By John Frederick, PhD
College of Theology
August 18, 2016
In Part 1 of this series, I gave a complete list of the top 10 recommended readings for aspiring, current and graduated seminarians. Today, I will provide some brief commentaries on the first three titles. In future blogs posts, the remaining commentaries will be given.
The Christian Origins and the Question of God Series by N.T. Wright
- N. T. Wright, The New Testament and the People of God (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992).
- N. T. Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1996).
- N. T. Wright, The Resurrection of the Son of God (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003).
All of the books in the Christian Origins series by N.T. Wright are must-reads for theologians and pastors alike. They are not “light reads” and they average around 500-600 pages each.
However, they are some of the most readable academic books of theology that I have ever come across. Further, if we expect surgeons to study hard for the task at hand, and we expect teachers to be trained at exceedingly high levels, then we must not insist on the exclusive reading of palatable, popular-level baby texts for our theological training in the pastorate. Your people need more – and so do you. Do not cheat yourself.
By the power of the Holy Spirit, push yourself and stretch yourself, and you will experience stunning growth in the gospel and in your ability to minister as a servant of the Kingdom of God.
Digging deeply into these three volumes at any point in your theological journey will reward you with a rich, panoramic view of the Jewish and Greco-Roman backgrounds to the New Testament, an exhaustive and powerful overview to the theological study of Jesus and the gospel in modern history and the quintessential study on resurrection in the ancient world.