This winter we would like to share some good reads we discovered over the past few months. These selections represent a wide array of topics that we think will interest you. Some selections will be great for personal reading, others for family time. Most of all, we think they will broaden your understanding of God’s creation and His work in it because they have had that result in our lives. Please leave us your favorite reads in the comment section.
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Robert Alter, The Art of Biblical Narrative, 1st ed. (New York: Basic, 1981), 200 pages.
Jordan B. Peterson has become something of a subculture hero on the political right and center over the past decade. Like many others, I have been enriched by his literary analysis of familiar Scripture passages. While Peterson’s approach to engaging the Bible has drawn much attention from believers and unbelievers alike, I have been bothered by his failure to exposit each passage for its most direct meaning and historical claims. In an effort to improve my own teaching, preaching, and understanding of the Bible, I have been seeking to bring together Peterson’s engaging and fruitful approach to literary analysis with a more robust exegesis. Robert Alter’s The Art of Biblical Narrative has been immensely helpful to me in developing an understanding of the literature of the Old Testament (Alter’s attention is focused solely on the Jewish Bible).
A scholar of the Hebrew language and comparative literature, Alter argues that literary analysis of the narrative forms used in the Bible opens up new vistas of complexity and beauty in the Scriptures that many students of the Word are missing. He then shows how seven distinct narrative devices used by Old Testament writers deepen our understanding of the messages they were trying to convey. Alter’s careful analysis of various passages reveals how much we miss when we look only for content or data in a text. The form also speaks to us, nuancing the content on the surface. I was particularly fascinated by his examination of how the use of repetition conveys a strong sense of ordered meaning in the world and the power of words to transform that world. His meditation on the complex characters presented in David’s marriage to Saul’s daughter Michal was also enlightening. Each chapter was helpful in one way or another and inspired me to return to the Bible’s narratives with fresh enthusiasm. The Art of Biblical Narrative (which is now in its second edition) well deserved the National Jewish Book Award when it was first published in 1981.
Now, let me offer a significant caveat to this recommendation. Alter assumes that the Old Testament narratives are fiction, and he affirms the documentary hypothesis regarding the creation of the Pentateuch. However, he takes the text seriously as an attempt to communicate a specific message. So, while he denies the historicity of the Biblical account, his analysis and interpretation of specific passages parallel an historico-grammatical reading in many ways. For this reason, I am heartily commending this book to you but not endorsing every aspect of his argument. Read critically!
—Recommended by Phillip T. Morgan
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William R. Baker, ed., Evangelicalism and the Stone-Campbell Movement (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2002), 256 pages.
The Churches of Christ, Christian Churches, and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) all stem from the labors of Barton Stone and Alexander Campbell to “restore” the New Testament Church in the 1800s. For this reason, you will often hear the Stone-Campbell movement referred to as the Restoration Movement. Over time, the Disciples branch of the movement came to self-consciously identify with mainline Protestantism and increasingly embraced liberalism. The Churches of Christ and the Christian Churches, however, remained resolutely conservative in their theological approach. Still, they have had an uneasy relationship with mainstream evangelicalism, owing mainly to their eschewal of denominationalism and their doctrine of baptismal regeneration. As this book makes plain, however, in the last quarter century, many Restorationists have become more involved in broader evangelicalism, which is evidenced by recent changes like their participation in the Evangelical Theological Society.
In this engaging collection of essays, scholars from the Stone-Campbell movement write about their own history, the doctrine of conversion, and the doctrine and practice of the church before responses are given by more mainstream evangelicals. What emerges is a fascinating discussion from which all evangelicals would benefit. I especially recommend the collection of essays on the church wherein the Stone-Campbell authors exhibit significant depth of thought about the church, its polity, and its worship. They have much to teach us in this regard.
—Recommended by Joshua R. Colson
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Tilly Dillehay, My Dear Hemlock (Moscow, ID: Canon, 2024), 198 pages.
Tilly Dillehay has taken the format of C. S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters to craft her own book of spiritual lessons geared toward women. If you are like me, that pitch did not appeal to you at all. However, after listening to an interview with the author, I decided not to judge the book by its cover. I found Dillehay’s book to be filled with spiritual wisdom that is especially applicable to the weaker sex, and her nods to Lewis are tasteful as she reimagines how the same demonic mentor/mentee relationship would exist in a female context. Her reflections on prayer, empathy, and perverted desires were especially good, but I recommend the whole book for devotional reading or reading with friends.
—Recommended by Rebekah Zúñiga
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Alex DiPrima, Spurgeon and the Poor: How the Gospel Compels Christian Social Concern (Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage, 2023), 213 pages.
Charles Spurgeon’s fame flows from his excellent preaching, which is why he is often referred to as “the prince of preachers.” Yet Alex DiPrima’s Spurgeon and the Poor sheds light on Spurgeon’s social concern, particularly his care for widows, orphans, prostitutes, and his pastor’s college, which made preparation for ministry available to men who often could not afford it. In the first part of DiPrima’s work, he considers Spurgeon’s theology and preaching as the basis for his social concern. For Spurgeon, social concern was the natural outworking of sound Christian theology.
