In case anyone was wondering, the reason for my silence over the past as far as blogs is concerned was an extended vacation up north. One of the nice things about a vacation is that you’re able to catch up one some reading. Here is what I read in July:
(1) The Gospel Hoax: Morton Smith’s Invention of Secret Mark by Stephen C. Carlson (Baylor University Press)
This is a thoroughly enjoyable, even fascinating, account of an astounding scholarly hoax perpetrated by Morton Smith on his colleagues. As Stephen Carlson compellingly demonstrates, Smith left several unmistakable clues that show that he forged an alleged ancient manuscript called “Secret Mark.” Why did he do this? and What are the lessons we can learn from the way in which Secret Mark was received by other scholars? I will certainly challenge my future graduate students to ponder the abiding questions raised by this provocative volume.
(2) Misquoting Truth: A Guide to the Fallacies of Bart Ehrman’s Misquoting Jesus by Timothy Paul Jones (IVP)
This is a very helpful refutation of many of the major planks in Bart Ehrman’s misguided project Misquoting Jesus in which this UNC-Chapel Hill professor alleges that the NT manuscripts are unreliable and indeed corrupt. Jones, who holds an Ed.D. and is pastor of a church in Tulsa, OK, provides much helpful basic information that can be used profitably by individuals and churches in equipping believers to deal effectively with the threat posed by Ehrman’s writings.
(3) A pre-publication draft of The Future of Justification by John Piper (due out with Crossway Books)
Here is an endorsement I wrote for this book: “I am very grateful to John Piper, pastor-scholar par excellence, for helping me to understand better the doctrines of justification and imputation. Tom Wright’s interpretation of key biblical passages on the topic has some major problems, and Piper exposes many of them with great wisdom and skill. I share John’s burden that these doctrines be clearly preached in our churches, for the good of God’s people and for God’s greater glory in Christ.”
(4) A High View of Scripture? The Authority of the Bible and the Formation of the New Testament Canon by Craig D. Allert (Baker)
Thus far I only read selected portions of this book, especially those dealing with Robert Gundry’s resignation from the ETS and sections dealing with the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy. At the outset of his book, Allert cites an article by Louis Igou Hodges which he considers symptomatic of much evangelical fare on the subject in that it seeks to establish a high view of Scripture deductively from the character of God rather than from how the canon was actually formed. I hope to interact with this volume further in forthcoming publications.
What did you read this summer? I’d love to hear your recommendations and reviews.
We’re glad you had a nice vacation. Good reading list. I have a couple of these (2 & 4) and am lining up guys to review them for sharperiron.org. Your comments on these titles are helpful. I’m more interested in reading Allert’s book and would be glad to read more of your comments on it.
I just finished In the Shadow of Grace: The Life and Meditations of G. Campbell Morgan. I was a bit disappointed by this volume (very unhappy with the Preface). Morgan was a great expository preacher. He leans more toward and Arminian soteriology at points, but above all he strove to be “a man of the Word.” He’s a good example.
I’ve read portions of a few others: Jonathan Edwards, Charity and Its Fruits; Mark Dever, What is a Healthy Church; and John Owen (abridged), Temptation.
I’m teaching SS on the Psalms, so I’m reading some of the theological literature on this book.
Geoffrey Grogan. Prayer, Praise and Prophecy. This is excellent. Very conservative and thorough. Very helpful.
James L. Mays. Preaching and Teaching the Psalms. A noted OT scholar. This is a collection of very readable essays that highlight the major issues concerning the message of the book of Psalms. I don’t agree with his view on authorship, but this has been a very helpful book.
I hope to post reviews of each of these, soon.
Glad you had a good vacation. Vacations sure are nice.
I have benn reading through Philip Yancey’s book on Prayer – and while his is not a biblical scholar per se – I often appreciate his insights into various theological issues. He has been helping me think about prayer from different angles.
I am also starting to read though Frank Macchia’s book Baptized in the Spirit – it could be subtiled toward a global pentecostal theology. I am just getting into it but basically he is wanting to address issues of why pentecostalims central doctrine of the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the initial evidence of speaking in tongues is loosing ground among pentecostal scholars – they seem to be moving on to eschatology – this is as far as I am so I can;t say much more on it.
I am also reading through Luke Timothy Johnson’s Living Jesus from a few years ago. He is asking the question in what sense is Jesus alive and how can we learn from him in the present. Interesting so far but I am only a couple chapters into it.
