Orthodoxy (right teaching) and orthopraxy (right actions) are ever present concerns and topics of discussion for Christians. The New Testament is replete with pleas for the church to protect the sound doctrine that had been handed down to them and to live in accordance with the Scriptures. One generation later, Clement of Rome (ad 95) rebuked the Corinthian church: though they used to have “[t]he commandments and the ordinances of the Lord…written on the tablets of [their] hearts,” they had since “abandoned the fear of God…[by] neither walking according to the laws of [God’s] commandments nor living in accordance with His duty toward Christ.”[1] Clement called the Corinthians to join the Roman Christians in “conform[ing] to the glorious and holy rule of our tradition.”[2]
Each succeeding generation has continued to battle false teachings and immoral living, ours no less than any other. In this struggle we should remain humble and look for guidance and advice from others. Several of our recommended books for autumn orbit the stars of orthodoxy and orthopraxy. How do we determine right doctrine and apply it in disparate cultures, times, and places? In addition, two of our selections speak more directly to the gravitational field which holds the fiery couple in their eternal embrace—the moral imagination. How do we turn right thinking into right doing? Below, we hope that you will find helpful resources for determining orthodoxy and turning it into orthopraxy.
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Jessixa Bagley, Boats for Papa (New York: Roaring Brook Press, 2015), 28 pages.
Youth ministry offers many rewarding opportunities to celebrate our students’ life achievements—graduations, state championships, driver’s licenses, and academic honors. Less often, but possibly more importantly, we are called on to walk with children and teens through dark days of pain and suffering. Jessixa Bagley’s recent publication, Boats for Papa is an excellent read and resource for youth workers who find themselves in this position.
Bagley’s brilliantly illustrated children’s book is written to help children and families deal with the grief of losing a parent, particularly a father. The main character is a young beaver named Buckley whose father (Papa) has died. Buckley uses his skill at making small boats out of driftwood to remember Papa whom he misses very much. Buckley never forgets or stops loving Papa, but he also learns how much his mother loves him. For someone like me who struggles with empathy, Boats for Papa is a fantastic way to gain insight into the emotions and thoughts of a hurting child. I highly recommend it for personal growth and as a resource for hurting children and families in your flock.
—Recommended by Phillip Morgan
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Mark Coppenger, Moral Apologetics for Contemporary Christians (Nashville: B&H Academic, 2011), 296 pages.
Dr. Coppeneger’s book, Moral Apologetics is an excellent resource for addressing and preparing to teach on the subject of apologetics. Many books on apologetics land squarely within their schools of thought (e.g., evidential, classical, presuppositional, etc.). Yet in some ways, Copeenger’s book breaks that mold.
In Moral Apologetics, Christianity is not only shown to be true, but also morally superior to all other thought systems and is the best poised for human flourishing. What sets this volume apart even more is the vast spectrum of sources the author cites. From philosophers and theologians, to musicians and comedians, Coppenger shows the fault in non-biblical worldviews. For those looking for a fresh look on apologetics, I highly recommend this volume.
—Recommended by Christopher Talbot
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Simon Gathercole and Craig Evans, Defending Substitution: An Essay on Atonement in Paul (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2015) 128 pages.
Recently, there has been much lively debate concerning whether Christ’s death was substitutionary. Gathercole’s work discusses the importance of substitution, but also spends much time defending the doctrine through a careful interpretation of two key texts: 1 Corinthians 15:3 and Romans 5:6-8. This work will help readers make sense of a vital doctrine and the biblical warrant for it.
—Recommended by Jesse Owens
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Brad S. Gregory, The Unintended Reformation: How a Religious Revolution Secularized Society (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2012), 587 pages.
Brad Gregory’s The Unintended Reformation offers a vast overview of intellectual development since the 1300s. Gregory’s aim is to show how developments in theology eventually led to the modern secularized societies that we inhabit. According to Gregory, John Dunn Scotus (c. 1266-1308) opened a division in epistemology by attempting to discern what could be learned about God based solely on reason and philosophy.
The Reformers sought to battle the results of Scotus’ Aristotelianism along with the many abuses and excesses of medieval Roman Catholicism. Gregory suggests that a secular worldview began to develop out of the Reformation and Counterreformation’s doctrinal disagreements. Since the seventeenth century, many secular philosophies have developed and been abandoned resulting in the post-modern milieu we currently inhabit. Therefore, it is important for us to understand the intellectual history of the past 700 years because we are still living in the repercussions and developments of the Reformation.
