Martin's insightful booklist

This is a summary of recent books read by Martin Davie, compiling his evaluations and the commendations of others.

In this edition:

The Bible: A Global History by Bruce Gordon

In a book like this, it is inevitable that readers will find elements with which they will disagree. However, this is a hugely learned and comprehensive introduction to the history of the Bible that can be recommended to anyone who wants to improve their knowledge of how the Bible has gone round the world.

The African Memory of Mark: Reassessing Early Church Tradition by Thomas Oden

The African Memory of Mark is a fascinating and important study that should be read by anyone who is interested in the history of the early Church. It fills in the gaps of the Western Church’s memory of Mark’s life and ministry and serves to remind Western Christians that because of Mark’s ministry, North Africa was the home of many of the founding fathers of Christian theology such as Origen, Cyprian, Athanasius and Augustine.

God is an Englishman: Christianity and the Creation of England by Bijan Omrani

God is an Englishman is a useful introductory guide for anyone who wants a clear overall picture of what Christianity has contributed to the development of English life and culture and what it still has to offer to those many people in England who describe themselves as ‘spiritual but not religious.’

The Transfiguration of Christ: An Exegetical and Theological Reading by Patrick Schreiner

Schreiner’s book provides a thorough exegetical study of the accounts of the transfiguration and it explains how the transfiguration is central to Jesus’s ministry and how what we learn through the accounts of the transfiguration helps us to better understand the message of the Bible as a whole. This is an excellent book that can be wholeheartedly recommended to all serious students of the New Testament.

The Body God Gives by Robert Smith

This is arguably now the most important Christian study of the transgender phenomenon currently available. Smith’s book does not provide a pastoral response, however, it provides the proper theological foundation for a pastoral response by showing that it must start from a recognition of people’s true sex (and therefore their true gender identity). This is probably the most important book I have read this year, and I would encourage all thinking Christians to read it.

To read the full reviews click here.

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Martin Davie is a Latimer Trust Research Fellow. He teaches at Wycliffe Hall and is the author of various books, some of them can be found here. He writes regularly on his blog Reflections of an Anglican Theologian.

Views expressed in blogs published by the Latimer Trust are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Latimer Trust.