2019’s Top Books
There are two kinds of people in the world.
There are some people who, rather than merely “entertaining” themselves, read the most important, the most beautiful, the most challenging, and the most thought-provoking books published each year; and there are some people who don’t.
The list below was created to assist the former.
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Jan 8th – The Violence of the Biblical God – by L. Daniel Hawk
From Allan Bevere at Jesus Creed:
“One of the most important insights Dan brings to the biblical text is that as the story of God’s people progresses, God moves from the inside to the outside. In the Old Testament, God works primarily in the ways of empires and rulers … While there are plenty of Scriptures in the Old Testament that clearly reveal God’s love for the marginalized and the responsibility of God’s people to care for them, God primarily works through the instruments of empire that God’s people have become and embodied. But in Jesus, God moves to the outside. God does not necessarily rule out the possibility of working through empires and rulers (the insiders), but since that project has been a failure, God will now focus on the outsiders. ‘…the human partner that the Lord enlists, a young peasant woman, reveals that the Lord will not longer work within the system, but rather opposed to it … The Lord’s pivot to the outside indicate that the failed strategy of working within the system has been rejected’ (p. 171). This is why Jesus will reject his disciples’ willingness to resort to violence on his behalf; for his kingdom does not operate with the same methods as the earthly kingdoms. The cross and not the sword is now the way God redeems.”
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Jan 8th – Contemporary Theology: An Introduction: Classical, Evangelical, Philosophical, and Global Perspectives – by Kirk R. MacGregor
From Zondervan.com: “Accessible and comprehensive, Contemporary Theology: An Introduction by professor and author Kirk R. MacGregor provides a chronological survey of the major thinkers and schools of thought in modern theology in a manner that is both approachable and intriguing. Unique among introductions to contemporary theology, MacGregor includes:
– Evangelical perspectives alongside mainline and liberal developments
– The influence of philosophy and the recent Christian philosophical renaissance on theology
– Global contributions
– Recent developments in exegetical theology
– The implications of theological shifts on ethics and church life
Contemporary Theology: An Introduction is noteworthy for making complex thought understandable and for tracing the landscape of modern theology in a well-organized and easy-to-follow manner.”
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Jan 15th – Three Hours: Sermons for Good Friday – by Fleming Rutledge
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Jan 15th – Eternity in the Midst of Time – by Wilfrid Stinissen
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Jan 20th – Symbol or Substance?: A Dialogue on the Eucharist with C. S. Lewis, Billy Graham and J. R. R. Tolkien – by Peter Kreeft
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Jan 29th – Dreyer’s English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style – by Benjamin Dreyer
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Jan 29th – Atonement – by Eleonore Stump
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Jan 30th – Aristotle’s Revenge: The Metaphysical Foundations of Physical and Biological Science – by Edward Feser
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Feb 5th – The Spirit of Science Fiction: A Novel – by Roberto Bolaño, translated by Natasha Wimmer
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Feb 8th – From Fire, By Water: My Journey to the Catholic Faith – by Sohrab Ahmari
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Feb 12th – The Nine Cloud Dream – by Kim Man-jung, translated by Heinz Insu Fenkl
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Feb 19th – Alienated America: Why Some Places Thrive While Others Collapse – by Timothy P. Carney
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Feb 19 – The History of the Future: Oculus, Facebook, and the Revolution That Swept Virtual Reality – by Blake J. Harris
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Feb 25th – Divine Perfection and Human Potentiality: The Trinitarian Anthropology of Hilary of Poitiers – by Jarred A. Mercer
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Mar 1st – Formal Salutations: New & Selected Poems – by William Baer
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Mar 5th – Gingerbread: A Novel – by Helen Oyeyemi
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Mar 12th – Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America from the Culture of Contempt – by Arthur C. Brooks
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Mar 19th – The Art of Bible Translation – by Robert Alter
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Mar 19th – Deep Focus: Film and Theology in Dialogue – by Robert K. Johnston, Craig Detweiler, & Kutter Callaway
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Mar 26th – The Promise of Elsewhere: A Novel – by Brad Leithauser
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Apr 1st – Conversion and the Rehabilitation of the Penal System: A Theological Rereading of Criminal Justice – by Andrew Skotnicki
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Apr 2nd – Lost and Wanted: A Novel – by Nell Freudenberger
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Apr 2nd – Seculosity: How Career, Parenting, Technology, Food, Politics, and Romance Became Our New Religion and What to Do about It – by David Zahl
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Apr 6th – Introduction to Philosophical Principles: Logic, Physics, and the Human Person – by Brian Kemple
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Apr 9th – On Faith: Lessons from an American Believer – by Antonin Scalia
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Apr 9th – The Catholic Writer Today: And Other Essays – by Dana Gioia
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Apr 15th – Dutch Girl: Audrey Hepburn and World War II – by Robert Matzen
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Apr 30th – My Father Left Me Ireland: An American Son’s Search For Home – by Michael Brendan Dougherty
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May 14th – Solovyov and Larionov – by Eugene Vodolazkin, translated by Lisa C. Hayden
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Jun 4th – This Storm: A Novel – by James Ellroy
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Jun 4th – The Death of Politics: How to Heal Our Frayed Republic After Trump – by Peter Wehner
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Jun 25th – In Search of the Common Good: Christian Fidelity in a Fractured World – by Jake Meador
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Jul 6th – A Companion to Ferdinand Ulrich’s Homo Abyssus – by D.C. Schindler
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Jul 23rd – Anaphora: New Poems – by Scott Cairns
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Sep 15th – The Day Is Now Far Spent – by Cardinal Robert Sarah
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Sep 24th – That All Shall Be Saved: Heaven, Hell, and Universal Salvation – by David Bentley Hart
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Oct 8th – Grand Union: Stories – by Zadie Smith
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Oct 15th – Railsplitter – by Maurice Manning
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Oct 15th – Return of the Strong Gods: Nationalism, Populism, and the Future of the West – by R.R. Reno
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Nov 12th – The Enchantments of Mammon: How Capitalism Became the Religion of Modernity – by Eugene McCarraher
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