Reading allows us to consult the broader wisdom of mankind as it works out ideas and beliefs in specific circumstances and reports back on the results. Authors from vastly different times and places can give us insight into the issues of our day, providing much-needed counsel to help us be wise as serpents.
Below, you will find reading suggestions from our group that come from a wide range of disciplines and topics. We think these selections will be great for personal and family reading. Most of all, we think they will help to broaden your understanding of God’s creation and His work in it because they have had that result in our lives. Please leave us your favorite reads in the comment section.
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Hans Christian Anderson, The Snow Queen, ill. Mary Engelbreit (New York: Workman, 1993), 48 pages.
I read many folk tales growing up but not many traditional fairy tales. Unfortunately, my knowledge of the more popular fairy tales comes from inaccurate Disney movie adaptations, which fact I am in the process of rectifying, recently inspired by former theology professor Vigen Guroian. Being warned by Guroian that most illustrated fairy tale books for children are retellings that leave out important moral and literary aspects of the original tales, I nonetheless took to perusing my local library’s selection of fairy and folk tale illustrated children’s books. I brought home this edition of The Snow Queen because the illustrations were just irresistible (an extremely rare experience, it seems, in libraries these days), and the text seemed merely abridged, not entirely retold. Indeed, all the essential story elements remained, plus the shortened text and added illustrations made this story accessible to my three-year-old, as well as enjoyable for me.
Lewis fans will immediately recognize the Snow Queen as Narnia’s White Witch. Many similarities exist between this tale and Lewis’s, including a little boy beguiled by the queen/witch and in need of saving; but this time it is the good and innocent little girl that saves him, not a Christ figure. I do not wonder at all that Lewis was so taken with this tale as to rewrite it into his own fantasy world. The Snow Queen illustrates themes that Lewis writes about in his book, The Abolition of Man. Kay, the little boy, is one of those “men without chests,” puffed up with the pride of his own reason and unable to access the more tender, child-like truths that could free him from his slavery to the queen. Gerda, his faithful childhood friend, frees Kay through her child-like faith and charity. Older preschoolers and elementary-aged children will enjoy this illustrated abridgment, while older children may prefer the longer tale recorded by Hans Christian Anderson himself. All readers will be enlarged by the addition to their imaginations of a category of virtue that outstrips reason and triumphs incredibly over evil.
—Recommended by Rebekah Zuñiga
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Evert van Emde Boas, Albert Rijksbaron, Luuk Huitink, and Mathieu de Bakker, The Cambridge Grammar of Classical Greek (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019), 856 pages.
One issue with many Greek grammars used in a Bible college or seminary contexts is that they rarely engage with Greek outside of the New Testament. This approach is somewhat understandable since the goal of most New Testament Greek courses is to equip students to utilize Greek in New Testament exegesis. However, having a good reference grammar for classical Greek will be very useful to any pastor or student studying the Greek New Testament. The new Cambridge Grammar of Classical Greek is an excellent resource to have on the shelf. It is thorough in its engagement with Greek literature of the classical period, and it is very affordable ($40.99) compared to many other academic publications. I think pastors who study from the Greek New Testament would be surprised by how helpful this grammar could be for interpreting higher register grammar and syntax in the New Testament.
—Recommended by Zach Vickery
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Matthew Steven Bracey and Christopher Talbot, eds., Christians in Culture: Cultivating a Christian Worldview for All of Life (Gallatin, TN: Welch College Press, 2023), 352 pages.
I am excited to recommend the forthcoming Christians in Culture, to release this coming summer. It is a multi-author work written by several HSF members, including Phillip T. Morgan, Christopher Talbot, and myself, among others. I, along with Talbot, also edited the book. With endorsements from a dozen people, including Albert Mohler, David Dockery, Harry Reeder, Daniel Darling, and Eddie Moody, Christians in Culture considers the Christian worldview and its application to various spheres of life.
God does not redeem us to remove us from the world. God commands that we engage it as the salt of the earth and the light of the world, as witnesses to the gospel of His kingdom. He calls us to place all areas of culture under His lordship and the authority of His Word. Whether you are interested in arts and entertainment, sports and recreation, technology and science, politics and economics, labor and vocation, or history and tradition, this book is relevant for you. It provides biblical and theological foundations for thinking Christianly about each of these areas and living Christianly within them. It invites you to cultivate a Christian worldview for all of life—a worldview that is holistic, wise, and transformative.
Readers may preorder the book with a special prerelease discount here.
—Recommended by Matthew Steven Bracey
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Julie Byrne, O God of Players: The Story of the Immaculata Mighty Macs (New York: Columbia University Press, 2003), 312 pages.
