A few weeks ago, I received a letter from a mother of two very young children who wanted to start reading so that she could train them in a thoroughly Biblical worldview. I sent her the following reply which I post here, in case some of my friends find it helpful:
Hi, R.,
Thank you very much for your encouragement! Yes, I understand how you would feel at the very beginning when you see a whole world of new ideas that really make sense but you don’t know where to start from. Here are my suggestions:
The best book to start from is Gary North’s Unconditional Surrender. It gives a short but comprehensive overview for our message – what the Bible says about God, man, time, law, what it says about the institutions (family, church, state, economy), and what it says about history and future, and our job here. Then I would also go to an old but excellent book of Gary North’s, 75 Bible Questions. It covers three sections of 25 questions each: Sovereignty, God’s or Man’s?, Law: God’s or Man’s?, The Kingdom: God’s or Man’s?
On the Law of God, start with R.J. Rushdoony, By What Standard, Greg Bahnsen, By This Standard and No Other Standard. Then, prepare for some fat books: R.J. Rushdoony,Institutes of Biblical Law – the foundational book of the Christian Reconstruction. Then, you need to take on four other fat books (but they are broken into chapters and very easy to read), Gary North’s first four volumes of his economic commentary of the Bible: The Dominion Covenant (on Genesis), Moses and Pharaoh (on the Exodus), The Sinai Strategy(on the Ten Commandments), and Tools for Dominion (on the case laws in Exodus 21-40). The books look intimidating but once you get into reading the first one, you will be excited by the new information you are learning.
On eschatology, my favorite one is Kenneth Gentry, He Shall Have Dominion. It is a defense of postmillennialism, very thorough, very academic. But there is a simpler book for starters, and it is David Chilton’s Paradise Restored – and that’s what I would advise you to start with. Kenneth Gentry also has The Greatness of the Great Commission, and I tell you, he does a great job in explaining the meaning of the Great Commission. I would also add Dennis Peacocke, Winning the Battle for the Minds of Men here.
On social action, I will recommend Gary North, Liberating Planet Earth which is part of the Biblical Blueprint Series. (The whole BBS is very good: short books, almost like textbooks, and they have been very helpful for my people in Bulgaria. I will mention some of the other BBS books later.) Gary DeMar, God and Government has been a great resource to homeschoolers – it is like textbook, and explains both the Biblical principles for government, and how America was founded. Gary North’s Tactics of Christian Resistance and Theology of Christian Resistance deserve your time too. Also, R.J. Rushdoony, Politics of Guilt and Pity, Christianity and the State, and Salvation and Godly Rule. A Book that you need to read and also give to your pastor is Herbert Schlossberg, Idols for Destruction.
On business and work, I strongly recommend Dennis Peacocke, Almighty and Sons: Doing Business God’s Way. Also, sign up for Gary North’s articles on garynorth.com. The forums there are great – many people sharing their expertise from a Christian perspective. Other books you need to read: Ian Hodge, Making Sense of Your Dollars, Terry Applegate,A Christian View of Vocation.
On economics, in addition to North’s economic commentary on the Bible, a great book isIntroduction to Christian Economics. In the Biblical Blueprints Series you will find his Inherit the Earth and Honest Money. (You have to read Honest Money, and I mean Y’ALL, both you and your husband, in these times.) R.J. Rushdoony’s CD series, Economics, Money and Hope is a great resource too. Find also Stephen Perks, The Political Economy of the Christian Society, David Chilton, Productive Christians in an Age of Guilt-Manipulators, and Ian Hodge, Baptized Inflation.
On family and education, Biblical Blueprint Series has Robert Thoburn, Children Trap, and Ray Sutton, Who Owns the Family? God or State? You have to read R.J. Rushdoony,The Philosophy of Christian Curriculum, and Stephen Perks, The Philosophy of Christian Education Explained. Two books will give you a good idea of what the public schools are: R.J. Rushdoony, The Messianic Character of American Education, and Bruce Shortt, The Harsh Truth About Public Schools. To get an idea about how a subject can be taught from a Christian perspective, get James Nickel’s Mathematics: Is God Silent?
On history, nothing beats R.J. Rushdoony’s CD set, A Christian Survey of World History, and his book, The Biblical Philosophy of History. As an American Christian, you need to read John Chamberlain, Enterprising Americans. There is more on history but I will give you more titles later, as you progress.
On psychology, R.J. Rushdoony’s Revolt Against Maturity – an excellent book, and you will learn how to evaluate yourself and your children from a Biblical perspective.
On apologetics, Greg Bahnsen is the authority: Always Ready is a simple and excellent book, Presuppositional Apologetics is more complex and academic. Pushing the Antithesiswill teach you how to defeat the enemy before they know what has come upon them.
On theology, R.J. Rushdoony, Systematic Theology and Sovereignty. You need to become familiar with John Calvin’s Institutes of Christian Religion: that book changed Europe and shaped Europe and America beyond what most historians are willing to admit.
If you need audios, the best place to go is http://www.pocketcollege.com/index.htm – over 2,000 hours of Rushdoony’s lectures!
The websites where you need regularly go for resources are http://chalcedon.edu andhttp://americanvision.org.
In all those books I am recommending above, there will be additional bibliography that will help you expand the list. If you need to consult me on a specific book or topic, don’t hesitate to email me.
