What follows is a list of recommended readings on a variety of topics. Being included in this list does not necessarily indicate that I agree with all, or even most, of what is in the writing. It indicates that I think the writing is important or of high quality. Nonetheless, writing that I generally agree with is far more likely to find its way into this list. Bold face is used to indicate writings that I think are the best of the best for the subject in question.
Bible
Commentaries and Single Book Studies
Genesis
- Kenneth Matthews (NAC)
- Nahum Sarna (JPSTBC)
- Victor Hamilton (NICOT)
Exodus
- Nahum Sarna (JPSTBC)
- Douglas Stuart (NAC)
Leviticus
- Jacob Milgrom (AYB)
- Gordon Wenham (NICOT)
- Baruch Levine (JPSTBC)
Numbers
- Timothy Ashley (NICOT)
- Jacob Milgrom (JPSTBC)
- Gordon Wenham (TOTC)
Deuteronomy
- Jeffrey H. Tigay (JPSTBC)
- Jack R. Lundbom
Joshua
- David G. Firth (EBTC)
- David M. Howard, Jr. (NAC)
- Richard S. Hess (TOTC)
Esther
- Anthony Tomasino (EEC)
Proverbs
- Bruce K. Waltke (NICOT)
- Tremper Longman III (BCOT)
Daniel
- Andrew E. Steinmann (ConC)
- Stephen R. Miller (NAC)
- Joyce Baldwin (TOTC)
- John J. Collins (Hermeneia)
Matthew
- R. T. France (NICNT) (me, Best Commentaries)
- W. D. Davies and Dale C. Allison Jr. (ICC) (me, Best Commentaries)
- Donald Hagner (WBC) (me, Best Commentaries)
- Craig S. Keener (me, Best Commentaries)
- Grant Osborne (ZECNT) (me, Best Commentaries)
John
- Raymond Brown (AYB)
Acts of the Apostles
- Craig S. Keener (1, 2, 3, 4)
- The Book of Acts in the Setting of Hellenistic History by Colin J. Hemer
- The Book of Acts in its First Century Setting (5 volumes)
Romans
- Douglas Moo (NICNT)
- Thomas Schreiner (BECNT)
- Colin Kruse (PNTC)
1 Peter, 2 Peter, Jude
- Karen Jobes (BECNT)
- Thomas Schreiner (NAC)
- John Elliott (AYB)
1-3 John
- Raymond Brown (AYB)
- Gary Derickson (EEC)
- Robert Yarbrough (BECNT)
- John Stott (TNTC)
- Daniel Akin (NAC)
Revelation
- G. K. Beale (NIGTC)
- Robert Mounce (NICNT)
- Craig Koester (Revelation and the End of All Things)
History (Biblical)
- Handbook of Biblical Chronology by Jack Finegan
- Do Historical Matters Matter to Faith?: A Critical Appraisal of Modern and Postmodern Approaches to Scripture by Hoffmeier & Magary
- From Abraham to Paul: A Biblical Chronology Andrew E. Steinmann
Old Testament History
- Israel: Ancient Kingdom or Late Invention? by Daniel I. Block
- What Did the Biblical Writers Know & When Did They Know It? What Archaeology Can Tell Us about the Reality of Ancient Israel by William G. Dever
- Who Were the Early Israelites and Where Did They Come From? by William G. Dever
- Revisiting the Days of Genesis: A Study of the Use of Time in Genesis 1-11 in Light of Its Ancient Near Eastern and Literary Context by B.C. Hodge
- Ancient Israel in Sinai: The Evidence for the Authenticity of the Wilderness Tradition by James K. Hoffmeier
- Israel in Egypt: The Evidence for the Authenticity of the Exodus Tradition by James K. Hoffmeier
- On the Reliability of the Old Testament by K.A. Kitchen
- Life in Biblical Israel by Philip J. King and Lawrence E. Stager
- The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings by Edwin R. Thiele
New Testament History
- The Historical Reliability of the New Testament by Craig Blomberg
- The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? by F. F. Bruce
- Christianity in the Making (3 volumes) by J. D. G. Dunn
- Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts by Craig S. Keener
- Redating the New Testament by J. A. T. Robinson
- Roman Society and Roman Law in the New Testament by A. N. Sherwin-White
Historical Jesus
- Finding the Historical Christ by Paul Barnett
- Jesus and the Logic of History by Paul Barnett
- Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony by Richard Bauckham
- The Historical Reliability of the Gospels by Craig Blomberg
