Some folks are just constructed in such a fashion that they love to wait till that last minute to get things done. Those of us who are at the doctor’s appointment twenty minutes early just don’t understand you, but that’s the way things are. Procrastination is a common human behavior.
And so, those of us who don’t procrastinate have to remind those of you who do that deadlines approach, time becomes short. While October 15th might seem like a long ways away, in the world of cruise lines and hotels, it isn’t. It is right around the corner. And there are some of you who have decided to wait till the last minute to sign up for the cruise and the class and the debate. Well, time’s a wastin’! Your window of opportunity will soon close, and there will be much weeping and gnashing of teeth. So now’s the time, folks. The links are over on the right hand side of the page. You will never get a chance to get this level of instruction, in this context, for this cost, again. So those of you who have been waiting, or have been sitting on the fence, consider for a moment just how much it costs to take a single class in college or seminary, throw in the gorgeous surroundings, fellow believers, and the greatest food possible. It’s a “no-brainer.”
What’s more, it will be a great encouragement for me to have an entire group of believers at the Shabir Ally debate who have spent the past few days in class with me, together plumbing the great depths of Christ’s atoning work on our behalf! I am sure the debate experience itself will be greatly enhanced for those who take the class, that’s for certain.
Once again, for those taking the class, here is the reading list. I posted it earlier, but due to the nature of blogs, such things get lost.
Required Texts
Morris, Leon. The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross (Eerdmans Third Revised Edition, found here.
Owen, John. The Works of John Owen Vol. 10 (Banner of Truth ed.), found here. This work is available in e-text format as well (Ages Library CD Rom, as I recall). It contains The Death of Death in the Death of Christ, the primary text, but it likewise contains two other important works, Of the Death of Christ and, especially relevant to the Islamic position, A Dissertation on Divine Justice.
Long, Gary D. Definite Atonement (New Covenant Media, 3rd Ed., 2006), found here.
Hengel, Martin. Crucifixion (Fortress Press, 1977), found here.
Ally, Shabir, “Did Jesus Die for the Sins of the World” in .wmv format here.
These are the “textbooks” so to speak for the class. Aside from these, the student will need to obtain his or her own copy of the Qur’an. I would recommend either the many versions of the Yusuf Ali translation available in your local bookstores, or, one I have found particularly useful and handy, that Tafsir edition of Mawdudi’s work, found here. Portable, not overly expensive, very useful.
Now, in addition to these published works, I will be providing a PDF document of six articles as soon as I can. When I finish it, I will post it here.
Next, I will provide a few “recommended reading” resources, in order of usefulness. These are not required. This is so guys can ask to buy these and put them in their library and say, “But James said it would be good.” Hey, I had to build my library once, too! The first book would be an excellent textbook, so I highly recommend it, but it will not be out in the US until July, and even then, you never know with publishing houses, so I will leave it at the top of this list. But if you get any of the following books, get that one.
Recommended Reading
Jeffery, Steve, Mike Ovey, Andrew Sach. Pierced for our Transgression: Rediscovering the Glory of Penal Substitution (IVP, 2007).
Brown, Raymond. The Death of the Messiah (2 vols.) Doubleday, 1994.
Hill, Charles (ed), Frank James (ed), Roger Nicole (ed). The Glory of the Atonement: Biblical, Historical & Practical Perspectives: Essays in Honor of Roger R. Nicole (IVP, 2004), found here.
McKnight, Scott. Jesus and His Death: Historiography, the Historical Jesus, and Atonement Theory (Baylor University, 2005), found here.
Bauckham, Richard. God Crucified (Eerdmans, 1998). Probably need to use a library for this one!
Beilby, James, Paul Reddy (eds). The Nature of the Atonement: Four Views (IVP, 2006), found here.
