# Recommended reading before seminary



## PointingToChrist (Aug 20, 2009)

Hi all,

I am going through the Bible (trying to do 6-12 chapters a day to know the Lord's word and have read the entire Bible), and I also wanted to start on theological books.

Does anyone have a Top 5 to 10 list of recommended reading before seminary? I'd like to read through at least a couple dozen books on faith, Reformed theology, etc. in the next couple of years.

Thank you.


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## Hungus (Aug 20, 2009)

Most seminaries have a recommended reading list before entering their school.

example:
WSC
Recommended Readling List

The following recommended reading list is provided by the faculty of Westminster Seminary California for the purpose of enhancing preparation for graduate theological studies at WSC. The list is intended as a general guide that will expose prospective students to a variety of ideas related to biblical, theological, historical, and pastoral theology. Though many of the books below are required reading for WSC courses, there are no expectations that incoming students will have read each book prior to beginning his or her studies at WSC.
The list is divided into three levels of difficulty under each subject area:

Introductory—Offers a general introduction to concepts accessible to readers with limited prior knowledge of the subject matter

Intermediate—Provides a more challenging approach to the issues and ideas of each topic, yet accessible to most readers with some prior knowledge of the subject matter

Advanced—Addresses more profound theological questions and arguments, intended for readers with a good deal of prior knowledge of the subject matter


BIBLE CONTENT AND INTERPRETATION

Reformation Study Bible (Ligonier)
Edmund Clowney, The Unfolding Mystery (P&R)
Dan McCartney and Charles Clayton, Let the Reader Understand (Bridge Point)
Michael Horton, God of Promise: Introducing Covenant Theology (Baker)
Gerhardus Vos, Biblical Theology (Banner of Truth)
Dennis Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb: A Commentary on Revelation (P&R)

REFORMED CONFESSIONS AND CATECHISMS

Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms; Heidelberg Catechism, Belgic Confession, Canons of Dort
A. A. Hodge, The Confession of Faith (Banner of Truth)
Zacharius Ursinus, Commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism (P&R)

PHILOSOPHY, APOLOGETICS, AND PROLEGOMENA TO THEOLOGY

Diogenes Allen, Philosophy for Understanding Theology (Westminster John Knox)
Cornelius Van Til, Defense of the Faith (P&R)
Louis Berkhof, Introduction to Theology (Eerdmans)
Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics: Prolegomena (Baker)
Michael Horton, Covenant and Eschatology (Westminster John Knox)

THEOLOGY

B. B. Warfield, The Plan of Salvation (Wipf and Stock)
John Murray, Redemption Accomplished and Applied (Eerdmans)
Michael Horton, Putting Amazing Back Into Grace (Baker)
Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Eerdmans)
Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics (Baker)
John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 2 vols. (Westminster John Knox)

CHURCH HISTORY

W. Robert Godfrey, Reformation Sketches (P&R)
Paul Johnson, A History of Christianity (Scribner Book Co.)
D. G. Hart, Defending the Faith: J. Gresham Machen and the Crisis of Conservative Protestantism in Modern America (P&R)
Bengt Hagglund, History of Theology (Concordia)
Philip Benedict, Christ's Church Purely Reformed: A Social History of Calvinism (Yale University Press)

SPIRITUAL GROWTH AND CALLING

W. Robert Godfrey, Unexpected Journey (P&R)
J.I. Packer, Knowing God (IVP)
Edmund Clowney, Called to the Ministry (P&R)
Charles Bridges, Christian Ministry (Banner of Truth)
Charles Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students (Christian Heritage)

PREACHING, WORSHIP, AND THE CHURCH

Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Preaching and Preachers (Zondervan)
Michael Horton, A Better Way (Baker)
D.G. Hart and John Muether, With Reverence and Awe (P&R)
Edmund Clowney, The Church (IVP)
Samuel Logan, ed., The Preacher and Preaching (P&R)

EVANGELISM AND MISSIONS

Ernest Reisinger, Today's Evangelism: Its Message and Methods (P&R)
J. I. Packer, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God (IVP)
R.B. Kuyper, God-Centered Evangelism (Banner of Truth)
John Piper, Let the Nations be Glad (Baker)

