Theology - General Archives - Page 10 of 16

I am an avid reader. While I read all sorts of books, people sometimes ask me what my recommendations are for the best christian books I have ever read. Click here to go to the list.

That list of my best Christian books are below. This list of the top Christian books that everyone should read is probably not like any other list of Christian books you have ever read.

I remember when I was in Bible college, I asked about 10 professors for their list of top 10 Christian books. I was shocked when they gave their lists to me to find that all the lists were nearly identical. I think that between the 10 of them, I ended up with only about 15 books that they recommended. Even more shocking was that I had already read every single one of the Christian books on their lists … and hadn’t thought that most of them were all that good.

So let me tell you how the top Christian books below made it onto my list. I use three main criteria for the best Christian books I have ever read.

1. A Top Christian book sets my mind on fire and my heart racing.

Have you ever read a book that set your mind and heart on fire? That radically changed the way you viewed life, read Scripture, or interacted with God and others?

All of the books below did this for me. These are the best Christian books which every serious student of Scripture and theology should read.

I previously called this list of books my “Burning Books List,” not because these books must burned, but because they branded themselves into my mind. These books set my mind on fire and my heart ablaze. The ideas they contain smolder in my bones, shed light on the Scriptures, and help bring life to the world.

2. A Top Christian Book is one I scribble in … A LOT

When I read, I underline key points and scribble notes in the margins.

With the Christian books listed below, it sometimes seems that every sentence gets underlined and every margin gets filled.

Some of these Christian books answered a Bible question I always had, solved a theological dilemma I was facing, or helped with an issue in a way I had not found elsewhere.

3. A Top Christian book brings about life change

While I have a very inquisitive mind, I don’t just read books to gain information. The best Christian books will change the way you think about God, about Scripture, about yourself, about your marriage, about life on this earth, or about other similar topics, and will inspire you to not just think differently, but to live and act differently.

The best Christian books will not just renew your mind; they will also renew your life.

The Christian books on the list below did this for me in one way or another. They changed the way I think, ignited my passion for a purpose, and gave me an “Aha!” moment that sent my life and my theology in a new direction. Often, they inspire me to write books of my own.

The books below are some of the Christian books that have helped form and change my theology. These are the top Christian books I recommend the most.

The Best Christian Books I Have Ever Read (and you should too!)

Note: more books will be added to the list as I think of them (or read them). If you have one you think should be on the list, let me know in the comment section below.

Click a Category to Jump to that Section:

Note: Click the book covers below to buy the books on Amazon. The Amazon links are affiliate links, which means that if you buy a book, I will receive a small referral commission. Thank you for supporting my work!

Best Christian Books for Bible Study

Best Books on Bible Backgrounds

One of the best ways of learning what the Bible means is by studying the historical and cultural background of the various Biblical books. While I have read dozens of such books, here are some of the best Christian books in the area of Bible backgrounds.

Best Bible Commentaries

I own thousands of commentaries, and while it is difficult to recommend a commentary for pure “reading” enjoyment, every once in a while I run across a commentary that has far-reaching ramifications not just for the book which the commentary explains, but for numerous other passages in Scripture as well. The Bible commentaries listed below did that for me.

Old Testament Commentaries

New Testament Commentaries

Best Books on Christian Theology

The following list of theology books are divided up into the various categories of systematic theology. My theology is always in flux, due in large part to the wide variety of books I read on theology. The books listed below have changed my theology the most and caused me to see God, life, and certain key theological issues in a new light.

Best Books on General Theology

These books are not dealing with any particular area of theology, but present a new paradigm or a new way of looking at theology that really helped my theological development.

Best Books on the Bible

These books provide new insight into how to read and study the Bible, and what sort of book the Bible really is. As the Bible is a primary source for Bible knowledge and theology, these books are vitally important for my theological thinking.