Dr. Kostenberger,
I appreciate your work very much. Thanks for the insights on the new books. As a pastor I am especially interested in recommending Timothy Paul Jones’ refutation of “Misquoting Jesus.” Carlson’s book looks fascinating.
A few books that have been especially good reads this summer have been “By Faith Alone” edited by Johnson and Waters and “Justified in Christ” edited by K. Scott Oliphant. Also, “The Benefits of Providence” by Spiegel is a very effective endorsement of the historic Reformed view of God’s Providence. For all the pastors, “The Jesus Gospel” by Goligher and “The Great Work of the Gospel” by Ensor are essential for every Christian layman.
Thanks so much for the kind and gracious mention of my book, Misquoting Truth!
Dr. Kostenberger,
Thanks for sharing this list. I am currently reading two of the books on it, “Misquoting Jesus” and “A High View of Scripture?” I am especially looking forward to your interaction with this last book, as I find myself soemwhat dawn in the direction Allert is taking. Will you be interacting with it on this blog, or in print?
Also, I’d be curious to know, given your endorsement of Piper’s book, if there is anything in Wright’s work which you find helpful or agree with? I have followed the debate over the NPP without really having a solid position on thus far, and would apprecite hearing any thoughts you have.
Thanks,
Gordon
Dr. Kostenberger,
In my last post, aside from mentioning the books I was reading which you talked about in your post, I forgot to mention my other recommended summer reads, so here they are. First, I’ve been reading and really enjoying, Peter Enns “Inspiration and Incarnation.” It is really helping me to think about scripture and how we apply it in new ways. I have found it both liberating and encouraging. I am also reading Jacobsen and Sawatsky’s “Gracious Christianity,” which is a short introduction to and overview of the basics of the Christian faith as both a set of beliefs and a way of life. Lastly, I have been reading from Richard Briggs “Reading the Bible Wisely,” a great little book which looks at reading scripture from various interpretive and doctrinal angles. Aside from these three, I’ve also been trying to work through Neibuhr’s “Christ and Culture,” and have been re-reading portions of Dale Allison Jr.s’ excellent “The Luminous Dusk,” which I read earlier this year during the lenten season.
Thanks for letting us, your readers, share some of our recommnded books with you.
Gordon
Thank you very much to all of you for sharing with me and the readers of this blog some of your reading recommendations. There’s a lot of fascinating stuff to read out there, isn’t there?
In response to some of the questions, I may (or may not) interact with A High View of Scripture? in some more detail in my ETS banquet address in November.
There’s a lot I appreciate in Tom Wright’s work in general. I love his The New Testament and the People of God, for example, especially the first part on methodology. With regard to his work on justification, I’m still learning about the issues myself, since I am not primarily a Pauline scholar. I will certainly follow the debate subsequent to the publication of Piper’s new volume with keen interest.
I read Reggie Kidd’s Wealth and Beneficence in the Pastoral Epistles. An oldie but goodie.
I’m currently finishing Christine Pohl’s Making Room: Recovering Hospitality as a Christian Tradition. Very good and helpful as I prepare lesson plans on teaching a hospitality course in my church early next year.
Andreas,
I would have to say, prima facie, that Albert’s thoughts on Scripture are right. I think what lies behind KJV-only proponents and those that deny the existence of a Synoptic Problem is that they deduce that “God wouldn’t have done it like that” rather than looking at the actual phenomenon of the text, the process of canonisation, and the array of manuscript traditions.
Andreas,
Thank you for sharing your summer reading and your recommendation of Misquoting Truth.
I have been working through John Owen, Vol 6, reading and re-reading On the Mortification of Sin, and slowly working on to Temptation and Indwelling Sin. I have also been reading Baxter’s The Reformed Pastor and Spurgeon’s Lectures to My Students, both immensely useful, penetrating, convicting works. I have also been reading the early chapters of your God, Marriage, and Family in conjunction with C. John Collins’ Genesis 1-4: A Linguistic, Literary, and Theological Commentary. Thanks for the wealth of material and careful exegetical work in GM&F.
I am especially looking forward to Piper’s book forthcoming book on justification. How we are right with God is absolutely crucial.
I’m late reading this, but I’d express a caution regarding Allert’s position on inspiration–unless he has changed his position since his 1999 article on the subject. I’ve published an article which includes a critique of his 1999 work, and have just excerpted an adapted form of the relevant section on
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