I am aware that may appear like a self-serving post, but I will plow on. Lately I have been considering which books are worthy of re-reading and I thought it may be interesting to see which have a better “replay” value (at least subjectively).
- Gordon Fee, Pauline Christology. In many ways this book kicked it all off for me. It the first academic book I read on Christology, and it ignited a hunger to get deeper and deeper into the text. What’s more, it went way over my head. That’s not to say I didn’t get much from it; that would be like drowning without getting wet. No, I just couldn’t take it all in. I’ve since studied Paul’s Christology a fair bit and expect to have opinions on most of what Fee says rather than simply accept it all. Even better, Fee is an entertaining writer and his ability to be “devotional” while academic is superb.
- G. K. Beale, The Temple and the Church’s Mission. Again, another paradigm-shifter. Much like above, it was too much to take it all in. The content was revolutionary, and the detail was meticulous. This time I want to pursue all those rabbit trails for myself.
- Brian Rosner, Paul and the Law. I read through this recently, and it was very impacting, but over time that impact has only grown exponentially. It just makes so much sense. I need to take another look to make sure that’s true.
- Gentry and Wellum, Kingdom Through Covenant. I read the book to see their via media for myself, so I rushed through much of Gentry’s chapters as they weren’t always directly appliciable to what I was after. In the time since, I’ve wanted to do more study on the covenants and especially have come to realize Gentry is a mammoth of a scholar (and a very giving man, having answered a number of my emails!) so I want to re-read his exegesis, in particular. I have begun to collect every audio teaching from Gentry I can find as they’re gold.
- Streett, The Vine and the Son of Man. Again, there’s just too much here to “get” on one pass-through.
- Jason Meyer, The End of the Law. I read this before teaching Romans and entering the world of pain that is Paul and the Law, but this book was extremely clear and sensible, and I expect to line up with many of his conclusions.
- Stephen Dempster, Dominion and Dynasty. Since reading this, my respect for Dempster has only grown so I’ve devoured every article I could find from him and await his future works. I think his concise and cohesive account of Old Testament theology deserves a rereading.
Another reason I want to reread these books is that I haven’t been wise with my study habits in the past. I mark up a book so that things will be easy to find in the future, but then just hope that I remember what is in each book! I’ve now come up with a better system of copying insights into Logos, so I want to milk these books for what they’re worth.
As always, I’d love to hear your comments below. Are there any books you want to re-read?
The post When It’s Time to Reread a Book appeared first on My Digital Seminary.