Best Books about God

No theological system is better than its view of God. In my opinion, most theologies go wrong right from the start because they have a wrong view of God. The books listed below helped me learn about God in a new way, and come to see God in a new light.
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Best Books about Jesus

Jesus is the center of our theology and the cornerstone of our life as Christians. Jesus reveals God to us, and shows us how to live as a true human being. The books listed below helped me learn more about who Jesus truly is, what He came to do, and how He reveals God to us.

Best Books about the Holy Spirit

There is so much confusion out there about the Holy Spirit, that we must make sure we know Him properly, and allow Him to function as He wants in our life. Sadly, I have not yet read any great books about the Holy Spirit. If you have any to recommend, let me know in the comment section below.

Best Books about Humanity

We tend to think that since we are human, we know everything there is to know about us. But this is not true. A large part of theology lies in understanding ourselves correctly.

Best Books about Sin

You typically don’t enjoy reading about sin, but these books on sin will help you understand what sin is and why Jesus came to deliver us from sin. Don’t assume you know what sin is!

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Best Books about Salvation

This life is short, but what comes after this life lasts forever. As such, it is critical to properly understand issues related to eternal life, assurance of salvation, the role of faith and good works, and all related issues. The following books will challenge your thinking in these areas and provide much-needed clarity on the Gospel, evangelism, and eternal life.

Best Books about the Church

My views on church have radically changed in the last decade. The following books led to some of the greatest shifts in my thinking about church. If you have questions or concerns about what church is, how to function as the church, or what the Bible says about church, I recommend you read the following books. Also, I have written several books of my own on this topic (and am writing more), and while these didn’t make my “Best Christian books” list (how arrogant would that be?), you can go to Amazon to see these books.

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Best Books about the End Times

Books about the End Times are a always a hot topic. If I ever read a book which provides some clarity to all the confusion about what is supposed to take place in the future, I will list those books here. So far, I have not found anything that is really worth recommending. If you know of a book or two, let me know in the comment section below.

Best Books about Angels & Demons

Somewhat like books about the End Times, books about Angels and Demons are quite popular. But I am typically not into popular books. I want books that push away the fog and bring some sanity to the hype and confusion about angels and demons. The books listed below helped do that for me.

Overrun by Demons/the Church’s New Preoccupation With the Demonic

Best Christian Books about Life

I do not just read books about Scripture and theology. In fact, since my goal on this site is to Bring Scripture and Theology to Life, I also read lots of books about how to live life, and how best to put my theology into practice. Scripture knowledge and theology should lead to changes in our life, or all that study is worthless and pointless. Here are a few areas of books that have been helpful for me.

Best Christian Books on Discipleship

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Best Christian Books on Prayer

Best Christian Books on Marriage

Marriage is tough. In my experience, the marriage relationship of a husband and wife is the most difficult and demanding relationship two people will ever experience, but also the most rewarding and enjoyable. In a marriage, you will experience the highest highs life has to offer, and also the lowest lows. There is nothing more thrilling or depressing. And yet, most marriage books are relatively worthless. Every once in a while I read one that seems particularly helpful. These are listed below.

Best Christian Books on Parenting

Along with marriage, parenting is full of potential pitfalls. I am a father to three girls, and the books listed below have been most helpful to me as I learn to be a father and raise my girls to be the godly women God wants them to be.

Best Books on Christian Mission & Purpose

Having Bible and Theology knowledge is good, but it is even more important to put what we know into practice. Lots of Christians seem to think that this life is little more than a rest stop on our way to heaven. We are here to sit in Bible studies and Sunday services while we wait for the cosmic bus ride to heaven. Nothing could be further from the truth. The books below challenge Christians to get up off their couches and pews and get out into the world to follow Jesus into the dark and sinful places. If you are looking for books to challenge how you live your life as a follower of Jesus, these are the books I recommend.

Best Fiction Books

I read fiction too. Did you know that books of fiction can teach you theology? Believe it or not, certain aspects of my theology have been radically changed by what I read in some books of fiction. Here are the fictional books which changed or challenged my thinking the most.

