Recommended Reading Meme

I was tagged by Aaron to produce a list of books that I continually find myself recommending to people. They may not all be my favorite books, but they are ones I find helpful in explaining important theological issues and concepts. Or they may just be classic works that people need to read. In any case, here are a few of the theological works to which I keep referring people:

• Daniel Migliore, Faith Seeking Understanding (2nd ed., 2004). This is the best guide to theology for beginners currently in print (until Ben Myer’s publishes his wonderful series, that is!). I’ve recommended this book countless times.
• Karl Barth, Dogmatics in Outline (ET 1959). An excellent introduction to Barth’s theology as well as an excellent commentary on the Apostles’ Creed.
• William Cavanaugh, Theopolitical Imagination (2003). Cavanaugh’s shortest and simplest work is also, in many ways, his most profound.
• T. F. Torrance, The Mediation of Christ (New ed., 1992). Torrance’s short work on Christ’s mediation between God and humanity is a work that beautifully captures some of Barth’s best insights and conveys them to English-speaking audiences in unparalleled ways.
• G. K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy (1908; 2002). This work had a profound influence on me when I first read it, and even though it is not strictly a work of theology, Chesterton’s masterpiece is one of those rare gems that demands to be read.

I now tag Travis, Chris, and Halden with this meme.

Update: For some unknown reason, I left Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Letters and Papers from Prison off this list, which is probably the book I recommend most to people. I would probably have to place Bonhoeffer’s letters and papers from the end of his life above these other important works in terms of all around importance for me both personally and intellectually. I recommend it to everyone without exception.