I recently read a list of what purported to be the 100 Greatest Christian books ... I was, frankly, surprised by many of the titles that were on the list. Conversely I was shocked by the absence of others. Out of the entire list not a single book dedicated to the "Old Testament" - the ghost of Marcion is still a poltergeist in the Protestant psyche. So I decided to make my own list.
Of course my list will be flawed too. I am sure some will scratch their head over a few selections. Yet what follow here are my selections for the 100 greatest Christian books of all time. I have tried to pick works that have impacted Christian thought and life in important ways ... and also works that have helped shape me personally even though I do not always agree completely with a given book. I would recommend to any Christian looking to build a library that these books deserve a place on their shelf (or kindle) ... but not only the shelf they deserve to be devoured. I have attempted to avoid what C. S. Lewis termed "chronological snobbery" but there may be more modern titles. I will offer an older title and then newer as my approach. I will offer the title with no justification for it.
1) The Apocrypha
2) J. B. Phillips, Your God is too Small
3) The Apostolic Fathers (ed. Michael Holmes)
4) Jacques Ellul, The Meaning of the City
5) Origen, Hexapola - now this work I do not have and does not exist as known today but if it shows up on Google books let me know
6) Martin Luther King, Jr, Letter from a Birmingham Jail
7) Justin, First and Second Apology
8) Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest
9) Irenaeus, Against Heresies
10) Walther Rauschenbusch, Christianity and the Social Crises
11) Tertullian, Apology
12) Albert Schweitzer, The Quest for the Historical Jesus
13) Eusebius, Church History
14) William Law, A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life
15) Augustine, The Confessions
16) Augustine, City of God
17) G. Ernest Wright, God Who Acts
18) Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English People
19) Alexander Heidel, The Babylonian Genesis
20) Athanasius, On the Incarnation of the Word of God
21) Jerome, The Vulgate
22) Richard Foster, The Celebration of Discipline
23) Gregory the Great, Pastoral Care
24) Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship
25) Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons on the Song of Songs
26) Jacob Spener, Pia Desideria
27) Thomas a'Kempis, The Imitation of Christ
28) Francis of Assisi, The Writings of Francis of Assisi
29) C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
30) Anselm, Cur Deus Homo
31) Dorothy Sayers, The Mind of the Maker
32) Erasmus, In Praise of Folly
33) Erasmus, Greek New Testament
34) Martin Luther, Selections from His Writings
35) William Tyndale, English New Testament, Old Testament (Pentateuch and Jonah)
36) William Tyndale, The Obedience of a Christian Man
37) N. T. Wright, The Resurrection of the Son of God
38) Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God
39) Adolf Deissmann, Light from the Ancient East
40) Teresa of Avila, Interior Castle
41) Walter Brueggemann, The Message of the Psalms
42) Thomas Campbell, The Declaration and Address
43) John Foxe, Foxes Book of Martyrs
44) John Bright, The Authority of the Old Testament
45) B. F. Westcott & F. J. A. Hort, Greek New Testament
46) Christopher J. H. Wright, The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible's Grand Narrative
47) Abraham J. Heschel, The Prophets (2 Vols). I know Heschel is a Jewish author but his work still ranks among the richest exposition of the biblical text.
48) Abraham J. Heschel, The Sabbath
49) John Bunyan, The Pilgrim's Progress
50) John Howard Yoder, The Politics of Jesus
51) Ronald M. Hals, Grace and Faith in the Old Testament (one of the finest little gems of a book I've ever read)
52) George Adam Smith, Historical Geography of the Holy Land
53) Frederick Buechner, Telling the Truth
54) William Wilberforce, Real Christianity
55) C. S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy
56) Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All its Worth
57) Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together
58) The Desert Fathers
59) Martin Hengel, Crucifixion in the Ancient World
60) Gregory of Nyssa, The Life of Moses
61) Gordon D. Fee, God's Empowering Presence: The Holy Spirit in the Letters of Paul
62) Lancelot Andrewes, Private Devotions
63) F. F. Bruce, New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable?
64) Rudolf Otto, The Idea of the Holy
65) Jonathan Edwards, Religious Affections
66) John Stott, The Cross of Christ
67) Watchman Nee, The Normal Christian Life
68) Lewis Smedes, The Art of Forgiving
69) Lesslie Newbigin, The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission
70) Bonaventure, The Life of St. Francis
71) Ray Bakke, The Urban Christian: Effective Ministry in Today's Urban World
72) Willard Harley, His Needs, Her Needs
73) Christopher J. H. Wright, Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament
74) Marva J. Dawn, A Royal 'Waste' of Time: The Splendor of Worshiping God and Being Church for the World
75) Terence Fretheim, The Suffering of God: An Old Testament Perspective
76) Gustaf Aulen, Christus Victor
77) F. F. Bruce, History of the Bible in English
78) T. S. Eliot, The Wasteland
79) T. S. Eliot, Four Quartets
80) Henri J. M. Nouwen, The Wounded Healer
81) John Donne, The Holy Sonnets
82) Michael Green, I Believe in the Holy Spirit
83) N. T. Wright, The New Testament and the People of God
84) John Goldingay, Old Testament Theology: Israel's Gospel
85) Gary Chapman, The Five Love Languages
86) Stanley Grenz, Created for Community
87) Malcolm Muggeridge, Jesus Rediscovered
88) C. S. Lewis, A Grief Observed
89) Marvin Wilson, Our Father Abraham: Jewish Roots of the Christian Faith
90) Mark A. Noll, America's God: From Jonathan Edwards to Abraham Lincoln
91) Robert Wolgemuth, She Calls Me Daddy
92) Helmut Thielicke, The Trouble with the Church: A Call to Renewal
93) Dallas Willard, Divine Conspiracy
94) Leonard Sweet, Postmodern Pilgrims
95) R. T. France, Jesus and the Old Testament
96) Richard Hays, The Moral Vision of the New Testament
97) Oswald Chambers, The Love of God
98) Richard Lischer, The Company of Preachers: Wisdom on Preaching, Augustine to the Present
99) Philip Yancy, Disappointment with God
100) Ronald J. Sider, Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger
There you have it. There are many more good books but these ones made the list today. If these are not the 100 Greatest books in Christian history they are at least one hundred books that have molded and shaped my own thinking and walking in profound ways. If you have not read these books I encourage you to get them and devour them. There is no book on this list I would not gladly read again ... in fact all (save Origen) have been frequented by me over the years. Some I like because I argue with them so much ...
Tolle lege,
Bobby Valentine
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