Apologetic For Classical Calvinism
Divine Election, by G. C. Berkouwer (Eerdmans, 1960, 336 pp., $4.50), is reviewed by William Childs Robinson, Professor of Historical Theology, Columbia Theological Seminary.
The distinguished theologian from Amsterdam ably expounds and defends the doctrine of Divine Election set forth in classical Calvinism. His touchstone is ever the limit of God’s Word. He begins his apologetic with the revelation in Jesus Christ, not with the hidden counsels of God.
Again and again in the course of this treatment, he delivers Calvinism from the hands of those who would modify the Reformed faith to suit their own preconceptions. The second chapter differs from those who, professing Calvin, are echoing Faustus’ semi-Pelagian scheme: the preaching of the Gospel, decision for Christ, then the Holy Spirit. Instead Berkouwer draws from John 6:37–45 the following: “To hear, to learn, to be drawn, to be given, and then to come.” This is the evangelical order.
For the brethren who in their zeal for logical consistency insist on an equal ultimacy of election and reprobation, Berkouwer holds that this goes beyond Scripture and counter to the Canons of Dort in their assertion that the two are not eodem modo. While salvation is founded solely on God’s mercy in Christ, the cause and matter, the real source and ground of men’s condemnation is in themselves (see Institutes III. xxiii. pp. 8–9). Again, “two persons hear; one despises, the other ascends. Let him who despises impute it to himself; let him who ascends not arrogate it unto himself,” but recognize that faith is given us by the Spirit (Institutes III. ii. p. 35; cf. John 3:3–21).
But the neo-orthodox are perhaps the hardest on Calvin. They insist on ascribing to him a view of God as arbitrary power. According to P. Maury, Predestination (p. 35), in Calvin the liberty with which God loves “is replaced by the arbitrary decision of pure omnipotence.” But Calvin actually said the opposite of this, namely, “the notion of the absolute and arbitrary power of God is profane and deserves our detestation” (Institutes III. xxiii. p. 2; cf. I. xvii. p. 2).
Dr. J. K. S. Reid in The Scottish Journal of Theology (I. p. 12) is another offender. He takes these Latin words gratiam istam Dei praecedit electio out of their context in Institutes III. xxii. i, and uses them to ascribe to Calvin a view directly opposite of that which Calvin sets forth in that very section as well as elsewhere in the Institutes and the commentaries. Calvin does not teach that election precedes grace as Reid erroneously asserts. Rather he says that, “If election precede that grace of God by which we are made fit to obtain the glory of eternal life what then can God Himself find in us by which He is moved to elect us?” This is a rhetorical question in a conditional sentence. The sense thereof is that if election preceded grace, then there could be no election. Here, as in the sentences preceding this one in the same paragraph, the Father must turn his view upon Christ to choose those whom he would admit to his fellowship.
For Calvin, Jesus Christ as God “represents himself as the author of election” (Institutes III. xxii. p. 7), even as Calvin prays that “we may be led to Christ only as the fountain of election” (a prayer made in connection with Calvin’s exposition of Malachi 1:2). For the Geneva Reformer, “it is beyond all controversy, that no man is loved by God but in Christ; he is the beloved Son in whom the love of the Father perpetually rests, and then diffuses itself to us; so that we are accepted in the Beloved” (Institutes III. ii. p. 32; III. xxiv. p. 5; ii. xvi. p. 4; Commentaries on Ephesians 1; on 1 Peter 1, on 2 Timothy 1:9–10, and Calvin Tracts, containing Treatises on the Sacraments, Edinburgh, II. p. 133).
Dr. Berkouwer’s great work is a challenge to those who profess the Reformed faith to understand their own heritage before they undertake to revise it. It is also a challenge to those who differ from this tradition to read about it from the pen of a master before they impugn it.
WILLIAM CHILDS ROBINSON
Early Views Of Christ
The Christ of the Earliest Christians, by William M. Ramsey (John Knox Press, 1959, 163 pp., $3), is reviewed by C. Edward Gammon, Minister of Fairlington Presbyterian Church, Alexandria, Virginia.
Much of the material in this book has been circulated in scholarly New Testament journals representing several schools of interpretation. Dr. Ramsey has contributed a valuable synthesis of the best contributions of each to our understanding of the earliest Christians and the vocabulary of their faith in Christ. His use of the material in the book of Acts as an outline adds immeasurably to the value of his book.
James S. Stewart notes in the foreword that the book is “the substance of an academic dissertation … in a shorter and more popular form.” Dr. Ramsey is capable of rich, exciting language, “Jesus is transcendent, terrible toward sin, worthy of the uncompromising trust and loyalty He demands …” (p. 46). However, much of this first book still has the stiff, occasionally tedious, syntax of a thesis. A valuable aid for pastor and layman alike.
C. EDWARD GAMMON
World Religions
Modern Trends in World Religions, edited by Joseph M. Kitagawa (The Open Court Publishing Co., 1959, 286 pp., $3.50), is reviewed by Harold Lindsell, Professor of Missions, Fuller Theological Seminary.
This is a symposium dedicated to the memory of Paul Carus, pioneer in interreligious understanding. The essays include Christianity, Judaism, Mohammedanism, Indian religion, and forms of Buddhism. Nothing is included on Shintoism, Sikhism, Jainism, and Zoroastrianism. Some of the essays are uneven in quality and scope while others are gems of analysis within the compass of the pages allowed. There is much with which one would be in agreement and much with which one would take issue. Rivkin in his essay on Judaism makes this statement: “The development of Judaism underwrites only one generalization: no doctrine, however divine its claim, can persist intact in a world of change, development and novelty.” However, the Old Testament proclaims the fact that God is and this doctrine has persisted and is still intact. The chapter on modern trends in Christianity is worthwhile.
HAROLD LINDSELL
A Neglected Doctrine
The Witness of the Holy Spirit, by Bernard Ramm (Eerdmans, 1960, 140 pp., $3), is reviewed by Boyd Hunt, Professor of Systematic Theology, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Bernard Ramm, professor of systematic theology at California Baptist Theological Seminary, has already distinguished himself by his writings in the area of conservative apologetics and theology. This latest volume from his pen is marked by the same qualities of relevance, forthrightness, and insight by which his writings have come to be known so widely.
The Witness of the Holy Spirit is subtitled, “An Essay on the Contemporary Relevance of the Testimonium Spiritus Sancti Internum.” The book was written because of Ramm’s conviction that the doctrine of the testimonium has been sorely neglected in current discussions of revelation and authority.
In the first three chapters Ramm treats the historical roots of the testimonium, its theological presuppositions, and its scriptural foundations. The lengthy fourth chapter, the heart of the volume, discusses the theological implications of the doctrine. Here the author treats a series of topics developing the Reformation themes of the union of Word and Spirit and the subordination of church to Word. In a final chapter the interpretations of the testimonium by Rome, liberalism, fundamentalism, Kierkegaard, and Pascal are evaluated.
Broadly speaking Ramm understands the testimonium as the inward and subjective illumination by the Holy Spirit of objective revelation, which for us is inscripturated. Since the Scriptures arc autopistic, the testimonium is merely the means by which the believer is assured of the divinity of the Bible. The testimonium is not the ground of the authority of the Bible. Furthermore, the believer’s certainty of the divinity of Scripture cannot be separated from his certainty of his divine adoption. If these two are divorced, then the form of Scripture is severed from its content, and revelation is severed from salvation. The believer’s certainty through the testimonium is the certainty not of discursive reasoning but of intuition. The testimonium is not the impartation of theological sentences. Its structure cannot be deciphered from the religious consciousness.
This position is distinguished from the Roman Catholic doctrine that it is the church, “the teaching Magisterium,” that confers Christian certainty. In the Roman view the church as persuader remains outside and at a distance from the believer, while in the testimonium the divine barrister, the Holy Spirit as persuader, is in the heart. Ramm also distinguishes his interpretation from fundamentalism. The fundamentalist forgets the instrumental character of Scripture and makes the written Word by itself equal to the Word and the Spirit. Ramm sees this as but little short of a completely ex opere operato doctrine of the printed word.
The author fails to distinguish his own position from neo-orthodoxy. In a passing sentence he complains that the neo-orthodox doctrine of the inspiration “does not render Scripture suitable for use as the instrument of the Spirit,” but he does not amplify his statement. This failure to come to grips with the neo-orthodox doctrine of revelation is a disappointing feature of the book. It is well to remember, however, that the doctrine of the relation of Spirit to spirit is one of the least developed areas of neo-orthodox theology.
This book is an invaluable study and will stimulate fresh interest in a timely and basic topic.
BOYD HUNT
Thought Provoking
Challenge and Response, by Max Warren (Morehouse-Barlow Company, 1959, 148 pp., $2.50), is reviewed by Horace L. Fenton, Jr., Associate Director, Latin America Mission.
The basic test of any book on Missions is whether it stimulates thought and action. This book should do both.
Evangelicals will not agree with everything that Canon Warren writes in these chapters. The author, in stressing the fact that God has not left any nation without a witness, seems to go far beyond this basic scriptural principle in his insistence that the religions of the world are a part of that witness, and that therefore the missionary, while stressing the finality of the Christian faith, must be prepared to find traces of God’s revelation in all these other faiths. In doing so, he seems to give little place to the demonic element in the religions of men, or to the delusion which Romans chapter one says has overtaken nations who have rejected the divine revelation.
Nevertheless, there is in a number of these chapters a great deal that evangelicals ought to ponder and think through. Canon Warren’s analysis of the current situation in Asia and Africa is fresh, thought-provoking, and solidly based on his own visits to these fields. His concept of what is involved in evangelism today is replete with helpful insights. The chapter on “Re-minting of the Word ‘Missionary’ ” should be studied, not only by those who are now talking in terms of “fraternal workers” (a title which Warren rejects), but by all of us who are concerned about the missionary task of the Church. Canon Warren writes well, and his message merits careful attention.
HORACE L. FENTON, JR.
Meaning Of History
The Christian Doctrine of History, by John McIntyre (Eerdmans, 1957, 118 pp., $2.50) and The Hinge of History, by Carl Michalson (Scribner’s, 1959, 256 pp., $3.95), are reviewed by W. Stanford Reid, Professor of History, McGill University, Montreal.
In line with the present desperate search of men for meaning in history, we have here two more works dealing with this problem. Neither claims to provide a full-orbed explanation of history but points rather to a criterion of explanation, in both cases Jesus Christ. To the writers He is central for the understanding of man’s historical situation. One might almost say that Christ is the hard core of history.
However, when one has said this, he must necessarily qualify his statement, for there is by no means entire agreement as to what is meant by Christ or history. McIntyre seems to accept the “historicity” of Christ in the usual sense of the term. Michalson, on the other hand, follows the approach of Rudolf Bultmann, and after finishing his chapters on “The Historicity of Christ” and “The Reality of the Resurrection,” this reviewer is still not sure what he thinks of Christ, nor is he by any means certain that it makes any difference to Michalson whether Christ actually died and rose again in what might be termed “temporal” history.
Along with this difference between the two authors goes another. Michalson, following the demythologizing techniques of Bultmann tends to make a radical separation between “eschatological history” (Heilsgeschichte) and “existential history” (temporal history). In his discussion of both he has many reasonable things to say, but when one puts his whole pattern of thought together one feels that Christ’s connection with the history of man is really very tenuous.
McIntyre, on the other hand, less philosophical and more theological is also more concrete. His exposition of Christ’s position as the nexus of history gives life to historical thought. His chapter on Christ as the fulfillment of history is particularly helpful as is his discussion of the relation of history to Heilsgeschichte in his last chapter.
Both books are useful—Michalson’s as an exposition of the existential point of view set forth by Bultmann, and McIntyre’s as a more theological and more “orthodox” interpretation of the meaning of history.
W. STANFORD REID
A Biblical Ministry
The Growing Minister, by Andrew W. Blackwood (Abingdon, 1960, 192 pp., $3), is reviewed by Robert Boyd Munger, Minister of First Presbyterian Church, Berkeley, California.
It is inevitable that the author who has given us so many choice volumes on the message and method of the ministry should now give attention to the minister himself. The book warrants careful attention not because of its profundity or originality but for the clarity with which it calls the servant of Christ to biblical patterns and provisions. Great themes are sounded in a grand setting—themes which we are in danger of overlooking in this superficial culture where men in pulpits are tempted to get their cue from “do-it-yourself” handbooks and manuals on “Psychology for the Simple.”
Perhaps this book will not be greeted with enthusiasm among some seminarians because its thrust is to the center of one’s being rather than to the “cortex,” to the whole man rather than to the intellect. Yet, if God were to give us a generation of ministers who walked in these ways, we would witness wonders in the church of God.
After outlining the ideals of the ministry and the influence that is exercised by godly personalities, the author directs our attention in Part One to the means of growth. The very chapter titles are both an indictment and an encouragement to the modern churchman. Here are a few of them: “Devotional Reading”; “Intercessory Prayer”; “Intellectual Labor”; “Fatherly Discipline”; “Personal Contact”—holy listening, praying, thinking, living, conversing.
In Part Two obstacles to growth are surveyed and ways of meeting them considered. For example, the other-directed preacher to the lonely crowd is charged to beware of pastoral cowardice, to have the courage “to be different,” “to decline,” or “to delegate.” Final confidence is to be placed in God.
The general orientation of the book tends to face backward instead of outward. For example, illustrative material is drawn heavily from Christ’s servants of the past century rather than from contemporary pulpiteers. It must be acknowledged that there is some reason for this: in former days ministers had power with God and with man. If the ministry of today seems oversimplified in this book-pastoral and peaceful rather than industrial and intense—the author nonetheless brings into clear view the towering summits of exalted ideals that rest on eternal truths.
ROBERT BOYD MUNGER
Social Uncertainty
Outside the Camp, by Charles C. West (Doubleday, 1959, 162 pp., $3), is reviewed by C. Gregg Singer, Professor of History, Catawba College.
In this book we are brought face to face with the tension existing between Christianity and the world of the mid-twentieth century. The author is well qualified to describe this as he finds it in many parts of the world. He has served as a missionary in China, as a faculty member of a Chinese university, and at the present time he is the assistant director of the Ecumenical Institute of the World Council of Churches in Switzerland. The immediate inspiration for this book came to the author while in a deserted Buddhist temple with other members of the university faculty, awaiting the advancing Communist army. He took stock not only of himself but of the civilizations on trial. In this book he presents the results of such reflections which constitute a challenging and searching analysis of the present dilemma confronting not only the West but much of the East as well. It is his conviction (and the reviewer shares it) that contemporary man is struggling with social changes that have uprooted his past and threaten his present existence, and that he is looking for a new frame of reference and new source of values to give meaning to life in a world of shattered idols. Rich and comfortable America, with its almost unquestioning trust in the permanence of the American way of life and the infallibility of the democratic philosophy, is not immune to the collapse of its own particular idols. Security in this world, for the American as well as for the European, the Asian, and the African, is an illusion.
In the midst of this revolutionary insecurity of our day, Dr. West poses two basic questions: What is God doing, and what is the role of the Church in this age? Unfortunately he is not at his best when attempting to answer these profoundly important questions. He agrees that the Church must at all times preach the gospel message of salvation and that God is confronting the world in Jesus Christ. He pays tribute to what Billy Graham and other evangelists are doing to spread this message, but he also feels that their approach has some basic weaknesses. It is the opinion of this reviewer that his criticisms of evangelistic efforts stem from Dr. West’s failure to comprehend the biblical view of sin, and that he is not so much concerned with the eternal redemption of the souls of men as he is with what Christianity can do to meet the human dilemma here and now. Evangelicals will also be disappointed with his definition of the Church. He seems to deny that she is essentially the fellowship of the redeemed ones, of those who have put their trust in Jesus Christ, and regards her as a vehicle of God’s revelation to mankind (pp. 131–132). The careful reader will soon come to the conclusion that these weaknesses have their origin in a more serious defect—the failure to accept the Scriptures as the infallible rule of faith and practice, and a willingness to regard sections of the Old Testament as being myth. It seems to this reviewer that Dr. West brings to the Church that very uncertainty which holds within its grip the secular age of the twentieth century. However, there is much insight in this short work that is of great value, and evangelicals will be the more thoughtful for having read it.
C. GREGG SINGER
Beliefs Are Basic
Beliefs Have Consequences, by Arnold H. Lowe (T. Y. Crowell Co., 1959, 178 pp., $3), is reviewed by Robert Strong, Minister of Trinity Presbyterian Church, Montgomery, Alabama.
This is a collection of 21 brief inspirational talks given to his congregation by the pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church, Minneapolis. The book takes its title from the first essay in the series.
The author’s theological liberalism often does not intrude upon the reader’s notice, for the constant emphasis is on how to deal with the practical problems of life. Dr. Lowe speaks, however, of the temptation and fall of our first parents in terms of the “legendary days of man on earth” and confidently adds, “of course, all this is a religious parable.” He says, “I believe in Christ. I believe him to be more than man,” and then stops there without committing himself on the central issue of the person of Christ. The doctrine of Atonement is never mentioned nor is the new birth.
Here is a preacher with a marked gift for describing modern man in his troubles of mind and heart. He is convinced that it matters supremely what a man believes, and is splendidly firm on the idea that out of convictions come actions. He is also thoroughly familiar with the materials of Scripture. One wishes that beyond the stabbing of consciences and the inspirational appeal, Dr. Lowe had majored in the great evangelical doctrines. These are the beliefs with consequences of true blessing.
ROBERT STRONG
Racial Unity
No Flesh Shall Glory, by C. Herbert Oliver (Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., 1959, 96 pp., $2.50), is reviewed by T. B. Maston, Professor of Christian Ethics, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
This is another book in the growing number on race and race relations. The author is a Southern-born Negro who is now a Presbyterian pastor in Maine.
The title for the first chapter, “The Unity of the Human Race,” is the underlying, unifying theme of the book. The approach, in the main, is soundly biblical. Possibly the most distinctive material is in the chapter titled, “The Bible and Color.” Not only this chapter but the entire book should be interesting and helpful both to Negroes and whites.
Some will feel that Mr. Oliver labors too long with Shem, Ham, and Japheth. His arguments will not be convincing to rabid segregationists, and others will not particularly need them. There are a few generalizations not entirely justified. This is particularly true in the discussion of “Human Marriage.” He says that the background for opposition to racial intermarriage is a concept of racial solidarity (p. 86), which in turn stems from a sense of superiority. This is the background for much of the opposition to intermarriage, but not for all of it. There are at least some people who oppose intermarriage of those of different races on what they consider sound psychological and sociological grounds.
T. B. MASTON
Christianity Amid Islam
Sandals at the Mosque, by Kenneth Cragg (Oxford University Press, 1959, 160 pp., $2.75), is reviewed by Francis R. Steele, Home Secretary, North Africa Mission, Toronto, Ontario.
The concept of “frontier theology” certainly conveys the idea of adventure. But adventure in time of war can involve danger or even disaster, especially if the “adventurer” gets too far away from home base.
In his attempt to avoid the perils, as he sees them, of sticking by the fort and contesting with Islam at a distance, Dr. Cragg urges us to go out and fraternize with the “Indians” in order to discover whatever elements of strategy we might have in common. In so doing, he tends to obscure the fact that the common elements—we both carry guns and use gun powder—are insignificant as compared to those in which we differ. We’re on opposite sides, following contrary battle plans to achieve different objectives!
While Dr. Cragg recognizes the fact that Christianity has distinctive features (pp. 105 f.), he maintains that an effective ministry to Muslims today demands that we recognize the principle of “involvement” and “inter-religion” (p. 20) which assumes, to some degree at least, that there is evidence of God’s truth and God’s working in Islam. A corollary to this assumption suggests that Christianity is simply an outworking of potential truth in rather than a corrective to Islam (pp. 68 f. and 92 f.).
In order to support this thesis Cragg distinguishes between Islam, the present-day practice, and Islam the idealistic original faith (p. 89). But this distinction appears to be achieved by obscuring or else excusing the more objectionable features of Islam (or Islam),both in precept and practice throughout history, in a strained attempt to find a convincing contact point for Christianity.
Basically, however, this whole approach stands or falls on the question of origins and ultimate direction or control. Our answer to the question “Is Islam an inadequate, though sincere, attempt to present Truth or a deliberate scheme to counterfeit Truth?” will settle the matter once for all. If Islam is ultimately another product of the master genius of Satan for the purpose of counterfeiting Christianity, then apparent similarities are seen not as potential but distorted truth, and our ministry must be substitution, not completion. The fact that the Bible is replete with examples of Satanic deceit in both theology and religion, and this deceit contains all the elements seen in the development of Islam—admission of partial truth, vehement denial of basic truth, and emphasis on man’s ability himself to satisfy divine law—makes the answer plain. Our Christian “presence” among Muslims must not rest upon the assumption of common elements that can be exploited but upon a consistent witness to the unique elements of Christianity. This means a witness to the vicarious love manifested in the death of God the Son for the sin of man.
However, this little book contains a remarkable amount of detail concerning Islam, and for this we are grateful. Actually, it is not so much with the data as with the interpretation that we disagree. And books providing reliable current information on Islam for the Christian Church in these crucial days are much needed and most welcome.
FRANCIS R. STEELE
Book Briefs
The Church in the Thought of Jesus, by Joseph B. Clower, Jr. (John Knox Press, 1960, 160 pp., $3.50)—A Survey of the synoptic Gospels to discover aspects of the life and teachings of Christ which are relevant and normative to the Christian Church.
The Sermon on the Mount, by C. E. Colton (Zondervan, 1960, 158 pp., $2.95)—Thirty sermons of spiritual power based on Matthew 5–7.
Faith Is the Victory, by E. M. Blaiklock (Eerdmans, 1959, 64 pp., $2)—Studies in the first epistle of John originally presented at the 1959 British Keswick meetings.
How Churches Grow, by Donald McGavran (World Dominion Press, 1960, 186 pp., 12s 6d)—A survey of modern missions particularly concerned with Church growth of all kinds. It describes and evaluates many patterns used in the propagation of the Gospel. The author holds that true progress must be based on the unshakable ground of God’s revelation in Christ and a valid evangelism.
The Speaker’s Sourcebook, by Eleanor Doan (Zondervan, 1960, 304 pp., $3.95)—A valuable aid for Christian workers containing 4,000 quotations alphabetically arranged under 500 subjects.
The Paschal Liturgy and the Apocalypse, by Massey H. Shepherd, Jr. (John Knox Press, 1960, 99 pp., $1.50)—Volume 6 in a series of Ecumenical Studies in Worship. Especially concerned with traditional observances of the Paschal Season.
The Romance of Lutheranism in California, by Richard T. Du Brau (Concordia, 1960, 280 pp., $2.50)—A regional history of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, profusely illustrated.
As Thy Days So Thy Strength, by Jesse Jai McNeil (Eerdmans, 1960, 167 pp., $3)—Forty-two daily readings centered around the promise of God indicated in the title, and the presence of God in Christ. Helpful to all who need new spiritual strength.
Invitation to Worship, by Clifford Ansgar Nelson (Augustana Press, 1960, 178 pp., $3)—Interpreting Lutheran liturgy to induce “a better appreciation of the lifting up of the heart to God in the worship of the Christian congregation.”
The Power of His Name by Robert E. Luccock (Harper, 1960, 159 pp., $3)—Sermons based on the great themes appropriate to the Church Year, from Advent to Trinity; practical and inspiring, with special relevance to daily living.
Shrines of God, by Kenneth Clinton (Wilde, 1960, 127 pp., $2)—Spiritual insights concerning the Family, the Church, the Bible, Prayer and other “shrines” of the Christian faith.
Shorter Atlas of the Bible, by L. H. Grollenberg (Thomas Nelson & Sons, 1960, 196 pp., $3.95)—A digest of Nelson’s Atlas of the Bible in a most convenient size.
Relativism, Knowledge and Faith, by Gordon D. Kaufman (University of Chicago Press, 1960, 141 pp., $3.75)—A liberal consideration of the proposition that truths and values are relative to the culture in which they are found.
