Recommended books (* = highly recommended)
*	The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha (NRSV), 3rd ed. (NB: table of contents, introductions, essays, tables, glossary, maps—all are very helpful) You may use another Bible, if you wish, but the New Oxford Annotated Bible (NOAB) will be the common text for class assignments and discussions. In all cases, you are encouraged to use other English translations (e.g., NIV) and Bibles in other languages in addition to the NRSV. The Tanakh is especially recommended for comparison of Old Testament passages.
*	Achtemeier, Paul. Inspiration and Authority: Nature and Function of Christian Scripture. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 1999.
	Allen, Diogenes. Christian Belief in a Postmodern World: The Full Wealth of Conviction. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1992.
	_______. Philosophy for Understanding Theology. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1985.
	_______. Primary Readings in Philosophy for Understanding Theology. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1992.
	Armstrong, Karen. A History of God. New York: Ballantine Books, 1993. [comparative history of the three major monotheistic faiths: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam]
*	Brown, Raymond E. Biblical Exegesis and Church Doctrine. Wipf & Stock, 2002.
*	_______. Responses to 101 Questions on the Bible. New York: Paulist Press,1990.
*	Bultmann, Rudolf. Jesus Christ and Mythology. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996.
	Ehrman, Bart D. The New Testament and Other Early Christian Writings. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
*	Kerr, Hugh T. The Simple Gospel. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1991.
	Lane, Tony. Harper's Concise Book of Christian Faith. San Francisco: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1984.
*	Lewis, C. S. The Problem of Pain. San Francisco: HarperOne, 1996.
*	McGrath, Alister. Christian Theology: An Introduction. Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 2010.
*	_______. Historical Theology: An Introduction to the History of Christian Thought. Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 2012.
*	_______. Theology: The Basics. Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 2011.
*	Pelikan, Jaroslav. The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine. 5 vols. Chicago: Chicago University, 1989.
	_______. Jesus through the Centuries: His Place in the History of Culture. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1985.
	Robinson, James M. A New Quest of the Historical Jesus. London: SCM Press, 1959.
	Segal, Alan F. Rebecca's Children: Judaism and Christianity in the Roman World. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1986.
*	Strunk, William, Jr., and E. B. White. The Elements of Style. New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1979. (See my Resources page under Miscellaneous for the first edition of Strunk.)