- The Historical Reliability of John’s Gospel by Craig Blomberg
- Cynic Sage or Son of God? by Gregory Boyd
- The Birth of the Messiah by Raymond Brown
- The Death of the Messiah by Raymond Brown
- What Are the Gospels?: A Comparison with Graeco-Roman Biography by Richard A. Burridge
- Ancient Jewish and Christian Perceptions of Crucifixion by David W. Chapman
- The Trial and Crucifixion of Jesus: Texts and Commentary by David W. Chapman and Eckhard J. Schnabel
- The Tomb of Jesus and His Family? Exploring Ancient Jewish Tombs Near Jerusalem’s Walls by James H. Charlesworth
- The Oral Gospel Tradition by J. D. G. Dunn
- The Jesus Legend: A Case for the Historical Reliability of the Synoptic Jesus Tradition by Paul Rhodes Eddy & Gregory Boyd
- Memory and Manuscript with Tradition and Transmission in Early Christianity by Birger Gerhardsson
- The Reliability of Gospel Tradition by Birger Gerhardsson
- The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus by Gary Habermas and Michael Licona
- Crucifixion: In The Ancient World And The Folly Of The Message Of The Cross by Martin Hengel
- The Four Gospels and the One Gospel of Jesus Christ by Martin Hengel
- Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ by Harold Hoehner
- Biographies and Jesus: What Does It Mean for the Gospels to be Biographies? edited by Craig S. Keener and Edward T. Wright
- Christobiography: Memory, History, and the Reliability of the Gospels by Craig S. Keener
- The Historical Jesus of the Gospels by Craig S. Keener
- The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach by Michael Licona
- Hidden in Plain View: Undesigned Coincidences in the Gospels and Acts by Lydia McGrew
- Memory, Jesus, and the Synoptic Gospels by Robert McIver
- A Marginal Jew (5 volumes) by John P. Meier
- The Case for Jesus: The Biblical and Historical Evidence for Christ by Brant Pitre
- Unmasking the Pagan Christ: An Evangelical Response to the Cosmic Christ Idea by Stanley Porter and Stephen Bedard
- Jesus and Judaism by E. P. Sanders
- Jesus in Jerusalem: The Last Days by Eckhard Schnabel
- Stories with Intent: A Comprehensive Guide to the Parables of Jesus by Klyne R. Snodgrass
- Cold-Case Christianity: A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels by J. Warner Wallace
- Easter Enigma: Are the Resurrection Accounts in Conflict? by John Wenham
- The Resurrection of the Son of God by N. T. Wright
Early Church
- Did the Early Church Baptize Infants? by Kurt Aland
- The Birth of Christianity: The First Twenty Years by Paul Barnett
- The Fate of the Apostles: Examining the Martyrdom Accounts of the Closest Followers of Jesus by Sean McDowell
Source Criticism
- Inconsistency in the Torah: Ancient Literary Convention and the Limits of Source Criticism by Joshua A. Berman
- The Documentary Hypothesis and the Composition of the Pentateuch by Umberto Cassuto
- Who Wrote the Bible? by R. E. Friedman
- The Case Against Q by Mark Goodacre
- Thomas and the Gospels: The Case for Thomas’s Familiarity with the Synoptics by Mark Goodacre
- Redating Matthew, Mark and Luke: A Fresh Assault on the Synoptic Problem by John Wenham
Textual Criticism
- The Number of Variants in the Greek New Testament: A Proposed Estimate by Peter J. Gurry (paper) (my notes)
- Myths and Mistakes in New Testament Textual Criticism edited by Elijah Hixson and Peter J. Gurry
- The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration_ (Fourth Edition) by Metzger & Ehrman
- A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament by Bruce Metzger
- Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible by Emanuel Tov
- Revisiting the Corruption of the New Testament: Manuscript, Patristic, and Apocryphal Evidence by Daniel B. Wallace
Formation of the Canon
- Holy Writing, Sacred Text: The Canon in Early Christianity by John Barton
