Books I've Read in 2023 - Dr. Jason Garwood

I’m a day late (because Michigan is going to the National Championship!) but as has been my custom, I put these here to hopefully inspire others with some good books. What books did you enjoy this past year?

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1 – The Two Kingdoms by W. Bradford Littlejohn — A good primer on some aspects of classical two-kingdom thinking stemming from the Reformers. Not completely satisfied with the doctrine as I believe it does fall short of a comprehensive world and life view. This is partially because the nature/grace dialectic is a Thomistic leftover, which should have been fed to the dogs.

2 – The Case for the Christian Family by Jared Longshore — Really well done. Longshore gives a tremendous introduction to covenant and its relationship to the Christian family.

3 – The Covenant Household by Douglas Wilson — A summary of all the work he’s done over the years regarding marriage and family. I thought it was a great little read that complemented Longshore’s book.

4 – In the Twilight of Western Thought by Herman Dooyeweed — Incredible. Dooyeweerd at his best.

5 – Christ All Sufficient by Brian G. Hedges — A great little commentary on Colossians.

6 – The Collected Works of H. Evan Runner, Vol. 4: The Urgent Need for Christian Renewal — Excellent! Runner has some tremendous insight. His exposition of Reformational philosophy is exciting.

7 – The Eden Story by Willem J. Ouweneel — Pretty solid introduction to the biblical theology of Eden and its relationship to history, redemption, and eschatology.

8 – The Language of Creation by Matthieu Pageau — Very, very interesting exploration of the cosmic symbolism built into creation.

9 – Thinking Through Creation by Christopher Watkin — Really, really good. Could have been a 500-pager had he lacked self-restraint. I’ll read this again for sure.

10 – The Sum of Saving Knowledge by David Dickson & James Durham — Small book written in 1650 meant to help people grapple with salvation and the practical implications of the Westminster Standards. Great read!

11 – Trees and Thorns by James B. Jordan — Jordan at his best. A tremendous resource!

12 – It’s Good to Be a Man by Michael Foster & Dominic Bnonn Tennant — Overall a solid blueprint for manhood.

13 – Baptism: A Guide to Life from Death by Peter J. Leithart — Phenomenal. Depth and breadth for such a small book.

14 – A Different Shade of Green by Gordon Wilson — Outstanding! Carefully balanced and reasoned.

15 – The Presbyterian Liturgies by Charles Washington Baird — Excellent resource on the history of liturgy in the Reformed/Presbyterian stream of thought.

16 – A Cover for Glory by Dale Partridge — Sorely lacking in any meaningful scholarship or exegesis. Dale did nothing to engage the cultural background nor the historical/exegetical context of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. Sadly, he did not engage those who draw contrary conclusions.

17 – The Trinitarian Father by Uri Brito — A great little book featuring some really important concepts. I enjoyed the various ways Uri connected the Trinity to the practice of fatherhood.

18 – Reformed Worship by Terry L. Johnson — Quite good! It’s fair and balanced in its treatment of Calvinistic worship.

19 – Biblical Foundations of Corporate Worship by Scott Aniol — Overall, quite good! Some minor quibbles but definitely worth reading if you want a short introduction to an important topic.

20 – Mere Christendom by Douglas Wilson — Good. Disjointed, but good. Certainly a better way forward than the Thomistic counterpart.

21 – Daily Devotions with Herman Bavinck by Donald K. McKim — Excellent resource! McKim surveys a wide swath of Bavinckian theology and boils it down with great insight. Definitely a great devotional book!

22 – Why Should We Sing Psalms? by Joel Beeke — Fantastic little book!

23 – How do Preaching and Corporate Prayer Work Together? by Ryan McGraw — A wonderful challenge regarding corporate prayer.

24 – Christian Baptism by John Murray — Very good. Only problem here is that he somewhat deviates from Calvin on the “pledge” concept.

25 – The Life of Calvin by Theodore Beza — Excellent! Also includes a biography of Beza himself. The two friends went through extraordinary times together and their courage is admirable.

26 – Paedofaith by Rich Lusk — Phenomenal work. HIGHLY recommend.

27 – The Boniface Option by Andrew Isker — A helpful critique of Trashworld and what we can do to fight back.

28 – Discerning Truth by Jason Lisle — Excellent introduction to logical fallacies.

29 – Baptized Patriarchalism by Gary North — Second time through. It’s a devastating critique of Rushdoony’s descent into an abysmal ecclesiology. It’s really a must read type of book.

30 – New Days, Old Demons by Mark Driscoll — Excellent analysis of the Ahab/Jezebel spirit, a scene all too familiar in churches. Mark helps sift through the progressive-woke nonsense and shows the authority of Scripture over the charade. I was quite surprised, though his eschatology needs some help.

31 – For Reformational Thinking by Joe Boot & Ezra Press — Great introduction to Reformational Philosophy as it intersects with culture, theology, etc.

32 – The Church and Social Problems by Louis Berkhof — A balanced primer on the Church’s responsibilities to and in the world.

33 – The Sound Doctrine of Theocracy by Luke Saint — Here.

34 – Creational Worldview by P. Andrew Sandlin — Pretty good introduction to the Creation/Fall/Redemption paradigm.

35 – Blessed are the Hungry by Peter J. Leithart — These “Meditations on the Lord’s Supper” (the subtitle) are really thought-provoking. But don’t make the mistake of merely rationalizing your learning experience. Leithart does a great job helping us worship God with beauty and thanksgiving.

36 – The Liturgy Trap by James B. Jordan — Excellent resource on the problems of worship in the Roman, Orthodox, and Anglo-Catholic traditions.

37 – Why Children Matter by Douglas Wilson — 4/5 stars. Lots of helpful illustrations and practical outworking of biblical principles.

38 – The Federal Vision edited by Steve Wilkins & Duane Garner — Extremely thought provoking. Critics have overblown the issue. Jordan’s essay is 🔥.

39 – The Surprising Genius of Jesus by Peter J. Williams — Decent book. The title over-sells the content. He does a great job explaining some of Jesus’s teachings (and their Old Testament foundations), but it wasn’t what I expected based on the title.

40 – Thomas Aquinas and the Neo-Thomist Tradition by Bernie Van Der Walt — A noteworthy analysis of Thomism’s inherent flaws and how Reformational Philosophy is much more consistent.

41 – Handbook for Praying Scripture by William Varner — A tremendous resource featured the Legacy Standard Bible. Read this through 4 times this year. Patiently waiting for a leather-bound/goatskin version.

42 – The Puritans Day-By-Day by H. J. Horn — Daily treasures from various Puritan writers. The quotes are wonderful.

43 – The Heidelberg Diary by Willem J. Ouweneel — A devotional walk through the catechism with a lot of insightful comments.

44 – Drawing Near to the Heart of God by Mark & Donna Kelderman — One of the best devotional books I’ve seen; a superb compilation from the Puritans.

44 – Reforming Marriage by Douglas Wilson — Outstanding. Read it twice this year.

45 – The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions edited by Arthur Bennett — Read it through three times this year. An amazing resource that everyone should be using on the regular.

46 – Reformed Worship by Jonty Rhodes — Good introduction; doesn’t go into a lot of detail. His conclusion on paedocommunion is wrong. With that caveat I’d still recommend it as a quick introduction to the topic.

47 – The Legacy Standard Bible — Did my Read-the-Bible-in-a-Year this year utilizing the LSB. I love this translation.