100 Book List

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PeaceLikeRiver01

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Good Evening! Long time lurker, first time poster!

Relatively popular among book enthusiasts are book lists such as "100 Must Read Books Before You Die" and things of that nature. I have always been an avid book reader, but mainly fiction/sci-fi books, and that is what these book lists are typically geared to. As I am in my 40's I start thinking, should I really be wasting my time on things like Star Wars novels etc... =) , not to speak of the moral issues with some of these books.

That being said, I would like to create a "must read" list of Christian books that a Reformed Christian would benefit from. These can be from a wide variety of genres and ages. I would like to create a "100 must read books" as a sort of checklist. I would also plan to share it in our church newsletter. So I thought I would post to all of you to see what you would contribute to this list! Obviously 100 is not the end all be all number but I really want to focus on the best of the best =)

Thank you all! I'm excited to see the list develop!
 
Some that immediately come to mind:

-Augustine’s Confessions, City of God, and The Trinity
-Thomas’s Summa Theologica
-Luther’s Commentary on Galatians, and Bondage of the Will
-Calvin’s Institutes and Commentary on Romans
-The Westminster Standards (or the confessional standards of your tradition)
-Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress
-Gurnall’s The Christian in Complete Armour
-Sibbes’s the Bruised Reed
-Owen’s Mortification of Sin, Death of Death in the Death of Christ, and The Doctrine of Justification by Faith
-Edwards’s Freedom of the Will, and Concerning the End for Which God Created the World
-Spurgeon’s Treasury of David
-Sproul’s Holiness of God, and Chosen by God

Most of these are considered standard works in the (broad) Reformed/Augustinian tradition
 
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Fantastic! Thanks so much! Also, along with your books, are you avid readers, and if so do you try to read primarily Christian material?
Thank you!
 
PeaceLikeRiver01 said:
Fantastic! Thanks so much! Also, along with your books, are you avid readers, and if so do you try to read primarily Christian material?
Thank you!
Click to expand...
I will normally read something “secular” on my lunch break (novel, philosophy, etc.), and something explicitly “Christian” (theology, church history, etc.) at night. All, of course, in addition to regular Bible study. I find that split to be easiest for me.
 
PeaceLikeRiver01 said:
Good Evening! Long time lurker, first time poster!

Relatively popular among book enthusiasts are book lists such as "100 Must Read Books Before You Die" and things of that nature. I have always been an avid book reader, but mainly fiction/sci-fi books, and that is what these book lists are typically geared to. As I am in my 40's I start thinking, should I really be wasting my time on things like Star Wars novels etc... =) , not to speak of the moral issues with some of these books.

That being said, I would like to create a "must read" list of Christian books that a Reformed Christian would benefit from. These can be from a wide variety of genres and ages. I would like to create a "100 must read books" as a sort of checklist. I would also plan to share it in our church newsletter. So I thought I would post to all of you to see what you would contribute to this list! Obviously 100 is not the end all be all number but I really want to focus on the best of the best =)

Thank you all! I'm excited to see the list develop!
Click to expand...
Hello there. What topics are you into? My time is limited, so I tend to read what is most important and applicable to my life. Maybe we can best direct you if you put filters on, lol.
 
Trying to find the best of the best on a wide variety of topics. I tend to pigeonhole myself into certain topics so that is why I am reaching out to others =) Over the years I have collected a lot of classic literature (Moby Dick etc...) but i get to the point and say, why would I waste so much time reading secular books when I could have a checklist of great Christian works. Not saying I won't read secular books, but thinking of how best to spend my reading time =)
 
jacobcandler1689 said:
Some that immediately come to mind:

-Augustine’s Confessions, City of God, and The Trinity
-Thomas’s Summa Theologica
-Luther’s Commentary on Galatians and Bondage of the Will
-Calvin’s Institutes and Commentary on Romans
-The Westminster Standards (or the confessional standards of your tradition)
-Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress
-Gurnall’s The Christian in Complete Armour
-Sibbes’s the Bruised Reed
-Owen’s Mortification of Sin, Death of Death in the Death of Christ, and The Doctrine of Justification by Faith
-Edwards’s Freedom of the Will, and Concerning the End for Which God Created the World
-Spurgeon’s Treasury of David
-Sproul’s Holiness of God, and Chosen by God

Most of these are considered standard works in the (broad) Reformed/Augustinian tradition
Click to expand...

Great start!