- The Biblical Canon Lists from Early Christianity: Texts and Analysis by Edmon L. Gallagher and John D. Meade
- Who Chose the Gospels?: Probing the Great Gospel Conspiracy by C.E. Hill
- The Canon of the New Testament: Its Origin, Development, and Significance by Bruce Metzger
Theology
- Men and Women in Christ: Fresh Light from the Biblical Texts by Andrew Bartlett
- Jesus the Messiah: Tracing the Promises, Expectations, and Coming of Israel’s King by Bateman IV, Bock, and Johnston
- The Theology of Paul the Apostle by J. D. G. Dunn
- Unchanging Witness: The Consistent Christian Teaching on Homosexuality in Scripture and Tradition by Donald Fortson and Rollin Grams
- The Fire That Consumes: A Biblical and Historical Study of the Doctrine of Final Punishment by Edward Fudge
- The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics by Robert A. J. Gagnon
- Demonic Foes: My Twenty-Five Years as a Psychiatrist Investigating Posessesions, Diabolic Attacks, and the Paranormal by Richard Gallagher
- God’s Final Victory: A Comparative Philosophical Case for Universalism by John Kronen and Eric Reitan
- Theistic Evolution: A Scientific, Philosophical, and Theological Critique edited by J. P. Moreland, Stephen C. Meyer, Christopher Shaw, Gauger, and Wayne Grudem
- The Logic of God Incarnate by Thomas Morris
- The Christian Doctrine of Apokatastasis: A Critical Assessment from the New Testament to Eriugena by Ilaria L. E. Ramelli
- Terms for Eternity: Aiônios and Aïdios in Classical and Christian Texts by Ilaria L. E. Ramelli and David Konstan
- The Messianic Hope: Is the Old Testament Really Messianic? by Michael Rydelnik
- Paul’s Divine Christology by Christ Tilling
- Bloody, Brutal, and Barbaric? Wrestling with Troubling War Texts by William J. Webb and Gordon K. Oeste
- Jesus, Paul and the End of the World: A Comparitive Study in New Testament Eschatology by Ben Witherington III
- Old Testament Ethics for the People of God by Christopher J. H. Wright
Philosophy
Epistemology
- Testimony: A Philosophical Study by C. A. J. Coady
- An Aristotelian Account of Induction: Creating Something from Nothing by Louis Groarke
Ethics
- An Introduction to Ethics: A Natural Law Approach by Brian Besong
- Human Embryos, Human Beings: A Scientific and Philosophical Approach by Samuel B. Condic and Maureen L. Condic
- Right And Reason: Ethics in Theory and Practice by Austin Fagothey
- Good & Evil Actions: A Journey through Saint Thomas Aquinas by Steven J. Jensen
- Knowing the Natural Law: From Precepts and Inclinations to Deriving Oughts by Steven J. Jensen
- The Ethics of Abortion: Women’s Rights, Human Life, and the Question of Justice by Christopher Kaczor
- Applied Ethics: A Non-Consequentialist Approach by David S. Oderberg
- Moral Theory: A Non-Consequentialist Approach by David S. Oderberg
- Disordered Actions: A Moral Analysis of Lying and Homosexual Activity by John Skalko
Metaphysics
- The One and the Many: A Contemporary Thomistic Metaphysics by W. Norris Clarke
- Aquinas by Edward Feser
- The Last Superstition by Edward Feser
- Scholastic Metaphysics: A Contemporary Introduction by Edward Feser
- Real Essentialism by David S. Oderberg
- The Science Before Science: A Guide to Thinking in the 21st Century by Anthony Rizzi
- Dictionary of Scholastic Philosophy by Bernard Wuellner
- Summary Of Scholastic Principles by Bernard Wuellner
Philosophy of Mind
- Soul Hypothesis: Investigations into the Existence of the Soul by Mark C. Baker and Stewart Goetz
- Philosophical Foundations of Neuroscience by M. R. Bennett and P. M. S. Hacker
- Philosophy of Mind by Edward Feser
- The Emergent Self by William Hasker
- The Handbook of Near-Death Experiences: Thirty Years of Investigation by Holden et al
- Irreducible Mind: Toward a Psychology for the 21st Century by Kelly et al
Philosophy of Nature
