robert Frost not as a cold intellectual, but as a complex man struggling with justice, metaphor, and mortality. Moore praises the book for shifting his view of the poet.
Wendell Berry’s Marce Catlett was another standout. Moore, long a Berry admirer, calls it a fitting—and possibly final—conclusion to the Port William novels. The story’s grief and gratitude, he says, form “a standing ground—and a good one.”
Source:
Russell Moore’s Favorite Books of 2025
Photo by Gülfer ERG?N on Unsplash
About Post Author