In this carefully researched and delightful book, Julie Byrne explores the storied underdog team that dominated women’s collegiate basketball for several decades of the twentieth century. While Byrne engages in some level of historical narration (and quite well at that), the greatest value of the work lies in Byrne’s exploration of how basketball at Immaculata College—a small women’s Catholic college near Philadelphia— “offered [players] particular social, physical, spiritual, and spatial pleasures through which they mostly accommodated and occasionally resisted the larger Catholic milieu” (10). That is, Byrne considers the ways that “faith infused basketball” as well as the ways that “basketball talked back to faith” in the case of this Catholic women’s team (116). While Byrne writes about the intersection between athletics and Catholicism, I trust that the reader will learn a great deal about the intersection between athletics and Evangelicalism as well—and there is, undeniably, an intersection that we would do well to better understand.
—Recommended by Joshua R. Colson
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Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities (New York: Signet, 2007), 416 pages.
I am amazed at the number of classic works of literature that takes the French Revolution for their setting: The Count of Monte Cristo (1844), Tale of Two Cities (1859), and Les Misérables (1862). Undoubtedly, these are not the only ones; clearly, the French Revolution made a profound impact on the popular imagination of the people of the nineteenth century.
I finally got around to reading The Tale of Two Cities, which tells the story of the growing conflict between the aristocracy and peasantry in London and Paris. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” the book famously begins. Dickens treats both the aristocracy and the poor with criticism and empathy. He illuminates the injustice—at times, quite sharply—experienced by both rich and poor. Dickens does not glorify revolution; rather, he observes that it creates yet more injustice. Solutions to societal problems are better achieved through imaginative thinking, reasonable compromise, and mutual understanding. A Tale of Two Cities is a compelling story of suffering, sacrifice, courage, and redemption.
—Recommended by Matthew Steven Bracey
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David E. Gumpert, The Raw Milk Revolution: Behind America’s Emerging Battle Over Food Rights (White River Junction: Chelsea Green, 2009), 228 pages.
Almost a year ago, our family entered a herd share with a local farmer to acquire raw dairy products such as milk, cream, and butter. Some friends of ours introduced us to this farmer and his products, and we immediately bought some shares. Not only have we really enjoyed consuming these products because of their superior quality and taste, but entering this herd share contract has also taught us a lot about the health benefits of raw dairy and the hardships placed on local farmers by the government.
In The Raw Milk Revolution, David Gumpert provides excellent insights into why our society has embraced a highly regulated dairy industry. He discusses the government’s increasing involvement, pointing out the blatant inconsistency of allowing grocery stores to sell products like Twinkies and Coca-Cola but making it nearly impossible to find raw dairy products that academic studies and human history have shown to be greatly beneficial to our health. He explains what the process of pasteurization does to milk and the fact that pasteurization significantly alters the bioavailability of milk’s nutrients.
After addressing the risks associated with raw dairy, Gumpert concludes that dairy products coming from healthy cows are most nutritious when consumed raw. He finishes by raising the question of whether families should be able to make these decisions for themselves or if it is something for the government to decide. He describes this debate as “a battle over a right so fundamental and natural that the authors of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence didn’t think to mention it” (xv). I have enjoyed learning more about the benefits of raw milk, and, more importantly, about what small farmers go through and how I can better support them.
—Recommended by Zach Vickery
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Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Book (1894; repr., Mahwah, NJ: Watermill Press, 1980), 223 pages.
Like many contemporary folks, I was familiar with this work through the Disney adaptations of the same name in 1967 and 2016. Recently, however, I came across a tattered copy of the book and decided to give it a read. I am glad I did, and I recommend that you do the same. The short stories that comprise the collection were written for children of course, but adults would do well to recapture a sense of childlike wonder from time to time. What is more, those who have eyes to see will also discern fragments of the greatest story ever told—the gospel—throughout the short stories. For instance, in one of the most famous scenes, the evil tiger, Shere Khan, seeks to kill the infant Mowgli, who was living among the wolves. But Mother Wolf protects Mowgli while prophesying to Shere Khan that Mowgli “shall live to run with the Pack and to hunt with the Pack; and in the end, look you, hunter of little naked cubs . . . he shall hunt thee!” (8). One hears in these words an echo of the protoevangelium, and other echoes of the gospel reverberate throughout the work as well. Reading it would be well worth your time.
—Recommended by Joshua R. Colson
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C. S. Lewis, That Hideous Strength: A Modern Fairy-Tale for Grownups (New York: Scribner, 1945), 384 pages.
For the winter recommended books post, I encouraged our readers to take time to read C. S. Lewis’ second installment in the Ransom Trilogy, Perelandra. This has been my first time to read through this series of books by Lewis, and I have been reminded of just how wonderful a thinker and writer he was. I was inspired to think in new and better ways about the eternal verities that are under attack in our culture. I enjoyed the series so much that I just finished reading through them a second time.
For this post, I would like to recommend the last installment of the series, That Hideous Strength, which explores the insidious and demonic underpinnings of the Progressive movement, scientism, and attempts to redefine gender. I especially thought his description of the subtle but real dangers of bureaucratic institutions was timely and perceptive. Be aware that this book begins with a slow burn, but your patience will pay off in big ways as the book rushes toward its conclusion.
—Recommended by Phillip T. Morgan
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David Lytle and Charles Cook, eds., Arminian Baptists: A Biographical History of Free Will Baptists (Nashville, TN: Randall House, 2022), 464 pages.
