I begged Bryan L to tag me with the "One book meme" that started a year-and-a-half-ago. I'm like the pathetic kid on the playground, running up to whoever is it and yelling, "Tag me, tag me!" just to get some attention. (This will all change January 1 when I join the cool kids at Wordpress. Then people will tag me without me asking. Oh yes, they will tag me.)
1. One book that changed your life:
N.T. Wright, The New Testament and the People of God (1992)
2. One book that you’ve read more than once:
Stanley Grenz & Roger Olson, Who Needs Theology? (1996)
3. One book you’d want on a desert island:
John Lofty Wiseman, SAS Survival Handbook: How to Survive in the Wild, in Any Climate, on Land or at Sea (2004)
4. One book that made you laugh:
Anders Henriksson, Non Campus Mentis: World History According to College Students (2001)
5. One book that made you cry:
John Perkins, Let Justice Roll Down (1976)
6. One book that you wish had been written:
The author of Matthew, I Acts (Matthew's version of the history of the early church, with Luke's version becoming II Acts)
7. One book that you wish had never been written:
Joseph Smith, The Book of Mormon (1830)
8. One book you’re currently reading:
Kevin Vanhoozer, The Drama of Doctrine (2005)
9. One book you’ve been meaning to read:
David Bentley Hart, The Beauty of the Infinite (2004)
10. Now tag five people:
I tag Jessie, J.K., Brian, Tom, and Daniel
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8 comments:
You know Jesus and the Victory of God was actually very life changing for me. I read it before NTPG and I didn't get as much out of NTPG because I wasn't as interested in methodological issues and historical/cultural background issue at the time.
What do you think about the Olson Grenz book? I have it but have never read it. Is it a good introduction? What purpose would you see it serving?
I tried to read both Vanhoozer and Hart and found them both confusing. I'm going to give Hart's Tsunami book a chance though. I remember reading Vanhoozer' Is There Meaning n the Text and wondering what the meaning was of his book. : )
Blessings,
Bryan L
Tom, gotcha.
Bryan, I read NTPG and JVG back to back, so they were almost like a single book in my mind. JVG probably comes in at a close second. I think it was that whole Wrightian experience in general, but if I have to pick, the weight falls on NTPG.
I really like the Olsen/Grenz book. It was probably the first theology book I ever read, and it was a good one to start with. It is basically a simple treatment of prolegomena (the "introductory matters" of theology, for those not versed in all the obnoxious terms theologians come up with to confuse non-theologians. Grenz and Olson themselves never use the word, if I recall correctly). They have some great insights, and although it is written to a popular audience, I find myself coming back to it from time to time to see how they approached certain issues, like the purpose of theology.
Vanhoozer and Hart are on a whole different plain. They are steeped in academic language, so it takes awhile to bridge the gap between them and me. I mostly want to read Hart on the recommendations of Ben Myers and Chris Tilling in their blogs. I had Vanhoozer last year as my theology professor and his lectures were filled with a lot of material from the book. Those lectures have been like training wheels, especially to understand the positions of those he interacts with, like George Lindbeck. Nevertheless, I had to put the book down for a few days while I went to read Lindbeck's The Nature of Doctrine so that I can really track with Vanhoozer's argument. It's a lot of work, but I hope the payoff at the end will be worth it.
Ryan,
I responded on my site.
My response is here: http://upsidedownkingdom.org/notblog/2007/12/one-book-meme.html
Ryan,
I have been out-of-pocket here lately, but I am honored to be "tagged."
I will respond this next week.
J. K.
Cool! I got tagged, too! I'm gonna post mine today, as soon as I think of 5 other people to tag. My responses will be at http://naharmama.wordpress.org
I too felt left out of the tagging fun, until I realized I would be clueless as to who I could tag in return.
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