Bio, Books, and Such: Carl Trueman

During the summer I’ll be posting micro interviews on Fridays (mostly). I’ve asked some of my friends in ministry–friends you probably already know–to answer questions about “bio, books, and such.” My hope is that you’ll enjoy getting a few more facts about these folks and getting a few good book recommendations.

Today’s interview is with Carl Trueman, the Paul Woolley Professor of Church History at Westminster Theological Seminary and Pastor at Cornerstone Presbyterian Church.

1. Where were you born? Dudley, United Kingdom

2. When did you become a Christian? Aged 17

3. Who is one well known pastor/author/leader who has shaped you as a Christian and teacher? J.I. Packer

4. Who is one lesser known pastor/friend/mentor who has shaped you? Iver Martin, now Minister of the Free Church of Scotland in Stornoway, with whom I served on session when he was minister of Bon Accord Free Church of Scotland, Aberdeen.

5. What’s one hymn you want sung at your funeral? A Debtor to Mercy Alone

6. What kind of nonfiction do you enjoy reading when you aren’t reading about theology, the Bible, or church history? Essays (Hazlitt, Orwell and Epstein are particular favourites)

7. Other than Calvin’s Institutes, what systematic theology have you found most helpful? Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics

8. What are one or two of your favorite fiction authors or fiction books? Ian Rankin, the Rebus series of novels. Thomas Hardy.

9. What is one of your favorite non-Christian biographies? Simon Sebag Montefiore, two volumes on Stalin (The Young Stalin; Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar)

10. What is one of your favorite books on preaching? P T Forsyth, Positive Preaching and the Modern Mind

11. What is one of your favorite books on evangelism? J I Packer, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God

12. What is one of your favorite books on apologetics? Blaise Pascal, Pensees

13. What is one of your favorite books on prayer? The Valley of Vision

14. What is one of your favorite books on marriage? Christopher Ash, Marriage: Sex in the Service of God

15. What is one of your favorite books on parenting? Never read one but seem to have done OK, all things considered! Probably because of my wife’s wisdom on such matters.

16. What music do you keep coming back to on your iPhone (or CD player, or tape deck, or gramophone)? Classic rock: Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Rush, The Rolling Stones, Mark Knopfler, The Kinks. Etc etc.

17. Favorite food? Indian, the hotter the better.

18. After the Bible, a hymnal, and a shipbuilding guide, what book would you want with you on a desert island? Thomas Hardy, Jude the Obscure.