Tim PerryAnother Week of Prayer for Christian Unity has passed, and a recent picture of current Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, blessing Pope Francis has, at least in some quarters, generated controversy. Recent convert to Catholicism and former...
Sean LukeThe risen Lord, Jesus of Nazareth, the Word-made-flesh, established for himself a great company of saints which is, as it were, the Word-confessed. The church is the company of saints who confess Christ while being sustained by the Word’s “continual...
Tim WildsmithIf you want to go deeper into Scripture, one tool helps more than almost any other: a great study Bible. That’s why many pastors and teachers recommend that every Christian own at least one. The Bible was written by dozens of authors in several...
Benjamin FischerThe landscape of global Anglicanism can be confusing, even for those well acquainted with it. In a single US city, one can find Anglican churches from two or three different dioceses of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), along with other...
Joyce SalisburyAfter the age of the apostles, Christians wrestled with questions about what the faithful should believe and how they should practice the new religion. Many great thinkers from ancient Christian communities wrote to address such issues. These men...
Wyatt GrahamThe Great Tradition refers to a set of doctrines, theologians, and creeds that have held common consent across the ages. While the phrase the Great Tradition is new, those who use it believe they participate in a tradition that extends back to the...
Tony LaneThe Reformers are often remembered for their rallying cry of sola scriptura—Scripture alone as the ultimate authority in matters of faith and practice. Yet, their deep engagement with the Church Fathers tells a richer story. So what reason would the...
Tobin PerryTheology is the world’s most important topic. The word “theology” may have only four syllables, but it’s a big word—a very big word. Theology is the study of God. But anytime you set out to study someone as large as the creator of the universe, it’s...
Thomas JacobsonThough the origin of the Lutheran tradition is in the Reformation of sixteenth century Europe, Lutherans today are found worldwide. Beginning as a church reform movement under the leadership of Martin Luther in Germany and spreading to other...
Andrew WilliamsCharismatic and Pentecostal universities and seminaries seek to blend rigorous academics with Spirit-empowered formation. This guide profiles a selection of these institutions. Though far from exhaustive, it provides a representative list of the...
Brian CollinsCommentaries are tools in the toolbox of Bible teachers and preachers. But just as a woodworker will use a table saw, miter saw, and band saw for different purposes, Bible teachers will turn to different types of commentaries for different purposes...
Nestorianism is an ancient heresy that speaks about Christ as if he is two persons instead of one, that is, the one Lord Jesus Christ. The flashpoint in the debate over Nestorianism was Nestorius’s denial that mary bore God in her womb and thus was...
Chris GreenThough not Orthodox myself, I have found the Eastern Christian tradition an invaluable source of theological wisdom, spiritual insight, and pastoral guidance. This reading list represents my attempt to share some of the good I’ve received...
Tom McCallTerms like Wesleyan theology and Methodist doctrine are used in a variety of contexts and can mean a lot of different things. And for good reason. The past several centuries have been the scene of many shifts and much shaking in theology among...
Jason LaneMy colleague at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Dr. Robert Kolb, has ably presented readers of Word by Word a helpful introduction to the chief features of Lutheran theology. I would recommend his article before I recommend any book. Nevertheless...
Ray Van NesteWhen I teach my pastoral ministry class, I assign Pastoral Care by Gregory the Great. The first time I taught the class, one of the students said, this guy sounds like a Catholic. Yes, indeed. Not only was he a Catholic—he was a pope! Why would I, a...
George MooreEach February, we come together to reflect on and celebrate the countless contributions African Americans have made to society through Black History Month. Just as communities rightfully honor those who have shaped their history, God’s people have a...
Veli-Matti KärkkäinenEven while professional theologians celebrate the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea (325 CE), its formulations of classical Christology remain largely unknown and strange among lay folks. To many the christological affirmations of the...
Casey BedellOver the past several decades, evangelicals have increasingly accepted written (i.e., scripted) prayers from liturgical traditions. This reception is partly due to the influence of the ecumenical movement of the twentieth century, partly due to...
Jamey BennettOrthodox Christianity makes the bold claim of being the original Christian Church and the original Christian faith. How does this shape how Orthodox approach Bible study? Orthodox Bible study sees itself as part of a flowing stream of Holy Tradition...
Kevin GoldenLutherans reflect their distinctive place within Christianity in how they study Scripture. On one hand, their high view of Scripture leads to a strong focus upon the text that would be appreciated by Protestants. On the other hand, Lutherans tie...
Donald C. McIntyreThe Bible does speak of demons, and demonology is a proper subject of theology. If angels and demons exist and afflict God’s people as the Bible asserts, then their existence and methods are necessary for a Christian’s understanding of reality. The...
Matthew StanleyBy the numbers, Christianity has been a predominantly Catholic and European religion for over a millennium, but the future of Christianity has come to look increasingly Protestant and African. The Center for the Study of Global Christianity...
What is the Orthodox Church? And how do Orthodox Christians approach the study of Scripture? For many believers outside of Orthodoxy, Orthodox Christianity seems exotic and foreign. But for believers inside her communion, she is sometimes called the...
Daniel R. HydeWhat does it mean to be Reformed? What even is Reformed theology? Spend any amount of time in Christian spaces on social media, and you'll soon see that confusion and caricatures abound. Many who presume to speak authoritatively about Reformed...
Alastair RobertsTo read any book well, we need a “read” upon the sort of text that the book is. For example, while both could be purchased in the typical bookstore, a recipe book must be “read” very differently from a Shakespearean play. The recipe book invites its...
I am old enough to recall the time—both as seminary professor and as a church minister and (much before that) as a theology student—when books on ecclesiology written by and for evangelicals were rare. Things have changed for the better, and today...
Stan ReevesCreeds and confessions are precious gifts to the church of the present from the church of the past, through the work of the Spirit. They summarize the beliefs Christians have studied, worked, debated—and even died—to state clearly from Scripture...
Kyle HughesWhat is heresy? While this term is often casually thrown around in the many wars of words on social media, it does have a historic technical usage in the context of Christian theology. Simply put, we can define heresy as the deliberate affirmation...
Blake AdamsAugustine’s Confessions is a great book. It has been read by the greats: great minds and great saints—from Petrarch in the sixteenth century to Sigmund Freud, Albert Camus, and Hannah Arendt in the twentieth. It cannot be ignored. We read...