Books to Browse for 2024

 

In some ways reading is like having a healthy diet where you need to maintain balance and moderation. In other ways it is like going to a buffet dinner where you automatically gravitate toward the dishes that interest you most. In my personal reading habits, I try to keep those dynamics in perspective: I read some things because I need to, some things because they are good for me, and some things just because I really enjoy them.

Inevitably, I know that my book list categories below are going to be weighted toward the things I am most interested in. I don’t think that is wrong, but I also don’t think that everyone needs to share in the things that I like—unless we are talking about things like the glory of God or the excellencies of Christ, of course. My point is, some people may enjoy political theology and others may enjoy cookbooks. Some may like the Puritans while others like C.S. Lewis. And those things can change year to year. I’m just glad when people are reading good books and pursuing the habit of lifelong learning as we pursue Christ. The more the merrier, right? It is Christmas time, afterall.

Listed below are 4 (or 5) good books I read in the past two years related to the categories you see. Feel free to add them to your reading list if they spark your interest!

*This list spans books that I read or reread in 2022 and 2023.

Categories

Christian Living & Theology

This category includes books to help you and/or your family to grow stronger in your walk with God. Whether it be about helpful family practices, important biblical virtues, or deep theological concepts related to the Trinity, these books will strengthen your faith and help your theology work itself out into the nooks and crannies of your life and thought.

  • Donald S. Whitney, Family Worship

  • Joe Rigney, Courage: How the Gospel Creates Christian Fortitude

  • J.C. Ryle, Thoughts for Young Men

  • James E. Dolezal, All That Is in God

Clive’s Corner

As (I think?) the kids say, you need to be Lewis maxing. But joking aside, there are very few people who have expanded my Christian imagination and helped me see the world as clearly as Lewis has. He is a real gem. And if you read him enough, it’s almost like he becomes your friend—almost. While Narnia is constantly a part of the reading diet of our home, these 4 books were my favorites from among the rest of Lewis these past two years.

  • C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

  • C.S. Lewis, God in the Dock

  • C.S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man

  • C.S. Lewis, That Hideous Strength

Biblical Sexuality

Not only is this category vitally important for our day and age, but it’s also a topic that I’m really interested in. And not only is sexuality at the core of what it means to be human, but it also informs our gendered piety, as men and as women. Some books in this category are more narrow and some more general, but they are all worth checking out! This category is so significant that it got 5 books.

  • Herman Bavinck, The Christian Family

  • Stephen B. Clark, Man and Woman In Christ

  • Michael Foster, It’s Good to Be a Man

  • Rosaria Butterfield, Five Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age

  • Phillip G. Kayser, Conception Control: Avoiding Antinomianism and Legalism

Political Theology

I’ll be honest, this is kind of a nerdy and niche category, but it is also perhaps a neglected area. There were a few recent books published in this category that made quite the splash such as The Case for Christian Nationalism by Stephen Wolfe and Mere Christendom by Doug Wilson. While I did read those books and find some value in them, the 4 books below are perhaps more accessible and helpful in laying out a broad foundation for this topic.

  • R.C. Sproul, What is the Relationship Between the Church and State?

  • Johannes Althusius, Politica

  • Greg L. Bahnsen, By This Standard: The Authority of God’s Law Today

  • Girolamo Zanchi, On the Law in General

Culture Building & Cultural Engagement

Unfortunately the culture of the church often mirrors the culture of the world, there is usually just a delay of about five or ten years. But what if that was reversed? What if the culture of the church set the pace and then the world noticed and followed? This category analyzes the culture and challenges you to think about it in a distinctly Christian way. The Reno book is perhaps the most provocative of the 4 and makes you rethink some key assumptions that have been deeply embedded in our society since WWII and makes you consider how shared loves shape communities, cultures, and countries.

  • Douglas Wilson, Gashmu Saith It

  • Francis Shaeffer, A Christian Manifesto

  • Carl R. Trueman, A Strange New World

  • R.R. Reno, Return of the Strong Gods



 
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