My summer reading list

Not fluffy beach books, but deep theological tomes

For many, summer is characterized by trips to the beach and pool with a towel, sunscreen, and a beach read in tow. Many of the most anticipated summer reads are light and fluffy in nature going down like a good milkshake - quick, refreshing, and sugary sweet. While I do love a good beach read, my summer reading list is at the opposite end of the spectrum this year as I dive deep into some Christian theological tomes.

Photo by S O C I A L . C U T on Unsplash

I am a longtime listener of the Knowing Faith podcast and earlier this year they shared theological books that have meant a lot to them in their Christian walk. After listening to these episodes, I realized that while I read a lot of Christian books, I have not read the original source material for many of these books (besides the Bible).

C.S. Lewis wrote a lovely Introduction for On the Incarnation by Athanasius and he highlighted that: “Every age has its own outlook. It is specially good at seeing certain truths and specially liable to make certain mistakes. We all, therefore, need the books that will correct the characteristic mistakes of our own period.” Lewis posits that when we read mostly contemporary books, we are unable to judge that book accurately because we are not familiar with the source material that the book is based on and cannot identify logic gaps in that book. He places much value in reading the books that undergird the contemporary books.

This summer, my goal is to read four works of theology that have shaped Christian thought in the 21st century. I have already begun several of these works, but will list them below and explain why they have intrigued me and made it on my list.

1. Orthodoxy - G.K. Chesterton (1908)

2. On the Incarnation - Athanasius (318)

3. The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment - Jeremiah Burroughs (1648)

4. Confessions - Augustine (397)

Orthodoxy: Ever since

Joy Marie Clarkson ☀️

hosted a summer reading club on Orthodoxy in 2019 (she’s hosting book club this year also !), I have wanted to read this book and listen to the accompanying podcast. Chesterton has been name dropped many times in Christian circles and I know how prolific of a writer he is. Knowing Faith emphasized how poignant this book is for a Christian and Chesterton describes his humble coming to faith in a way similar to how C.S. Lewis’ did in Mere Christianity. For me, reading older books with additional material helps me ponder what I am reading and more deeply engage with it. It is all too easy for me to blow through a book without taking the time to sink my feet into the mud, so I am looking forward to listening to Joy’s podcast to accompany my reading.

On the Incarnation: Knowing Faith did a podcast on On the Incarnation that was released earlier this year and until then, I had not really heard of this book. For being written in 318, this book was touted as being very accessible to the average reader. Hearing how readable this book was and how much C.S. Lewis loved this book intrigued me. I actually convinced my husband to read this book with me this summer and our plan is to discuss a chapter a week and dig into the text together. It is a short book which makes it a little easier to be willing to invest in.

The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment: A sweet woman at church originally told me about this book and I learned more about it on a podcast. Contentment is something I have particularly struggled with as I am always looking forward to the next thing and have a difficult time enjoying where I currently am. For 11 weeks, I am reading this book together with a woman from church and discussing our thoughts and questions on the material. As I am going through some life transitions that have really called me to be content in my circumstances, it is very timely to be reading this book. Burroughs is a Puritan author and I have not read any Puritans before, so I am intrigued to read from that perspective.

Confessions: Of all the books on my list this summer, Confessions is the one I have heard of the most and been the most daunted by. Knowing Faith also emphasized how accessible this book is to read which finally gave me the courage to dive in. I will not be reading this book with anyone, but hope to find some supplementary material to help me engage with the book more (if you know of any please let me know!). Additionally, this is one of those books that seems to be the foundation of an extensive portion of Christian theology, so I am excited to understand some of these ideas from Augustine himself instead of through other authors who are building upon Augustine’s work.

For every book besides Confessions, I am engaging with either additional material or discussion with others to wrestle through these more difficult works of literature. As a former English major, I understand the value of discussing ideas to help understand the concepts better and address the questions that inevitably arise when you read something not originally written in English or something written in ye olde English. It is also nice to read together with someone for the accountability element!

I believe there is immense value in working through these difficult texts because it takes time, effort, and dedication. One of my life mottos is that the things worth doing in life are not easy. I do not expect that reading these works to be a walk in the park, rather I expect that I will be traversing a difficult path, but that at the end of this summer journey I will arrive with new perspectives and a deep appreciation for these great works of theology.

At the end of the summer (likely Augustish), I plan to recap the journey I have taken and what I have learned. I am excited for the challenge and greatly looking forward to investing the time, energy, and mental capacity to dive deep into these theological tomes.