The following is a list of books I’ve read or re-read over the past few months. They fall into a variety of genres – I have smashed them into three. I use the word smash deliberately. Each of these books crosses these boundaries. Bonhoeffer’s book on theology contains a good deal of autobiographical material. Bernanos’s fiction has more theology than most religion textbooks. I have tried to pick out their defining characteristic and separate them accordingly.
Each book is ultimately accessible, but some – such as Brown’s Augustine, Gordon’s Calvin and Wells’s No Place for Truth - will require more spade work. However, I do not see anything wrong with reading books that might prove too difficult. When babies start to walk, they can’t walk; they grow into it. I have read quite a few books that were too difficult at the time, but I can now read more difficult books because I have read these books that were too difficult at the time. We need to grow into difficult books, not because difficult books are better, but because some questions in life are so difficult that they require difficult answers.
Due to a variety of factors in church culture and the publishing culture, it has become tempting to view books as either “safe” or “unsafe.” “Safe” books contain scenes of sanitized living and rote theology. Interestingly, these “safe” books are very unsafe in that they depict life’s dilemmas as simplistic and theology that is shallow enough to be inspirational to both a new believer and a mature believer.
If you are looking for a list of books that are “safe” for Christians, this list may seem of little value. So are only unsafe books left? Well, if by “unsafe” we mean books that require a suspicious eye, then yes, they are unsafe. But what, in a fallen world, does not require a suspicious eye? Television? Our attitude towards our loved ones? Our economic decisions? If we seek to be “safe” in our reading, we are ultimately lying about the “unsafe” nature of our fallen world. In fact, the only sinless human was incredibly suspicious (see Jesus’ words in Matthew 23). Please don’t misunderstand me. I am not endorsing cynicism; I am in favor of suspicion. Suspicion and cynicism are two very different things. Suspicion is an awareness of the pure state from which we have fallen and a lament at our current state; cynicism has given up such hope and wallows in the results of the Fall.
Accordingly, this list of books – and all books – should be read with a suspicious eye – like the Bereans who checked the Scriptures against Paul’s words (Acts 17:11). We should definitely give Steinbeck a hearing even if we disagree with his philosophy. We should be aware that Robinson’s Home sets out to explore the seedier side of life while acknowledging that God’s grace runs deeper. We should expect to disagree with Bonhoeffer, with Keller, and with Wells, but if such disagreements cause us to drop the book, then it is we – not the authors – who are disagreeable.
And so, after such an introduction, here is a list of books I’ve read or re-read over the past few months. As a reminder, I will be taking a look at The Cry of the Soul: How Emotions Reveal Our Deepest Questions About God by Dan Allender and Tremper Longman III next month.
Fiction
Georges Bernanos: The Diary of a Country Priest This is an introspective look at a young French priest’s struggles and joys. It explores the relationship between grace, obedience, and suffering.
Marilynne Robinson: Gilead This is a fictional memoir from an ailing seventy-six-year-old pastor, John Ames, to his seven-year-old son. He recounts life, ministry, and the grace he wants his son to enjoy. He also wrestles with the return of his best friend’s prodigal son.
Marilynne Robinson: Home This is something of a sequel to Gilead. It is from the vantage point of Glory Boughton, the daughter of John Ames’s best friend and the sister of the returning prodigal son. It occurs over the same few months as Gilead.
John Steinbeck: The Grapes of Wrath This 20th century classic follows the Joad family in their cross-country journey during the dustbowl. Steinbeck’s take on human nature and society is observant, gritty, and alarming.
Theology
Dietrich Bonhoeffer: The Cost of Discipleship This book was and is a theological bombshell. It is perhaps Bonhoeffer’s central work. It describes the grace and cost of following Christ through the lens of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.
Tim Keller: The Reason for God This winsome work offers robust answers for difficult questions posted to Christianity. In the second half, it turns the tables and poses difficulties to those who deny the gospel.
John Owen: Mortification of Sin This is a one of the most convicting, comprehensive, applicable, and theologically astute works I’ve read on sanctification. And it’s short.
David Powilson: Seeing with New Eyes This is an incredibly deep and accessible well of biblical insight into human nature. These essays on psychology and theology are designed to aid you in your spiritual growth and counsel of others.
David Wells: No Place for Truth This book is a warning shot across the bow of the church. Wells describes and laments the evaporation of theology over the past two centuries. He then shows the nasty effects this evaporation has had on the church.
Biography
Peter Brown: Augustine of Hippo. This is the standard volume on the life and ministry of Augustine, the towering figure of Western Christianity. Although lengthy and academic, it is well worth the time and effort.
Bruce Gordon: John Calvin This lengthy look at Calvin’s life balances the man’s virtues as well as his vices. Gordon explores Calvin’s historical context and his effect on the church and on culture.
Pastor Adam Eizenga