Several times throughout the book, Gregory reminds his readers that science has never proven the Bible’s truth claims false. Though he never directly contends that theology should be reinstated as the queen of the sciences, it is clear that Gregory thinks that we would be well served to approach all areas of thought through theology. The Unintended Reformation is a tough read for those unfamiliar with philosophy and historical theology, but it is certainly worth the effort. Francis Schaeffer’s, How Should We Then Live?, The God Who Is There, He Is There and He Is Not Silent, and The Escape from Reason would be helpful primers for The Unintended Reformation, which serves as a robust, highly-academic reinforcement of Schaeffer’s work.
—Recommended by Phillip Morgan
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Timothy Keller, Judges for You (Epsom: The Good Book Company, 2013), 215 pages.
I recently used this book for a Bible study at my church, and found it to be a remarkably helpful resource. Keller’s strengths in this volume are consistent Christ-centered interpretation and faithful, relevant application of complex narratives to 21st century hearers.
The book is divided into thirteen sections that would easily work for thirteen small group meetings. Furthermore, this work is part of a series that provides leaders with probing questions that lead to deeper discussion and application of God’s Word.
—Recommended by Jesse Owens
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Ben Mitchell and D. Joy Riley, Christian Bioethics: A Guide for Pastors, Health Care Professionals, and Families (Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2014), 197 pages.
How do we move from the ancient biblical texts to medical issues like stem cell research, organ donation, and life-extension technologies? These moral dilemmas are becoming more frequent as medical technologies advance. Using a dialogue format, Ben Mitchell and Joy Riley provide an approachable book for laity, pastors, and students to navigate through these bioethical issues. Medical technologies are central to much of our lives and will become increasingly problematic. Thus Christian Bioethics is a much-needed guide for seasoned ethicist, health care professionals, and pastors.
—Recommended by Zachery Maloney
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Russell D. Moore, Tempted and Tried: Temptation and the Triumph of Christ (Wheaton: Crossway, 2011), 196 pages.
In a fallen world, it should not shock us that we are tempted and tried. Temptation existed even in the pre-fallen world without sin. In his book, Tempted and Tried, Russell Moore demonstrates that Satan’s techniques have not changed much since the Garden of Eden. Writing on temptation, Moore says, “Temptation only works if the possible futures open to you are concealed.” Moore honestly exposes the horrors of sin while revealing the only One who knows how to “destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). I encourage everyone to read through this book to understand that temptation can be overcome through the work of Christ alone.
—Recommended by Zachery Maloney
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Ted Tripp, Shepherding a Child’s Heart (Wapwallopen: Shepherd Press, 1995), 215 pages.
Being involved in youth and family ministry, and now a father-to-be, it seems that parenting books are a dime-a-dozen. Popular bookstores have entire rows dedicated to this niche market. As I try to prepare myself for the biblical calling of parenthood, I find many of these books offer only pragmatic suggestions.
Yet Ted Tripp’s Shepherding a Child’s Heart breaks that mold. With wonderfully accessible writing, Tripp gives a solid, biblical foundation and formula for parenting. He reminds readers of not only biblical categories, but also biblical motivations. While I cannot speak from an experiential level yet, I have found this book beneficial as I prepare myself for this next stage of life.
—Recommended by Christopher Talbot
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J.R.R. Tolkien, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, & Sir Orefo (New York: Ballantine Books, 1975), 214 pages.
Modern fiction books are often so empty. They leave readers unsatisfied, like trying to sustain one’s self simply on sugar. It seems harmless at first, but then we’re left with a miserable tummy ache, and think better of it next time. However, fiction books before modern times overwhelmingly contained some moral or point of substance. We may not have always agreed with its moral, but at least it had one. At least its author treated us like thinking, reasoning beings. For this reason, I believe it’s worthwhile to immerse ourselves in those works of the past. There’s a reason the masterpieces of world literature are, well, masterpieces.
In this selection, we have J.R.R. Tolkien’s translation of some classics: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, and Sir Orefo, which were written at least by the late 1300s. No doubt stories of knights, round tables, dragons, fairies, and so forth strike us as unfamiliar; but that’s only because our modern upbringings are rather narrow, and we’ve lost something of the magic of life. Unlike modern stories, these teach about chivalry, godliness, honor, piety, and other classical virtues. For these reasons and others, I recommend Tolkien’s translation of these stories.