CHRISTIAN COUNSELING

David Powlison, Seeing With New Eyes: Counseling and the Human Condition through the Lens of Scripture (P&R)
John MacArthur and Wayne Mack, Introduction to Biblical Counseling (W Publishing Group)
Paul Vitz, Psychology as Religion (Eerdmans)
Alfred Poirier, The Peacemaking Pastor: A Biblical Guide to Resolving Church Conflict (Baker)

CONTEMPORARY CULTURAL ISSUES

J. Gresham Machen, Christianity and Liberalism (Eerdmans)
Michael Horton, Where in the World is the Church?
D. G. Hart, The Lost Soul of American Protestantism
David Wells, God in the Wasteland (Eerdmans)
John Piper and Wayne Grudem, Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (Crossway)

RESEARCH AND WRITING SKILLS

William Strunk and E. B. White, The Elements of Style (Allyn and Bacon); Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren, How to Read a Book (Simon and Schuster);
William Zinsser, On Writing Well (Quill Press) Joseph Williams, Style: Toward Clarity and Grace (University of Chicago)
Lynne Truss, Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation (Gotham)
Kate Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (University of Chicago)


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## ewenlin (Aug 20, 2009)

The list from WSC is good.


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## SemperEruditio (Aug 20, 2009)

Here's RTS' list:

RTS Recommended Reading List

I	Bible Content and Interpretation​A. Essential Reading
God's Big Picture: Tracing the Storyline of the Bible, Vaughan Roberts
Reading the Bible with Heart and Mind, Tremper Longman III
According to Plan: the Unfolding Revelation of God in in the Bible, Graeme Goldsworthy 
Playing by the Rules, Robert H. Stein
Survey of the Bible, William Hendricksen

B. Further Reading
Christ of the Covenants, O. Palmer Robertson
He Gave Us Stories, Richard Pratt, Jr.
Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament, Christopher Wright
Let the Reader Understand, Dan McCartney & Charles Clayton
The Progress of Redemption, William Van Gemeren

C. Advanced/Comparison Reading
Biblical Theology, Geerhardus Vos
Introduction to the Old Testament, Raymond Dillard & Tremper Longman III
The Shadow of Christ in the Law of Moses, Vern Poythress
Introduction to the New Testament, Carson, Moo, and Morris
The Coming of the Kingdom, Herman Ridderbos
New Testament History, F.F. Bruce
Hermeneutics, Authority and Canon, Carson and Woodbridge
Foundations of Contemporary Interpretation, ed. Moises Silva


II	Spiritual Growth and Calling​A. Essential Reading
The Call, Os Guiness
Called to the Ministry, Edmund Clowney
A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, Eugene Peterson
Confessions, St. Augustine
Grow in Grace, Sinclair Ferguson
Pray With Your Eyes Open, Richard Pratt, Jr.
If God Already Knows, Why Pray?, Douglas Kelly
Born Free, Steve Brown
The Lord's Prayer, Derek Thomas

B. Further Reading
Studying Theology As A Servant of Jesus, John Frame
The Godly Man's Picture, Thomas Watson
The Disciplines of Grace, Jerry Bridges
The Way of Life, Charles Hodge
Pilgrim's Progress, John Bunyan
The Ascent Psalms, Derek Thomas
Cry of the Soul, Dan Allender
The Pleasures of God, John Piper

C. Advanced/Comparison Reading
Holiness, J.C. Ryle
The Religious Life of Theological Students, B.B. Warfield
An Introduction to Theological Studies, William Cunningham
Finding the Will of God, Bruce Waltke
Decision Making and the Will of God, Garry Friesen
The Enemy Within & Through the Looking Glass, Chris Lundgaard
A Resilient Life, Gordon MacDonald
The Devoted Life, Kelly Kapic & Randall Gleason


III	Systematic Theology​A. Essential Reading
Knowing God, J.I. Packer
Salvation Belongs to the Lord, John Frame
Concise Theology, J.I. Packer
The Fabric of Theology, Richard Lints
Putting Amazing Back into Grace, Michael Horton
The Christian Life, Sinclair Ferguson
Summary of Christian Doctrine, Louis Berkhof
Introductory Essay to John Owens' The Death of Death in the Death of Christ, J.I. Packer
Perspectives on the Word of God, John Frame

