Reading

Life In the Greco-Roman World (Book Recommendations)

Tony Reinke Reading, spurgeon

[updated 4/10]

Great books change everything about a long, dragging, late night flight.

Last night I took my place on a crowded a jet to discover we were grounded for 45-minutes due to air traffic. Normally that’s a big bummer when you are already expecting another 3 hours of flight time and the tendons in your knees are being dented by the seats in front of you. But it wasn’t such a big deal since it gave me more time to read my new historical novel, A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers. By the time the plane landed I was over 150 pages into a book that I did not put down the entire time. And that’s how good books redeem bad flights.

But to get good recommendations we need to know discerning readers and that’s why I’m glad you read this blog. Last week I asked you for book recommendations that shed light on the everyday social life and the cultural heritage of the first century Roman world to gain a deeper understanding of the complex world that frames New Testament Christian history. Your response was overwhelming. I received book recommendations through the blog comments, email, from friends on Facebook, and from followers on Twitter. It is obvious that many of you have studied this topic from quite a broad array of genres from technical textbooks to historical fiction.

For my own benefit and future reference, I compiled the book suggestions into a select bibliography. This list includes the books that I currently own (º), those that I own and have read at least in part (•), and many of the books that are now on my list of books to buy and read in the future (*). Thanks to everyone who offered suggestions! Here’s the list (updated on 4/9):

Non-Fiction, Technical and Textbooks

•Eckhard Schnabel, Early Christian Mission, 2 volumes (IVP, 2004), 1,972 pages, $56.70 Amazon.

ºEckhard Schnabel, Paul the Missionary: Realities, Strategies and Methods (IVP, 2008), 518 pages, $23 Amazon, $22 WTSB.

*James Jeffers, The Greco-Roman World of the New Testament Era (IVP, 1999), 352 pages, $15 Amazon, $15 WTSB. See Craig Blomberg’s review here.

*Moyer Hubbard, Christianity in the Greco-Roman World: A Narrative Introduction (Baker, 2010), 344 pages, $24.99 Amazon. Read Ben Witherington’s glowing review.

*Bruce Malina, The New Testament World: Insights from Cultural Anthropology (WJK, 2001), 277 pages, $20 Amazon.

*A. A. Long, Hellenistic Philosophy (Duckworth, 2010), 288 pages, $32 Amazon.

*Peter Connolly, The Ancient City: Life in Classical Athens and Rome (Oxford U, 2000), 256 pages, op.

ºEverett Ferguson, Backgrounds of Early Christianity (Eerdmans, 2003), 648 pages, $22 Amazon, $21 WTSB.

*Wayne Meeks, The First Urban Christians: The Social World of the Apostle Paul (Yale U, 2003), 320 pages, $20 Amazon.

*Ben Witherington, The Indelible Image: The Theological and Ethical World of the New Testament, Vol. 1: The Individual Witnesses (IVP, 2009), 856 pages, $31 Amazon.

*Ben Witherington, The Indelible Image: The Theological and Ethical Thought World of the New Testament, Volume 2: The Collective Witness (IVP, 2010), 838 pages, $31 Amazon.

Ben Witherington, New Testament History: A Narrative Account (Baker, 2003), 431 pages, $22 Amazon.

Ben Witherington, New Testament Rhetoric: An Introduction Guide to the Art of Persuasion in and of the New Testament (Wipf & Stock, 2008), 274 pages, $25 Amazon.

David John Williams, Paul’s Metaphors: Their Context and Character (Hendrickson, 1999), 385 pages, $25 Amazon.

•F.F. Bruce, The Spreading Flame: The Rise and Progress of Christianity from Its First Beginnings to the Conversion of the English (Wipf & Stock, 2004), 436 pages, $36 Amazon.

Various, The New Testament in Antiquity: A Survey of the New Testament within Its Cultural Context (Zondervan, 2009), 480 pages, $31 Amazon.

Calvin Roetzel, The World That Shaped the New Testament (WJK, 2003), 192 pages, $24 Amazon.

Paul J. Sampley, Paul in the Greco-Roman World: A Handbook (Trinity, 2003), 700 pages, $110 Amazon.

Non-Fiction, Original Sources

*Eusebius, Eusebius: The Church History (Kregel, 2007), 368 Pages, $10 Amazon, $11 WTSB.

