For quite a while now I have wanted to publish a list of what I believe to be the 15 most beneficial books on the cross. This list does not include all of the various Systematic Theologies, such as Calvin’s Institutes, which include sections on Christology or the atonement. There are, of course, many Puritan works that deal with the atonement and the Person and work of Christ. This is a list of the particular individual volumes I have benefited from most:
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
#10
#11
#12
#13
#14
#15
Editors Note: I am ashamed to admit that I forgot about this book. Thanks to Josh Walker for making me painfully aware of this unbelievable oversight. So I guess its top 16 now!
I am very disappointed that you did not include my three part series on the atonement at http://www.reformation21.org.
Your list is painfully incomplete without Schilder’s Trilogy http://www.amazon.com/Klaas-Schilder-Trilogy-Suffering-Crucified/dp/B001EHGPAW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1244065773&sr=8-1
Also, Leahy wrote a trilogy on the cross of Christ; two of them you have, the third one is the Victory of the Lamb. The three need to go together.
I know, I know, you make a list and no one is happy.
Nick
You really need to read John Stott’s “The Cross of Christ,” and RC Sproul’s “The Truth of the Cross,” and “Pierced for Our Transgressions.”
You two are vicious. Good thing I have been criticized in the cross. I should have included Alfred J. Poirier’s The Cross and Criticism. Besides, this is the list of books “I” have benefited from the most. You two should go write your own list!
Nick, Nick, Nick,
Haven’t you read Smeaton’s two volumes or Symington on the
Atonement? What about Dabney on Penal Substitution? And what about Warfield’s articles??? I guess I should go join the ‘vicious duo’ and write my own list, too, huh?
More seriously, thanks for the list. You mentioned a number of works that I would not have considered and others that I knew nothing about. That’s what I get for burying myself in the 17th century.
Jim
Jim,
I also could have included Candlish on the Atonement, “Discourses on the Atonement” by Maclaurin, Hall, Chalmers, etc., and Isaac Ambrose’s “Looking Unto Jesus” and about fifty other books from the 17th and 18th centuries.
I really should have clarified that I am not saying these are the absolute best books on the atonement. I am judging based on context, style and devotional value. I have benefited from many of the 17th and 18th century books you all have mentioned but find some of them lacking in devotional richness or ease of style. So, there you have my reasoning for the books that made it on this list. Thanks for the input.