My 2009 Reading

[CharlieJ]

I track my reading so I can evaluate my study habits. Every six months I start a separate list of books of which I've read all or a significant portion. Anyone who wants to talk about reading, study habits, any subject represented in this list, or any of the individual works, I'd love to hear from you. Oh, the asterisks represent books that I found exceptionally helpful, insightful, or moving. Of course, an asterisk does not necessarily imply that you will enjoy the work as much as I did.

July-December 2009

A Christian View of God and the World by James Orr

*A Contemporary Introduction to Free Will by Robert Kane

*A Defense of the Secret Providence of God (with Replies) by John Calvin

A History of Knowledge by Charles Van Doren

A Reformation Reader by Denis Janz

A Short History of Renaissance and Reformation Europe by Jonathan Zophy

A Sure Ground on Which to Stand: The Relation of Authority and Interpretive Method in Luther's Approach to Scripture by Mark Thompson

A Treatise on the Eternal Predestination of God (with a Brief Reply) by John Calvin

Adams Vs. Jefferson: The Tumultuous Election of 1800 by John Ferling

Aesthetics from Classical Greece to the Present by Monroe Beardsley

Calvin and Classical Philosophy by Charles Partee

Calvin in Context by David Steinmetz

Calvin: Origins and Development of His Religious Thought by Francois Wendel

*Calvinism by Abraham Kuyper (also known as the Stone Lectures)

Christ and Time by Oscar Cullman

Christian Education: Its History and Philosophy by Gangel and Benson

Concise History of Logic by Heinrich Schulz

Creation Regained by Al Wolters

De Anima by Aristotle

Discourse on Method by Rene Descartes

Early Protestant Educators by Frederick Eby

Evangelicalism Divided by Iain Murray

*Forerunners of the Reformation by Heiko Oberman

*From Shadow to Promise by James Preus

How the Churches Read the Bible by Kenneth Hagen

How the Scots Invented the Modern World by Arthur Herman

Ideas Have Consequences by Richard Weaver

In The Footsteps of the Ancients by Ronald Witt

*John Calvin’s Ideas by Paul Helm

*Jonathan Edwards: A Life by George Marsden

Justification by N.T. Wright

Levels of Constituent Structure in New Testament Greek by Michael Palmer

*Lexical Semantics of the Greek New Testament by Louw and Nida

Luther and Staupitz by David Steinmetz

Luther’s English Connection by James McGoldrick

Matter and Consciousness: A Contemporary Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind by Paul Churchland

Meditations on First Philosophy (with objections and replies) by Rene Descartes

*Misericordia Dei by David Steinmetz

On the Nature of Things (De Rerum Natura) by Lucretius

*Personal Knowledge: Towards a Post-Critical Philosophy by Michael Polanyi

Protestant Scholasticism by Trueman and Clark

Reformation and Scholasticism by Asselt and Dekker

Reformers in the Wings by David Steinmetz

Reforming Fundamentalism: Fuller Seminary and the New Evangelicalism by George Marsden

Renaissance and Reformation by William Estep

Studies in the Greek New Testament by Stanley Porter

*The Age of Reform by Steven Ozment

The American University by Jacques Barzun

The Apostolic Church by Thomas Witherow (re-read)

The Ascent of Money by Niall Ferguson

The Bible in America by Hatch and Noll

The Bible in the Churches by Kenneth Hagen

The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius

*The Democratization of American Christianity by Nathan Hatch

The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God by D. A. Carson

The Divine Dramatist: George Whitefield and the Rise of Modern Evangelicalism by Harry Stout

The Intellectual Origins of the European Reformation by Alister McGrath (re-read)

*The One, the Three, and the Many by Colin Gunton

The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller

*The Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle

The Reading and Preaching of the Scriptures in the Worship of the Christian Church, Vol. 1, by Hughes Oliphant Old

The Reformation in Medieval Perspective by Steven Ozment

The Reformation in the Cities by Steven Ozment

*The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn

*The Theater of His Glory: Nature and the Natural Order in the Thought of John Calvin by Susan Schreiner

The Theology of Hyuldrich Zwingli by W. P. Stephens

The Theology of Martin Luther by Paul Althaus

The Triune Creator by Colin Gunton

The Two Reformations by Heiko Oberman

The Unaccommodated Calvin by Richard Muller

Theological Education in the Evangelical Tradition by Hart and Mohler

Worldview: A History of the Concept by David Naugle

 

[Ivan]

Renaissance and Reformation by William Estep

Is this the retired prof from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth, Texas?

Edit: after a search I see that it is. Here's part of a review by a Amazon customer:

Estep was a proclaimed Anabaptist (which is ok), so this work gives far too much treatment to elevating the Anabaptists to the detriment of their enemies, particularly Zwingli. There is no critique of the Anabaptists that I found in the book

I knew Dr. Estep and I'd say that the above quote is an understatement. He was anti-Calvinist. That being said, at the same time at Southwestern, we had Dr. Curtis Vaughn and Dr. Tom Nettles, ardent Calvinists.

This list gives me pause for thought. We are having a planning meeting in a few weeks at Maranatha. One of the men suggested we give evidence on how we are going to grow spiritually in the coming year. Hmmm...I see that they are actually listening to my sermons.

 

[CharlieJ]

R&R was a textbook for my Ref. Church class. I believe it was chosen because Estep does a good job showing interrelations between theological, economic, and social history. I agree that it was pro-Anabaptist. Like many (not all!) Baptists, he sees in them anticipations of modern democratic (and supposedly superior) society. I don't remember anti-Calvinism coming through in the book. I don't know much about him, except that Dr. McGoldrick holds him in high esteem.

 

[LeeD]

Do you typically read upwards of 70 books each 6 months (2-3 books a week)?

 

[Soonerborn]

One question. How do you read so many books?

By the time I put the kids to bed and finish nightly "chores" it is 9:00 and I try to go to bed by 10.

I have thought about getting up early AM during the week to read more. Maybe thats the answer?