New Theological Categories

By Jeremy Myers

11 Comments

Yesterday, I proposed some new theological categories that focus on the activity of God in history, rather than on abstract ideas about God. Hopefully, by arranging theology this way, the study of theology leads us to action, rather than to more abstraction as commonly happens with current theological studies. Studying theology this way will hopefully lead us to both know the truth and live it.

Below are seven categories (which have been revised from time to time since the original publication of this article), with a little more explanation. I’ve already made one change, from “Judging” to “Justice.” I did not like “judging” but I’m not fond of “justice” either for several reasons, but mostly because it is more of a noun than a verb, and I want the categories to be verbs. Any ideas? (Thanks Tim Nichols, for the suggestion of “Naming”!)

Also, following each explanation in parentheses is where discussion about some of the ideas from traditional Systematic Theological (ST) categories might be found.

It is also important to note that all seven of the following categories can be found in Genesis 1, the opening chapter of the Bible. These categories are all performed by God, and then (to one degree or another) passed on to Adam and Eve. This is what it means to be created in the image of God. We do what God does on this earth.

1. Creating

The Bible begins and ends with the creative work of God, and everything in history and in Scripture reveals that God creates and re-creates. He not only does this with the universe, but with mankind, the nation of Israel, and the church. Humanity is the pinnacle of God’s creation, and is called to be co-laborers with God in creation.

(ST: Theology Proper, Israelology, Ecclesiology, Eschatology)

2. Caring

Other terms for this include Relating, Loving, Multiplying, Providing, and Blessing.

God is nothing if not relational. The relational aspect of God is central to thinking about God and interacting with Him. God’s relational interaction include the Trinity, the angels, and humanity. The way God interacts in these relationships reveals much about God, and helps guide us in our own relationships.

Loving is also a huge topic, and would necessarily be divided into several subcategories, such as grace, mercy, and forgiveness. The love of God is vital for understanding why and how God acts. Themes about the love of God run parallel to the previous topic, the justice of God. Love, of course, should be a primary Christian action.

(ST: Theology Proper, Trinitarianism, Christology, Pneumatology, Anthropology, Soteriology, Ecclesiology, Eschatology, Angelology)

3. Communicating

Communication is central to all of God’s relationships. With us, He communicates through nature, our conscience, Scripture, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and one another. Communication in its many forms and varieties is also central to being human.

(ST: Bibliology, Anthropology, Christology, Ecclesiology)

4. Seeing/Naming

This is seeing things as they really are and calling things by their right names. It is being able to accurately discern good from evil is something that only God can do. God, being holy, is also just, and must deal with all that is not holy. Humans participate in this, but due to our rebellion against God, came under His judgment, and unable to make right judgments on our own, and so our role in God’s justice is limited. The Scriptures are full of themes of God’s justice, both in areas of condemning the wicked and defending the oppressed.

(ST: Hamartiology, Eschatology)

5. Separating

In the beginning, God separates light from darkness, waters above from the waters below, the various plants and animals after their “kind,” man and woman, etc. But there are good types of separation and bad types as well. After sin enters the scene, humanity is separated from God, and man and woman become separated from each other.

The focus in the rest of Scripture is learning what to separate and what to join together. Sadly, religion often separates things wrongly, teaching us to join with what we should not (greed, envy, rivalry) and separate from what we must join together (other people, culture, creation, life).

(ST: Soteriology, Anthropology, Ecclesiology, Eschatology)

6. Redeeming

Redemption is the pinnacle of theological studies. It is both the goal and the means for everything else. Because of God’s love in all of His relationships, He seeks to communicate with us what is happening in our world as a result of His justice and love, and what He is doing to restore the perfect relationship that He desires. Those who have been restored are to actively participate with God in bringing the rest of God’s creation to redemption.

(ST: Soteriology, Christology, Israelology, Ecclesiology, Eschatology)

7. Ruling

We can also speak of living and serving.

