Books

As a missionary, I have four options for reading material.  I can buy books for my Kindle.  These are the books hot off the press (okay, fresh pixels).  The downside is that I tend to like to “study” with physical books.  I don’t mind reading on the Kindle, but I find that I do more studying with a paper edition I can hold, mull over with a cup of coffee, etc.

I can also go to the Banco de la Republica’s library.  I’d never been a patron to a library that is also a museum and a work of architectural beauty.  The problem there is that the selection is very limited.

The third option is to buy books at a book store.  The problem with this option is that Santa Marta is obviously not a reader’s paradise because there is not a single larger bookstore in the whole city.  Not to mention that books are very expensive here.

The last option I have is to read books I already own.  I’ve been working with this option lately and came across two books that I really liked in seminary.  I’ve always enjoyed church history, especially when it’s presented in an interesting way.  For me, one of the best methods to learn church history is to read the original documents.

I want to first suggest a great volume that has allowed me to get back into some of the original source material of church history: Documents of the Christian Church edited by Henry Bettenson (on Amazon it’s now a new edition with another editor, but I have the second edition).  I just started this book up this week and have really been enjoying it.

The other book that I really enjoy about church history is  Creeds of the Churches: A Reader in Christian Doctrine, from the Bible to the Present.

Now, these two books are not the easiest books to read, but I personally find the reading of the source documents to be very helpful.  Instead of simply taking someone else’s word for it, I can read for myself what Clement said, or how Polycarp’s martyrdom was originally chronicled.

These types of works have been invaluable for me because here in Santa Marta we have an unbelievable number of cult groups and churches gone astray.  If I have a good understanding of church history, I’ll be able to share with people in a more helpful way about where these groups have gone wrong.  Often their errors go all the way back to the 2nd Century.

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