500th Post: Ten Theologians Recommend Their Favorite Theology Books

In honor of my 500th post I have been thinking about what the function of this website. I am a pastor and so I spend most of my days thinking carefully about how to help disciple our people, and that has been my goal with this blog also. So as I move into another year and another 500 posts I wanted to promote good theological study for our people through this blog. So I asked some friends and other theologians/scholars to offer up their favorite books to recommend to college students. The guests are varied in age, denomination, background, and personality. Here’s what they had to say:

Dr. Sam Storms (Pastor, author, Director of Enjoying God Ministries):

* Desiring God by John Piper

* Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem

* The Bible and the Future by Anthony Hoekema

*Surprised by the Power of the Spirit by Jack Deere

* Chosen for Life by Sam Storms (if I may be so bold as to recommend one of my own books!)

Dr. John Frame (J.D. Trimble Chair of Systematic Theology and Philosophy at Reformed Theological Seminary):

* The Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin

* Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem

* Redemption Accomplished and Applied by John Murray

* Reformed Dogmatics by Herman Bavinck

* The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible by B.B. Warfield

Tom Ascol (Pastor, author, Director of Founders Ministry):

* Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan

* Bondage of the Will by Martin Luther

* Manual of Theology by John Dagg

* Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem

* No Place for Truth by David F. Wells

Brian Hedges (Pastor, author of Christ Formed In You)

* The Confessions by Augustine

* The Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin

* The Works of John Owen, especially volume 1 (The Glory of Christ), volume 2 (Communion with God), volume 3 (The Holy Spirit) and volume 6 (Sin and Temptation)

* The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan

* The Religious Affections by Jonathan Edwards

Dr. Michael Haykin (Professor of Church History and Biblical Spirituality at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary):

* Knowing God by J.I. Packer

* Keep in Step with the Spirit by J.I. Packer

* Dynamics of Spiritual Life by Richard Lovelace

* Saving Grace by John Cheeseman

* Desiring God by John Piper

Dr. Donald S. Whitney (Associate Dean of the School of Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary):

* Knowing God by J.I. Packer

* anything by Jerry Bridges

* Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem

* Future Grace or Desiring God by John Piper

* Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul

Winfield Bevins (Pastor, author of Creed):

* Basic Christianity by John Stott

* Christian Beliefs by Wayne Grudem

*Knowing God by J.I. Packer

* The Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer

* Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

Greg Gilbert (Pastor, author of What is the Gospel?):

* The Pleasures of God by John Piper (Basic theological framework. extremely good)

* Don’t Call It A Comeback ed. by Kevin DeYoung (Contemporary issues)

* According to Plan by Graeme Goldsworthy (Biblical theology, pulling the Bible together)

*Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem (I think everybody should read this straight through)

* Nine Marks of a Healthy Church by Mark Dever (For an intro into ecclesiology)

Owen Strachan (Instructor of Christian Theology and Church History at Boyce College, and co-editor of The Essential Edwards Collection):

* Knowing God by J.I. Packer (because while deep it hums with energy and passion)

* The Cross of Christ by John Stott (the best exposition of the cross I know of, and some beautiful writing)

* The Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin (clear, helpful, non-speculative, and authoritative)

* Christianity and Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen (lands like a thunder-clap, and shows the world-denying nature of the faith)

* God’s Lesser Glory by Bruce Ware (one of the very few books I know of that not only teaches God’s sovereignty, but savors it)

Dr. Kathleen Nielson (author, and Director of the Women’s Initiative of The Gospel Coalition):

** the following are selections she gave me permission to pull from her complete list at The Gospel Coalition website

* Bullock, C. Hassell.  An Introduction to the Old Testament Poetic Books. Chicago: Moody Press, 1988. This is a helpful background text to have on hand for the poetic books, with thorough treatment of the biblical poetry’s historical contexts, literary aspects, and various hermeneutical issues.

* Nielson, Kathleen. Bible Study: Following the Ways of the Word. Phillipsburg, N.J.: P&R, 2011. This book unpacks truths about what the Bible is (God speaking, a literary work, one unified book . . .) and explores the implications of these truths for how we should study it. This is essentially a book about Bible study, but throughout the book there is a clear focus on the Bible’s words and literary aspects.

* Piper, John.  A Sweet and Bitter Providence: Sex, Race, and the Sovereignty of God. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway, 2010.  Piper loves the story, reads the story, and relishes the story in depth—the story of Ruth, in this case. He pays such close attention to the text that the applications grow naturally and beautifully from it. Other biblical commentators from whom I have learned to pay even better attention to the actual literary text are Don Carson, Derek Kidner, and J. Alec Motyer.

* Goldsworthy, Graeme. The Goldsworthy Trilogy: Gospel and Kingdom; Gospel and Wisdom; Gospel In Revelation. Carlisle, U.K.: Paternoster, 2000. A classic presentation of the Bible as one unified work centered in God’s redemption in Christ.

* Carmichael, Amy. Mountain Breezes: The Collected Poems. Introd. Elizabeth Elliot. Fort Washington, Penn.: Christian Literature Crusade, 1999. This abundant verse, which poured out of Carmichael’s life and ministry, is simple and full of biblical phrasing and echoes. Carmichael is a great example of one who loved words and the Word.

Me:

* The Doctrine of the Knowledge of God by John Frame (this book more than any other I have read has shaped my theological methodology.)

* The Doctrine of God by John Frame (along with Grudem’s Systematic Theology this book has been foundational for my understanding of theology as a whole.)

* A Quest for Godliness by J.I. Packer (this book has not simply helped me to see the value of the Puritans, but more than that it has helped me to constantly rethink my own personal spiritual development.)

* The End for Which God Created the World by Jonathan Edwards (It is, of course, all John Piper’s fault that I even know about this book, but it shaped, along with Piper, my view of the purpose of my life significantly.)

* Death by Love by Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears (this book demonstrates better than almost any I know of the practicality of theology. By applying the various aspects of the atonement to real life situations in his church Driscoll brings theology to life.)

Don’t forget to enter this week’s 500th Post Party contest for the Hipster’s Theology Gift Set!