Back in February, John Starke, at The Gospel Coalition Blog, interviewed Carl Trueman with a few questions about his reading habits: When do you read? What genres do you enjoy? What’s the mixture you aim for of new books and old books? What are you reading right now?

Here’s Dr. Trueman’s answer:

I do not read much theology these days, only what is required to keep abreast of my field, to prepare for sermons, or for book reviews. Most theological matter, even the good, is poorly written; and, if we are honest with ourselves, most of it has been said better before. Therefore, I do not waste too much time on it.

I spend most evenings reading. I prefer the company of books and family over most else. At the moment, I am reading Michael Korda’s Hero: The Life and Legend ofLawrence of Arabia; and, on my Kindle for travelling, I have Steven Englund’s Napoleon: A Political Life. Next in line is Roy Hattersley’s The Great Outsider, his new life of David Lloyd George. I love biography, particularly those of political leaders or intellectuals, though by and large not of Americans. I do not find the sense of the tragic in politics or intellectual life here which I find in Europe. Of course, history in general, and biography in particular, are vital for broadening perspectives, developing skills of critical social, cultural, and psychological analysis, and helping the reader to sympathize with others.

In terms of novelists, I love fiction, especially Thomas Hardy, Joseph Conrad, and Emily Bronte. These authors’ use of language, and their sense of the tragic is powerful. Hardy’s Jude the Obscure is an almost unbearable book to read for its bleakness; yet utterly beautiful and brilliant. On the lighter side, I love Raymond Chandler, and psychological thriller writers like Ruth Rendell, Ian Rankin, and Henning Mankell. Barry Hines’s A Kestrel for a Knave is possibly the most moving book I have ever read; and Flann O’Brien’s The Third Policeman the funniest.

I do not read much poetry, with the exceptions of Shakespeare’s tragedies, Yeats, Blake, and Housman. I also like to read Vergil in the original to keep my Latin sharp. Poetry moves too deeply to be read too often.

I love reading good essayists. Reading good prose is absolutely basic to being able to write the same. Thus, I return again and again to the masters of the genre: George Orwell and William Hazlitt. These men knew the power of prose. Short stories too: Hemingway, for his distinctive, terse way of describing dramatic events; and M. R. James, for his ability to create suspense and fear using only a pen. Both men show how powerful the written word, in the right hands, can be.

I believe it important to read good commentary on current events. I read the quality British press online; check Slate every day; and have paper subscriptions to both The Spectator, the classic British conservative weekly, and Private Eye, the satirical magazine. I do not read American dailies. They annoy me: I want them to be like the newspapers back home; but, for me, there is something indefinable missing.

If you have yet to purchase your ticket for Clarus, you can do so online.

As we look forward to Clarus, now just under a week away, we’re posting the schedule so you can prepare for the weekend ahead.

Note the addition of times for our new Books and Resources Room. Plan now to come early and stay late to browse discounted books and resources for you, your family, and your ministry. We will be joined by 9Marks Ministries, The Biblical Counseling Coalition, Christian Focus Publishers, Matthias Media, New Growth Press, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Westminster Theological Seminary (PA), and White Horse Inn.

Friday, April 29

4:30 PM Books and Resources Room open

6:15 PM – 6:30 PM Singing

6:30 PM – 6:45 PM Welcome and Introduction

6:45 PM – 7:45 PM Session 1 with G. K. Beale
“The Effects of Meditating on God’s Word” – Psalm 1

7:45 PM – 8:00 PM Break/Singing

8:00 PM – 9:00 PM Session 2 with Carl Trueman
“The Prophetic Word: What Preaching Is (and Is Not)”

9:45 PM Books and Resources Room closed

Saturday, April 30

8:00 AM Books and Resources Room open

8:45 AM – 9:00 AM Singing

9:00 AM – 10:15 AM Session 3 with G. K. Beale
“How to Guard the Good Deposit of Scripture” – 2 Timothy 1:10

10:15 AM – 10:30 AM Break/Singing

10:30 AM – 11:30 AM Session 4 with Carl Trueman
“Scripture’s Authority: An Ancient Doctrine”

11:30 AM – 1:30 PM Break for Lunch / Books and Resources Room 0pen

1:30 PM – 3:00 PM Panel Discussion

3:00 PM – 6:00 PM Afternoon Break / Books and Resources Room open

6:00 PM – 6:15 PM Singing

6:15 PM – 7:15 PM Session 5 with G. K. Beale
“The Centrality of Scripture in Marriage”

