finitum non capax infiniti

I have been tagged by Heather, so here it goes!

One Book That Changed Your Life

Inspiration and Incarnation by Peter Enns.

I read this book during my senior year in college. I was becoming frustrated with the lack of honesty when it came to interpreting the Old Testament in light of its parallels with ancient Near Eastern texts, its theological diversity, and the seemingly odd way the NT authors interpreted and cited the OT. This book hit the nail on the head for me. In a very significant way it showed me that you can be honest about all of the data and still hold to an evangelical view of Scripture. This book, among any other, shaped the course of my life. Instead of simply concluding that Scripture was a man made book riddled with plagiarism and contradictions, I was reassured that it is, in fact, the Word of God. So instead of going to Princeton, Harvard, or Yale for an M.Div., I chose to go to Westminster because of Peter Enns.

One Book You’ve Read More Than Once

Confessions by Saint Augustine

I read this my first semester at Westminster and have made it a point to read it once every semester while I’m studying. One of my favorite things about reading the church fathers as well as other ancient authors is that they are pre-modern. They aren’t caught up in the scientific method or modern questions of scientific validity. Because of this, they provide interesting and insightful readings on theology, the church, and the Scriptures. One thing I love about St. Augustine is that his Confessions changed the way “trials and tribulations” were percieved. Before him, temptations and trials came from the outside. He shows, in a very pastoral way (he was a bishop), that the greatest enemy lies within our sinful nature.

One Book You’d Want on a Desert Island
Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia

Think about it: it teaches you what animals are clean (since I’m assuming taking a healthy amount of penicillin is out of the question), it doesn’t teach you simply how to make a tent but gives you instructions on how to build a tabernacle (and if you’re ambitious, even a temple!), and it recounts many battles in case I’m in need of a battle plan if anyone decides to invade my island. All of those benefits, plus I’d have the time to think of ways to prove Wellhausen wrong!!

Two Books That Made You Laugh
I Am America (And So Can You!)

Stephen T. Colbert is hilarious. I’m so glad his show is back on air. Besides the Left Behind series, this book has to be the funniest book I’ve ever read in my life.

What Love Is This? Calvinism’s Misrepresentation of God by Dave Hunt

A more appropriate title would have been What the &%*$ Is This? Dave Hunt’s Misrepresentation of Calvinism. This book made me laugh because it is, quite honestly, the worst written, worst researched book in the history of publishing. Hunt should have stuck with his sci-fi novels.

One Book That Made You Cry

For All God’s Worth by N.T. Wright

Wright’s passion for academics is paired with his passion for the church in this book, as well as his other works. This book really hit me hard in that I realized how selfish my worship had become. I came to see not only how beautiful worship is in the life of the church, but also how necessary.

One Book You Wish Had Been Written
How to Interpret the Old Testament Christotelically (i.e. Correctly) by Jesus (foreword by Paul)

One Book You Are Currently Reading

Israelite Religions by Richard Hess

As you can see to your right, I have a few books I’m working through right now, but this is the one I was reading immediately before I got on my computer, so I thought I would mention it. Hess is doing an excellent job of showing the religious context of Israel throughout her history. I’m definitely going to review this book when I’m finished as my notes are consistently cluttering the margins of this book.

One Book You’ve Been Meaning to Read
Matthew: A Commentary on His Literary and Theological Art by Robert Gundry

Gundry got a lot of flack for this book (which is hard to find in that it is out of print) because he equates Matthew’s use of the OT and his presentation of the life of Christ with Jewish midrashic methods. This viewpoint intrigues me and I will probably end up agreeing with Gundry (as can be seen in my series on Matthew’s Use of the Prophets….which will resume on Friday). As I’m typing this I’m trying to figure out why I haven’t read this book yet. There’s really no good excuse now that I think about it!

Alright, so I’ve done my part.

D and Heather have already done theirs as well, otherwise I would tag them.

I will tag Tony (because he reads like a madman and has a sweet library…I’m jealous), Denise (because she reads great books), and Scot McKnight (because he’s a biblical scholar which means he’s read a fair amount of great books!).