One of the books I wanted to read this summer is The Marrow of Modern Divinity, by Edward Fisher. It is an old book, written in the mid-17th Century. It was written to combat both Antinomianism (the denial of the place of the Law in the Christian life) and Neonomianism (which seeks to make the Gospel itself into a sort of law). It sparked a great debate known as the Marrow Controversy. There have been quite a few dust ups in recent years relating to these subjects, so I thought it would do me well to brush up on not only the doctrines involved, but also the history of the debate. But I say all of this as an aside.
I bought a Kindle a while back specifically for the purpose of reading old books like this one. I was aware that a number of classic Christian books (which are in the public domain) are available for free in Kindle’s .mobi format. With this being the case, I began searching to find a free Kindle version of The Marrow; and, indeed, I was able find it. But that’s not all I found.
I am not a huge fan of electronic readers, but I am regularly amazed at the books I am able to find for free. First, I found The Marrow on monergism.com (a great website, by the way). If you own a Kindle, I would encourage you to check out the free books they offer HERE (Marrow is on page 5). Among the free books are two of my all-time favorites, Personal Declension and the Revival of Religion in the Soul, by Octavius Winslow, and The Sinfulness of Sin, by Ralph Venning (both on page 1). They have works ranging the rolling centuries from Augustine of Hippo to Jonathan Edwards to John Piper. All you have to do is download the file, hook your Kindle up to your computer, and transfer the file to your Kindle folder. You will not go wrong with anything you download there.
In addition to the books at Monergism, I also came across The Puritan Library (HERE). Among the great treasures offered there (for free) are 25 volumes (out of 28 I believe) of the collected works of John Owen. I took an elective class on Owen a few years ago, and we received the deal of the century by being offered the real set for about $350 (and that doesn’t include the Hebrews commentary, which someone actually gave to me). In addition to that, they have the Works of Thomas Brooks (which were also given to me by a loving church member), quite a few books by Thomas Watson, and many others.
So, in short, if you have a Kindle or some other sort of eReader, I would encourage you to check out these sites. Between Amazon and sites like these, the great theological works of the centuries are virtually at our finger tips free of charge.
