Bill Prichard’s List
1. Book of Confessions (PCUSA) (1983 – date of latest entry)
http://www.pcusa.org/site_media/media/uploads/oga/pdf/boc2014.pdf
There are many problems with our denomination – our Book of Confessions is not one of them.
The Westminster Shorter Catechism: Question 1: What is the chief end of man?
Answer: Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.
Recommended study guides:
(1) “Faith of Our Fathers: A Study of the Nicene Creed,” by L. Charles Jackson.
(2) “The Heidelberg Catechism: A Study Guide” by G. I. Williamson.
(3) “The Westminster Confession of Faith for Study Classes” by G. I. Williamson.
(4) “The Westminster Shorter Catechism for Study Classes” by G. I. Williamson.
(5) “The Declaration of Barmen Revisited” by Ulrich Mauser:
http://www.theologymatters.com/NovDec001.PDF
(6) “A Commentary on The Confession of 1967” by Edward A. Dowey, Jr.
2. Calvin’s Commentaries (John Calvin) (1564 – year of his death)
http://www.biblestudyguide.org/comment/calvin/comm_index.htm
My go-to commentary. As you might expect, his commentary on the four gospels – taking the three
synoptic gospels all at once and then John separately – is the crown jewel of the set. Full disclosure:
I haven’t read this one in its entirety (21,562 pages in 22 volumes), but I’m working on it.
3. Institutes of the Christian Religion (John Calvin) (1559 – final, definitive edition)
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/institutes.toc.html
The classic of systematic theology. Calvin’s chapter on “The Knowledge of God the Creator” (Book
1, Chapter 1) and “Prayer” (Book 3, Chapter 20) are among the greatest in Christian literature.
“Nearly all the wisdom we possess, that is to say, true and sound wisdom, consists of two parts: the
knowledge of God and of ourselves.” (The opening sentence, followed by 1,519 pages of text.)
4. The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination (Loraine Boettner) (1932)
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/boettner/predest.toc.html
“The doctrine of this high mystery of predestination is to be handled with special prudence and
care,” Westminster Confession, Ch. 3, Art. 8. Boettner does so comprehensively and in an easy to
read manner.
Another very good survey of the doctrine is “The Sovereignty of Grace” by Arthur C. Custance:
http://www.custance.org/old/grace/index.html
5. Counterfeit Miracles (Benjamin B. Warfield) (1918)
http://www.christianbeliefs.org/books/cm/cm-contents.html
A terrific explanation of the “Cessation of the Charismata” – that miracles ceased after Christ’s
ministry and the establishing of the church in the Apostolic Age. His last chapter includes a look at
the Church of Christ, Scientist (Pp. 207-30). It takes its place among the great essays on cults,
alongside Bernard DeVoto’s secular treatise “The Centennial of Mormonism”:
http://home.comcast.net/~mdevoto/MORMNISM2.htm
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A great place to begin an appreciation of Warfield is by reading his essay “The Divine Origin of the
Bible”: http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/sdg/warfield/warfield_divineorigin.html
6. The Bondage of the Will (Martin Luther) (1525)
Luther’s masterpiece harmonizing God’s sovereignty and the human will. Be sure to get the 1957
translation by J. I . Packer and O. R. Johnston, with their superb introduction. Nearly 500 years
later, Luther’s explanation of how God hardened Pharaoh’s heart is still the best ever written
(Chapter V.v-vi, Pp. 205-12).
A great way to begin an appreciation of Luther is to read his “Sunday after Easter” sermon,
“Thomas Delivered from His Unbelief,” which that can be found online:
http://www.orlutheran.com/html/mlsetom.html
7. The Christian View of Man (J. Gresham Machen) (1937)
A survey of the Christian worldview through the study of 20 key doctrines. Machen is most famous
for “Christianity and Liberalism” (another great read), but I think this is even better (at least I refer
to it more often). The chapters on the problem of evil (3), God’s purpose (4) and miracles (9) are
particularly useful.
