Blogging has several functions. One function that I particularly enjoy is broadcasting what’s “out there,” an appropriately vague phrase to capture the bewildering number of events, films, and books that deserve attention. I informed Evangel readers about recent films that are stirring the culture wars. In this post, I want to mention some promising new and upcoming books. Of course what qualifies as “promising” is relative to my idiosyncrasies and interests. Please let me know if any of them interest you, and if there are other new and upcoming titles that you want to read.
INTERVARSITY PRESS
- James R. Payton, Getting the Reformation Wrong: Correcting Some Misunderstandings (July)
- Thomas C. Oden, How Africa Shaped the Christian Mind: Rediscovering the Seedbed of Western Christianity (September)
- Alister McGrath, The Passionate Intellect: Christian Faith and the Discipleship of the Mind (September)
- Richard Mouw, Uncommon Decency: Christian Civility in an Uncivil World: Revised & Expanded (September)
- Lisa Graham McMinn & Megan Anna Neff, Walking Gently on the Earth: Making Faithful Choices About Food, Energy, Shelter and More (September)
- Peter J. Leithart, Defending Constantine: The Twilight of an Empire and the Dawn of Christendom (November)
- Richard F. Carlson & Tremper Longman III, Science, Creation and the Bible: Reconciling Rival Theories of Origins (November)
EERDMANS
- Julie Canlis, Calvin’s Ladder: A Theology of Ascent and Ascension (June)
- Brian Brock, Christian Ethics in a Technological Age (June)
- Ellen T. Charry, God and the Art of Happiness (September)
- Charles Mathewes, The Republic of Grace: Augustinian Thoughts for Dark Times (September)
- Conor Cunningham, Darwin’s Pious Idea: Why the Ultra-Darwinists and Creationists Both Get It Wrong (November)
BAKER PUBLISHING GROUP (Baker, Baker Academic, Brazos)
- Steven Bouma-Prediger, For the Beauty of the Earth: A Christian Vision for Creation Care: 2nd Edition (April)
- Brett McCracken, Hipster Christianity: When Church and Cool Collide (August)
- Robert H. Woods, Jr. & Paul D. Patton, Prophetically Incorrect: A Christian Introduction to Media Criticism (August)
- Phillip Cary, Good News for Anxious Christians: 10 Practical Things You Don’t Have to Do (October)
- James K. A. Smith, Letters to a Young Calvinist: An Invitation to the Reformed Tradition (November)
- John Milbank, Slavoj Zizek & Creston Davis, Paul’s New Moment: Continental Philosophy and the Future of Christian Theology (November)
BAYLOR
- Richard Bauckham, The Bible and Ecology: Rediscovering the Community of Creation (August)
- M. G. Piety, Ways of Knowing: Kierkegaard’s Pluralist Epistemology (September)
- David G. Horrell, Cherryl Hunt & Christopher Southgate, Greening Paul: Rereading the Apostle in a Time of Ecological Crisis (October)
- Laura Hobgood-Oster, The Friends We Keep: Unleashing Christianity’s Compassion for Animals (October)
ZONDERVAN
- Wesley Hill, Washed and Waiting: Reflections on Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality (September)
- Michael S. Horton, The Christian Faith: Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way (January 2011). From the publisher: “Michael Horton’s highly anticipated The Christian Faith represents his magnum opus and will be viewed as one of––if not the––most important systematic theologies since Louis Berkhof wrote his in 1932.”
PRINCETON
- Julian E. Zelizer (ed.), The Presidency of George W. Bush: A First Historical Assessment (October)
- James T. Kloppenberg, Reading Obama: Dreams, Hope, and the American Political Tradition (November)
- Lynn A. Stout, Cultivating Conscience: How Good Laws Make Good People (November)
- Pascal Bruckner, Perpetual Euphoria: On the Duty to Be Happy (February 2011)
- Robert Wuthnow, Remaking the Heartland: Middle America Since the 1950s (March 2011)
HARVARD
- Robert D. Richardson (ed.), The Heart of William James (August)
- Helen Vendler, Dickinson: Selected Poems and Commentaries (September)
- Patricia Meyer Spacks (ed.), Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice: Annotated Edition (October)
- Charles Taylor, Dilemmas and Connections: Selected Essays (February 2011)
YALE
- Sissela Bok, Exploring Happiness: From Aristotle to Brain Science (August)
OXFORD
- Roy F. BaumeisterDonna Freitas, Sex and the Soul: Juggling Sexuality, Spirituality, Romance, and Religion on America’s College Campuses (August)
- Roy F. Baumeister, Is There Anything Good About Men?: How Cultures Flourish by Exploiting Men (August)
- Paul Froese & Christopher Bader, America’s Four Gods: What We Say About God––And What That Says About Us (October)
- D. Stephen Long, Christian Ethics: A Very Short Introduction (October)
- Robert Scruton, The Uses of Pessimism: And the Danger of False Hope (October)
- Henry Chadwick, Augustine of Hippo: A Life (October)
- Daniel K. Williams, God’s Own Party: The Making of the Christian Right (October). From the publisher: “The most comprehensive history of the Christian Right ever published, revealing how the movement has transformed national politics.”
- Anthony Kenny, A New History of Western Philosophy (October). Combining the individual volumes into a single volume, this is the most important history of Western philosophy since Frederick Copleston’s.
