Summer reading for church historians – Part 2 (Matthew Barrett)

Summer is here! If you are anything like me, then summer is a great opportunity to read all those books you’ve been putting off. Since I wear many hats, I will be recommending books for the pastor, systematic theologian, church historian, biblical scholar, and Christian philosopher in the weeks to come. (So far you can read Part 1  and Part 2 of summer reading for pastors and summer reading for theologians.) Today let’s focus on church historians out there (read Part 1 here). What books should you read this summer?

Kevin Madigan. Medieval Christianity: A New History. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2015.

Every theologian and historian has his special areas of interest. For me, a growing one is the late medieval period, particularly because I find it so crucial for properly understanding the context of the Reformation in the 16th century. I realize, however, that for most the medieval period is mysterious and foreign, strange and yet intriguing. Most won’t take the time to study medieval theology as it is complex and its heroes don’t get the press of a Luther or Bonhoeffer. Nevertheless, I would highly encourage studying the medieval period as it will only strengthen one’s theological grip on the development of doctrine. Not to mention, many of the historic universities and cathedrals with their gothic architecture come out of the medieval era. That said, Kevin Madigan, Winn Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Harvard Divinity School, has released a new history of medieval Christianity that spans 500 to 1500 CE. While the typical topics get attention (papacy, crusades, etc.), Madigan incorporates some less charted themes such as the role of women, certain relationships between Christians, Jews, and Muslims, the ordinary parishioner, asceticism and worship, as well as the nature of drama, art and architecture.

Brian Davies. Thomas Aquinas’s Summa Theologiae: A Guide and Commentary. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.

While I have you in the medieval period, it would be a crime to skip over this new book on Aquinas, who is perhaps the most important medieval thinker you could study (again, a controversial statement I am sure but one with good backing!). I realize that studying Aquinas is absolutely overwhelming for most. So it may be best to start with a guide and commentary, which is what this new volume by Davies provides. Here is what Davies does:

Following a scholarly account of Thomas Aquinas’s life, Davies explores his purposes in writing the Summa Theologiae and works systematically through each of its three Parts. He also relates their contents and Aquinas’s teachings to those of other works and other thinkers both theological and philosophical. The concluding chapter considers the impact Aquinas’s best-known work has exerted since its first appearance, and why it is still studied today. Intended for students and general readers interested in medieval philosophy and theology, Davies’s study is a solid and reflective introduction both to the Summa Theologiae and to Aquinas in general.

Miles Hollingworth. Saint Augustine of Hippo: An Intellectual Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.

Though it is debated, St. Augustine may be the most important theologian in the history of the church (Calvin is his rival no doubt!). However, few evangelicals, I find, are familiar with his life and thought. What a shame. We are missing out on a storehouse of theological treasures. Yet, if you’ve ever dived head first into secondary literature you will notice a wide diversity of opinion and interpretation of Augustine. Miles Hollingworth, Visiting Research Fellow in the History of Ideas at St. John’s College, Durham University, has written an “intellectual biography” of Augustine but it aims to approach Augustine with a new perspective in mind. Called a “major revisionist treatment” of Augustine’s thought, this volume will no doubt be controversial. Here’s why:

In a stimulating and provocative reinterpretation of Augustine’s ideas and their position in the Western intellectual tradition, Miles Hollingworth, though well versed in the latest scholarship, draws his inspiration largely from the actual narrative of Augustine’s life. By this means he reintroduces a cardinal but long-neglected fact to the center of Augustinian studies: that there is a direct line from Augustine’s own early experiences of life to his later commentaries on humanity. Augustine’s new Christianity did not–in blunt assaults of dogma and doctrine–obliterate what had gone before. Instead, it actually caught a subtle and reflective mind at the point when it was despairing of finding the truth. Christianity vindicated a disquiet that Augustine had been feeling all along: he felt that it alone had spoken to his serious rage about man, abandoned to the world and dislocated from all real understanding by haunting glimpses of the Divine.

A major new treatment of Augustine on all fronts, this superb intellectual biography shines a bright light on a genuinely neglected element in his writings. In so doing it introduces us to Augustine as he emerges from the unique circumstances of his early life, struggling with ironies and inconsistencies that we might just find in our own lives as well.

Stephen M. Hildebrand. Basil of Caesarea (Foundations of Theological Exegesis and Christian Spirituality). Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2014.

Marvin Jones. Basil of Caesarea: His Life and Impact (Biography). Christian Focus, 2014.

Here are two new volumes on Basil of Caesarea. The first is the new and latest book in the series edited by Hans Boersma and Matthew Levering. The second is in the patristic series with Christian Focus edited by our very own Michael Haykin!

Who was Basil?

Basil of Caesarea (329-379 AD) was a Greek Bishop in what is now Turkey. A thoughtful theologian, he was instrumental in the formation of the Nicene Creed. He fought a growing heresy, Arianism, that had found converts, including those in high positions of state.

And in case you are wondering how a church father connects to the 21st century, each series can help:

The Foundations of Theological Exegesis and Christian Spirituality series critically recovers patristic exegesis and interpretation for contemporary theology and spirituality. Each volume covers a specific church father and illuminates the exegesis that undergirds the Nicene Creed.

About Early Church Fathers: this series relates the magnificent impact that these fathers of the early church made for our world today. They encountered challenges similar to ones that we face in our postmodern world, and they met them with extraordinary values that will encourage and inspire us today.

In future weeks, check back in as I will spend two more posts highlighting series in historical theology that are praiseworthy.

Matthew Barrett (PhD, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is Assistant Professor of Christian Studies at California Baptist University, as well as the founder and executive editor of Credo Magazine. Barrett is also Senior Pastor of Fellowship Baptist Church. He is the author and editor of several books, including Salvation by Grace: The Case for Effectual Calling and Regeneration. Two forthcoming books include, Owen on the Christian Life and God’s Word Alone: The Authority of Scripture. You can read about Barrett’s other publications at matthewmbarrett.com.