An update on my life in reading:
I finally finished The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard (he's the guy I imagine to look like this). I must have started it about 18 months ago, but I began seeing some other books on the side and we just drifted apart. Anyway, what's done is done. I'm going to have to read it again because there's a lot to take in and digest. In short, Willard portrays a Jesus who has everything to do with real life here and now. That's an exciting and timely message me thinks.
I've also just finished a book called Reading Paul by Michael J. Gorman. If you want an easy-to-understand overview on the apostle's theology, this is an excellent resource. Simple yet full of profound insight. His view on "justification" (which is expanded on in Inhabiting the Cruciform God) is extremely interesting. I'm not saying I agree with it, but it's worth a grapple.
Speaking of "justification", I've set my face towards The Deliverance of God by Douglas Campbell. This is a 1248 page tome on that most topical and controversial of doctrines, so I'm about as excited as you can be before reading a massive book on justification. Don't worry, I won't be starting a blog series on it. [A collective sigh of relief ensued from his three loyal readers].
I've also decided that the time is right to get cracking into N.T. Wright's magnum opus - his Christian Origins and the Question of God series. This will make for slow, studious reading, but given the importance of the author in terms of both scholarship and church life, it will be worth it in the long run.
Finally, as a sort of personal quest I'm trying to take a deeper look at the Cross. I'm scanning through the New Testament, marking explicit and implicit references to Jesus' crucifixion in terms of why it happened, what happened, and what are the consequences - historically as well as theologically. This is especially interesting when it comes to the Gospels, where the crucifixion and resurrection of Messiah Jesus is the underlying reality in most of what was written in these post-cross accounts of the good news about Jesus. I'm also trying a assemble some books on the cross/atonement. Any recommendations would be more than welcome.
I finally finished The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard (he's the guy I imagine to look like this). I must have started it about 18 months ago, but I began seeing some other books on the side and we just drifted apart. Anyway, what's done is done. I'm going to have to read it again because there's a lot to take in and digest. In short, Willard portrays a Jesus who has everything to do with real life here and now. That's an exciting and timely message me thinks.
I've also just finished a book called Reading Paul by Michael J. Gorman. If you want an easy-to-understand overview on the apostle's theology, this is an excellent resource. Simple yet full of profound insight. His view on "justification" (which is expanded on in Inhabiting the Cruciform God) is extremely interesting. I'm not saying I agree with it, but it's worth a grapple.
Speaking of "justification", I've set my face towards The Deliverance of God by Douglas Campbell. This is a 1248 page tome on that most topical and controversial of doctrines, so I'm about as excited as you can be before reading a massive book on justification. Don't worry, I won't be starting a blog series on it. [A collective sigh of relief ensued from his three loyal readers].
I've also decided that the time is right to get cracking into N.T. Wright's magnum opus - his Christian Origins and the Question of God series. This will make for slow, studious reading, but given the importance of the author in terms of both scholarship and church life, it will be worth it in the long run.
Finally, as a sort of personal quest I'm trying to take a deeper look at the Cross. I'm scanning through the New Testament, marking explicit and implicit references to Jesus' crucifixion in terms of why it happened, what happened, and what are the consequences - historically as well as theologically. This is especially interesting when it comes to the Gospels, where the crucifixion and resurrection of Messiah Jesus is the underlying reality in most of what was written in these post-cross accounts of the good news about Jesus. I'm also trying a assemble some books on the cross/atonement. Any recommendations would be more than welcome.
He He, nice Dallas Willard photo!
ReplyDeleteYeah I used it once before. It took me ages to find, but I think it was worth the effort. I hear the name Dallas Willard and I see this Texan man chewing tobacco and talking with that classic Southern drawl - "Play-sher da mate you may'am. Tha nimes Day-lass Willuuuurd. Yeeee-haaaw!"
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