Just about everything written by three Johns:
  1. John Bunyan's -- Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners - to me, this book was far scarier than anything in Pilgrim's Progress.
  2. John Owen's -- Volumes 6 & 7 were my two favorites. I wore out volume six and had to buy a new Banner edition. Then I got Logos. My favorite of Owen's is his exposition of Psalm 130 (vol 6). A biographer of Owen's related how his exposition came deeply from Owen's heart, as he was recovering from a severe, long-term illness Owen was convinced he would die from. From those "depths," Owen looked up to his only hope. **(Psalm 130:1-4)
  3. John Flavel's -- Works. As Owen was bursting with sheer brain power, Flavel was overflowing with love and pastoral concern for his flock.
Ed

**Psalm 130:1-4 KJV
Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD. Lord, hear my voice: Let thine ears be attentive To the voice of my supplications. If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, That thou mayest be feared.
 
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On the fiction side, I haven't read them since becoming reformed, but I fondly remember:
Dostoevsky - "Crime & Punishment"
Hogg - "The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner"
 
Such a list would have to include (I may not have the exact wording):

Martin Luther: Bondage of the Will

Geerhardous Vos: Biblical Theology and the longer collection of sermons preached at Princeton

John Murray: Redemption Accomplished and Applied

Dietrich Bonhoeffer: In Community

Jonathan Edwards: Religious Affection, his biography on David Brainard, and at least one volume of his sermons

George Marsden should be included in some fashion. His works on the history of evangelical Christianity in the US is essential to understanding how Reformed churches are being undermined by embracing this broad approach and its efforts to turn the faith into a method

I'd have to give more thought to fiction and general history selections.
 
As a book lover I love the idea of the 100 Christian books you should read. No doubt you will have various levels of maturity in your church. So:

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
Valley of Vision ed. by Arthur Bennett one of the best devotionals out there
A Way to Pray by Matthew Henry recently updated by O. Palmer Robertson
Holiness and Practical Religion both by J.C. Ryle
The Westminster Larger Catechism: A commentary by Johannes G. Vos I used this in an adult Sunday class and found it very helpful.
The Westminster Confession of Faith for study classes by G.L. Williamson

Also anything in the Puritan Paperback series
 
I would say:

1. The Diary of David Brainerd
2. Heaven Taken by Storm - Thomas Watson
3. Home Making - J.R. Miller

There are so many other good books honestly, but those three have made a huge impact on me.
 
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Any top 100 (or top 10 for that matter) list of books should include the following 3 somewhere:

1. A Treatise on Earthly Mindedness - Jeremiah Burroughs
2. Concerning Scandal - James Durham
3. The Puritan Hope - Iain Murray
 
Couldn't give you a top 100 but to some of the others already mentioned I would add,

1. Days of the Fathers in Ross-Shire - Rev. Dr. John Kennedy
2. A View of Saving Faith - Rev. John Colquhoun
3. The Covenant of Grace - Rev. Thomas Boston
4. Owen on Christology (Vol 1)

Re other reading, I've found this article by Dabney helpful:
 
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These are on my list:
  • The 3 forms of Unity
  • The Westminster Standards
  • The apostolic fathers
  • The apocrypha
  • J. Calvinus, Institutio Christianae Religionis (institutes of the Christian Religion)
  • Synod of Dort (1618-1619), Acta synodi nationalis
  • Z. Ursinus, (commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism)
  • C. Olevianus, Vester grund christlicher Lehre (firm foundation)
  • A. Hellenbroek, Voorbeeld der godlyke waarheden (specimen of divine truths)
  • G. Groen van Prinsterer, Ongeloof en Revolutie (Unbelief and Revolution)
  • H. Kohlbrügge, Hoogst belangrijke briefwisseling tusschen dr. H.F. Kohlbrügge en mr. I. Da Costa over de leer der heiligmaking naar aanleiding van en vermeerderd met de leerrede van Dr. Kohlbrügge over Rom. 7:14. and also his commentary of Romans 7 [But I don't think these books concerning the comma of Kohlbrügge are translated in English yet]
  • M. Luther, De servo arbitrio (of the bondage of the will)
  • Th. à Kempis, De imitatione Christi (The imitation of Christ)
  • A. Augustinus, De civitate Dei (The city of God)
  • Eusebius, (Church History)
  • Ch. Drelincourt, P. du Moulin, e.a., Het rechte gebruyck van des Heeren H. Avontmael, soo voor voor als na de bedieninge; bestaende in meditatien, gebeden en danckseggingen.
    - or. Ch. Drelincourt, Prières et méditations pour se préparer à la communion (Prayers and meditations before and after receiving the Sacrament of the Lord’s-supper.)
  • A. Kuyper, Calvinisme: oorsprong en waarborg onzer Constitutionele Vrijheden (Calvinism: the origin and safeguard of our constitutional liberties)
  • Ph. Mauro, The Hope of Israël: What is it?
  • J. Bunyan, Pilgrim’s Progress
  • César Malan, Le nouveau Bartimée [don't know if this tract would be fit for a top 100, but I liked it very much]
 
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This is so great everyone! I have a list created of all your suggestions so far and am at 109! Feel free to add more! When I get a chance I will clean up the list and share and if you all have opinions on if a book or author on the list is not sound etc... then please let me know!

