If we're going to take the sports angle to this tournament all the way, then at some point we need a "Moneyball" type to come in with formulas and spreadsheets to turn the whole thing on its head. Turns out that time is now, and that guy is me. I like my sports with a heavy dose of "advanced metrics" so I figured I'd try to bring a little of that flavor to our book tournament. Let's start by taking a closer look at what we mean by "best" book. In this format, what we really mean is "most head-to-head wins in a single … [Read more...] about The Best Christian Book of All Time: By the Numbers
Best Christian Book of All Time
The Best Christian Book of All Time: The Winner
We have a winner! Out of our original bracket of 64 books, one book has been chosen by Emerging Scholars Network members as the Best Christian Book of All Time. The Winner Confessions by Augustine has defeated Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis 50–43. Why Confessions Won the Title From the beginning, I thought Mere Christianity would win the competition. It seems to be the book mentioned most often when people are asked to name their favorite Christian book in an open-ended question, and it received the most … [Read more...] about The Best Christian Book of All Time: The Winner
Best Christian Book of All Time: The Ultimate Showdown!
It has come to this. The two best books in the history of Christianity have been chosen by you, our readers and Emerging Scholars Network members, and we're ready to answer the question of which book is the best Christian book of ALL TIME. Of course, this isn't the kind of question that sits well with all people. Now that we have moved beyond the brackets and are asking voters to choose between books of radically different genres and purposes, the difficulty of choosing between these books is increasing. Here are a … [Read more...] about Best Christian Book of All Time: The Ultimate Showdown!
Best Christian Book of All Time: Final Four
Over the weekend, voters made their choices for the Final Four in the Best Christian Book of All Time Tournament. Unlike the NCAA's Final Four, ours was marked by fewer upsets and fewer broken legs. (Please - if you don't know what I'm talking about, don't Google it. As a University of Louisville alumnus, I'm not sure I'll ever be able to think of my alma mater again without wincing in sympathy pain.) Review the Final Four below, then vote on Facebook for your choices! At the end of the post, I've also pulled out a … [Read more...] about Best Christian Book of All Time: Final Four
Best Christian Book of All Time: Final Elite Eight Selections
Our remaining Elite Eight competitors for the title Best Christian Book of All Time have been chosen! Our first number one seed has been knocked out of the tournament in a controversial result, pending an appeal to our judges. (OK —it actually wasn't controversial at all. Just...disappointing...to the members of our selection committee.) And now, the results. Fiction & Poetry The analysts' choice for the number one overall seed, Dante's Divine Comedy (1) was defeated 38-25 by C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia … [Read more...] about Best Christian Book of All Time: Final Elite Eight Selections