{"id":2943,"date":"2019-12-24T10:53:46","date_gmt":"2019-12-24T10:53:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thomascreedy.co.uk\/?p=2943"},"modified":"2019-12-29T11:25:13","modified_gmt":"2019-12-29T11:25:13","slug":"my-top-ten-books-of-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thomascreedy.co.uk\/my-top-ten-books-of-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"My Top Ten Books of 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I’ve been watching with interest various people and organisations post their ‘book of the year’ lists, and have held off doing my own largely because I was finishing up a few books that I wondered if they MIGHT sneak into my top ten.<\/p>\n

My book of the year is\u00a0probably\u00a0<\/strong>Snodgrass, Bates or Prior, but to be quite honest\u00a0any<\/strong> of these books could have been my book of the year overall. So, without further ado, and in no particularly order, here are my Top Ten Books of 2019<\/p>\n

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  1. Walter Moberly,\u00a0The Bible in a Disenchanted Age<\/em><\/a> – this book is a brilliant contribution to the cultural conversation around Atheism, the Bible and culture.<\/li>\n
  2. Ashley Cocksworth,\u00a0Prayer: A Guide for the Perplexed<\/em><\/a> –\u00a0finally<\/strong>, a book that blends both theology and practice in talking about the vital discipline of prayer.<\/li>\n
  3. Karen Swallow Prior,\u00a0On Reading Well<\/em><\/a> – this book is absolutely marvellous. With a blend of literary criticism, Christian discipleship, and virtue, this book is very probably my book of the year, had two others not passed through my mind this year.<\/li>\n
  4. Kristi Mair,\u00a0MORE: Truth<\/em><\/a> – for a short book this punches well above its weight! The perfect antidote to the flurry of fake-news, post-truth and philosophical and theological nonsense that fills so much of our time and airwaves. Read this book!<\/li>\n
  5. eds. Crisp and Sanders,\u00a0The Christian Doctrine of Humanity<\/em><\/a> – a nicely edited collection of genuinely constructive\u00a0and<\/strong> readable essays about what it means to be human. Far and away the best multi-contributor volume I’ve read this year.<\/li>\n
  6. Matthew Bates,\u00a0Salvation By Allegiance Alone<\/em><\/a> – an incredibly readable, very engaging account of re-understanding the Gospel through the notion of allegiance. Very helpful corrective to individualistic and religious versions of ‘the gospel’, this is a must-read for church people.<\/li>\n
  7. Elizabeth Gerhardt,\u00a0The Cross and Gendercide<\/em><\/a> – this book is a tour de force. Combining the greatest moment in history – the Cross of Christ – with one of the biggest challenges, violence against women, this is a stunning work of practical theology.<\/li>\n
  8. Klyne R. Snodgrass,\u00a0Who God Says You Are<\/em><\/a> – a strong contender for my book of the year, this is an absolutely brilliant, comprehensive and readable theology of human identity. If every church taught through this in a discipleship context, we’d be much the stronger.<\/li>\n
  9. N. T. Wright,\u00a0History and Eschatology<\/em><\/a> – Wright’s Gifford Lectures are an infuriatingly almost perfect book. Superb engagement with history, natural theology, eschatology and much, much more, this is a brilliant book.<\/li>\n
  10. Michael Bird’s\u00a0Evangelical Theology<\/em><\/a> – I’m late to this party, but this is probably now my favourite single-volume systematic theology. Humorous, pastoral, broad, wise and faithful. A genuine joy to read.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    I’ll have another list of the books I’ve read this year going live shortly, but for now, here are a few more honourable mentions, of books that nearly made it into my Top Ten…<\/p>\n

    Honorable mentions<\/p>\n