5 Books That Changed My Life: Ben Shaw

Posted On November 14, 2023

Books can play a significant role in shaping who we are and how we view the world. We recently asked Dr. Ben Shaw, our professor of Old Testament, to share five books that have been formative in shaping his life and ministry.

1. C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

When I was a very new Christian with no theological background, Mere Christianity helped me to make sense of the faith I had stepped into.

2. Augustine, City of God

I read City of God devotionally during my first year in seminary, and I was overwhelmed by Augustine’s breadth of knowledge and the profundity of his vision. I have reread the book several times over the years and find more there each time.

3. John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion

As with City of God, I read this devotionally in seminary and reread it every couple of years. I find new things each time I read it.

4. William Binnie, A Pathway into the Psalter

This is not a commentary but an introduction and theology of the book of Psalms. Binnie was a nineteenth-century Scottish Presbyterian. I reread this regularly. With all that has been published on the Psalms since then, I still find A Pathway into the Psalter immensely valuable.

5. Samuel Terrien, The Elusive Presence

This biblical theology is written by a critical scholar who taught at Union Seminary in New York. What haunts me about The Elusive Presence is the way that Terrien reminds the reader that God is still a mystery to us. As Reformed Christians, we like to think that we have everything nailed down. But there is more to our infinite God than we can comprehend.