The following writers have so far had the most influence on my philosophical ideas:
Origen of Alexandria (for his allegorical interpretations), Jerome of Rome (for his commitment to using the Hebrew texts), Augustine of Hippo (for his views on predestination, the Eucharist, and about everything else), Peter the Venerable (for his views on Islam), Thomas Aquinas (for his views on Islam and his support of the Filioque), John Wycliffe (for his support of all men having access to the scriptures), Martin Luther (for his support of Sola Scriptura,) John Calvin (for his thoughts on the free-will debate), Thomas Cranmer (for his justifications for the English Reformation), Alister Mcgrath (for his views on justification, the authority of scripture, etc). N. T. Wright (for his views on justification and other issues), Scott Hahn (for his views on the Eucharist), Norman Geisler (for his views on free will), Craig Blomberg (for his eschatology), J. C. Ryle (for his thoughts on Christian wisdom), J. I. Packer (for his views on evangelism), C. S. Lewis (for basically everything), and J. R. R. Tolkien (for his views on Catholicism).
I would also add that in general, the Greek fathers and the medievals of the Latin west have influenced my theological views on various topics. Athanasius of Alexandria has helped to inspire my loyalty to Trinitarianism. Of all the above mentioned, Augustine and Lewis have probably influenced me theologically the most.
The following historians are among some of the most influential on my scholarly studies concerning history:
Brian Tierney (for papal infallibility), N. T. Wright (for the first century), Helen Nicholson (for the Knights Templars and the crusades), David Nicolle (for the crusades), Jonathan Riley-Smith (for the crusades), C. S. Lewis (a literary historian of Medieval literature), Thomas Asbridge (for the crusades), Geoffrey Reagan (for the crusades), John Gillingham (for the life of Richard the Lionheart), George Grant (for the crusades), Stephen Greenblatt (for English literature), Benjamin W. Griffith (for English literature), Jamie Blosser (for medieval history), Peter W. Edbury (for the crusades), Harold Lamb (for the crusades), James Mcpherson (for the American Civil War), Mike Aquilina (for early Christianity), and J. R.R. Tolkien (historian of Anglo-Saxon literature).
The works of Asbridge, Nicholson and Nicolle have been especially useful for my novels about the crusades. I'm not going to bother listing the authors of medieval accounts concerning the crusades in this article that have also inspired my works though I may do that some other time.
The following literary writers have greatly impacted my storytelling:
Homer, The Beowulf poet, The Lancelot-Grail poet, Virgil, Ovid, Dante, Petrarch, Chaucer, The Pearl poet, The Everyman poet, Shakespeare, John Bunyan, Sir Walter Scott, Jane Austen, Olivia Coolidge, Michael and Jeff Shaara, G. A. Henty, C. S. Lewis, and J. R. R. Tolkien.
I tried only listing those in his article who I have read enough from to say that they have had in some way or another, a significant impact on me. This list does not include every theologian, historian, or novelist that I have ever read from. I hope this list will be helpful for those who wish to gain familiarity with some of the sources that I have used for my research.