*Jo-Ann Shelton, As The Romans Did: A Sourcebook in Roman Social History (Oxford U, 1998), 512 pages, $46 Amazon.

•Michael Holmes, The Apostolic Fathers in English (Baker), 336 pages, $30 Amazon, $25 WTSB.

*Elwell and Yarbrough, Readings from the First-Century World: Primary Sources for New Testament Study (Baker, 1998), 224 pages, $25 Amazon.

*C. K. Barrett, New Testament Background: Selected Documents (HarperOne, 1995), 400 pages, $18 Amazon.

Inwood and Gerson, Hellenistic Philosophy: Introductory Readings (Hackett, 1998), 439 pages, $16 Amazon.

Mark Harding, Early Christian Life and Thought in Social Context: A Reader (Sheffield Academic, 2003), 400 pages, $72 Amazon.

Non-Fiction, Commentaries on Acts

•Ben Witherington, The Acts of the Apostles: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary (Eerdmans, 1997), 923 pages, $34 Amazon, $35 WTSB. Don Carson, for example, is no big fan of the socio-rhetorical commentary format, since it tends to place greater emphasis on sociological points at the expense of more important theological points. Yet he commends this one, saying it is “very good indeed,” and that “his ‘socio-rhetorical’ approach (which in this volume tends to mean no more than that the author is sensitive both to the world of the first century and to the structure of the text) is particularly suited to this sort of biblical book” (NTCS, 81).

*Colin Hemer, Book of Acts in the Setting of Hellenistic History (Eisenbrauns, 1990), 482 pages, op. Clearly a commentary worth finding. Writes Carson, it is “a wonderfully erudite study of the social context of Acts, with countless insights” (NTCS, 84).

Historical Fiction, Christian

ºPaul Maier, The Flames of Rome: A Novel (Kregel, 1995), 464 pages, $11 Amazon. Maier’s novels are unique in that he begins with historical facts, real people, and true events, and then tells these stories by filling in the gaps with fictional putty. He calls this style a “documentary novel.”

*Paul Maier, Pontius Pilate: A Novel (Kregel, 1995), 384 pages, $10 Amazon.

•Francine Rivers, A Voice in the Wind, Mark of the Lion #1 (Tyndale, 1998), 515 pages, $10 Amazon.

*Francine Rivers, An Echo in the Darkness, Mark of the Lion #2 (Tyndale, 1998), 461 pages, $10 Amazon.

*Francine Rivers, As Sure as the Dawn, Mark of the Lion #3 (Tyndale, 1998), 508 pages, $10 Amazon.

*Tim Woodroof, A Distant Presence: The Story Behind Paul’s Letter to the Philippians (NavPress, 2002), 500 pages, op.

*Bruce Longenecker, The Lost Letters of Pergamum: A Story from the New Testament World (Baker, 2002), 192 pages, $12 Amazon, $9 WTSB.

Historical Fiction, Non-Christian

*Tom Holland, Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic (Anchor, 2005), 464 pages, $10 Amazon.

Colleen McCullough, First Man in Rome (William Morrow, 2008), 1,152 pages, $12 Amazon.

Colleen McCullough, The Grass Crown (William Morrow, 2008), 1,152 pages, $12 Amazon.

Robert Harris, Imperium: A Novel of Ancient Rome (Pocket, 2007), 305 pages, $11 Amazon.

Robert Harris, Conspirata: A Novel of Ancient Rome (Simon & Schuster, 2010), 352 pages, $10 Amazon.

That is a wonderful list of books, a feast for any diligent reader.

Thank you for your book recommendations, and thank you for your blog readership.

Tony

Book Recommendations Needed

Tony Reinke Fiction, Reading

Lately I’ve been spending quite a lot of time in Eckhard Schnabel’s incredible trio of books, Early Christian Mission (2 volumes) and Paul the Missionary. Those volumes are loaded with historic and cultural information about Paul’s missionary travels through ancient Roman cities and towns. On top of this, I have been reading several articles by Bruce Winter and have come to discover more fully the important role the cultural context factors into Paul’s mission and writings. I ordered a few of his books this morning.

And that brings me to a different genre altogether.

And this is where I need you.

