Recommended Reading

Preparing for Seminary Recommended Reading List

Students enter seminary with diverse backgrounds and different levels of acquaintance with the subjects that are dealt with in theological education. Students vary in academic skills such as reading, research, writing, composition, and analysis of arguments and evidence. Students may enter seminary without a background in liberal arts such as philosophy and literature, and thus find themselves at a disadvantage in studying apologetics, church history, biblical interpretation, preaching, and other disciplines. This list of suggested introductory readings is intended to prepare students in subject areas where they may have minimal prior study. It is divided into three levels of difficulty under each subject area:

Level 1 is an introductory level, for the reader who has not studied the subject previously.

Level 2 is more challenging. These books introduce the reader to the heart of the subject, and the most fruitful perspective on and approaches to the subject.

Level 3 is accessible to thoughtful students even before seminary studies, but addresses more profound issues and problems than Levels I and 2.

There is no greater preparation for studying at Westminster Theological Seminary than reading the Bible regularly and extensively.

Most of these books are available at a discount at Westminster Bookstore. Click on the link to purchase.

Apologetics and Philosophy

Level 1

Richard Pratt Every Thought Captive (P&R)
William Edgar Reasons of the Heart (Baker)
Level 2
Colin Brown Philosophy and the Christian Faith (IVP)
Middleton & Walsh Truth is Stranger Than It Used to Be (IVP)
Greg Bahnsen Van Til’s Apologetic (P&R)
Cornelius Van Til Christian Apologetics (P&R)
J. Gresham Machen Christianity and Liberalism (Eerdmans)
Level 3
Cornelius Van Til The Defense of the Faith (P&R)
John Frame Doctrine of the Knowledge of God (P&R)
K. Scott Oliphint The Consistency of Van Til’s Methodology
K. Scott Oliphint Cornelius Van Til and the Reformation of Apologetics
Thomas Morris, ed. God and the Philosophers (Oxford UP)

Bible Content and Interpretation

Level 1

Bruce Wilkinson & Kenneth Boa Talk Through The Bible (Nelson)
Level 2
Dan McCartney & Charles Clayton Let the Reader Understand (Baker)
O. Palmer Robertson The Christ of the Covenants (P&R)
Level 3
Harvie Conn, ed. Inerrancy and Hermeneutic (Baker)
Vern S. Poythress Symphonic Theology (P&R)

Grammatical Skills

Level 1

Norma Goldman English Grammar for Students of Latin (Olivia & Hill Press, 1979) (For Latin students but very valuable and highly recommended for beginning students of Greek.)
Dan McCartney Glossary of Grammatical Terms

History

Level 1

Ned B. Stonehouse J. Gresham Machen
David B. Calhoun Princeton Seminary Volume 1, Volume 2 (Banner of Truth)
S.M. Houghton Sketches from Church History (Banner of Truth)
Level 2
Paul Johnson A History of Christianity (Macmillan)
Level 3
Kenneth S. Latourette A History of Christianity 2 Volumes (Harper and Row)
Ruth Tucker From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya (Zondervan)

Literature and the Arts

Level 1

Leland Ryken The Liberated Imagination (Shaw)
Level 2
Gene Edward Veith State of the Arts (Crossway)
Level 3
Calvin Seerveld Rainbows for the Fallen World (Tuppens/Eerdmans)

Pastoral Counseling

Level 1

Ed Welch When People Are Big and God is Small (P&R) [CD Book]
Ed Welch Blame It On the Brain? (P&R)
  Counsel The Word, Introductory sample articles from the Journal of Biblical Counseling
Paul Tripp Age of Opportunity [CD Book, Audio Book]
Level 2
  The Journal of Biblical Counseling (Published quarterly. Contact the Christian Counseling and Education Foundation for subscriptions, 215-884-7676. Contact the Westminster Bookstore for individual issues.)
Level 3
David Powlison Competent to Counsel? The History of a Conservative Protestant Anti-Psychiatry Movement

Pastorate

Level 1

William Still The Work of the Pastor (Christian Focus)
William Still The Letters of William Still (Banner of Truth)
John Stott The Preachers Portrait (IVP)
Edmund Clowney Called to the Ministry (P&R)
Level 2
Charles Bridges The Christian Ministry (Banner of Truth)
Richard Baxter The Reformed Pastor (Banner of Truth)
Level 3
Patrick Fairbairn Pastoral Theology (Old Paths Publications) [Out of Print]

Preaching

Level 1

Bruce Mawhinney Preaching with Freshness (Kregel)
Level 2
Bryan Chapell Christ-Centered Preaching (Baker)
John Stott Between Two Worlds (Eerdmans)
Martyn Lloyd-Jones Preaching and Preachers (Zondervan)
Level 3
Sidney Greidanus The Modern Preacher and the Ancient Text (Eerdmans)
Samuel Logan, ed. The Preacher and Preaching (P&R)

Research and Writing Skills

Level 1

William Strunk, Jr. & E.B. White The Elements of Style (Macmillan)
Mortimer Adler & Charles Van Doren How to Read a Book (Simon and Schuster)
Level 2
William Zinsser On Writing Well (Harper and Row)
Level 3
Joseph Williams Style: Toward Clarity and Grace (University of Chicago)

Spiritual Growth and Calling

Level 1

J.I. Packer Knowing God (IVP) [Study Guide]
Sinclair Ferguson A Heart for God (Banner of Truth)
B.B. Warfield The Religious Life of Theological Students (P&R)
Level 2
Edmund Clowney Called to the Ministry (P&R)
J.I. Packer Keep in Step with the Spirit (IVP)

Theology

Level 1

Sinclair Ferguson The Christian Life (Banner of Truth)
B.B. Warfield The Plan of Salvation (Simpson Graphics)
Level 2
  Westminster Confession of Faith Together with Larger and Shorter Catechisms
  Heidelberg Catechism
  Belgic Confession
  Canons of Dort
Level 3
John Murray Collected Writings Volume 2 (Banner of Truth)
Herman Bavinck Our Reasonable Faith (Baker)
Louis Berkhof Systematic Theology (Eerdmans)
John Calvin Institutes of the Christian Religion, 2 volumes (Presbyterian)
Cornelius Van Til Introduction to Systematic Theology (Westminster)
Jonathan Edwards Treatise on Religious Affections (Banner of Truth)