B. Further Reading
Foundations of the Christian Faith, James Boice
Inspiration and Authority of the Bible, B.B. Warfield
The Infallible Word, ed. by Stonehouse/Woolley
Redemption Accomplished and Applied, John Murray
Studies in Theology, B.B. Warfield
Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms

C. Advanced/Comparison Reading
Institutes of Christian Religion, John Calvin
Systematic Theology, Louis Berkhof
Systematic Theology, Wayne Grudem
A New Systematic Theology, Robert Reymond
The Holy Trinity, Robert Letham
The Doctrine of God, John Frame
The Atonement, Leon Morris
Adopted By God, Robert Peterson


IV	Philosophy and Christian Thought​A. Essential Reading
Building a Christian World View (Vol. 1-2), W. Andrew Hoffecker and Gary Scott Smith
Sophie's World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy, Jostein Gaarder
The Christian Mind, Harry Blamires
The Universe Next Door, James Sire
World Views in Conflict, Ronald Nash
God and the Philosophers: The Reconciliation fo Faith and Reason, Thomas V. Morris

B. Further Reading
The Gravedigger File, Os Guiness & Nick Butterworth
Longing to Know, Esther Meek
The Way of the World, Craig Gay

C. Advanced/Comparison Reading
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Thomas Kuhn
Reason Within the Bounds of Religion, N. Wolterstorff
Ideas Have Consequences, Richard Weaver
Lectures on Calvinism, Abraham Kuyper


V	Church History​A. Essential Reading
Church History in Plain Language, Bruce Shelley
Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity, Mark Noll
Church History, Volume 1: From Christ to Pre-Reformation, Everett Ferguson
A Religious History of the American People, Sydney Ahlstrom
The Story of Christian Theology, Roger Olson
Historical Theology, Alister McGrath

B. Further Reading
Augustine of Hippo, Peter Brown
The Thought of Thomas Aquinus, Brian Davies
Luther, Heiko Oberman
Calvin: A Biography, Bernard Cottret
Jonathan Edwards: A Life, George Marsden

C. Advanced/Comparison Reading
The Early Church, Henry Chadwick
Early Christian Doctrines, J.N.D. Kelly
Christianity & Western Thought, Volume 1, Colin Brown
Western Society and the Church in the Middle Ages, R.W. Southern
The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine (5 vols.), Jaroslav Pelikan
The Medieval Theologians, G.R. Evans
A World History of Christianity, Adrain Hastings


VI	Contemporary Western Culture​A. Essential Reading
Engaging God's World, Cornelius Plantinga
Christ and Culture, H. Richard Niebuhr
No Place for Truth, David Wells

B. Further Reading
Culture Wars, James D. Hunter
Resident Aliens, Stanley Hauerwas & William Willimon
A Primer on Postmodernism, Stanlye Grenz
Postmodern Times, Gene Veith
Pop Culture Wars, William Romanowski
Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, Mark Noll
The Struggle for America's Soul, Robert Wuthnow

C. Advanced/Comparison Reading
The Culture of Interpretation, Roger Lundin
Total Truth, Nancy Pearsey
The Sensate Culture, Harold O.J. Brown


VII	Apologetics​A. Essential Reading
Every Thought Captive, Richard Pratt, Jr.
God in the Dock, C.S. Lewis

B. Further Reading
Apologetics to the Glory of God, John Frame
Christian Apologetics, Cornelius Van Til
Why I Believe in God, Cornelius Van Til (available online)

C. Advanced/Comparison Reading
The Doctrine of the Knowledge of God, John Frame
Van Til: An Analysis of His Thought, John Frame
Van Til's Apologetic, Greg Bahnsen
Five Views of Apologetics, ed. Steve Cowan


VIII	Missions and Evangelism​A. Essential Reading
Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, J.I. Packer
Right With God, John Blanchard
Powerful Evangelism for the Powerless, C. John Miller
Tell the Truth, Will Metzger

B. Further Reading
Let the Nations Be Glad, John Piper
Christian Mission, John Stott
An Introduction to the Science of Missions, J. Herman Bavink
The Pastor-Evangelist: Preacher, Model, and Mobilizer for Church Growth, Roger Greenway
Telling the Truth: Evangelizing Postmoderns, D.A. Carson
The Gospel in a Pluralistic Society, Lesslie Newbigin
Missionary Methods: St. Paul's or Ours?, Allen Rolland