As a young Free Will Baptist, I often felt like my denomination lacked the rich historical heritage that others had. I then began to read the writings of Bill Davidson, Michael Pelt, and J. Matthew Pinson. Through these authors, I became more acquainted with Free Will Baptist history in America as well as our connections with the English General Baptists from the seventeenth century. As my knowledge of Free Will Baptist history has grown, so has my love for my denomination.
I was delighted when David Lytle and Charles Cook invited me, as well as HSF contributor Phillip T. Morgan, to contribute to this handy volume, which explores figures from our past, beginning with the English General Baptists and working all the way up to Robert Picirilli. In it readers will likely encounter figures they know something about as well as folks they have never heard of, all of whom are important to Free Will Baptist history. If you read this book, your knowledge of and love for Free Will Baptists will grow exponentially.
—Recommended by Jesse Owens
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Tom Nelson, The Flourishing Pastor: Recovering the Lost Art of Shepherd Leadership (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2021), 256 pages.
I first heard Tom Nelson speak last summer at a conference for college faculty and administrators. I was immediately captivated by his wisdom on pastoral ministry and a holistic Christian life. The Flourishing Pastor addresses both issues. Nelson emphasizes the importance of pastoral “wholeness” or the spiritual well-being of pastors who are often overworked, burnt-out, depressed, and sometimes spiritually anemic because they have spent much time caring for the needs of their congregants and too little time caring for their own souls. As Nelson rightly argues, the flourishing pastor leads from the overflow of his soul and relationship with the Lord.
Another element of Nelson’s work I find particularly helpful (and needful) is his emphasis on “connecting Sunday to Monday.” Pastors often do not give enough thought in their preaching and pastoring to the vocations of their congregants. Nelson explains that there came a time when he realized he spent most of his time focusing on the minority part of his congregants’ lives. That is, much of what he said on Sundays did little to connect the truths of Scripture to people’s work. But if he wanted his people to have a holistic view of Christianity, then he needed to connect faith and work—he needed to apply the gospel message to all of life.
Nelson’s twin focus on pastoral wholeness and holistic Christian ministry is desperately needed in the church. This book does much to encourage both.
—Recommended by Jesse Owens
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Eugene Peterson, Eat This Book: A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2006), 186 pages.
The Bible is great literature; it is full of moral principles; it contains many inspiring thoughts; but reading the Bible for any of these reasons alone is not reading as a Christian. Spiritual reading, according to Eugene Peterson, is recognizing the personal, revelatory nature of the Bible as God’s Word and submitting to it in obedience. It is not adding biblical principles to our storehouse of knowledge but taking the Word into us, ingesting it, and allowing it to become part of us.
Through creative and vivid prose, Peterson outlines the steps of reading, meditation, prayer, and contemplation that incorporates the old Christian practice of ingesting the Scriptures called the lectio divina. Peterson’s recommendations encourage this deeper type of reading that seeks to obey, not merely comprehend. I recommend it as an inspirational refresher on the motivation and purpose of personal Bible reading.
—Recommended by Rebekah Zuñiga
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Jordan B. Peterson, 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos (Toronto: Penguin Random House Audio Canada, 2018), 409 pages.
Nearly five years ago, former contributor and founding member of the Helwys Society Forum W. Jackson Watts recommended Jordan B. Peterson’s 12 Rules for Life for one of these posts. At the time, I had just begun to become aware of Peterson’s video lectures available on YouTube. Watts’ positive review encouraged me to look more closely at what Peterson was doing, and for that I am very thankful. I have personally found Peterson’s lectures and speeches on psychology, self-improvement, and the nature of society tremendously beneficial, though I do not always agree with him, especially when it comes to biblical interpretation.
So, after following Peterson closely for the past five years, I finally got around to reading his most famous book, 12 Rules for Life. Peterson brings a wealth of sociological research and vivid personal illustrations together to argue that modern culture’s emphasis on unfettered self-gratification, radical post-modern individualism, extended immaturity, and flagrant irresponsibility is destructive to human flourishing. Peterson points back to wisdom from the ancient world (including the Bible), literature (especially from nineteenth-century Russia), the common knowledge of traditional communities, and modern sociological research to encourage people to embrace responsibility in the face of real suffering. I find most helpful Peterson’s emphasis on finding real and practical ways to begin improving your life in small ways that mutually support one another and lead to big changes over time.
I was a little discouraged to find that, if you have watched many of his lectures and speeches, the themes and information contained in this book will be largely familiar. However, working through Peterson’s ideas about self-improvement in a systematic way was helpful. I also recommend Peterson’s reading of the audio book version. He reads with fervor and inflection that add full dimension to the words on the page. His tearful relation of a childhood friend’s suicide in chapter eleven reminds you that this argument is not abstract for him but rather counsel for real people facing real struggles. I have found the book immensely helpful and encouraging, and I think you will too.
—Recommended by Phillip T. Morgan
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