Christianity Today Magazine Honors Palmer Professor Ron Sider

In its 50th anniversary issue, the Carol Stream, Illinois-based Christianity Today magazine, considered the flagship publication of the evangelical movement, recognized Palmer Seminary theology professor Ron Sider’s book Rich Christian in an Age of Hunger as being among the 50 books to have most shaped evangelicalism over the past five decades.

Dr. Sider’s landmark book, first published in 1977, came in at number seven, based on responses from dozens of evangelical leaders, with the final determination made by the magazine’s editors. The number seven ranking placed Rich Christians ahead of such bestsellers as Corrie ten Boom’s The Hiding Place (48), Rick Warren’s The Purpose-Driven Life (42), Charles Colson’s Born Again (41), James Dobson’s Dare to Discipline (29), Paul Tournier’s The Meaning of Persons (24), Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s The Cost of Discipleship (19), and Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline (11).

The books deemed more influential than Sider’s are as follows: Kenneth Taylor’s The Living Bible (6); J. I. Packer’s Knowing God (5); Francis Schaeffer’s The God Who Is There (4); C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity (3); Donald McGavran’s Understanding Church Growth (2); and Rosalind Rinker’s Learning Conversational Prayer, which captured the top spot.

Dr. Sider is Professor of Theology, Holistic Ministry, and Public Policy at Palmer, and is also the founder and president of Evangelicals for Social Action.