Incidentally, “Christianity and Liberalism” can be read on-line:
http://reformedaudio.org/audio/machen/Machen%20-%20Christianity%20&%20Liberalism.pdf
8. A Case for Amillennialism (Kim Riddlebarger) (2003)
A great study on eschatology and an argument in favor of the Amillennial view (that we are in the
millennium right now, and we have been since Christ’s ascension. And, He will return at any
moment, followed in immediate sequence by the General Resurrection, Final Judgment and New
Creation).
Riddebarger’s “The Man of Sin” (Antichrist) is also very good, but first read “Amillennialism.”
9. The G3N3SIS Debate (David G. Hagopian, Editor) (2001)
A presentation – by their advocates – of three interpretations of Genesis Chapter 1. I became
convinced of “The Framework View” reading this book. This view argues that the events (miracles
of creation) in Genesis Chapter 1 truly happened in history and the word “day” has its ordinary
meaning (i.e., it doesn’t mean an “eon”). However, the “framework” of the “narrative” is poetic, so
the word “day” does not need to be taken literally and the events of Genesis 1 do not need to be
understood as strictly sequential.
Full disclosure: I haven’t read the arguments for “The Day-Age View” and “The 24-Hour View.”
However, Hugh Ross co-authored the “Day-Age” argument and I have read his book, “A Matter of
Days,” so I feel I am familiar with his position. The literalist “24-Hour View” seems self-explanatory.
10. Charts of the Gospels and The Life of Christ (Robert L. Thomas) (2000)
A reference book that is very helpful to understanding the chronology of events in the Gospels.
Equally useful are charts on great themes of the Gospels and on Christ’s times (the chart sorting
out Herod’s family tree is worth the price all by itself!)
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Greg Chao’s List
1. Is Reality Secular? Mary Poplin
2. The Cross of Christ. John Stott
3. The Art of Forgiveness. Lewis Smedes
4. The Reason for God. Timothy Keller
5. Galatians for You. Timothy Keller
6. The Great Divorce. C. S. Lewis
7. Narnia. C S Lewis
8. The Case for Christ. Lee Stobel
9. The Fight. John Stott
10. Second Helvetic Confession.
11. History of Christianity. Kenneth Scott Latourette
12. Man’s Search for Meaning. Victor Frankl
Other Recommendation from the Pathfinder’s Class
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Mere Christianity – C.S. Lewis
Church History in Plain Language – Bruce Shelley
Calvinism in a Las Vegas Airport – Richard Mouw
The Cost of Discipleship – Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Bonhoeffer, Wilberforce, Miracles – Eric Mataxis
Disappearance of God – Albert Mohler
Bill Olson’s List
1. Letters from a Skeptic - A Son Wrestles with His Father’s Questions about Christianity, Dr.
Gregory A. Boyd and Edward K. Boyd. It asks and answers many of the important questions about
our faith.
2. The Purpose Driven Life, What on Earth am I here for?, Dr. Rick Warren. An easy to read and
down to earth book that gets to the core of the Christian faith and our individual purposes.
3. The Journey, How to Live by Faith in an Uncertain World, Billy Graham. Connects faith to living a
life of integrity.
4. The Reason for God - Belief in an Age of Skepticism, Tim Keller. Addresses skeptics on their own
terms.
5. Every Good Endeavor - Connecting Your Work to God’s Work, Tim Keller. All jobs are honorable
- discusses integrity and how to work as a Christian.
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6. The Case for Faith: A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity, By Lee
Strobel. Also, The Case for Christ - A Journalist’s Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus.
The Case for a Creator - A Journalist investigates Scientific Evidence That Points Toward God.
7. The Language of God - A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief, Dr. Francis Collins. One of the
best books written by a scientist on the Christian Faith. His other books also very good.
8. What’s So Great About Christianity? Dinish D’Sousa. In my opinion, the best modern apologetic
book for our faith. See also his more recent book: Life after Death: The Evidence. Here he
continues where he left off with his book on Christianity. Both are well done and directly confront
atheism.
9. God and Other Minds - A study of the Rational Justification of Belief in God, Dr. Alvin Plantinga.
This book is a hard read but is the basis for a large number of professors in philosophy departments
in major secular universities believing in God - many of them becoming Christians.
