Someone recently asked me for recommendations for summer reading. I decided to post my response. If I had to select the top favorite books I've read in the last five years, the list would include the following:
1. Dever, Mark. The Message of the New Testament. Wheaton : Crossway, 2005.
This book is the best summary of genuine biblical Christianity that I know of. Whether you agree with the book or not, at least you will understand what true, biblical Christianity is all about.
2. Levin, Mark. Liberty and Tyranny; A conservative manifesto. New York : Threshold, 2009.
I wish it were in my power to make reading this book a mandatory condition for voting. Whether you agree with the book or not, at least you will understand what political conservatism is all about.
3. Evans, Craig. Fabricating Jesus. Wheaton, IL : IVP, 2006.
Outstanding treatment of the controversy surrounding Jesus and the Gospels, including discussion of the so-called "lost gospels" like the Gospels of Judas, The Gospel of Thomas and others.
4. Spencer, Robert. Religion of Peace? Why Christianity is and Islam isn’t. Washington DC : Regnery, 2007.
The title says it all and the argument is convincing to all but those who will not see.
5. Schroeder, Gerald L. The Hidden Face of God; How science reveals the ultimate truth. New York : Free Press, 2001.
The author is the MIT scientist who convinced world-renowned atheist, Anthony Flew to conclude that atheism is not a scientifically viable option.
Honorable mention would include:
Sowell, Thomas. Economic Facts and Fallacies. New York : Basic Books, 2008.
Dembski, William A. The Design Revolution; Answering the toughest questions about intelligent design. Downers Grove, IL : IVP, 2004.
Coulter, Ann. Godless. The Church of Liberalism. New York : Crown Forum, 2006.
Kupelian, David. The Marketing of Evil. Nashville : WND Books, 2005
Other favorites:
BIBLE/THEOLOGY/CHRISTIANITY
Bock, Darrell. Breaking the Da Vinci Code. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 2004.
--. The Missing Gospels. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 2006
Bock, Darrell and Daniel Wallace. Dethroning Jesus; Exposing popular culture’s quest to unseat the biblical Christ. Nashville, TN : Thomas Nelson, 2007.
Dunn, James. Jesus’ Remembered. Grand Rapids : Eerdmans, 2003.
Eddy, Paul Rhodes and Gregory Boyd. The Jesus Legend; a Case for the Historical Reliability of the Synoptic Jesus Tradition. Grand Rapids : Baker, 2007.
Habermas, Gary R. and Michael R. Licona. The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus. Grand Rapids : Kregel, 2004.
Van Voorst, Robert E. Jesus Outside the New Testament. Grand Rapids : Eerdmans, 2000.
Wright, N.T. The Resurrection of the Son of God. Minneapolis : Fortress Press, 2003.
HISTORY
Woods, Thomas, Politically Incorrect Guide to American History, Washington DC : Regnery, 2004.
ECONOMICS
Sowell, Thomas. Basic Economics. 3rd ed. New York : Basic Books, 2007 (627 p.)
SCIENCE
Dembski, William and Jonathan Wells. The Design of Life. Foundation for Thought and Ethics, 2008.
PHILOSOPHY
Moreland, J.P. and William Lane Craig. Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview. Downers Grove, IL : Intervarsity Press, 2003.
LAW/POLITICS/SOCIAL ISSUES/CULTURE WARS
Gutzman, Kevin. The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Constitution. Washington DC : Regnery, 2007
Levin, Mark, R. Men in Black. Washington, DC : Regnery, 2005.
Sears, Alan and Craig Osten. The ACLU vs. America; Exposing the agenda to redefine moral values. Nashville : Broadman & Holman, 2005.
ISLAM
Gabriel, Mark. Islam and Terrorism; What the Quran really teaches about Christianity, violence and the goals of the Islamic Jihad. Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2002.
Gartenstein-Ross, Daveed. My Year Inside Radical Islam. New York : Penguin, 2007.
Ibn Ishaq. The Life of Muhammad. New York : Oxford University Press, 1955, 2006 (The earliest biography of Muhammad, originally written about AD 760).
O’ren, Michael B. Power, Faith, and Fantasy; America in the Middle East 1776 to the Present. New York : Norton, 2007.
Sieff, Martin. The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Middle East. Washington DC : Regnery, 2008.
Spencer, Robert. Islam Unvelied; Disturbing questions about the world’s fastest growing faith. New York : Encounter Books, 2002.
--. A Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam. Washington DC : Regnery, 2005.
--. The Truth about Muhammad. Washington, DC : Regnery, 2006.
Wright, Lawrence. The Looming Tower; Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11. New York : Vintage Books, 2007.
