This book argues for early dates for the New Testament books (and some apocryphal books) in a way that is methodical, logical, and humble. His method for each book is logical, consistent, and open, and he is transparent with the arguments against his case as well. The book is pretty accessible, and could be read comfortably by most readers without specialist knowledge and vocabulary. It is a book I will certainly be referring to in future after having once read it, and a good counter to the “The New Testament books were written long after the event” approach that is current in the culture and even the world of scholarship.

This book is a remarkable combination of scholarship, apologetics and devotional reading, and scores highly on each. The author looks primarily through the lens of the parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15 and draws out connections to the Old Testament narrative, particularly Genesis, while offering really helpful insights into the text. Williams argues that the thread of OT insights, and insights into Palestinian life at the time in this and other parables point to a single originator of the parables, and argues for Jesus being that single originator. I came across this book as a result of a recommendation for devotional reading, but found it helpful on multiple levels. It is quite a short book, but packs a significant punch in its 140 or so pages.

This is a wonderful book, and my most enjoyable read this year. Simon Gathercole takes the early Christian gospel as set out by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 as his benchmark, giving a thorough explanation and justification for this. He then evaluates the four canonical Gospels and a number of others against the extent to which they match the kerygma. The depth and breadth of the scholarship are remarkable, and whilst it is a really good book academically, the insights on the canonical gospels are also rich and edifying in themselves. It is worth reading as a rebuttal of scholars like Ehrman, as an apologetic for the Gospel accounts, and for the insights on the canonical gospels.

This is a book that needs to be read by every church leader. Smith starts by challenging us that we don’t really know what we ultimately love, and need “liturgies” of habits that will point us into discipleship. Smith highlights our loss of liturgy and its replacement with entertainment and challenges us to start identifying those liturgies in our lives that lead us in other directions. This book, along with Webber’s “Ancient-Future worship” have been foundational in my own thinking and reflection on worship in recent years. I would have appreciated more examples of how we outwork this and make the necessary changes in a church context, but that would probably be my only criticism of the book.

This is an excellent book because it is looking to create positive cultures in churches while not being shy about facing up to, and tackling, spiritual, sexual, and other forms of abuse in churches. It should be read by every church leader. It is a shame that, as an ebook, the formatting leaves a lot to be desired at times. In particular, quotations are frequently not formatted as quotations.

This is an excellent book, and I learned a great deal from reading it. It really explains a great deal about the New Testament manuscripts from someone who has studied them to such an extent that he even shares insights on the character of individual scribes and copyists.

This book has become somewhat dated, even in the time since it was published. It deals with the beliefs of people in the NAR, and doesn’t address any of the behaviour, although the authors are clearly concerned about this. It also doesn’t really examine the various networks that make up the NAR, and so therefore misses some of the nuances. It effectively predated the Passion “Translation” which is (I believe) one of the big issues of the moment with the NAR so although I found it helpful, I also found it of limited usefulness.

I'm currently working through Kings with this commentary alongside in my daily devotions. I'm really finding it helpful, and Leithart's focus on theological implications rather than detailed verse-by-verse commentary is great when using it for this purpose. Contains some great insights and it has helped me to see more of the "big picture" of what is going on in these books.