Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

children's literature

The Serpent Slayer and the Scroll of Riddles

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One of my past books is a biblical theology of snakes and dragons.

My latest book builds on that for kids. I team up with Champ Thornton to write an adventure story that targets readers ages 8–12:

Champ Thornton and Andrew David Naselli. The Serpent Slayer and the Scroll of Riddles. The Kambur Chronicles 1. Greensboro, NC: New Growth, 2022.

More info:

That Little Voice in Your Head: Learning about Your Conscience

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A few years ago my friend J. D. Crowley and I wrote a book on the conscience. Our target audience was adults, not children.

Then my daughter Kara, who was eight years old at the time, asked me if I would write a book on the conscience for children. How could I say no to that?

So I attempted to write my first children’s book (which releases this week):

Andrew David Naselli. That Little Voice in Your Head: Learning about Your Conscience. Illustrated by Julie Carter. Fearn, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2018.

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20 Resources on the Protestant Reformation

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2017 is the 500th anniversary of an event that strangely ignited the Protestant Reformation.

If you want to learn more about the Protestant Reformation, consider these helpful resources. I combed through about 800 relevant resources in my Zotero library and selected only twenty—including some picture books and videos.

1. Bainton, Roland H. Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther.

New York: Abingdon-Cokesbury, 1950.

After hearing so many historians recommend this biography as a classic, I finally read it last year. It’s still in print for good reasons.

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15 Accessible Books by Historian Paul Maier

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maierPaul L. Maier (b. 1930) is a Lutheran scholar on the history of Christianity. He is Emeritus Professor of Ancient History at Western Michigan University, where he taught for 53 years (1958–2011). I highly recommend his work. Here are some of his more accessible works.

8 Books on the History of Early Christianity

Pilate

Pontius Pilate: A Novel. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2014. This “documentary novel” depicts the New Testament world in a relatively entertaining way. Reading this genre engages a different part of your brain and encourages you to envision the world of the New Testament more vividly. It makes you think and feel in ways that are virtually impossible by reading only encyclopedia-type summaries of the New Testament’s historical-cultural context. This book is so valuable that I require students to read it for a graduate course I teach called “New Testament Background and Message.” Maier writes from Pontius Pilate’s vantage point, starting with Pilate’s political life in Rome and appointment as prefect in Judea (AD 26) and continuing through the murder of Jesus (which Maier calculates as 33), the death of Tiberius (37), the assassination of Caligula (41), and the beginning of the reign of Claudius (41–54). The overall plot and every proper name in the book are historically accurate, and Maier fills in this factual skeleton with colorful fictional details. He reconstructs many events from the Gospels and Acts from the viewpoint of an educated, unbelieving Roman prefect. [Read more…] about 15 Accessible Books by Historian Paul Maier

The Ology: A New Systematic Theology for Kids

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the_ology_bookThis new systematic theology for kids just released:

Marty Machowski. The Ology: Ancient Truths Ever New.   Illustrated by Andy McGuire. Greensboro, NC: New Growth, 2015. 257 pp. 9-page sample PDF.

You can read 16 endorsements here.

Here’s mine: “This well-illustrated book clearly and logically introduces theology for children.” [Read more…] about The Ology: A New Systematic Theology for Kids