Complete New Book List
October, 2017
Imitating God in Christ: Recapturing a Biblical Pattern, by Jason B. Hood. Provides us a biblical theology of the imitation of Christ, resulting in the recovery of a biblical pattern, and a challenge and corrective to embracing moralism on one side and fearing it on the other. As Sinclair Ferguson said: “The goal of the Spirit’s ministry in sanctification is the reproduction of likeness to Christ, and in this sense to produce the imitation of Christ”.
The Way of the Dragon or the Way of the Lamb: Searching for Jesus’ Path of Power in a Church That Has Abandoned It, by Jamin Goggin and Kyle Strobel. The authors believe that Christians today have fallen prey to the seductions of worldly power. Rather than following the path of kingdom power embodied by Jesus, too many chase relevance and influence. Russell Moore says this book is “insightful, humbling, and worshipful”.
Known by God: A Biblical Theology of Personal Identity, by Brian S. Rosner (Biblical Theology for Life). Who are you? Surveys the neglected biblical theme of being known by God as his children—the key to a secure personal identity, which gives our fleeting lives significance. Contains charts and numerous sidebars and quotations.
Our Secular Age: Ten Years of Reading and Applying Charles Taylor, edited by Collin Hansen. Reflections on the highly influential book published by Charles Taylor on the spread of secularism and the decline of faith. This collection of essays is published by The Gospel Coalition, and contributors include Derek Rishmawy, Carl Trueman, Alastair Roberts, Michael Horton, and others.
A Week in the Fall of Jerusalem, by Ben Witherington III. An esteemed theologian and Bible commentator combines narrative fiction with scholarly investigation to describe the fall of Jerusalem in 70AD to the Roman general Titus.
The Brigade: An Epic Story of Vengeance, Salvation, and World War II, by Howard Blum. True story of the Jewish brigade, formed to fight Nazis during latter stages of WWII. After the horrors of the Holocaust were unveiled, they turned to seek out vengeance on Nazis in hiding, until a chance encounter with an orphan girl causes them to redirect their efforts to transporting Jewish war orphans to Palestine, impacting the course of world history.
Recapturing the Wonder: Transcendent Faith in a Disenchanted World, by Mike Cosper. Modern skepticism has drained some of the richest substance from belief. Cosper helps us recapture the wonder and awe.
Christianity at the Crossroads: How the Second Century Shaped the Future of the Church, by Michael J. Kruger. It is the 2nd century. Everyone who knew Jesus is dead. Christianity has begun to spread, but there are serious threat to its survival. It was during this period that the fledging Church struggled to work out its identity and stay true to the vision of Christ and the apostles. Threatened by divisive controversies from within and fierce persecution from without, the Church’s response to these and other issues not only determined its survival; it was to shape the beliefs, values, and lives of millions of Christians throughout the world over the next two millennia.
Extraordinary Women of Christian History: What We Can Learn from Their Struggles and Triumphs, by Ruth A. Tucker. Christianity has long been criticized as a patriarchal religion. But during its 2,000-year history, the faith has been influenced and passed down by faithful women who are examples to us of faith, perseverance, and fortitude. Women covered in this book include both the famous and the obscure, such as Perpetua, Hilda of Whitby, Teresa of Avila, Susanna Wesley, Susannah Spurgeon, Ann Judson, Harriet Tubman, Corrie ten Boom, and dozens of others.
Confessions (Augustine): A New Translation by Sarah Ruden. A dynamic and fresh new translation of this great work of Western literature, which brings us closer to Augustine’s intent than any other version. Highly recommended by Sam Storms.
The Face of Water: A Translator on Beauty and Meaning in the Bible, by Sarah Ruden. She is a classicist and a Quaker, not a Bible scholar, but her approach to translation recovers the beauty and intensity of God’s Word (see preceding entry on her translation of Augustine’s Confessions), and away from “just the facts” approaches.
The Pursuing God: A Reckless, Irrational, Obsessed Love That’s Dying to Bring Us Home, by Joshua Ryan Butler. Derek Rishmawy says the author is “enthralled by the vision of a beautiful God whose goodness goes deep down” and who wants to share his goodness. Todd Billings says that God takes us by surprise “in the incarnation, crucifixion and resurrection of Christ”, and the book “presents Christian doctrine in color and motion”.
People of the Promise: A Mere Protestant Ecclesiology, edited by Joseph Minich and Bradford Littlejohn. Focuses on the Protestant doctrine of the church and reflects on the relationship between the gospel promise and the community which it calls into being. Co-editor Joe Minich is an alumnus of CBC; he also provides one of the key essays. Recommended by Kevin Vanhoozer and Fred Sanders.
The Gospel According to Heretics: Discovering Orthodoxy Through Early Christological Conflicts, by David E. Wilhite. Teaches orthodox Christology by examining false starts (heresies).
Karl Barth: An Introductory Biography for Evangelicals, by Mark Galli. A whirlwind tour of the life and writings of this giant of 20th century theology.
The Fear of the Lord Is Wisdom: A Theological Introduction to Wisdom in Israel, by Tremper Longman III. He not only covers the wisdom books of the OT (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Job), but is unusually comprehensive in scope as he extends coverage to the Apocrypha, Dead Sea Scrolls, and the NT.
Twenty-Eight Years a Slave or the Story of My Life in Three Continents, by Thomas L. Johnson (Classic Reprint Series). Many of you have read the recent book, Steal Away Home, recounting the relationship between Charles Spurgeon and former African-American slave Thomas Johnson. This book, first published in 1909, is an autobiography by Johnson, recounting his life on three continents (in America as a slave, in London as a student at Spurgeon’s College, as a missionary to Africa, and as an evangelist in England).
Martin Luther: The Man Who Rediscovered God and Changed the World, by Eric Metaxas. New biography of the former monk who set off the Protestant Reformation.
Charles Dickens: A Critical Study, by G.K. Chesterton (Classic Reprint Series). Reprint of a classic study of the great author of A Christmas Carol and Great Expectations, by the inimitable Chesterton. Originally published in 1906.
The Deep Things of God: How the Trinity Changes Everything, 2nd Edition, by Fred Sanders. A 2017 revised edition of this highly praised book on the Trinity, which contains a new study guide.
COMMENTARIES: Revelation, by Richard D. Phillips (Reformed Expository Commentary).
ADULT/FAMILY DVDs: The Gospel of Mark, from Lionsgate. Full-length movie in which the only dialogue is word-for-word narration from the biblical text of Mark (you have a choice between the NIV or the King James).
ADULT FICTION: A Time to Stand, by Robert Whitlow.