Top 6 Books from Seminary

I just thought I would share with you the best six books that I read in my years at seminary and why I liked them so much. Hopefully, one of them will intrigue you and you'll decide to pick it up.

6) Colossians Remixed by Brian Walsh and Sylvia Keesmaat. This is a brilliant and creative commentary on the book of Colossians. Walsh and Keesmaat argue that Paul intended for Christians to subvert the empires of this world and stand radically apart from governments as a challenge to the "powers" which rule our planet. They furthermore interpret Christianity in light of postmodernity's discomfort with metanarratives and offer a hopeful version of the faith which will be not only palatable, but appealing to our diverse culture.

5) The Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis. One of my all time favorites! I have read it four or five times. Fictional account of a journey from hell to heaven offering brilliant insights on the nature of salvation, hell, heaven, and the justice of God. The story articulates for me better than any other why God is love and yet hell exists.

4) Surprised by Hope by N. T. Wright. Read anything and everything by N. T. Wright, but this is him at his best. Wright argues against the hyper-spiritualized 'pie-in-the-sky' picture of heaven which dominates evangelical theology and replaces it with the biblical picture of the resurrection of the body. The implications of belief in resurrection are far-reaching and impact how we go about mission today as the church. Finally we can leave behind the weak, diluted gospel of just "saving souls" and embrace the full, robust gospel of saving people.

3) The Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux. Not nearly as intellectually challenging as the rest of these books, this simple autobiography is filled with profound spirituality. I cried my way through the end as God showed me how to be irrelevant for him. A powerful vision of the Christian life which stands in sharp contrast to all of the self-improvement devotional tripe available in Family Christian Bookstores.

2) The Politics of Jesus by John Howard Yoder. I believe this book literally changed how I will read the Bible forever. Yoder hits the nail on the head when he accuses evangelicals of "hyper-spiritualizing" the message of the Sermon on the Mount. I expected a philosophical work and found a brilliant biblical commentary instead. I believe anyone who reads and fully understands this work will seriously consider becoming a pacifist.

1) Exclusion and Embrace by Miroslav Volf. The best book I read in all of my time in seminary. Born among the conflict in the Balkans, Volf reflects on how to live out Jesus' message of reconciliation in the midst of deep hurt. His message extends beyond the political realm and invades our lives as it challenges us to make peace with our enemies and live in harmony as God has intended. (It also is a far better resource on how to have a happy marriage than anything you could get from Focus on the Family).