Steve McCoy asks, "What are your favorite books on the cross (besides Scripture)?"
Here are 8 I recommend:
Crucifixion (in the Ancient World and the Folly of the Message of the Cross) by Martin Hengel
The Cross of Christ by John Stott
Redemption Accomplished and Applied by John Murray
50 Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die by John Piper
A Scandalous Beauty: The Artistry of God and the Way of the Cross by Thomas Schmidt (I'm seeing this selling used on Amazon for 1 cent. Can that be right?)
Jesus and the Victory of God by N.T. Wright
Scandalous by D.A. Carson
Death by Love by Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears
9 comments:
I'm just now reading 'A Violent Grace' by Michael Card. It is beneficial in that it is both accessible and applicational.
It's right. Just got Scandalous Beauty for 3.97 total w/ shipping. Thanks for the recommendation!
quite a spread there. i'm honestly surprised about death by love being in the same list with stott, murray and wright's works. though i enjoyed the sermon series on the cross by driscoll from which the book was derived, i couldn't get past the second chapter of the actual book. the concept was really neat on paper, but just didn't seem to land well in practice. just my two cents. great list overall
JohnB, I like "DBL" mainly for the look at the major atonement views (Christus Victor, substitution, etc), and the use of personal stories. Found that approach both unique and helpful, although I agree the writing isn't award-winning or anything.
My favorite one is by AW Pink "The Seven Sayings of the Saviour on the Cross" my wife and I used it as a devotional. I have been wanting to get Scandalous I believe you just convinced me to move it to my cart.
Good list, brother.
Driscoll's atonement series is, in my opinion, his best stuff and his "Christus exemplar" sermon is possibly the best sermon I've heard him preach in a decade's worth of sermons, for what that's worth. If I had to pick one book that drastically changed my understanding of the Christian faith in a good way Jesus & the Victory of God would probably have to be the book, at least among books that aren't the Bible itself. :) I've got Stott's book and plan to finish that some day.
In terms of musical meditations on the Cross I am not sure anyone can better J. S. Bach's Matthew Passion and Penderecki's Passion According to St. Luke. Be warned, Penderecki's visceral, brutally dissonant Passion setting is not for the faint of heart! I've only made it through listening to the whole thing a couple of times but it is a landmark in both avant garde music AND sacred choral music. If you're willing to endure it the end of the piece is astonishing in its simplicity and power.
JVG FTW!
Signature of Jesus by Brennan Manning is one of my favorites. It's about radical discipleship. Many think he is a heretic, but to me, this is one man who gets it- what the gospel, the cross, Christ cetered living is about. Just wanted to mention one of my favorites. Shalom!
Mark, Fl.
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