Part two of the book looks at Spurgeon’s varied involvement in benevolence ministries. DiPrima notes that by 1884 Spurgeon had helped form sixty-six benevolent ministries. In one place, DiPrima recounts the experience of John Gouge who had come from America to visit Spurgeon. While in London, Gough witnessed Spurgeon’s care for the poor, particularly one young man who Spurgeon consoled and comforted on his deathbed. Gouge wrote of Spurgeon: “I had seen Mr. Spurgeon holding by his power sixty-five hundred persons in a breathless interest; I knew him a great man universally esteemed and beloved; but as he sat by the bedside of a dying pauper child, whom his beneficence had rescued, he was to me a greater and grander man than when swaying the mighty multitude at his will” (xviii).
Eighty years ago, Carl F. H. Henry rightly called evangelicals back to social action in his work The Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism. Henry warned that we must not lose sight of the centrality of the gospel but also that we cannot embrace a gospel devoid of social action. Perhaps Spurgeon, ministering many decades before Henry’s work, can serve as a model for this vital balance. DiPrima’s work does much to stir the heart and mind, through Spurgeon’s example, towards Biblical social concern.
—Recommended by Jesse Owens
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Alec Motyer, Psalms by the Day: A New Devotional Translation (Ross-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2023), 422 pages.
Alec Motyer has become one of my go-to authors. His commentary on Isaiah is second to none in my estimation for its rigorous exegesis, theological depth, and practical wisdom. So, I was excited several years ago to find this devotional volume on the Psalms. Motyer provides his own devotional translation of the Psalms, accompanied by some semi-technical notes in the margins, followed by a devotional reflection on each psalm. The combination of these three elements is very helpful for personal devotion or sermon preparation. I have used the book for both. I am convinced that a regular reading of the Psalms helps Christians maintain a well-balanced Christian life since they address the full range of human experience and emotion. Motyer’s work is a wonderful guide for carefully working your way through the psalms.
—Recommended by Jesse Owens
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Eugene Peterson, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society, 2nd ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2019), 206 pages.
A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, Eugene Peterson’s most well-known work next to The Message paraphrase Bible, was originally released some forty-five years ago, but it is as relevant today as ever. Peterson takes up the psalms of ascent (Psalms 120–134)—psalms that most scholars believe were sung by Israelite pilgrims on their journey to Jerusalem for holy days—and teaches Christians how to sing and pray them as pilgrims on their way, weekly, to the Jerusalem that is from above (the Church) and on their life-time journey to the heavenly Jerusalem. “Christians,” Peterson explains, “will recognize how appropriately these psalms may be sung between the times: between the time we leave the world’s environment and arrive at the Spirit’s assembly; between the time we leave sin and arrive at holiness” (14). Peterson’s tried-and-true work is sure to help you on your discipleship journey.
—Recommended by Joshua R. Colson
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Robert E. Picirilli, Mere Eschatology: A Biblical Study of the Second Coming and the End of the Age (Nashville: D6 Family Ministry, 2024), 252 pages.
As I observed in a recent post, the subject of eschatology has inspired me lately. Consequently, I have been reading and teaching through Robert E. Picirilli’s Mere Eschatology. It has been a deeply rewarding study. The book comprises two parts and seventeen chapters, part one concerning the theme of Jesus’ second coming and part two presenting a Biblical survey of eschatology. It is a relatively short work for its scope and eminently readable. If you are interested in this topic or would like a helpful companion through a Sunday school series (as I have done), I commend this work.
—Recommended by Matthew Steven Bracey
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Benjamin T. Quinn and Dennis T. Greeson, The Way of Christ in Culture: A Vision for All of Life (Brentwood, TN: B&H Academic), 154 pages.
A proliferation of books on Christianity and culture, not to mention Christians in Culture edited by Matthew Steven Bracey and me, has been published in recent years. One might therefore wonder how another book on Christ and culture could help on an already crowded topic. Even so, Benjamin T. Quinn and Dennis T. Greeson’s book demonstrates the still pressing need to engage this subject. I dare say that The Way of Christ in Culture is the most concise and helpful primer I have read on the topic. Quinn and Greeson masterfully engage with the significant issues at play when discussing the topic of Christ and culture in seven short chapters and less than 140 pages. For the novice, this book lays out taxonomies in an accessible manner (e.g., H. Richard Niebuhr). Yet it exhibits nuance in a concise and cogent manner that the advanced reader will appreciate. I think this book works best as a primer on the subject and heartily recommend it.
—Recommended by Christopher Talbot
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Francis A. Schaeffer, Pollution and the Death of Man (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011), 160 pages.
