Sitting Under the Kudzu Vine

A List of Useful Books

I am trying to assemble a list of useful books for laymen who may want to go deeper in the study of their faith but do not know where to start.  It is my opinion that readers should spend more time in biblical studies than in theology.  The reason is simple, your understanding of Scripture should influence your theology, not your theology shaping your understanding of Scripture.

Commentaries
These are all series commentaries but you can buy the separately or perhaps buy them used which is what I have done with a lot of them.  While I cited harder to understand commentaries, I have stayed away from those that require a technical background such as Hebrew and Greek and other information that one would learn  in seminary.  Some of the commentaries are available on CD ROM.  Many of the commentaries are available from Logos software.  I have tried to stay away from revamped sermons, sermon books, and sermonic commentaries because they do not help the reader to learn how to interpret the text.  I have linked some of the books to Amazon.  But you can also find good deals at www.cbd.com

The Bible Speaks Today Series – New Testament Set, ed. John Stott
The Bible Speaks Today Series – Old Testament Set, ed. J. A. Motyer
The New International Expositors Bible Commentary,
Tyndale New Testament Commentaries
Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries
The IVP New Testament Commentary Series

Harder but profitable
The New International Commentary on the New Testament
The New International Commentary on the Old Testament
The Pillar New Testament Commentary
The New American Commentary, Old and New Testament

Dictionaries
These are the kinds of dictionaries that will give you detailed information about various subjects.  Some of them are available as software.

• Dictionary of New Testament Background (The IVP Bible Dictionary Series)

• Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels (The IVP Bible Dictionary Series)

• Dictionary of Paul and His Letters (The IVP Bible Dictionary Series)

• Dictionary of the Later New Testament & Its Developments (The IVP Bible Dictionary Series)

• Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch (The IVP Bible Dictionary Series)

• Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry & Writings (The IVP Bible Dictionary Series)

• The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church

• Evangelical Dictionary of Theology (Baker Reference Library)

• The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia – Set

History
I am having trouble recommending current books on history because history books go out of print easily because history does not sell well!

• Early Christian Doctrines, J. N. D. Kelly

• The Early Church (The Penguin History of the Church), also see the entire Series

• Christianity’s Dangerous Idea: The Protestant Revolution–A History from the Sixteenth Century to the Twenty-First, Alister McGrath

• A History of Christianity, Volume 1: Beginnings to 1500 (Revised), Kenneth Scott Latourette

• A History of Christianity, Vol. Two: Reformation to the Present, Kenneth Scott Latourette

• Christianity Through the Centuries, Earle Cairns

• Church History In Plain Language Updated 2nd Edition, Bruce Shelley

• A Religious History of the American People, Sydney E. Ahlstrom

• The Baptist Heritage/Four Centuries of Baptist Witness, Leon McBeth

• A Sourcebook for Baptist Heritage Leon McBeth

• The Story of American Methodism: A History of the United Methodists and Their Relations

• The Anabaptist Story: An Introduction to Sixteenth-Century Anabaptism

• Handbook of Denominations in the United States, 12th Edition

• Chronological and Background Charts of Church History (ZondervanCharts)

• Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther, Roland H Bainton

• The Reformation of the Sixteenth Century, Roland H. Bainton

• The Story of Christianity, Volume 1: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation (Story of Christianity), Justo L. Gonzalez

• The Story of Christianity: Reformation to the Present Day, Justo L. Gonzalez

Systematic Theology
There is a shortage of simple and clear systematic theologies for the layman.  Though I am reluctant to suggest many of them, these three writers are clear in their presentations.  I have valued the writings of James Boice since I discovered them a long time ago in college.  It is now one volume, it was originally three.  I have taught seminary students using McGrath and Erickson’s larger work, Christian Theology. I also include his smaller introduction to doctrine. McGrath’s reader is a collection of primary source material that covers nearly 2000 years of theological study.

• Foundations of the Christian Faith (Master Reference Collection), James Montgomery Boice

• Christian Theology: An Introduction 3rd Edition, Alister E.  McGrath

• The Christian Theology Reader, Alister E.McGrath

• Introducing Christian Doctrine(2nd Edition), Millard Erickson

• Christian Theology, Millard Erickson

• Charts of Christian Theology & Doctrine

Miscellaneous
These are books or authors I would recommend anyone to read.

D.  A.  Carson, anything by him.
Leon Morris, anything by him
John Stott, both his commentaries and his theology books
F. F.  Bruce, especially his books on canon history.
J. I. Packer, especially Knowing God and A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life

I also like reading Eugene Peterson, Dallas Willard, Alister McGrath, and others in regard to the doctrine of evangelical spiritual formation. I suggest that readers draw deeply from C. S.  Lewis, especially his lesser known books like The Abolition of Man and The Weight of Glory