10. Is Reality Secular? - Testing the Assumptions of Four Global Worldviews, Dr. Mary Poplin. She
has addressed PCOM Sojourners before and will return this Spring. This is a great book.
11. The Selfish Gene, Dr. Richard Dawkins. Listed here just so we can have a taste of the work of
the modern militant atheists. D’Sousa discusses Dawkins multiple times in his books – stripping
Dawkins bare.
12. Rare Earth - Why Complex Life is Uncommon in the Universe, Peter Ward and Donald
Brownlee. Discusses the conditions necessary for intelligent life and concludes that our Earth is a
very special place.
13. Just Six Numbers: The Deep Forces that Shape The Universe, Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal
of Great Britain. Points toward a creator of the universe as the “physical constants” (like the speed
of light and the gravitational constant) are precisely what they must be in order for our sun and
Earth to form and provide a place for the development of intelligent life.
Twila Zerwas’ List
1. Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art (Wheaton Literary Series) April 17, 2001 by
Madeleine L'Engle. Walking on Water collects 12 brief meditations by Madeleine L'Engle on the
nature of art and its relation to faith. Madeleine L’Engle fiction trilogy Young adult fiction. Also, A
Wrinkle in Time Trilogy, A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet October 16, 2012 by
Madeleine L'Engle.
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2. What's So Amazing About Grace? Feb 17, 2002 by Philip Yancey. Grace is the church’s great
distinctive. It’s the one thing the world cannot duplicate, and the one thing it craves above all else –
for only grace can bring hope and transformation to a jaded world.
3. In the Grip of Grace: Your Father Always Caught You. He Still Does May 27, 2014 by Max
Lucado. Life is full of fumbles and stumbles. Fraught with opportunities to make mistakes,
occasions to feel guilty, and the drive to “do it yourself.” The pressure to be self-sufficient is high,
but it isn’t the life God offers.
4. Paul: A Man of Grace and Grit (Great Lives Series) by Charles R. Swindoll. The apostle Paul, the
converted terrorist, inspired author, amazing teacher, and patient mentor. This colossal figure
strode boldly onto the stage of the first-century world and left an indelible signature of greatness
never to be forgotten. His life? Magnificent! And his ministry? Impressive. While assigned
sainthood by some today, by his own description he was "the chief of all sinners."
5. Who Is This Man?: The Unpredictable Impact of the Inescapable Jesus – November 4, 2014 by
John Ortberg. Jesus’ impact on our world is highly unlikely, widely inescapable, largely unknown,
and decidedly double-edged. It is unlikely in light of the severe limitations of his earthly life; it is
inescapable because of the range of impact; it is unknown because history doesn't connect dots;
and it is doubled-edged because his followers have wreaked so much havoc, often in his name.
6. If You Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat – May 6, 2014 by John
Ortberg. Deep within you lies the same faith and longing that sent Peter walking across the windswept Sea of Galilee toward Jesus. In what ways is the Lord telling you, as he did Peter, “Come”?
7. The Knowledge of the Holy: The Attributes of God: Their Meaning in the Christian Life October
6, 2009 by A. W. Tozer. Tozer illuminates God’s attributes – from wisdom, to grace, to mercy – and
in doing so, attempts to restore the majesty and wonder of God in the hearts and minds of all
Christians.
8. Get Out of That Pit: Straight Talk about God's Deliverance – August 11, 2009 by Beth Moore.
This is Beth’s most stirring message yet of the sheer hope, utter deliverance, and complete and
glorious freedom of God:
9. Letters From a Skeptic : A Son Wrestles with His Father's Questions About Christianity 1992 by
Gregory A. Boyd.
10. The Case for Christ: A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus (Case for ...
Series) by Lee Strobel.
11. The Heavenly Man: The Remarkable True Story of Chinese Christian Brother Yun Dec 23, 2002
by Brother Yun and Paul Hattaway.
12. The Prayer Box August 16, 2013 by Lisa Wingate. Fiction probably more of a book for women.
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