I want to read more about this first century Roman world of the New Testament. I want to live in the world for a season. What was it like to live in the major cities? How was life for a common laborer or a slave? What were the philosophical influences in the air? What epic tales were woven into the common cultural heritage? What were the prominent cultural captivities and how did pagan temple life intrude? What was life like for the early Christians?

Non-fiction books are valuable for their details, but I’m also looking for some good historical fiction (with a strong stress on the word historical). Lately I’ve tried a few non-Christian authors. Harry Sidebottom is a scholar of 1st century warfare and his fictional works are good on ancient culture and battle tactics, but they’re also unnecessarily violent. Books by Simon Scarrow are set in the 3rd century, and are also quite realistic from what I’ve read, but they’re even more gratuitous.

Of Christian books, I have ordered a few books that look promising. Francine Rivers’ Mark of the Lion series looks good (3 volumes here, here, and here), although I suspect the series will have a strong romantic theme. I also plan to read Paul Maier’s, The Flames of Rome: A Novel. It’s an older work but Maier is a highly respected Lutheran scholar so I am hopeful. Have any of you read the books by Rivers or Maier?

So that’s a brief rundown of my thinking. I am searching for books about everyday life in the NT Roman world. Other technical non-fiction books would be great, but I’m especially searching for historical fiction recommendations.

Have any?

Thanks for reading and sharing!

Moonwalking, Einstein, and Book Reading

Tony Reinke .Lit!, Reading

Joshua Foer in his new bestseller, Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything (Penguin, 2011) writes, “I don’t think I’m an exceptionally bad reader. I suspect that many people, maybe even most, are like me. We read and read and read, and we forget and forget and forget” (148). Yes, that sounds like the testimony of an average reader, myself included. However, he writes:

When the point of reading is remembering, you approach a text very differently than most of us do today. Now we put a premium on reading quickly and widely, and that breeds a kind of superficiality in our reading, and in what we seek to get out of books. You cant read a page a minute, the rate at which you are probably reading this book, and expect to remember what you’ve read for any considerable length of time. If something is going to be made memorable, it has to be dwelled upon, repeatedly. (147)

Yes, reading requires reflection. But I’m not convinced this proves the danger of reading quickly and broadly, at least not with non-fiction books. In fact I encourage readers to read various types of books at many different reading speeds—including very quick speeds. When it comes to retention I think the bigger problem is that a typical book reader has a hard time isolating the critical selections of a book. The fact remains that we remember only about 1% of what we read, a lesson from the life of a relatively slow reader, John Piper.

See I think the reason we forget what we read is not because we read too fast but is because, as Foer writes, “Few of us make any serious effort to remember what we read” (148). In my forthcoming book I explain how I attempt to remember what I read by locating the most important points within a book (which requires that you determine why you are reading a particular book in the first place). Then I mark those sections as I read with marginal notes and then return and invest a disproportionate amount of time dwelling on the particular isolated points, repeatedly. In this way I continue to read quickly and yet I also develop my focus and increase my retention. I cannot remember 99% of what I read, so I don’t try.

Okay, so how exactly do you isolate a concept in a book? I guess I just did.

Reading Retreat

Tony Reinke .Reading Digest, Baseball, Reading

Once a year I slip away for a few days to do nothing but read. On a hotel desk I spread out a large stack of reading, unpack snacks and drinks, pray the God would bless my time, and then dig into my books with unusually focused attention. I find these experiences to be spiritually invigorating.

As you can imagine a retreat setting like this provides me with many hours to focus on one particular area of study, normally one that is so complex that I really need the extended concentration. At the same time this practice helps me to combat the brain fragmentation that I experience in the world of social media.

By the time this blog post goes life (it was auto-saved) I will be into my next retreat. In this retreat I will be focusing on theme of “inaugurated eschatology,” or the already in the already/not yet of God’s sweeping historical plan of redemption and cosmic restoration. My interest in this topic was sparked a little over a year ago when I began to seriously study the implication of Christ’s resurrection as the dawn of the new creation. God used that season of focused study just before Easter of 2010 to help me begin to see the cosmic scope of the gospel, leaving me with a greater desire to know more about this topic and to read more carefully on a cluster of related themes of the Kingdom of God in the gospels, the two-ages in Paul, the resurrection as the inauguration of the new creation, and the eschatological significance of the arrival of the Holy Spirit. As I see Easter approaching it makes this whole topic more attractive to me for sustained study.