- Elizabeth Knowles, How to Read a Word (December)
- Bernard Schweizer, Hating God: The Untold Story of Misotheism (December)
- Michael Schaller, Ronald Reagan (January 2011)
- Kevin Whitehead, Why Jazz?: A Concise Guide (January 2011)
- David Sehat, The Myth of American Religious Freedom (January 2011)
- Lisa D. Pearce & Melinda Lundquist Denton, A Faith of Their Own: Stability and Change in the Religiosity of America’s Adolescents (January 2011)
- Mark Regnerus & Jeremy Uecker, Premarital Sex in America: How Young Americans Meet, Mate, and Think about Marrying (January 2011)
- Cass R. Sunstein, Going to Extremes: How Like Minds Unite and Divide (February 2011)
- Scott H. Hendrix, Luther: A Very Short Introduction (February 2011)
WILEY-BLACKWELL
- David M. Holley, Meaning and Mystery: What It Means to Believe in God (February)
- Samuel Wells & Ben Quash, Introducing Christian Ethics (March)
- Samuel Wells (ed.), Christian Ethics: An Introductory Reader (May)
- Charles Mathewes, Understanding Religious Ethics (May)
July 19th, 2010 | 8:56 am | #1
Boy, I am not sure about the wisdom of this post.
Is this an endorsement of these books … for those who are not yet prepared to use discern for themselves the difference between common human experience and God’s revelation as a regulating truth.?
Can we trust people to read these books without, presumably, proper supervision? Is Christendom safe without such supervision? I notice you have an Alister McGrath book listed. Do you know he is an Anglican? Can we trust anything from such a person?
Thanks for the post Mr. Benson. Personally, I am looking forward to AM’s next book, although I find his writing quite variable.
July 19th, 2010 | 10:02 am | #2
[...] Benson offers a whole list of new and upcoming books that he thinks are worth keeping an eye on. If you’re looking for something good to read, [...]
July 19th, 2010 | 10:37 am | #3
I thought the first one looked very interesting, Getting the Reformation Wrong. There tends to be a rose colored glasses view of the Reformation when in reality the Reformation left a lot…unreformed.
July 19th, 2010 | 11:36 am | #4
[...] big list of upcoming books. This entry is filed under Links, Mark O.. You can follow any responses to this entry through [...]
July 19th, 2010 | 11:38 am | #5
[...] A big list of upcoming books. [...]
July 19th, 2010 | 12:24 pm | #6
I get your sense of humor, Mr. Carlson. I look forward to reading Alister McGrath’s The Passionate Intellect. Did you read his previous book, Heresy? It’s sitting on my book shelf waiting to be read. No one can be as prolific as McGrath without having writing that is “quite variable.” I’ve profitably used his Christian Theology: An Introduction and its companion The Christian Theology Reader. Christianity’s Dangerous Idea and A Passion for the Truth are also excellent.
July 19th, 2010 | 12:28 pm | #7
Mr. Sido: Thanks for stopping by. Out of curiosity, what’s your ecclesial identity/tradition? I have one foot in the Reformed tradition (EPC, PCA) and one foot in the Anglican tradition (AMIA, ACNA). I’d also be curious to know the ecclesial identity/tradition of James R. Payton, the author of Getting the Reformation Wrong. He teaches at Redeemer University College, Ancaster, Ontario, Candada. Are you aware of whether that school is associated with a denomination or is it independent? Here’s what the publisher says about the author:
July 20th, 2010 | 7:06 am | #8
Mr. Benson
I would rank Christianity’s Dangerous Idea as one of the best books I have read in the past 10 years – I (not quite literally) could not put it down. Those that I lent it to felt the same way.
July 20th, 2010 | 7:10 am | #9
and I am glad you got the humor in my first post (of course that is not the same as appreciating it……)
July 20th, 2010 | 11:57 am | #10
Christopher,
Redeemer University College is affiliated with the Christian Reformed Church, though not an officially “denominational” college (Calvin is the only official college of the denomination). I, too, am looking forward to Payton’s book.
July 20th, 2010 | 12:41 pm | #11
Jamie: Thanks for answering my inquiry about whether Redeemer University College is situated in the Reformed tradition. I’m looking forward to reading your book, Letters to a Young Calvinist. I proposed a book review to Christianity Today. Regrettably, they said it seems like too much “inside baseball,” which is probably true for their broad evangelical readership. Perhaps another publication will be interested.
July 20th, 2010 | 2:08 pm | #12
Christopher and Jamie:
No, Redeemer is not “affiliated” with the Christian Reformed Church. However, it definitely has roots within the tradition that nourishes that denomination and is part of the network of universities that includes Calvin College, Dordt College (Iowa), Trinity Christian College (Chicago), The King’s University College (Edmonton) and the Institute for Christian Studies (Toronto).
July 20th, 2010 | 5:13 pm | #13
Christopher,
I have a “feet in two places” identity as well. I strongly affirm the traditional soteriological aspects of Reformed theology and would have considered myself firmly a Reformed Baptist for some time. More recently I cling to Reformed theology proper while adopting a more Anabaptist view of the church. I like to refer to myself as a Particular Anabaptist.
July 21st, 2010 | 1:29 pm | #14
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by IVP Academic, Baylor Univ. Press. Baylor Univ. Press said: First Things publishes New and Upcoming List: On it – The Friends We Keep, Greening Paul, Kierkegaard's epistemology http://ow.ly/2eCOS [...]
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