Keep them coming if you have any more!
Thanks so much!
 
Ed Walsh said:
Just about everything written by three Johns:
  1. John Bunyan's -- Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners - to me, this book was far scarier than anything in Pilgrim's Progress.
  2. John Owen's -- Volumes 6 & 7 were my two favorites. I wore out volume six and had to buy a new Banner edition. Then I got Logos. My favorite of Owen's is his exposition of Psalm 130 (vol 6). A biographer of Owen's related how his exposition came deeply from Owen's heart.
  3. John Flavel's -- Works. As Owen was bursting with sheer brain power, so Flavel was overflowing with love and pastoral concern for his flock.
Click to expand...
Interestingly, Sinclair Ferguson also speaks of three Johns to read, as Calvin, Owen and Murray.

Ryan&Amber2013 said:
1. The Diary of David Brainerd
2. Heaven Taken by Storm - Thomas Watson
Click to expand...
Absolutely! I would also take Watson on the doctrine of repentance.
And on sanctification I'd take Walter Marshall.

See these similar PB threads -

The 20 most important books you must read before you die.

You asked for it.
www.puritanboard.com www.puritanboard.com

Books Worth Revisiting Over and Over

I've been trying to put together a list of books (outside of Scripture) that I want to ensure I return to multiple times throughout life, so as to really absorb their ideas. Reading broadly is great; but it seems to me that reading a few really good books repeatedly, so as to fully absorb their...
www.puritanboard.com www.puritanboard.com

Another “Favourite Books List” Thread

If you could only have five (5) books/works, in addition to the Bible, for the rest of your life, what would they be? I’d like to get your thoughts on what books are of lasting value, that can be revisited again and again and again throughout life. I’m also interested in seeing the various...
www.puritanboard.com www.puritanboard.com
 
PeaceLikeRiver01 said:
Good Evening! Long time lurker, first time poster!

Relatively popular among book enthusiasts are book lists such as "100 Must Read Books Before You Die" and things of that nature. I have always been an avid book reader, but mainly fiction/sci-fi books, and that is what these book lists are typically geared to. As I am in my 40's I start thinking, should I really be wasting my time on things like Star Wars novels etc... =) , not to speak of the moral issues with some of these books.

That being said, I would like to create a "must read" list of Christian books that a Reformed Christian would benefit from. These can be from a wide variety of genres and ages. I would like to create a "100 must read books" as a sort of checklist. I would also plan to share it in our church newsletter. So I thought I would post to all of you to see what you would contribute to this list! Obviously 100 is not the end all be all number but I really want to focus on the best of the best =)

Thank you all! I'm excited to see the list develop!
Click to expand...
If you are into echatology I'd gladly recommend David Chilton's "Days of Vengeance", a commentary on Revelation. He was post-mill, FYI.
Dr. Ken Gentry, Jr. has a two volume commentary on Revelation that's supposed to be released some time early-fall, called "Divorce of Israel."

The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination by Loraine Boettner is a must read if'n you haven't read it.
The Sovereignty of God, The Satisfaction of Christ: Studies in the Atonement, and The Attributes of God by A. W. Pink are also worthwhile reads.
Freedom of the Will by Jonathan Edwards, but he's a very tough read.
 
Sovereign Grace said:
If you are into echatology I'd gladly recommend David Chilton's "Days of Vengeance", a commentary on Revelation. He was post-mill, FYI.
Dr. Ken Gentry, Jr. has a two volume commentary on Revelation that's supposed to be released some time early-fall, called "Divorce of Israel."

The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination by Loraine Boettner is a must read if'n you haven't read it.
The Sovereignty of God, The Satisfaction of Christ: Studies in the Atonement, and The Attributes of God by A. W. Pink are also worthwhile reads.
Freedom of the Will by Jonathan Edwards, but he's a very tough read.
Click to expand...

If you read Arthur W. Pink's The Sovereignty of God, make sure you read Pink's original, not Iain H. Murray's egregious re-write.
 
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