A few days ago I wrote a post called “5 Must Read Scholars (for the non-academic),” and this is intended as a quick follow-up (that’s taken me 3 days to write). You can call this the “honorable mention” list, the “B-Team,” the “JV Squad,” etc. I’d like to follow this up with a list of scholars I wish would write for a non-academic audience, but that probably won’t happen for a few weeks as I’ll be off the radar for a while. Anywho, see my previous post if you want to know my angle on this. Without further ado…
(1) Craig Keener. Of the 5 on this list, Keener was the hardest for me to leave off the original. Part of this is because he’s a great scholar. His knowledge of ancient backgrounds is simply astounding (though he can overdo this and include much that is less relevant, such as in his large Matthew commentary). But what I appreciate about him the most is his humility. Keener sees himself primarily as a servant of the church. I was hooked just reading the dedication page of his Bible Background Commentary on the New Testament, which is dedicated to those working on the “frontlines” of ministry and do not have the time to research historical and cultural backgrounds to the Bible. Keener isn’t simply amassing knowledge to write books; he’s dispensing it for the benefit of the church. (I should also mention, he fits firmly in the Pentecostal/Charismatic camp and, thus, I have a soft spot for him.)
If you want a feel for his humility, check out these two interviews: with Matt at Broadcast Depth and with Nijay Gupta (Part I and Part II).
Layperson reading suggestions:
- Bible Background Commentary: New Testament
- Gift and Giver: The Holy Spirit for Today
- NIV Application Commentary: Revelation
Academic reading suggestions:
- The Gospel of John (a 2-volume commentary)
- The Historical Jesus of the Gospels
(2) Douglas Stuart. I need to give a shout-out to one of my former profs. Stuart is an excellent combination of scholarly rigor and pastoral sensitivity, and I’m privileged to say I’ve learned from him firsthand. One top of the “How to Read the Bible…” books he’s coauthored with Gordon Fee, Stuart has written a couple commentaries for both pastors and scholars (and the mix, of course), as well as an excellent book on OT exegesis. While I’m here, I might as well plug (once again) his OT Survey course, available for free at Bible Training.
Layperson reading suggestions:
- How to Read the Bible For All Its Worth and How to Read the Bible Book by Book (both co-authored with Gordon Fee)
- His commentaries on Ezekiel or Exodus (which could fit both categories)
Academic reading suggestions:
- Word Bible Commentary: Hosea-Jonah
- Malachi in The Minor Prophets: An Exegetical and Expository Commentary
(3) Darrell Bock. In my last post, Nick mentioned Bock as another option, and I heartily agree. His massive 2-volume Luke commentary is outstanding, and has written 2 shorter ones that would be great for laypeople. One main reason he didn’t make my first list is that I haven’t read a ton of his stuff, so I can’t speak first hand about everything (maybe Nick can chime in if he reads this). Nonetheless, the stuff he has written on the popular level, specifically dealing with the trustworthiness of the biblical Gospels, would benefit anyone who reads them.
Layperson reading suggestions:
- Dethroning Jesus: Exposing Popular Culture’s Quest to Unseat the Biblical Christ (co-authored with Daniel Wallace)
- The Missing Gospels: Unearthing the Truth Behind Alternative Christianities
- NIV Application Commentary on Luke or the IVP commentary on Luke (you can read this online here)
Academic reading suggestions:
- Luke (2-volume commentary)
- Acts
- Jesus According to Scripture
(4) Tremper Longman III. Longman is an excellent OT scholar and widely respected. Some of his more popular level stuff I haven’t read, though IVP sent me How to Read Exodus a while back and it looks helpful. Again, I think I appreciate his desire to communicate effectively with non-scholars, so I’m including him on this list.