7:15 PM – 7:30 PM Singing

7:30 PM – 8:30 PM Session 6 with Carl Trueman
“A Clear and Present Word: Luther and the Clarity of Scripture”

9:15 Books and Resources Room closed

Sunday, May 1

9:00 AM – 10:15 AM Corporate Worship with G. K. Beale Preaching
“Receiving and Resounding God’s Word” – 1 Thessalonians 1:6-10

10:45 AM – 12:00 PM Corporate Worship with Carl Trueman Preaching
“Like Sheep without a Shepherd” – Mark 6:30-44

Ryan’s sermon on Good Friday, “An Unlikely Chain of Events,” was taken from Matthew 26 and 27. As Ryan said, if we weren’t already familiar with the twists and turns in these chapters some twenty things would be shocking and strange to us. It’s important for us to see these twists and turns with fresh eyes so that we might rightly marvel at the beauty, glory, power, and victory that lies beneath the surface of these seemingly odd events.

Here are Ryan’s twenty points along with four concluding reflections.

Twenty “oddities” found in Matthew 26 and 27:

1. He prayed to be delivered (Matthew 26:39)
2. His disciples slept while he prayed (Matthew 26:40-45)
3. One of the twelve, Judas, turned him in (Matthew 26:14-16; Matthew 26:47-50)
4. Another, Peter, tried to kill for him (Matthew 26:51-53)
5. Shortly after, Peter disavowed him Three Times (Matthew 26:72-75)
6. All of his disciples fled (Matthew 26:56b; Matthew 26:31)
7. His religious/national leaders wanted him dead (Matthew 27:1)
8. He gave no defense at his trial (Matthew 26:62-63a; Matthew 27:12-14)
9. Pilate’s wife had bad dreams about Jesus (Matthew 27:19)
10. The crowd chose to free a notorious criminal instead (Matthew 27:15-17; Matthew 27:21-23)
11. He was caught in the middle of a political pickle (Matthew 27:20; Matthew 27:24)
12. He couldn’t carry his own cross (Matthew 27:32)
13. He was mocked, humiliated, and beaten (Matthew 27:27-30; Matthew 27:37; Matthew 27:39-40)
14. He was crucified with common criminals (Matthew 27:38; Matthew 27:44)
15. He was forsaken by his Father (Matthew 27:46)
16. Nearing his death the sky went dark (Matthew 27:45)
17. The temple curtain tore in two (Matthew 27:51a)
18. There was an earthquake (Matthew 27:51b)
19. There was a group-resurrection (Matthew 27:52-53)
20. One of his captors believed (Matthew 27:54)

What conclusions can we draw from all this?

1. If you were making up this story to try to start a political movement or a new religion, you wouldn’t include most of these 20 things. Some stories are too strange to not be true!
2. Scripture says that, in all of these seemingly odd events, God was orchestrating affairs to bring Jesus to the cross (Acts 2:22-23).
3. In God’s wisdom, he has chosen to bring power out of weakness and wisdom/salvation out of foolishness (1 Cor 1:21-24).
4. In all these events one thing keeps coming up: no one is passing the test – not the religious establishment, not the governor, not the masses, not even the closest disciples. No one passes the test…except Jesus.

Carl Trueman has a number of videos sprinkled throughout YouTube, many of which are brief 5-10 minute teaching videos on various subjects, including  John Owen, conspiracy theories, or even trivia on historical theology and 70’s rock.

In this video, Dr. Trueman answers questions about Scripture in an interview ahead of a conference at Oak Hill College.

Of all the books in the Bible, the book of Revelation may be the most universally intriguing. Well, our speaker for Clarus, G.K. Beale has written quite a bit on this book of the Bible, including a commentary.

When he was with us previously for Clarus in 2007, Dr. Beale delivered several helpful talks on the subject for that year’s theme, From Symbolism to Significance: The Book of Revelation.

Here are two popular talks from that year’s conference:

• What You Revere, You Resemble
• The Key to Understanding Symbolism

Justin Taylor summarized Dr. Beale’s talk on symbolism this way:

Professor Beale shows that the popular approach—interpret the verses literally unless you’re forced to interpret them symbolically—is actually backward. He argues that if you take Revelation 1:1 literally—especially in light of its OT allusion to the book of Daniel—then you’ll properly interpret the rest of the book symbolically. He goes on to show why the Prophets, Jesus, and John made use of such symbolism.

If you haven’t purchased your tickets yet, you can do so online.