This is a reposting and updating of a short book review I did a long time ago on my old blog. I’m reposting it because this is a book that needs a little attention now and then.
I have a very short list of books that I’d put in the must-read category for every believer. Right now, I can think of only two, the first being Knowing God by J. I. Packer, which I’m pretty sure you’re already familiar with. The second? It’s less well-known, but no less important: The Atonement: It’s Meaning and Significance by Leon Morris. I’ve recommended it here previously, and quoted from it, too. Today seemed like a good day to recommend it again.
Of course, there are many excellent books out there, many important books; but what sets The Atonement and Knowing God apart from all those other worthwhile books is that I can recommend them to you and know that no matter who you are, you’ll learn something valuable from them (After all, what’s more important than knowing your God and understanding what Christ did for you?), and at the same time, you won’t find it difficult to make your way through them. They aren’t pablum—you’ll need your big kid underpants on—but you won’t need to know the original languages or keep a theological dictionary (or even a regular dictionary) nearby to use as you read. And they’re short enough for those of you who do a page count first and automatically turn down anything over 250 pages. Yep, they represent the best of all worlds: dense, but not difficult, and they don’t drone on.
Leon Morris, of course, is more well-known for his scholarly work The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross. I’ve been told that most of the current issues surrounding the doctrine of the atonement were already dealt with 40 years ago by Leon Morris in that volume. But most of us aren’t going to make it through that one, are we? You wouldn’t be far wrong to consider The Atonement to be a lay person’s version The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross. Especially relevant to recent discussions are the chapters on propitiation and justification.
I got my copy of The Atonement at the Salvation Army Thrift Store for 25 cents; you may have to pay more. Last time I recommended this book they had it at Monergism Books, but it’s no longer there. Amazon, however, does have it.
Since this review was first written, I have added only one book