- Aristotle’s Revenge: The Metaphysical Foundations of Physical and Biological Science by Edward Feser
- The Philosophy of Nature: A Guide to the New Essentialism by Brian Ellis
Philosophy of Religion
- “The Inductive Argument from Evil and the Human Cognitive Condition” by William P. Alston
- Aquinas’ Proofs for God’s Existence: St. Thomas Aquinas on: “The Per Accidens Necessarily Implies the Per Se.” by Dennis Bonnette
- The Reality of God and the Problem of Evil by Brian Davies
- God Without Parts: Divine Simplicity and the Metaphysics of God’s Absoluteness by James E. Dolezal
- Hume’s Abject Failure: The Argument Against Miracles by John Earman
- Five Proofs of the Existence of God by Edward Feser
- Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith by Douglas Groothuis
- Skeptical Theism by Perry Hendricks
- The Legitimacy of Miracle by Robert Larmer
- Thomas Aquinas: God and Explanations by C. F. J. Martin
- Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview by Moreland & Craig
- No God but One: Allah or Jesus?: A Former Muslim Investigates the Evidence for Islam and Christianity by Nabeel Qureshi
- New Proofs for the Existence of God: Contributions of Contemporary Physics and Philosophy by Robert J. Spitzer
- Why Is There Evil In The World (and so much of it) by Greg Welty
History (Non-Biblical)
- Christian Attitudes Toward War and Peace: A Historical Survey and Critical Re-Evaluation by Roland H. Bainton
- The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism by Andrew Bostom
- The Legacy of Islamic Jihad by Andrew Bostom
- The Myth of Religious Violence: Secular Ideology and the Roots of Modern Conflict by William T. Cavanaugh
- Bullies and Saints: An Honest Look at the Good and Evil of Christian History by John Dickson
- Medical Miracles: Doctors, Saints, and Healing in the Modern World by Jacalyn Duffin
- The Politically Incorrect Guide to Western Civilization by Anthony Esolen
- The Barbarian Conversion: From Paganism to Christianity by Richard Fletcher
- The Story of Christianity (2 Volumes) by Justo L. Gonzalez
- Chronicles of the Crusades: Eye-witness Accounts of the Wars Between Christianity and Islam by Elizabeth Hallam
- God’s Philosopher’s: How the Medieval World Laid the Foundations of Modern Science by James Hannam
- Inside Roman Libraries: Book Collections and Their Management in Antiquity by George W. Houston
- From Reliable Sources: An Introduction to Historical Methods by Martha Howell and Walter Prevenier
- Destroyer of the gods: Early Christian Distinctiveness in the Roman World by Larry Hurtado
- The Spanish Inquisition: A Historical Revision by Henry Kamen
- The Heresy of Orthodoxy by Kostenberger & Kruger
- Justifying Historical Descriptions by Christopher Behan McCullagh
- Galileo Goes to Jail and Other Myths about Science and Religion by Ronald L. Numbers
- The Salem Witch Trials: A Day-by-Day Chronicle of a Community Under Siege by Marilynne K. Roach
- Papias and the New Testament by Monte Allen Shanks
- The Early Church on Killing: A Comprehensive Sourcebook on War, Abortion, and Capital Punishment by Ronald J. Sider
- The Christians as the Romans Saw Them by Robert Louis Wilken
- The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt by Toby Wilkinson
- How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization by Thomas E. Woods Jr.
- The Decline of Eastern Christianity under Islam: From Jihad to Dhimmitude by Bat Yeor
Politics
- What Is Marriage?: Man and Woman: A Defense by Girgis, Anderson, & George
- Equality: The Impossible Quest by Martin van Creveld
- Making Gay Okay: How Rationalizing Homosexual Behavior Is Changing Everything by Robert Reilly
- The Case Against the Sexual Revolution: A New Guide to Sex in the 21st Century by Louise Perry
- The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution by Carl R. Trueman