Originally published in 1970, Francis Schaeffer’s Pollution and the Death of Man has been considered by some to be the first book about environmental ethics by an evangelical. Schaeffer was primarily responding to articles by Lynn White Jr. and Richard L. Means on the topic of ecology, but the book remains prescient today. As usual, Schaeffer addressed numerous issues far before his contemporaries. Not surprisingly, he is characteristically compassionate in his approach, while remaining truthful. He emphasizes the need for man to steward his relationship with creation and to pursue beauty in creation as well. For those who would like to engage one of Schaeffer’s lesser-known works, I recommend Pollution and the Death of Man.
—Recommended by Christopher Talbot
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J. R. R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion, 2nd ed., ed. Christopher Tolkien (1977; repr., New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2001), 384 pages.
I once tried to read The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien some fifteen years ago after reading The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, but, in the words of a friend, “It conquered me”; I found its form unfamiliar and difficult. However, I have known numerous people through the years who have absolutely loved it. At some point in the throes of research and writing for my dissertation, I purposed that, upon completing my work, I would read more books I wanted to read. Consequently, having finished my dissertation, I decided to try my hand at The Silmarillion again.
My evaluation is that the love The Silmarillion has received since its publication is entirely justified. I absolutely love it—to be honest, it is simply one of the best things I have read. For anyone who would read this book, you cannot read it quickly (at least not the first time through) because of its epic scope, whether in terms of genealogies or geographies or timelines. It can be tempting to skip over such details as if they are extraneous, but they thread the stories together and, as the book progresses, they take on heightened significance as Tolkien weaves together the characters and motifs of his narrative across the space and time of Middle Earth. Consequently, when reading it, I recommend doing so with a Tolkien reference work in hand, whether print or digital, such as J. E. A. Tyler and Kevin Reilly’s A Complete Tolkien Companion or an online database like Tolkien Gateway.
The Silmarillion is the story of creation, pride, repentance, greed, murder, doom, wonder, love, and much more. In a manner of speaking, it is the story of humanity. The Silmarillion also provides a mythos for England by syncretizing Norse and Christian mythology so that the latter sanctifies and elevates the pagan prehistory of northern Europe. I enjoyed it so much that, upon finishing it, I read it again and have since moved onto other writings of Middle Earth I had yet to read, such as Beren and Lúthien, The Children of Húrin, The Fall of Gondolin, and The Fall of Númenor (each of these stories appear in The Silmarillion, but their fullest forms exist in these stand-alone volumes). I look forward to reporting on them over the course of the next year.
—Recommended by Matthew Steven Bracey
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Paul David Tripp, Parenting: 14 Gospel Principles that Can Radically Change Your Family (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2016, 2024), 240 pages.
For several years I have been trying to work some parenting books into my reading lists. However, I have had a very hard time finding books that seemed true to my experience, theologically grounded, helpful, and well-written (admittedly, a demanding list of requirements). In addition, parenting is a very particular endeavor shaped by the unique personalities and backgrounds of all involved (both parents and each child). So, I have generally found most parenting advice (published, unpublished, and old-wives’ tales) not specifically revealed in Scripture is best taken as a well-meant suggestion that may or may not apply to you. However, Paul David Tripp’s Parenting has been a wonderful find for me.
I think I was most helped by Tripp’s very explicit and detailed explanation that our children are our closest neighbors. We are called to love them and share the gospel with them, not just in what we say but in how we relate to and discipline them. I was convicted in my spirit when he shared his own struggles with impatience, yelling, and unreasonable expectations for his children. However, he also inspired me to view fathering as a life-long opportunity to explain the gospel message to fellow children of God. Each time my children disobey or behave badly, I am being given another opportunity by God to explain the nature of sin, temptation, redemption, and grace. Moreover, I was relieved by his reminder that my children are fallen creatures just like me and thus will change only slowly and with difficulty over a lifetime. They are on the same journey I am, just further back on the path. Unlike the wicked servant who was forgiven a great debt only to abuse the man indebted to him (Mt. 18:21–35), I am to mimic (or image) the King’s patience, forgiveness, and grace in my interactions with my children.
In some ways, this book made me feel foolish because nothing is really new here. I just had not thought through how all of these passages about loving my neighbor as myself applied in the specific context of raising my children. I still wish that it had been written in a more engaging form, but that critique is a small one to an otherwise very helpful book for me. So, please take this recommendation as a well-meant suggestion that may or may not apply to you.
—Recommended by Phillip T. Morgan
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C. R. Wiley, In the House of Tom Bombadil (Moscow, ID: Canon, 2021), 128 pages.
I immensely enjoyed this exploration into the most curious vignette in The Lord of the Rings. Tom Bombadil and Goldberry have always been two of my favorite side characters, but C. R. Wiley’s analysis of the purpose behind their inclusion in the trilogy has made them even more enchanting and intriguing. Wiley hints throughout his work at how Bombadil represents a power and a morality that lies behind and underneath Middle Earth itself, and a story far older than the epic of the trilogy. Bombadil is a “deeper magic” to use C. S. Lewis’ phrase; why exactly J. R. R. Tolkien chose to include him in the narrative we will never know, but Wiley makes good use of the chapters we are given to reflect on how Tolkien viewed a rightly ordered world.
—Recommended by Rebekah Zúñiga
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