What are the Landmarks in My Journey of Thought?

Here, you’ll find a selection of books, blogs, and articles that have been instrumental in molding my worldview and my thoughts on science and Christian faith in particular. The contributions range from my parents (Donald and Peggy Duff), theologians and pastors that have shaped my understanding of scripture to Christian scientists that have applied their Christian faith to their scientific discipline to philosophers and even social scientists.

The contents of this page tell you more about who I am and I hope an invitation to explore the diverse influences that have guided my journey towards a deeper comprehension of the world and my place within it.

NOTE: I expect this page to continue to undergo significant expansion in the weeks ahead.

Theology and Biblical Interpretation

Reformed Dogmatics (Single Volume Edition): A System of Christian Theology by Geerhardus Vos
Understanding Biblical Theology: A Comparison of Theory and Practice by Edward W. Klink III and Darian R. Lockett (2012)
Biblical Theology – Geerhardus Vos (1948)
Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin (1536)
The Pentateuch as Narrative – A Biblical-Theological Narrative by John Sailhamer (1995)
The Meaning of the Pentateuch: Revelation, Composition and Interpretation by John Sailhamer (2009)
The Temple and the Church’s Mission: A Biblical Theology of the Dwelling Place of God by G. K. Beale (2004)
A New Testament Biblical Theology: The Unfolding of the Old Testament in the New by G. K. Beale (2011)
The Erosion of Inerrancy in Evangelicalism: Responding to New Challenges to Biblical Authority by G. K. Beale (2008)

Science and Faith (Mostly Origins Questions)

Books

Reformed Theology and Evolutionary Theory by Gijsbert Van den Brink (2020)
Kingdom Prologue: Genesis Foundations for a Covenantal Worldview by Merideth Kline Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament by John Walton (2006)
The Manifold Beauty of Genesis One: A Multi-Layered Approach by Gregg Davidson and Kenneth Turner (2021)
Genesis 1-4: A linguistic, literary and theological commentary by C. John Collins (2006)
God’s Pattern for Creation: a covenantal reading of Genesis 1 by W. Robert Godfrey (2003)
The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate by John Walton (2009)
Did Adam and Eve Really Exist?: Who They Were and Why You Should Care by C. John Collins (2011)
The Art of Biblical History by V. Philips Long (1994)
Ad Litteram: How Augustine, Calvin and Barth read the ‘plain sense’ of Genesis 1-3 by K. E. Greene-McCreight (1999)
The Creationists: the evolution of scientific creationism by Ronald Numbers (1992)

Scholarly and popular articles

The Garden Temple by G.K. Beale (JETS 2005)
Scandal of the Evangelical Mind: A Biblical and Scientific Critique of Young-Earth Creationism by Bruce Gordon (Science, Religion and Culture, 2014)
Apples, Oranges and Portraits of the ID Movement by Howard Van Till (Science and Christian Belief, 2005)
THE CREATION Intelligently Designed or Optimally Equipped? by Howard Van Till (Theology Today)
Evangelicals, Creation, and Scripture: An Overview by Mark Noll (BioLogos)
Nuts and Bolts of Creation by George Murphy (PSCF 2005)
Reading Genesis by Roy Clouser (PSCF 2016)
Because it had Rained: A Study of Gen 2:5-7 with Implications for Gen 2:4-25 and Gen 1:1-2:3 by Mark Futato (WTJ 1998)

Practical Theology and Christian Apologetics

Christianity and Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen (1923)
Truth Unites – (YouTube) Ministry of Dr. Gavin Ortlund
Gentle Reformation (Blog)
The Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics (Website)
Finding the Right Hills to Die On: The Case for Theological Triage by Gavin Ortlund (2020)
Cultural Identity and the Purposes of God: A Biblical Theology of Ethnicity, Nationality, and Race by Steven M Bryan (2022)
The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind by Mark Noll (1995)
When Is a Fundamentalist a Modernist? J. Gresham Machen, Cultural Modernism, and Conservative Protestantism by D.G. Hart (Journal of the American Academy of Religion 1997)

Eschatology – Semi-optimistic amillennial viewpoint

The Book of Revelation by G. K. Beale (1998)
The Promise of the Future by Cornelis P. Venema (2000) Note: An optomistic amil position but explains and interacts with all positions.
A New Heaven and a New Earth: Reclaiming Biblical Eschatology by J. Richard Middleton (2014)

Most Influential Pastors and Ministries

My Father (Rev. Donald J. Duff)
Alistair Begg (Truth for Life Ministries)
R.C. Sproul (Ligonier Ministries)
The Bible Project (YouTube) and Podcast
Truth Unites – (YT) Ministry of Dr. Gavin Ortlund
Gentle Reformation (Blog)
The Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics (Website)

On the Age of the Earth and Evolution

The Grand Canyon, Monument to an Ancient Earth: Can Noah’s Flood Explain the Grand Canyon? by multiple authors including me (Joel Duff) (2016)
The Bible, Rocks and Time: Geological Evidence for the Age of the Earth by Davis Young and Ralph Stearley (2008)
The GeoChristian (Blog)
Reformed Theology and Evolutionary Theory by Gijsbert Van den Brink (2020)
The Six-Day War in Creationism: A New Critique of the Young Earth Reform Movement and Its Excesses by Gene Nouhan (2024)
God’s Good Earth: The Case for an Unfallen Creation by Jon Garvey (2019)
Peril in Paradise: Theology, Science and the Age of the Earth by Mark S. Whorton (2005) Contrasts the “Perfect Purpose Paradigm” (OEC) vs the “Perfect Paradise Paradigm” (YEC)

Other Important Resources

Generous Justice: How God’s Grace Makes Us Just by Timothy Keller
From Every People and Nation: A Biblical Theology of Race. New Studies in Biblical Theology by Daniel, J. Hays (2003)
Republocrat: Confessions of a Liberal Conservative by Carl Trueman (2010)
The Architect of Authority: Why the Church must Resist the Lure of Coercion by Mike Cosper (Blog 2024)
The Rise of Right-Wing Wokeism: The review of Stephen Wolfe’s The Case for Christian Nationalism, by Kevin DeYoung (TGC 2023)