Layperson reading suggestions:
- How to Read series: Genesis, Exodus, Psalms, Proverbs
- Reading the Bible with Heart and Mind (haven’t actually read this one, looks good)
- Jeremiah, Lamentations
Academic reading suggestions:
- Ecclesiastes (I don’t completely agree with his take but still like it, see my review at Best Commentaries)
- Song of Songs
(5) George Eldon Ladd. Ladd may seem like an odd choice here, and not just because he’s the only deceased scholar on either list, but his inclusion is definitely deliberate. Given all the confusion regarding eschatology in the church, I think it is important to read solid biblical scholarship on the issue (part of why I recommended N T Wright on my first post). Greg Beale is also good here, but I think Ladd’s influence is greater than many realize. I see bits of his work on eschatology and the kingdom in many different places, from scholars like Gordon Fee & Craig Blomberg to men like John Wimber. Someday, when I have a year with nothing to do (read: never), I’d love to do a side-by-side reading of George Ladd and N T Wright. Between the two of them, I think you can end up with a pretty solid view of God’s ultimate plan of redemption.
Layperson reading suggestions:
- The Gospel of the Kingdom
- The Presence of the Future (might be a tough read, but worth it)
Academic reading suggestions:
Is there anyone else I’m missing?
danny
bmarchio
Solid list. There are two others that I would have thought about including. One would have been Michael Bird. He hasn’t written a ton yet because he’s young, but he has written an intro to Paul and also a Colossians commentary that are for a lay audience. I haven’t read either but I think that I remember you saying that you liked his Pauline intro. The series the Colossians commentary is in seems like a good up and coming series (NCCS – he’s one of the editors along with Keener who wrote an excellent commentary on Romans in that series). His book on the historical Jesus was quite good.
The other is Scot McKnight. He’s written a slew of books for lay people and his blog is great too.
If we check back on this in a few years, I’ll be Bird makes it. I thought about adding him, but I haven’t read any of his academic stuff.
It’s funny, other thank McKnight’s blog and occasional Christianity Today articles, I’m not sure I’ve ever read his stuff.
Keener is a charismatic Baptist? Unusual combination.
His books on marriage/divorce and women/gender issues belong in the lay list. Craig Blomberg says he’s the best on the former and the most fair of the egalitarians to complementarians. I think the fact that he recognizes that complementarian views on the role-submission in the Trinity are not heresy but in fact just the traditional economic (as opposed to ontological Trinity) is one sign of that, since most egalitarians nowadays are calling orthodox Trinitarianism a heresy in order to maintain their position that submission between human beings is unjust if not based on an ontological difference.
Bock’s responses to Bart Ehrman are superb. He seems to produce a book in response to each of Ehrman’s big hits, and it’s all excellent stuff. It amazes me that people still use Josh McDowell when you’ve got stuff like Bock and Blomberg that do such a better job.
Longman also has popular commentaries on Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs. Like you, I don’t agree with his take on Ecclesiastes, so it would be harder for me to recommend that to a lay audience. His Proverbs commentary would be lay-readable as well, but it’s academically respectable even if nowhere near the depth of something like Waltke. I’m really looking forward to seeing what he does with Job.
It’s kind of weird for me to think of Ladd and Wright in the same sentence. It never would have occurred to me to read the two together, but I can see why that might be interesting.
McKnight is firmly on the New Perspective side of things, and thus I wouldn’t recommend him to a lay audience on those issues, since I think that view is (1) false and (2) used by a number of fringe evangelicals to argue for things I consider problematic (even if McKnight is more moderated than most). He also seems to me to be too open to postmodernism, although he’s much better than most who give postmodernists the time of day by making somewhat careful distinctions. His criticism of Carson’s work on that seems, to my mind, unfair toward Carson (as his New Perspective criticisms of Carson also do, to my mind). But what he holds positively isn’t so far from Carson’s own views on postmodernism, and it makes me think he’s going to turn people away from good work by well-thinking evangelicals that he’s making look too extreme.
Cousin Jeremy,
I had forgotten about the Keener books on divorce/remarriage and the gender issues, even though I have them. I agree, they are quite good. And I pretty much agree with what you write about McKnight.
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