As I am nearing the end of my studies at Briercrest, there are three things which I am realizing: 1) there is no end to the new books being written about theology, 2) most of these books (justifiably!) disappear quickly into the sands of time, 3) there is a select core of books which have stood the test of time, and remain the standard for Christian thought. It is simply expected that any Christian intellectual has a working knowledge of these works. All major papers and books in theology are linked to these works and build off of their content.
I have decided upon a simple plan: I will compile a list of these books (odd that such a list wasn’t part of my MA in theology…) and read them in their entirety. As time allows, I will also write introductions and book-reviews to make them more accessible to people who read this blog.
Aside from intellectual credibility, I have really found myself blossoming under the tutolage of the ancient masters – there is a reason why the classics have always been so dear to the Church! Also, I feel that the first books which I seriously study will lay a foundation against which to measure other works.
I have put my interest in the Emerging Church and Atheist Apologetics almost entirely on the back-burner to pursue this greater goal: I want to know about “real” Christianity before weighing the pro’s and con’s of modern, extreme variations of Christianity.
I have created a new tab (“Reading List”) which will document my progress in compiling my list and reading through it.
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