Journals for the Thinking Christian

Posted Thursday, June 07, 2007 by Charlie Trimm

I was thinking the other day about what the informed Christian should read to keep abreast of what is going on in the world of church and theology, so I decided to make a recommended reading list for journals (a reading list of books will come at a later date, Lord willing). So here they are, in order of importance (in my opinion, of course!). If you have opposite opinions or want to suggest another option, please comment!

1. Christianity Today

This magazine is essential in easily keeping track of what people are thinking in the world of evangelicalism. There is a broad spectrum of views present in the magazine and it often has good articles.

2. Christian History

Knowledge of the past is sorely lacking in todays church. Knowing the past helps us to not make the same stupid mistakes.

3. JETS

While these articles are often somewhat technical, they are helpful and include many great ideas and correctives of old views. The book reviews are also very informative. You can get this by joining ETS or just getting a subscription.

4. BAR

While not the most conservative magazine around, this is good for keeping in touch with the currents of archaeology. Anything that is new or significant in this field is reviewed in an easy to read format with great pictures.

Honorable Mentions:

1. Bible and Spade

This is a conservative archaeology journal. This is not helpful for new finds, but does give a conservative spin on many archaeological and geographical subjects

2. Books and Culture

This magazine is filled with lots of reviews of books and movies that are popular in today's culture as a whole as well as evangelicalism. This is the magazine to read if you want to look intellectual.

3. Bibliotheca Sacra and Trinity Journal

The journals of Dallas and Trinity often have good articles.

While there are many other journals that probably should be checked occasionally, I think that the ones above are all good to subscribe to and read on a regular basis.

Follow-up Posts
Recommended Books

Wednesday, June 20, 2007 1:54 PM

Josh wrote: Journals and then some...

Charlie, excellent topic.

Some comments about a couple you have noted...

Christianity Today is fairly good and does have some decent articles but sometimes its broadness makes it seem disjointed. It is more polished than most of the others and is more magazine-y (news, some factoids, short book reviews) as well. Worth reading.

I used to find Books & Culture outstanding, now I think it is usually just so-so. It has seemed a bit smarmier and self-conciously hip of late though that has always been part of its makeup. Lots of book reviews, some of which are quite good and others which are abysmal. It will provide a taste of the left-wing of evangelicalism more than CT. Anything column John Wilson (the editor) writes in B&C or CT is usually good. Worth skimming some and reading some.

BAR - if you don't read the letters to the editor, you are not getting the best part of the magazine. A collection of the best letters to the editor is in the NBS library - it is a riot. As Charlie noted, good for up-to-date archaeology, and it is fun to see Herschel Shenks get into spats with different archaeologists and societies. Worth skimming.

Thursday, June 21, 2007 6:19 AM

Josh wrote: Additions to the list...

Charlie,

I think there are a couple of other titles that should be added to the list.

Christian Century - This is magazine is essential for keeping track of the world of mainline Protestantism. Has news bits, facts, some reviews (including movies) and essays as well as one or two lengthy articles each issue. Very useful at seeing how another perspective might consider things. Worth reading.

World - This is basically a conservative evangelical new magazine. Very interested in politics and public policy. It has seemed to grow less polemic and more thoughtful over the last several years - has become more engaging with issues and less dimissive. A quick read - brief reviews of music albums and TV/movies are usually good at critical evaluation, a news bites section, some quotes and comics, some short often worthwhile essays. Worth reading.

First Things - I can't believe this didn't make the list! This is far and away the most intelligent of any of its contemporaries (Christian Century, Christianity Today, Books & Culture, World). It is a conservative Catholic journal whose driving force is Richard John Neuhaus. It often has some big time writers in it - Timothy George, Philip Jenkins, Stanley Hauerwas, George Weigel, Benedict XVI, Avery Cardinal Dulles, Antonin Scalia (the Supreme Court Justice) on law, Michael Behe and William Dembski (the ID guys) on science - you get the picture. Every issue is worth savoring. The book reviews are first class and the Public Square section is outstanding. Shows how far all the other journals like it have to go. Absolute must read.

The Mars Hill Review - Ceased publishing in 2005 - a tragic loss. This journal was perhaps the only one worth reading more than First Things. It was cultural commentary and reflection - essays, fiction, the best music and movie reviews ever found in a non-trade publication, poetry (often included Dr. Willsey's favorite - Lucy Shaw) - all pretty cutting edge sorts of things. I could go on at length about how outstanding the music/movie reviews were. It was like the New Yorker, only without the snobbishness and presumption and from a Christian perspective. It was what Books and Culture should be or at least should be like. Anyway, you can get a CD of all 25 published issues for $55 at http://www.marshillreview.com/menus/subscribe.shtm which works out pretty good since each issue is around 200 pages. It's back issues are still better than just about anything else currently being published. I keep the library's CD of back issues on my desk.

Monday, July 09, 2007 6:52 AM

Josh wrote: Books and culture...again...

I suppose it is only fair that I note that the most recent issue of Books and Culture has some very worthwhile book reviews. One I found particularly interesting was a review of a pair of books exploring the connections between early post-modern thought of mid-20th century France and Medieval hermenuetics. In summary, the books suggest that several key French postmodern thinkers has some familiarity with Medieval studies and the ideas regarding multiple levels of meaning in a text (literal, allegorical, spiritual, etc) and that this may have had some role in the development of the postmodern approaches regarding multiple meanings within texts. All in all, it was one of the better issues they have recently produced (and far superior to the previous issue).