Karl's Reading List

Published by InterVarsity Press: Downers Grove, Illinois, 2010. Recently, I met someone who is theologically suspicious of Constantine. I realise that numerous people are, but this person is of the opinion that Constantine was 'playing' the Council of Nicaea, cynically attempting to take over the Church, and even changing Scripture! As someone who has studied Theology, including Church History, this hasn't sat well with me - it doesn't feel accurate to the historical record, or to my theological understanding of the purpose of Scripture.  So, I have been re-reading some theological works I enjoyed in years past, and making sure I understand the arguments for and against Constantine. Guess which side Defending Constantine takes! This book begins with a focus more on the history of the time period and a biography of Constantine. Author Leithart gives the reasons why he is convinced that Constantine experienced a 'genuine' conversion to Christianity, and argues per...

Published by SCM Press Ltd: London, 1959. I enjoy early church history, and the commentaries of William Barclay, so learning that he had written a book about the twelve apostles, telling their history, was intriguing. Unfortunately, there are certain aspect to Barclay's writings that I have some issues with, and The Master's Men leans far enough into those issues that I struggled with the book as a whole - actually, I started this in the middle of 2024, and only picked it up recently in order to finish it off, rather than from a sense of enjoyment. Firstly, the good. Each chapter looks at one of the '12 disciples' named in the gospels (as well as some extra individuals - there are 15 chapters), giving the list of scriptural mentions (which, for some, are not very many), and then going into the 'historical' accounts found of them outside scripture. Barclay is quite good at joining the dots, and it is in these moments that the book becomes to most interesting. An ...

Published by Adam and Charles Black Limited: London, 1963. Translated from German by LA Garrard. First published in German as 'Griechische Kirchenväter' in 1955. A 'proper' theological work by a 'proper' theologian, The Fathers of the Greek Church gives a brief biography of a number of the - wait for it - fathers of the Greek Church. Being written by a theologian, it is no surprise that the book focuses more on the theological writings of each individual than their actual biography, although this is still covered. I love church history, and what I enjoyed about  Fathers was learning more about the beliefs of a number of these individuals, or even (for a few) hearing about them at all! With early church history it is also interesting to track the development of concepts that modern believers take for granted. It is not that these concepts had to be invented - as Scripture alludes to them -   but it took some time for the understanding of these concepts to be soli...