I love reading, especially reading books on theology.  Over the past five years, I’ve managed to build a fairly nice amateur library of theology books. There was a time when the library was much larger, but lately I’ve been determined to only fill these cubby holes with books that I wouldn’t want to do without.

Last week, I bought an IKEA bookshelf and divided my books into seven categories.  I thought about making a theologically-geared Dewey decimal system, but that was a little too much to take on during this busy work season.

My seven categories (as of today) are:

• Bibles
• Ancient Languages
• Biblical Studies
• Missional Organic Church
• Church History / Cosmogeny
• Theological Studies
• Deeper Christian Life

As you can see by the bursting cubby holes, I am going to need to make another $70 investment with my spending money (next month?) to increase my book retention limit.

Here’s just a few books that I’m excited about reading:

The Ante-Nicene Fathers, 10 vols.

Source: ChristianBook.com

Price: $99.99 (Retail $299.99)

The Ante-Nicene Fathers ranges from the Apostolic Fathers to various third and fourth century sources including the liturgies and ancient Syriac documents. It was intended to comprise translations into English of all the extant works of the Fathers (with the exception of the more bulky works of Origen) down to the date of the first General Council held at Nicaea in 325 A.D. This American edition by Arthur Cleveland Coxe is a revision of the original series edited by Alexander Roberts and Sir James Donaldson and published in Edinburgh. The revision involves a major rearrangement to conform to the historical sequence, the addition of brief introductions and notes indicating variances in readings, specifying references to scripture or literature, clarifying obscure passages, and noting corruptions or distortions of patristic testimony (as forged in the Decretals). The basic aim of the translations has been to strive for literary exactness, placing the English reader as nearly as possible on an equal footing with those who are able to read the original.

Beginning Biblical Hebrew (Futato)

Source: Amazon.com Used Bookseller

Price: $34.99 (Used)

Achieving the right balance of amount of information, style of presentation, and depth of instruction in first-year grammars is no easy task. But Mark Futato has produced a grammar that, after years of testing in a number of institutions, will please many, with its concise, clear, and well-thought-out presentation of Biblical Hebrew.

Because the teaching of biblical languages is in decline in many seminaries and universities, Futato takes pains to measure the amount of information presented in each chapter in a way that makes the quantity digestible, without sacrificing information that is important to retain. The book includes exercises that are drawn largely from the Hebrew Bible itself.

The New Testament and the People of God (Wright, N.T.)

Source: Amazon.com

Price: $25.08 (Retail: $38.00)

This first volume in the Christian Origins and the Question of God series provides a historical, theological, and literary study of first-century Judaism and Christianity. Wright offers a preliminary discussion of the meaning of the word “god” within those cultures, as he explores the ways in which developing an understanding of those first-century cultures are of relevance for the modern world. By examining the history, social make-up, worldview, beliefs, and hope of Palestinian Judaism, Wright introduces you to the world of Judaism as situated within the world of Greco-Roman culture.