C. Advanced/Comparison Reading
Perspectives on the World Christian Movevment, Ralph Winter
Mission in the Old Testament, Walter Kaiser
Gospel and Mission in the Writings of St. Paul, Peter T. O'Brien
God's Missionary People, Charles Van Engen
A Heart for Mission: Five Pioneer Thinkers, Ron Davies
What In the World is God Doing?, C. Gordon Olson


IX	Task of Preaching​A. Essential Reading
How To Talk So People Will Listen, Steve Brown
The Supremacy of God in Preaching, John Piper

B. Further Reading
Between Two Worlds, John Stott
Biblical Preaching, Haddon Robinson
Preaching with Purpose, Jay Adams

C. Advanced/Comparison Reading
Christ-Centered Preaching, Bryan Chapell
Preachers and Preaching, Sam Logan
Preaching Christ in All of Scripture, Ed Clowney
Preaching for Revitalization, Michael Ross


X	Pastoral Ministry and Leadership​A. Essential Reading
Jesus Christ Disciplemaker, William Hull
Spiritual Leadership, J. Oswald Sanders
Working the Angles, Eugene Peterson

B. Further Reading
Shepherding God's Flock, Jay Adams
The Reformed Pastor, Richard Baxter
The Work of the Pastor, William Still

C. Advanced/Comparison Reading
The Christian Ministry, Charles Bridges
The Making of a Leader, Robert Clinton
The Unnecessary Pastor, Eugene Peterson
Pastoral Theology, Thomas Oden


XI	Christian Counseling​A. Essential Reading
The Care of Souls, David Benner
The Healing Path, Dan Allendar
Inside Out, Larry Crabb
Telling Secrets, Frederick Buechner
Connecting, Larry Crabb

B. Further Reading
Bold Love, Dan Allender & Tremper Longman III
The Cry of the Soul, Dan Allender & Tremper Longman III
Finding God, Larry Crabb
The Gospel According to Job, Mike Mason
The Sacred Romance, Brent Curtis & John Eldredge
Sacred Thirst, M. Craig Barnes
A Tale of Three Kings, Gene Edwards
When God Interrupts, M. Craig Barnes
The Wounded Healer, Henri Nouwen

C. Advanced/Comparison Reading
Ministry in the Image of God, Stephen Seamands
The Myth of Certainty, Daniel Taylor
The Awakened Heart, Gerald May
Yearning: Living Between How It Is and How It Ought to Be, M. Craig Barnes


XII	Other Titles​A. Essential Reading
Truth in All Its Glory: Commending the Reformed Faith, William Edgar
How to Read a Book, Mortimer Adler & Charles Van Doren
Chosen by God, R.C. Sproul
Designed for Dignity, Richard Pratt, Jr.
God Has Spoken, J.I. Packer
The Church, Edmund Clowney
Seeking a Better Country: 300 Years of American Presbyterianism, D.G. Hart & John R. Muether

B. Further Reading
Give Praise to God, Ligon Duncan & Derek Thomas
With One Voice: Discovering Christ's Song in Our Worship, Reggie Kidd
Creation and Change, Douglas Kelly
The Bondage of the Will, Martin Luther
Plan of Salvation, B.B. Warfield
Created in God's Image, Anthony Hoekema
The Glorious Body of Christ, R.B. Kuiper


HAPPY READING!!


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## cbryant (Aug 20, 2009)

1. Called to the Ministry by Edmund Clowney. (Read this first)

not necessarily in order

2. Our Reasonable Faith by Bavinck (boiled down version of his Reformed Dogmatics)
3. Biblical Theology by Vos
4. Church History in Plain Language by Shelley
5. A good book on logic and Rhetoric
6. A good survey of Western Philosophy (From Socrates to At least the 20th century)
7. In Defense of the Faith by Van Til. 

These are just my recommendations, One thing I have seen is that most people now days who go to Seminary are unprepared in terms of logic and rhetoric (myself included) and also unprepared in the history of philosophy (which will help when you take apologetics).


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