WHAT I HAVE NOT READ
As somebody like myself, an obvious bibliophile, looks back on a lifetime of reading—around forty-seven years if I began with age-appropriate material when I was five or so!—it is interesting to note what I have not read. Here is a small sampling—with the stress on small. There are many others I could note!
I have not read John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress—cannot warm up to the notion of allegory. I have read very little of the Russians like Dostoevsky or Tolstoy, though I do like Solzhenitsyn.
I have hardly touched Aquinas or the late Patristic author John of Damascus.
And as for the Germans of the 20th century like Tillich (ugh!) or Moltmann or Pannenberg, I have read very little. I have read Bonhoeffer—whom I deeply admire despite some evident doctrinal flaws in his thinking—I have read through some Barth and Brunner. Of Bultmann I have only touched his commentary on the Johannine Epistles.
I am amazed I have not really read Van Til, or Bahnsen or Rushdoony.
So many books, so little time was what C.S. Lewis once said, or something like that.
I have not read John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress—cannot warm up to the notion of allegory. I have read very little of the Russians like Dostoevsky or Tolstoy, though I do like Solzhenitsyn.
I have hardly touched Aquinas or the late Patristic author John of Damascus.
And as for the Germans of the 20th century like Tillich (ugh!) or Moltmann or Pannenberg, I have read very little. I have read Bonhoeffer—whom I deeply admire despite some evident doctrinal flaws in his thinking—I have read through some Barth and Brunner. Of Bultmann I have only touched his commentary on the Johannine Epistles.
I am amazed I have not really read Van Til, or Bahnsen or Rushdoony.
So many books, so little time was what C.S. Lewis once said, or something like that.
On Bunyan, brother, I have tried a number of times, and I realzie it is rich stuff, but the controlling genre of allegory puts me off.
Posted by
Michael A G Haykin |
12:44 p.m.
You must drop everything and get Greg Bahnsen's Van Til's Apologetic. It's required reading!
Posted by
Chris |
9:13 p.m.
I had never read Pilgrim's Progress until just a few years ago. I was jokingly referred to as the only person in my circle of Christian friends that was likely an unregenerate, for not reading Pilgrim's Progress.
:o)
I did enjoy it, and I'm glad I finally read it.
Posted by
Carla Rolfe |
1:54 p.m.
Michael.... there's always 'books on tape.' There is a great one of the full length Pilgrim's Progress and if you can't get yourself to read it, listening to it on the drive to school might just be the trick. It is rich, rich, rich! Blessings... Janice
ps Totally see your point -- the more you read, the more you realize you haven't read. Good to spur one another on in this regard though!
Posted by
Janice Van Eck |
3:54 p.m.
Janice:
Great idea. Will see if I can find it on tape. Any suggestions?
Carla:
Should I feel unregenerate! :) Glad the church in Woodstock worked out.
Posted by
Michael A G Haykin |
4:53 p.m.
Pilgrim's Progress was great--so is Holy War, andother Allegory Bunyan wrote.
I have never read
Phillip Yancey
Rick Warren
or Lee Strobel.
Posted by
pilgrim |
11:54 p.m.
Michael,
well I should hope you do not feel unregenerate! :o)
There are so many books I want to read that I cannot find time for, that I have decided when all the little ones are grown, I will have my list ready and spend the rest of my days just reading. I might stop now and again to make dinner or something, but other than that, I'll just be reading.
I might need to live to be 700 years old to finish the list, so we'll see how it all works out.
:o)
SDG,
Carla
Posted by
Carla Rolfe |
7:02 a.m.
Michael... I'll try to track down the tapes. I leant them to someone (I think I know who) so I'll do a bit of chasing... Jan
Posted by
Janice Van Eck |
10:34 p.m.
Dr. Haykin, I have the unabridged audio book of Pilgrim's Progress read by a very creative British guy. My 4.5 year old and I are listening to it together during rides in the car. Very good listening. I bought it through iTunes, and I think it is available through audible.com.
We are a little over 2 hours in where Faithful and Christian just met with "talkative"
I have linked up some Pilgrim Resources over at Power of Change.
Posted by
Reid S. Monaghan |
12:14 a.m.
Many thanks for this lead, Reid.
Posted by
Michael A G Haykin |
6:06 a.m.