Two Theological Classics You May Not Know

From Tabletalk interviews with Jerry Bridges and Anthony Carter:

Tabletalk: Aside from the Bible, do you have a favorite Christian classic? What is it about this book you admire?

Jerry Bridges: My all-time favorite Christian book is the Apostles' Doctrine of the Atonement by nineteenth-century Scottish theologian George Smeaton. It has two strengths. First, it is thorough in the sense that Smeaton treats every passage on the atonement from Acts through Revelation. But for me, the real strength of the book and that which makes it my favorite is his continual emphasis on the believer's union with Christ, both representatively and organically. But it is his emphasis on the representative nature of our union with Christ (that Christ both lived a perfect life and died on the cross in our place) that gets me so excited.

Tabletalk: If you could study under any theologian in church history (excluding those in Scripture), who would it be and why?

Anthony Carter: . . . I would be most excited to study under Wilhelmus à Brakel (1635-1711). Admittedly, most would not be familiar with à Brakel and his theological magnum opus The Christian's Reasonable Service, but I have never been so moved by theological reflection as I am with à Brakel. à Brakel seemingly had the unique ability to take heady theological reflection and not just make it pastoral, but even emotion-stirring. Coming from the rich Dutch Reformed tradition, his biblical theological reflections are keen, but he never just settles for keenness. His goal seems to be experiential — a rich, Reformed, experiential Christianity. That's what I pray to have. Having spent countless hours poring over à Brakel, I feel in some sense that I have studied under him. However, what a joy it would have been to be an eyewitness to the effect his theological insights had on his heart and the hearts of those to whom he was called to minister.