Day 7 of creation is about God’s rule over the world He created. He also gave the sun, moon, and stars to rule over the heavens, and gave Adam and Eve the responsibility to rule and have dominion over the earth. To properly carry out our God-given function on this earth, we must learn how to properly live in this earth, with each other and with the plants and animals, and rule them as God rules us.

* * * * *

What do you think of these six categories? Do they fairly represent the major activities of God in Scripture and in history, and also indicate the major ways that we are also to be involved in the world? Can you think of a different term for “justice” that is a verb?

A New Proposal for Theological Categories

By Jeremy Myers

14 Comments

I’m not sure who invented the most commonly used systematic theological categories of Theology Proper, Christology, Pneumatology, Bibliology, Soteriology, Ecclesiology, Eschtaology, Hamartiology, Angelology, and a few others, but it is high time to develop some new ones.

Why?

Because these categories emphasize knowing at the expense of being and doing, but following Jesus involves all three. Theology, even though it means study of God, should not stop at just “the study,” but should move on to personal change and kingdom involvement.

[Read more…]

Jack of All Trades Theology

By Jeremy Myers

10 Comments

Which is a better approach to theology: being a spet — an expert in one field, like “Soteriology” — OR being a Jack of all Trades, reading widely and learning broadly about all aspects of theology?

You know what they say, “Jack of all Trades – Master of None” but is this really bad in theology?

[Read more…]

Is Theology Possible?

By Jeremy Myers

28 Comments

I’m searching for a good approach to theology that:

Does justice to the Biblical narrative.
Places an emphasis on practice rather than just knowledge.
Is able to embrace not just the theological ideas of the past but also the cultural tensions of the present.
Is taught and lived in community.

Any ideas?

I’ve read and studied Biblical theology, systematic theology, dogmatic theology, historical theology, practical theology, and narrative theology, and while they all have their strengths, none seem to meet all three requirements above.

The reason I am searching is because I want to focus this website on its original intent. When I started my Till He Comes blog in 2002, I wanted to focus on writing about Scripture and theology. I have somewhat strayed from that goal because I have not yet found a satisfying approach.

But I’m getting tired of circling the runway, and am running out of fuel, so I need to land.

Here is what I think my approach will be, and if I break a few wheels in the process, at least I end up on the ground.

I am going to use Systematic categories (Bibliology, Christology, Soteriology, etc).
I will approach these categories from a Biblical narrative and exegetical perspective. I don’t just want to see what the Bible says about these categories, but what the Bible says about them over time and through the progress of revelation.
Church history and tradition will be factored in, but only after the Biblical data has been examined.
Application to modern culture and issues will also be considered, with an emphasis on how the theological category leads to action and service.

What do you think? Is it possible? Should I put my hand to the plow? If I did, would you keep reading? Any other suggestions on how to do this?

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1. A Top Christian book sets my mind on fire and my heart racing.

2. A Top Christian Book is one I scribble in … A LOT

3. A Top Christian book brings about life change

The Best Christian Books I Have Ever Read (and you should too!)

Best Christian Books for Bible Study

Best Books on Bible Backgrounds

Best Bible Commentaries

Old Testament Commentaries

New Testament Commentaries

Best Books on Christian Theology

Best Books on General Theology

Best Books on the Bible

Best Books about God

Best Books about Jesus

Best Books about the Holy Spirit

Best Books about Humanity

Best Books about Sin

Best Books about Salvation

Best Books about the Church

Best Books about the End Times

Best Books about Angels & Demons

Best Christian Books about Life

Best Christian Books on Discipleship

Best Christian Books on Prayer

Best Christian Books on Marriage

Best Christian Books on Parenting

Best Books on Christian Mission & Purpose

Best Fiction Books

1. Creating

2. Caring

3. Communicating

4. Seeing/Naming

5. Separating

6. Redeeming

7. Ruling

Why?

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