History

Coming Soon to a Bookshelf Near You

History volumes made a good showing in the annual Christianity Today book awards.

Christian History August 8, 2008

Coming Soon to a Bookshelf Near You

By Mark Galli and Elesha Coffman, editors of CHRISTIAN HISTORY

The announcement of our sister publication Christianity Today’s annual book awards (see http://www.christianitytoday.com) calls attention to some important new contributions in Christian history. Two books on historical topics made the top 10, and two more followed close behind.

Saint Augustine by Garry Wills (Viking) took top honors in the history/biography category. Challenging assumptions made by readers who feel they know Augustine based on his famous Confessions (which Wills argues should be translated The Testimony instead), this book explores what Augustine believed and what those beliefs meant to him and to the church at large. Wills, a professor at Northwestern University who won a Pulitzer for Lincoln at Gettysburg, describes Augustine as “a tireless seeker, never satisfied” yet also a man who knew his intellect could never fully penetrate the mysteries of God.

The Story of Christian Theology: Twenty Centuries of Tradition and Reform by Roger Olson (Intervarsity) won in the theology/ethics category, but its focus is thoroughly historical. Olson, a professor of theology at Truett Theological Seminary of Baylor University, delivers on his promise to tell the story of theology. He introduces us to the main characters, the setting, and the plot of each theological controversy through the ages, then explains what difference it all makes. Best of all, nonspecialists can actually understand this stuff.

Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President by Allen C. Guelzo (Eerdmans) earned the history/biography award of merit. A professor of history at Eastern College, Guelzo endeavors to place Lincoln in his historical context—a time of competing ideas about economics, religion, politics, civil rights, and the very identity of the United States. Guelzo finds his approach unique and necessary, as most people have “difficulty in beholding Lincoln as a man of ideas … [or] conceding that the American republic has any intellectual history at all.”

The New Millennium Manual: A Once and Future Guide by Robert G. Clouse, Robert N. Hosack, and Richard V. Pierard (Baker) didn’t make CT’s published list but finished third in the history/biography voting. Released during the pre-Y2K flurry, this is the most informative—and entertaining—book available on the end times.

Another list in this issue of CT also merits attention: 100 “Books of the Century” as chosen by more than 100 contributors and church leaders. Unlike the annual book awards, this list goes beyond “Christian” books to include “classics that have shaped contemporary religious thought.” Even so, the top 10 are basically familiar: C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity ; Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship; Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics; J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings (trilogy); John Howard Yoder, The Politics of Jesus; G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy; Thomas Merton, The Seven Storey Mountain; Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline; Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest; and Reinhold Niebuhr, Moral Man and Immoral Society. But the other 90, ranging from Brave New World to Black Like Me, from Annie Dillard to Anne Frank, will certainly surprise you.

Elesha Coffman can be reached at cheditor@ChristianityToday.com.

Copyright © 2000 by the author or Christianity Today/Christian History magazine.Click here for reprint information on Christian History.

Our Latest

Ethics Aren’t Graded on a Curve

President Joe Biden’s pardon of Hunter Biden was wrong, and no amount of bad behavior from Donald Trump changes that fact.

News

UK Christians Lament Landmark Vote to Legalize Assisted Dying 

Pro-life faith leaders say Parliament’s proposed bill fails to protect the vulnerable and fear it will “create more suffering and chaos.”

Strike Up the Band: Sixpence None the Richer Goes Back on Tour

With its perennial hit “Kiss Me” still in our ears and on our playlists, the Christian band reunites with nothing to prove.

Christianity Today’s Book of the Year

Two volumes rose to the head of the class.

The Christianity Today Book Awards

Our picks for the books most likely to shape evangelical life, thought, and culture.

The Bulletin

Matrescence with Lucy Jones

 

The Bulletin welcomes Lucy Jones for a conversation with Clarissa Moll on the neuroscience and social transformation of motherhood. 

Testimony

I Demolished My Faith for ‘My Best Life.’ It Only Led to Despair.

Queer love, polyamory, and drugs ruined me. That’s where Jesus found me.

The Book Screwtape Feared Most

Once a bedrock Christian classic, Boethius’s “Consolation of Philosophy” has been neglected for decades. It’s time for a revival.

Apple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squareGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastRSSRSSSaveSaveSaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube