I got tagged by John Barach regarding books:
1. One book that changed your life: The Mystical Presence, John Williamson Nevin
2. One book that you've read more than once: The Doctrine of Repentance, Thomas Watson
3. One book you'd want on a desert island: Jesus and the Victory of God, NT Wright
4. One book that made you laugh: 1215: The Year of Magna Carta, Danziger & Gillingham
5. One book that made you cry: Best-Loved Poems: A Collection of More than 200 Favorite Verses
6. One book you wish had been written: The Encyclopedia of the Westminster Divines, Volume Five: "What the various divines thought about justification" and Volume Twelve: "The various divines and their views on the sacraments."
7. One book you wish had never been written: The Doctrine of Repentance, Thomas Watson
8. One book you're currently reading: Institutes of the Christian Religion: 1536 Edition, John Calvin
9. One book you've been meaning to read: Collected Writings of John Murray (Vol.1-4)
10. Tag 5 others:
The Boneman, Rudy, Steve, Bobber, Yoda
Yes, Murray's writings are very helpful. I appreciate how careful and precise he is with his theological writing. Why do you wish Watson's book on repentance had never been written?
Posted by: Michael | August 05, 2006 at 02:33 PM
With regards to Watson, he is somewhat the pinnacle of hyper-introspective Puritanism. If one isn't crying and repenting all the time about everything, one needs to question their salvation. Makes the rest of us feel hopeless.
Posted by: Garrett | August 05, 2006 at 05:42 PM
Thanks for the tag. My list is up.
Posted by: Steve McCoy | August 05, 2006 at 08:22 PM
Glad to see you survived the southland heatwave!
I have mixed feelings about Murray, myself. I'm sorry to say that almost always when I've consulted him on something I've ended up disappointed. Example: I fully affirm the analogy between Christ and Adam in Romans 5:12-21 but think that Murray presses it too far. He's a little too scholastic for my taste.
Posted by: Phillip Dennis | August 06, 2006 at 05:52 PM
Don't like Murray? Dude, you're a heretic!
BTW it was about 80 degrees here today with a fabulous breeze.
Posted by: Garrett | August 06, 2006 at 06:37 PM
It's not that I don't like him. I'm sure we'll be great pals with lots to talk about. It's just that on the few occasions I've turned to his writings for insight on something, he seems to think the issue is completely settled and he hasn't addressed any of my questions at all. That's what I mean by disappointing. I do intend to dig into the four-volume collection one of these days. No doubt there's lots of gold.
Posted by: Phillip Dennis | August 08, 2006 at 06:27 AM
Murray? I'm surprised. Most of the stuff I've read by him has been good, humble, and with a healthy dose of "this isn't the last word."
Posted by: Garrett | August 08, 2006 at 10:43 AM
By the way, my friend, I too, am currently reading Juan Calvino's Institutes. I wonder how many Reformed guys have actually READ him... hmmm.
Posted by: Sam | August 14, 2006 at 06:36 PM
You didn't tag me, but you are in my lineage of ancestors for this particular meme. I also linked to you from my list.
The One Book Meme. My Response.
http://tatumweb.com/blog/2006/08/27/the-one-book-meme-my-response/
Regards,
Rich
BlogRodent
Posted by: Rich Tatum | August 27, 2006 at 06:29 AM