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# Good Hard Theological Reading
- URL: https://www.dashhouse.com/20151028good-hard-theological-reading/
- Published: 2015-10-29T09:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2022-08-15T15:24:56.000Z
- Author: Darryl Dash
- Tags: Blog, Books, #DashHouseCom, #wp

Good hard theological reading makes my sermon preparation go faster. I’ve noticed this for years: two hours spent reading an author like Barth, Forsyth, Edwards or Bonhoeffer on Wednesday saves me hours of sermon preparation on Friday and will produce a deeper, more searching thesis. (David Hansen, [*The Art of Pastoring*](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0830841040/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0830841040&linkCode=as2&tag=dashhouse-20&linkId=6CFAK4KX72DUBIGE&ref=dashhouse.com))

![](https://www.dashhouse.com/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/151029.jpg)

In recent years I’ve launched two ambitious reading projects. One year I read Calvin’s [*Institutes*](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1598561685/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1598561685&linkCode=as2&tag=dashhouse-20&linkId=HRMF2JQG62CBTXHF&ref=dashhouse.com), all 1059 pages, or just three pages a day. Another year I read three volumes of John Frame: [*The Doctrine of the Knowledge of God*](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0875522629/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0875522629&linkCode=as2&tag=dashhouse-20&linkId=2V5PUM5ZLUAG622F&ref=dashhouse.com), [*The Doctrine of God*](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0875522637/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0875522637&linkCode=as2&tag=dashhouse-20&linkId=ZPTZ3UXQPGGPWJXF&ref=dashhouse.com), and [*The Doctrine of the Christian Life*](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0875527965/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0875527965&linkCode=as2&tag=dashhouse-20&linkId=ADPT3U7SBQB76DUF&ref=dashhouse.com), for 2456 pages, or 7 pages a day.

It’s time to pick another book. I can’t decide between Frame’s *[Systematic Theology](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1596382171/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1596382171&linkCode=as2&tag=dashhouse-20&linkId=TIKTLAC565HJGPJO&ref=dashhouse.com)*, his [*History of Western Philosophy and Theology*](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/162995084X/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=162995084X&linkCode=as2&tag=dashhouse-20&linkId=HST3RTJ34RIZ7ZJH&ref=dashhouse.com), or [*The King and His Beauty*](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0801039398/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0801039398&linkCode=as2&tag=dashhouse-20&linkId=2A2DUCVBHBLXD7XW&ref=dashhouse.com) by Thomas Schreiner. There are all kinds of other options, and I’d love to hear your suggestions.

Theology books are sometimes more practical than the practical books. It’s worth taking a year, reading a few pages at a time, and enjoying the larger tomes. I can’t wait to get started on this again.

![Good Hard Theological Reading](https://www.dashhouse.com/content/images/v7/dashhouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/151029.jpg)