Selected quote from Pearl:
Then Jesus summoned his servants mild,
And said His realm no man might win,
Unless he came there as a child;
Else never should he come therein.
—Recommended by Matthew Bracey
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Vincent of Lerins, Commonitores (A.D. 434)
Living in an age when links to the past were being weakened, Vincent of Lerins was a fifth century Christian who made some useful contributions to the idea of the catholicity of orthodox doctrine. I first learned of Vincent by reading Thomas Oden discuss the ‘Vincentian Canon’ in his memoir A Change of Heart. Knowing how much of an impact Vincent’s famous formulation had on Oden compelled me to read him further.
Born in Gaul during a time of theological conflict and social disintegration, Vincent wrote his work under the pseudonym Peregrinus (‘the Pilgrim’). However, Commonitores was probably published posthumously. His most famous utterance is typically translated as such: “We hold that which has been believed everywhere, always, and by everyone.” While all of Vincent’s reflections aren’t exactly consistent with Protestant thought today—partly because of the Roman Catholic appropriation of them—his contributions played a significant role in the preservation of orthodox Christian thought in a time of disputation and dissent.
—Recommended by W. Jackson Watts
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Grant Wacker, America’s Pastor: Billy Graham and the Shaping of Evangelical America (Cambridge: Belknap Press, 2014), 448 pages.
Billy Graham was one of the most important figures in American Christianity in the 20th century. All biographers agree on this, regardless of whether they view him and his ministry favorably. Historian Grant Wacker has added another scholarly, sympathetic voice of reflection on Graham’s impact and influence on American Christianity.
Wacker, a careful scholar in his own right, applies several angles of interpretation to Graham’s ministry. Specifically, he uses what I would describe as lenses to narrate and evaluate Graham’s sweeping ministry. These lenses are those of ‘preacher,’ ‘icon,’ ‘southerner,’ ‘entrepreneur,’ ‘architect,’ ‘pilgrim,’ ‘pastor,’ and ‘patriarch.’ The book helpfully situates Graham not only in the context of neo-evangelicalism (something that has already been done sufficiently), but it also places Graham in the larger American cultural context that was emerging and changing over the course of Graham’s lengthy ministry. I think this book would be of great interest to persons who admire Graham, as well as those who want to better understand the complicated relationship between evangelical faith and mainstream American society.
—Recommended by W. Jackson Watts
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Philip Wogaman, Christian Ethics: A Historical Introduction (Westminster: John Knox Press, 1993), 352 pages.
As Christians, we can’t not concern ourselves with ethics. Ethics, after all, is the foundation of our morals; and our morals, the evidence of our Christian confession. And yet, we struggle in our ungodly culture to see the way forward. Well-meaning Christians seem to disagree over the best course of action in any given circumstance. C.S. Lewis offers helpful instruction:
We all, therefore, need the books that will correct the characteristic mistakes of our own period. And that means the old books. . . . None of us can fully escape this blindness [of our time], but we shall certainly increase it, and weaken our guard against it, if we read only modern books. . . . Two heads are better than one, not because either is infallible, but because they are unlikely to go wrong in the same direction.[3]
Other than Scripture itself, the Christian tradition is about the best place we can go to ask questions about the way forward. No, these people weren’t infallible. But they’re our brothers and sisters in Christ, and if there is anyone who will sympathize with our questions, struggles, and so forth, most certainly, it is they.
For these reasons and more, I recommend Wogaman’s Christian Ethics: A Historical Introduction. Throughout the book, Wogaman considers historical context, key movements, thinkers, and issues. We quickly see that Christians of ages past have dealt with many of the same issues we do: abortion, creation care, divorce and remarriage, ethnicity, homosexuality, politics, sexuality, war, and more.
In many cases, we find help and encouragement in the way in which previous Christians dealt with certain problems. But even where we don’t agree totally with how a particular Christian handled a given issue, he or she at least helps us to think through it critically; and if nothing else, they stand as examples of what not to do.
This is not an easy book. But I believe it’s appropriately challenging and constructively helpful, and I commend it to you.
—Recommended by Matthew Bracey
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[1] 1 Clement 2:8, 3:4.
[2] Ibid., 7:2.
[3] C.S. Lewis, Introduction to On the Incarnation, http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/history/ath-inc.htm#ch_0.
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