My Christmas Wish List

I have been fortunate to have either reviewed or am in the midst of reviewing (too many to count!) many of the books that I had on my own personal wish list. Being that Christmas season is upon us, I have been thinking of the many books that I would love to add to my already overcrowded library.




So here is my Christmas list(in no particular order of preference):





1) The Deliverance of God: An Apocalyptic Rereading of Justification in Paul by Douglas Campbell. Needless to say, with all the buzz surrounding this book and its importance, this is a must have for the serious student of Paul and his theology. This book might be the biggest landmark in Pauline studies since Sanders' groundbreaking Paul and Palestinian Judaism written some 32 years ago. 'Nuff said.






2) The Historical Jesus of the Gospels by Craig Keener. In a day of overspecialization, Craig Keener has continued to demonstrate his expert grasp on all things New Testament related. Here, Keener puts his encyclopedic knowledge of the ancient Jewish and Greco-Roman world to bear on Jesus, offering a clearer glimpse into his world. Plus, reading Craig is always a pleasure as he is a lucid writer.





3) Inhabiting the Cruciform God: Kenosis, Justification, and Theosis in Paul's Narrative Soteriology by Michael Gorman. For my money, Michael Gorman is one of the most articulate interpreters of Paul and his theology going today. This book should probably be read in tandem with Campbell's as they both arrive at similar conclusions concerning what justification is (i.e. 'liberative' and 'participatory') but by differing interpretive routes.





4) Mark 8-16 (The Yale Anchor Bible Commentaries) by Joel Marcus. After reading Scot McKnight's write-up in Christianity Today's Books and Culture , I was completely sold. Not to mention, I'm ashamed to only own one other commentary on Mark's Gospel.

5) Philippians (The Yale Anchor Bible Commentaries) by John Reumann. Although I disagree with Reumann on his various partition theories as he divides Philippians into three separate letters, this may be the most substantive Philippians commentary ever written as it weighs in at a hefty 805 pages. What makes this even more impressive is the fact that Reumann turned in over 2,000 pages before he was ordered to cut it down to size!



6) The New Interpreter's Bible: Acts- 1 Corinthians (Volume X). This of course, is the particular volume that contains N.T. Wright's Romans commentary. This is a landmark study that really bolstered the already sterling reputation of Wright as an interpreter of Paul. Interestingly, as an aside, I have heard or read somewhere that Wright has the entirety of Romans memorized in Greek! This just stresses to me how much he has wrestled with this particular letter and makes me eager to read his exegesis of it. Wright is also probably my favorite writer to boot.



7) Romans 1-8; 9-16 WBC by James Dunn. In my opinion, Dunn is easily one of the greatest New Testament scholars of all time. He is responsible for much of the 'New Perspective on Paul,' in fact, coining the term in 1982 during his Manson Memorial Lecture. Again, the man's prose is beyond repute, and everything else of his that I have read has been a pleasure from front to back.




8) The First Epistle to the Corinthians (New International Greek Testament Commentary) by Anthony Thiselton. I have wanted this commentary since it has come out, now nine years ago. Somehow this commentary has always alluded me. I'd like to end that trend asap. Thiselton along with Fee (NICNT) still have what are considered the top two commentaries on 1 Corinthians.




9) The Epistle to the Philippians (Black's New Testament Commentary) by Markus Bockmuehl.

Bockmuehl is one of the most well-rounded New Testament scholars going today. I have started to collect Philippians commentaries as this is the one epistle that I have tried to memorize in Greek. This commentary is very highly regarded and should find it's way to my shelf.




10) Philippians (Two Horizons New Testament Commentary) by Stephen Fowl. Fowl, much like Gorman, is about as an articulate interpreter of Paul and his theology as one would hope to find. Fowl has set the tone for this entire series with how to do theological interpretation of Scripture.