A. W. Tozer (AD 1897-1963) was somewhat of an obscure pastor on the South side of Chicago until the publication of his book The Pursuit of God in 1948. This book placed him in a clear position of spiritual leadership throughout the evangelical church. Tozer maintained this position for the remainder of his life even while his book became a modern spiritual classic.
As a pastor of prayer and self-study, Tozer became a scholar and a theologian who mastered the English language. For example, in chapter three of The Pursuit of God, he seamlessly weaves the Christian Scriptures, church fathers, ancient creeds, and the Westminster Catechism into his writing. Tozer himself continues to exemplify the benefit of reading old books to inform the many new books he wrote.
C. S. Lewis (AD 1898-1963) first taught at Oxford University and next was Professor of Medieval and Renaissance English Literature at Cambridge University in England. He wrote many famous books such as Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, and the Chronicles of Narnia volumes. In 1943, Lewis wrote an ‘Introduction’ to The Incarnation of the Word of God by St. Athanasius. This same introduction was later published in 1970 as a separate essay in God in the Dock: Essays on Theology and Ethics by the Estate of C. S. Lewis.
The essay “On the Reading of Old Books” is where Lewis begins, “There is a strange idea abroad that in every subject the ancient books should be read only by the professionals, and that the amateur should content himself with the modern books.” He continues, “This mistaken preference for the modern books and this shyness of the old ones is nowhere more rampant than in theology.” Lewis concludes, “It is a good rule, after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between. If that is too much for you, you should at least read one old one to every three new ones.”
Both Tozer the pastor and Lewis the teacher offer us their exemplary insights. Reading older primary sources is better than reading newer secondary sources. For instance, reading the works of Plato and Aristotle is better than reading about Platonism and Aristotelianism. Meanwhile reading Plato and Aristotle helps us to better understand the works of Augustine and Thomas Aquinas. And all of this helps us to better understand the role of philosophy in teaching theology.
~ Boethius ~