A conversation over at Marcus’ blog reminded me of a post I’ve been meaning to write for some time. I’ve wanted to do a list of must-read scholars for a while, but have never been sure how to approach it. Do I do a list of the best? Most influential? Most interesting? Do I restrict it to OT scholars? NT scholars? Theologians? Do I go completely subjective and list my favorites, or do I include those with whom I’m less enamored? Will anyone even care about my stupid list? These are the questions in my mind…
I’ve opted to consider my main audience for this blog: the average churchgoer. I know people from my church read this blog who are not academically trained but are still interested in learning from Bible scholars. They may not know Greek and Hebrew, but they desire to glean from the insights of those who do. So I’ve decided to tailor this list to this (somewhat imaginary) group. Because of this, I will leave off scholars who have made a major impact on scholarship but are less helpful to the layperson (the Rudolf Bultmann types). I’m also sticking to my area of “expertise” (if I may be permitted a moment of hubris), which mostly NT & OT scholarship (so no systematic theologians). The list is presented in no particular order.
Allow me to make a couple other notes:
- I’m weighing more heavily toward the NT side of things. This is for 2 main reasons: 1) I know NT scholarship better than I do OT scholarship, and 2) most of my favorite OT scholars have written little for the layperson in mind (I’m thinking of Gordon Wenham and guys like that).
- I’ll give a couple reading recommendations for each scholar, in case my reader(s) want(s) to dig deeper.
- The scholars on this list are invited to mention their inclusion on their resume or CV. You’re welcome.
- If you think this is just an excuse to talk about scholars and books, you know me very well. =)
(1) Gordon Fee. Come on, if you’ve been reading this blog for more than 5 seconds you knew Fee was making the cut. In fact, I’d have to turn in my charismatic membership card if I didn’t include him. I appreciate any man who writes the book on exegesis, but insists that exegesis is merely the first step in applying the Bible to the life of the church. I also appreciate any scholar whose lectures are more like sermons. I heard a line from his daughter, theologian Cherith Fee Nordling, about Fee that sums up what I appreciate about him (paraphrase): my father loves the Lord and loves the Bible, but never in reverse order.
Layperson reading suggestions:
Academic reading suggestions:
(2) Christopher J H Wright. It’s funny, 6 months ago I may not have included Wright. But the more I read his stuff, the more I want to give him a high-five (see my previous post for an indication). In some ways, he’s an interesting bird- how many OT scholars are also missiologists? A Cambridge PhD who trained church planters in India and now heads up John Stott’s ministry organization? This is my kind of guy.
Layperson reading suggestions:
Academic reading suggestions
(3) Richard Bauckham. Bauckham has actually written less for the layperson than the rest of the scholars on this list, but I wanted to include him anyway because he’s one of the few scholars refered to as “groundbreaking” that may actually deserve the title. Mind you, no one is really groundbreaking. When I mentioned in a class at my church that Bauckham had written a book defending the eyewitness connection to the Gospels, I was met with “no duh” stares. It’s not his conclusion that is groundbreaking, it’s the manner in which he makes his case that sets him apart from so many others. Bauckham is the toughest read on this list, but may well be worth the trouble.
Reading suggestions
(4) D A Carson. This is not Carson’s first appearance on this blog. There are few scholars who have made so much of their work accessible to the church, as you can see here on his resource page at The Gospel Coaltion website. This son of a church planter in French Canada has planted churches, travels around the world every year speaking in churches and conferences, teaches and advises students, yet still finds time to write somewhere around a million books a year. He cranks out a book faster than I write a blog post. If I had to pick one scholar on this list for the average layperson to read I think Carson would be it, not because he’s the best scholar but because he does the best job of communicating to the audience I’m aiming for. Note: this list of books is highly selective, there are many more I could include.
Layperson reading suggestions
Academic reading suggestions
(5) N T Wright. I’ll confess, I’ve been debating whether or not I should include Wright on this list. If we’re talking about most interesting, he’d easily make the list. Everything he writes is worth reading, even if he’s dead wrong (note, over 1100 people went to a conference at Wheaton centering on Wright’s scholarship). Wright is brilliant- sometimes brilliantly right, and sometimes brilliantly wrong. I’ve put it this way: Wright is a classic pendulum swinger. He’ll notice an over-emphasis on something, then in attempt to correct this problem he’ll go too far in his emphasis. If you know that going in, you’ll do well in reading him. Anyway, I love reading his stuff, but you must always read with discernment.
Layperson reading suggestions
Academic reading suggestions
So there’s my list; maybe on another post I can give my “near miss” category (I’m at 1300+ words already though). I’d love to hear thoughts from others out there, either about the people on this list or others you think should be included.
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