I happen to know two people who have read the complete written works of D.A. Carson—at least everything that is publicly available. This takes some dedication, considering that Carson’s bibliography [2] includes 62 books, 257 articles and 115 reviews.
I recently interviewed the two of them, trusting that they would be able to give us an introduction to Carson’s works and help bridge the rest of us into the ones that are most important and most accessible. Andy Naselli [3] is a former student of Dr. Carson’s who lives in South Carolina and now serves as Dr. Carson’s Research Manager. John Bell lives in Toronto, Ontario and is pastor of New City Baptist Church [4].
Andy: He has helped me love God and my neighbor better by understanding his Word better. His example motivates me to consecrate my life to God by using the theological disciplines as a good steward of God’s manifold grace (1 Pet 4:10).
John:
Andy: Keeping the main thing (i.e., the gospel) the main thing. That’s the most prominent focus of his ministry.
John: I see Carson’s most important contribution to contemporary evangelicalism in his equipping pastors and teachers to expound the scriptures biblically. He has done this through a variety of means: commentaries, books, articles, book reviews, conferences, online sermons and lectures, and through the many students he has personally taught all over the world.
His studies on the nature of scripture are also an invaluable contribution to contemporary evangelicalism. Books such as Hermeneutics, Authority and Canon [6] (editor); Scripture and Truth [7] (editor); Collected Writings on Scripture [8]; and the forthcoming two volume The Scripture Project: The Bible and Biblical Authority in the New Millennium (editor).
Andy:
John:
Andy:
John:
Andy:
John:
All of his sermons/lectures posted on his page [27] at the Gospel Coalition website.
Download all his PDF’s articles and book reviews [28] to your tablet and read them in GoodReader [29]. These articles are a treasure trove, and they’re all free!
The God Who Is There video series. It can be downloaded for free [30] at the Gospel Coalition website.
Andy: A brilliant scholar who served Christ and his church by faithfully extolling and guarding the gospel.
John: Primarily, I believe it will be through his influence on pastors, particularly in the area of biblical expository preaching. Don Carson equips pastors for their preaching ministry like no one other teacher. Pastors who read Carson and who listen to his sermons and lectures will be more faithful preachers for it. Those pastors will be preaching expositional sermons to their flocks from the perspective of the christological, salvation-historical unity of the bible’s storyline, and the inspired text they exposit before God’s people will be the authoritative, inerrant, culture transcending, True word of God. And that pastor’s high view of scripture, and the way he faithfully faithfully preaches the biblical text, will be passed on to the next generation … and they’ll pass it on to the next.
Andy: “Mystery and Fulfillment: Toward a More Comprehensive Paradigm of Paul’s Understanding of the Old and New.” Pages 393-436 in The Paradoxes of Paul [31]. Vol. 2 of Justification and Variegated Nomism. Edited by D. A. Carson, Peter T. O’Brien, and Mark A. Seifrid. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 181. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2004. Understanding this article has helped me make connections between the OT and NT more richly. I outline it here [32].
John:
Here are a couple of other resources that may interest you: Andy offers some words of explanation [28] about the bibliography; he also writes about Carson’s theological method [34].
Links:
[1] http://www.challies.com/interviews/the-essential-da-carson#disqus_thread
[2] http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/index.php?/resources/name-index/a/da_carson#Bibliography
[3] http://andynaselli.com/
[4] http://newcitybaptist.ca/
[5] http://www.newcitybaptist.ca/
[6] http://www.amazon.com/Hermeneutics-Authority-Canon-D-Carson/dp/1597521183/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=dietofbookwor-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1598564692
[7] http://www.amazon.com/Scripture-Truth-D-A-Carson/dp/0801025702/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=dietofbookwor-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1598564692
[8] http://www.amazon.com/Collected-Writings-Scripture-D-Carson/dp/1433514419/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=dietofbookwor-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1598564692
[9] http://www.amazon.com/The-God-Who-Is-There/dp/0801013720/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=dietofbookwor-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1598564692
[10] http://www.amazon.com/For-Love-God-Companion-Discovering/dp/1581348150/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=dietofbookwor-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1598564692
[11] http://www.amazon.com/For-Love-God-Companion-Discovering/dp/1581341180/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=dietofbookwor-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1598564692
[12] http://www.amazon.com/How-Long-Lord-Reflections-Suffering/dp/0801031257/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=dietofbookwor-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1598564692
[13] http://www.amazon.com/The-Difficult-Doctrine-Love-God/dp/1581341261/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=dietofbookwor-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1598564692
[14] http://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Sermon-Mount-Confrontation-World/dp/0801065313/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=dietofbookwor-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1598564692
[15] http://www.amazon.com/Love-Hard-Places-D-Carson/dp/1581344252/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=dietofbookwor-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1598564692
[16] http://www.amazon.com/Cross-Christian-Ministry-The-Corinthians/dp/0801091683/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=dietofbookwor-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1598564692
[17] http://www.amazon.com/Memoirs-Ordinary-Pastor-Reflections-Carson/dp/1433501996/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=dietofbookwor-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1598564692
[18] http://www.amazon.com/Call-Spiritual-Reformation-Priorities-Prayers/dp/0801025699/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=dietofbookwor-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1598564692
[19] http://www.amazon.com/Letters-Along-Way-Novel-Christian/dp/0891076735/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=dietofbookwor-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1598564692
[20] http://www.amazon.com/Gospel-according-Pillar-Testament-Commentary/dp/0802836836/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=dietofbookwor-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1598564692
[21] http://www.amazon.com/Matthew-Mark-Expositors-Bible-Commentary/dp/0310268923/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=dietofbookwor-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1598564692
[22] http://www.amazon.com/Exegetical-Fallacies-D-A-Carson/dp/0801020867/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=dietofbookwor-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1598564692
[23] http://thegospelcoalition.org/thegodwhoisthere
[24] http://s3.amazonaws.com/tgc-documents/carson/1994_approaching_the_Bible.pdf
[25] http://www.amazon.com/New-Bible-Commentary-Gordon-Wenham/dp/0830814426/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=dietofbookwor-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1598564692
[26] http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/index.php?/resources/name-index/a/da_carson#ByTopicTab
[27] http://thegospelcoalition.org/resources/name-index/a/DA_Carson/category/sermons
[28] http://andynaselli.com/d-a-carson-publications
[29] http://www.goodreader.net/goodreader.html
[30] http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2010/12/01/download-audio-video-for-carsons-the-god-who-is-there/
[31] http://www.amazon.com/Justification-Variegated-Nomism-Paradoxes-Paul/dp/0801027411/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=dietofbookwor-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1598564692
[32] http://andynaselli.com/carson-mystery-and-fulfillment
[33] http://s3.amazonaws.com/tgc-documents/carson/1982_Gundry_on_Matt.pdf
[34] http://andynaselli.com/carson
[35] http://www.challies.com/print/5873
[36] http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.challies.com%2Finterviews%2Fthe-essential-da-carson&t=The+Essential+D.A.+Carson
[37] http://twitter.com/home?status=Currently+reading+www.is.gd%2FCat5l0
[38] http://delicious.com/save?v=5&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.challies.com%2Finterviews%2Fthe-essential-da-carson&title=The+Essential+D.A.+Carson
[39] http://www.challies.com/feed
[40] http://www.challies.com/printmail/5873