So why this topic? It seems a bit abstract and vague. In many ways inaugurated eschatology is complex, which is why I need the focused time to read. But it’s also a very important topic with consequences for the Christian life. Balanced eschatology is necessary for a balanced Christian life. An imbalanced eschatology can lead to disastrous consequences. For example, to concentrate on the already without the not yet leads to an over-realized eschatology which tends to lead people down the path of moral perfectionism, diminishing the need for future/final transformation. On the other hand, a concentration on the not yet to the exclusion of the already causes us to overlook what God has already accomplished in Christ in past history and to fail to grasp the eternal consequences of his cross and resurrection. In this way sanctification tends to become man-centered moralism in an unhelpful way that fails to appreciate the role of Christ’s finished work in personal renewal. Balance in the Christian life requires some level of equilibrium between living in the already and the not yet, the finished and the unfinished, the started and the yet uncompleted. This retreat will help me appreciate those areas where God’s eternal purposes have been already inaugurated in time and history.

The literature on inaugurated eschatology is expansive and rich, but the literature will also continue to collect dust on my bookshelf unless I take the time to pursue this theme. And that brings me to my reading retreat. With an open Bible, a tall stack of books, and an iPod loaded with some related seminary lectures, I plan to spend my days kicking back and reading, listening, and having my horizons broadened.

As is typical I will bring far too much material than I have time to work through. But my goal is never to exhaust all of my reading. In fact only one or two of the books will be read entirely with great care, some books will be read in parts, other books will be scanned carefully, and a majority of the books will be scanned quickly. In case you’re interested, here is a list of the 18 books and 27 lectures I have packed into a Rubbermaid tub:

I make time for fun reading in these retreats as well. This year I’ve packed baseball books that focus on my favorite era, from the birth of American professional baseball in the early 1870s up until the year 1918. On my previous retreat I read Cait Murphy’s delightful book Crazy ’08: How a Cast of Cranks, Rogues, Boneheads, and Magnates Created the Greatest Year in Baseball History (Collins, 2008). This time around I’ve packed this trio of titles:

In a previous life I wanted to be a baseball historian. In this life I have the privilege of serving the church. In either case I am a reader, and I pray that this reading retreat will match my previous retreats in education, edification, and delight.

New Biographies For Little Kids, And Big Kids, And Parents

Tony Reinke BR > Reformation Heritage Books, Reading

In the mornings before I leave for work, we take time to read as a family. Of late we have been working through the Christian Biographies For Young Readers series (Reformation Heritage Books). We first read the John Calvin bio (2008) then moved on to Augustine (2009) and now finally on to John Owen (2010). The series is beautifully illustrated and the storyline (by Simonetta Carr) provides quite a lot of detail, just enough to provide historic context for the value of these three men in Church history. The publisher anticipates adding future bios to this series that will include Lady Jane Grey, Athanasius, John Knox, Jonathan Edwards, and others [John Bunyan please!]. The books are around 64-pages in length and can be read in about 30–40 minutes or 50 minutes if you gawk at the excellent paintings and random historical pictures. In that brief time the family gets a poignant introduction to the men and women God has used in building his Church over the centuries—which is especially helpful when most of your kids are named after dead preachers to begin with.

Make Use of Any Human Author

Tony Reinke Reading, Richard Sibbes

Puritan Richard Sibbes, in a short book titled A Christian’s Portion [Works, 4:2–38], fleshed out 1 Corinthians 3:21–23. At one place he makes the point that the Church possesses all truth, even that of non-Christian authors. In one passage Sibbes writes [page 18]:

Again, ‘all things are ours’ [1 Cor. 3:21]. Therefore truth, wheresoever we find it, is ours. We may read [a] heathen author. Truth comes from God, wheresoever we find it, and it is ours, it is the church’s. We may take it from them as a just possession. Those truths that they have, there may be good use of those truths; but we must not use them for ostentation. For that is to do as the Israelites; when they had gotten treasure out of Egypt, they made a calf, an idol of them. So we must not make an idol of these things. But truth, wheresoever we find it, is the church’s. Therefore with a good conscience we may make use of any human author. I thought good to touch this, because some make a scruple of it.

Yes, some do even to this day.