Book Briefs: March 13, 1962

On Speaking Terms Again

Christianity Divided, symposium ed. by Daniel J. Callahan and Heiko A. Oberman (Sheed & Ward, 1961, 335 pp., $6), is reviewed by John Frederick Jansen, Professor of New Testament and Acting Dean, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Austin, Texas.

In a time when some factors have widened the breach between Roman Catholic and Protestant Christians (e.g., the dogma of the Assumption), it is heartening to see some signs also of increased openness and understanding. Not long ago appeared An American Dialogue, written by Robert McAfee Brown and Father Gustave Weigel, in which a Protestant interpreted Catholicism and a Roman Catholic interpreted Protestantism. The present volume brings together some significant Protestant and Roman Catholic articles under five major headings: Scripture and tradition, hermeneutics, church, sacraments, and justification. (A sign of the irenic spirit of the volume can be seen in the proportion of eight Protestant articles to five Roman Catholic articles in a book published by a Roman Catholic press.) The book aims to sample the kind of conversation that has been going on in Europe for some time and which only recently has begun in this country. The articles range in date from an early essay of Barth in 1927 to a recent one of Father Weigel in 1961.

(1) The discussion on Scripture and tradition is begun by Oscar Cullmann of Basel. First printed in the Scottish Journal of Theology, his article seeks to interpret the canon of Scripture in terms of the uniqueness of the apostolate and the manner in which the Church of the second century realized that tradition must be grounded on the witness of the “period of direct revelation.” Cullmann’s article is itself open to criticism (cf., the Protestant critique of Diem in Dogmatics, 1959), but he rightly insists that Protestantism does not mean to forget tradition or to isolate Scripture from Church.

Father Geiselmann of Tübingen undertakes to relate Scripture, tradition, and Church. His article will surprise many Protestant readers who assume that Rome teaches that Scripture and tradition have equal authority. Of particular interest is his analysis of the Council of Trent which, he holds, was going to take this “partim-partim” theory—only to avoid doing so at the last moment. He criticizes a good bit of catechetical training as a hindrance rather than a help toward a right understanding of Scripture and tradition. “God is no plumber who, so to speak, provides the Church with running water, letting the word of God flow out of two sources of faith, Scripture and Tradition, as out of two water taps marked hot and cold” (p. 48). At the same time, he criticizes a tendency in both Protestantism and Catholicism to adopt a theory of inspiration which “turned Holy Scripture … into a meteorite fallen from the sky, without relation to the life of the Church” (p. 50). The author reflects the increased openness of Roman scholarship to historical criticism. Throughout these two articles, the central points of difference are not blurred or overcome, but a great deal of misunderstanding is removed.

(2) Two Protestant scholars speak to the problem of hermeneutics. Ernst Fuchs of Marburg opens with a discussion of the “task of New Testament scholarship for the Church’s proclamation.” Many readers will be quite dissatisfied with his Bultmannian treatment of myth, but all will agree with his emphasis upon the necessity of adequate exegesis for authentic proclamation. “Measured against tradition, which immediately thrusts upon the preacher a settled interpretation of his text, New Testament scholarship may well be designated the theological conscience of the preacher” (p. 85). A. A. Van Ruler of Utrecht raises the questions posed by the development of dogma. If revelation is completed in Jesus Christ, how is the original apostolic witness related to the words of later dogma? In what sense are we the selfsame church? Throughout his discussion, the author emphasizes that the development of dogma needs to be related to our doctrine of the Spirit.

On the Roman Catholic side, Father Stanley, a Canadian Jesuit, deals with the Gospels as salvation history, and illustrates again the freer environment of Roman Catholic scholarship. He interprets the papal encyclical of 1943, holding that Roman Catholic exegetes are now permitted to voice opinions on many matters that even twenty-five years ago would have led to censure. Still, he allows that private interpretation may not conflict with Roman Catholic doctrine—and for a Protestant this is not yet freedom to follow the word of Scripture wherever it may lead.

(3) Karl Barth presents a Protestant interpretation of the Church by interpreting the Nicene phrase, “I believe in one holy, catholic, and apostolic church.” His discussion points up the measure of agreement and the measure of difference. “Now for us to have in her the one handmaid and bride of Christ depends on our not making her into a grand lady and thus—for we ourselves are the Church—making ourselves into lords” (p. 164).

Father Weigel of Woodstock, Maryland, is well known in this country. He deplores some of the older Roman Catholic ecclesiology and apologetic, pointing to Karl Adam’s Spirit of Catholicism as setting a new tone in which the image of the Body replaces the image of the Kingdom to describe the Church. As one expects, he sees the Church as the extension of the Incarnation and he points up the reasons why this understanding of the Church is difficult for those in the Reformed tradition.

(4) Coming to sacraments, Max Thurian of France contributes two articles that show how the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation has too often obscured the more central concern for both Roman Catholic and Protestant Christians—the real presence of Christ. He points up the Protestant concern here by a description of Calvin’s view. Heiko Oberman of Harvard adds a chapter on “The Reformation, Preaching, and Ex Opere Operato,” which seeks to relate the word preached and the word enacted.

The Roman Catholic article on sacraments is written by Father Schillebeeck, now of Holland. His thoughtful essay emphasizes the sacraments as encounter with Christ. Christ himself is the Ursakrament—a statement that Protestants can certainly accept. Yet one senses a certain ambiguity in his thought reflecting again the view that the Church is the extension of the Incarnation, for the Church can also be called the Ursakrament. Nonetheless, the article is a valuable corrective to Roman Catholic tendencies to make the sacramental grace an “infused” stuff instead of seeing sacrament as a relationship of encounter.

(5) The doctrine of justification was the burning issue for the Reformation. Are we as far apart here as once we were? T. F. Torrance of Edinburgh gives us a clear essay that sees the Reformation concern best expressed in Knox’s Confession because it had no separate article on justification but saw it always and only as the cutting edge of Christology. Torrance suggests that this is brought out less adequately in the Westminster Confession of the following century. The Roman Catholic essay is a fine biblical study of justification and sanctification by Hans Küng of Tübingen. This is the kind of theological and biblical treatment that gives hope for the future.

What shall we say of the volume as a whole? Some will not be satisfied with the orientation of some of the Protestant spokesmen. Others will ask whether Roman Catholic practice sufficiently reflects what is here given as Roman Catholic conviction. But such criticisms miss the importance of the book. Basic differences remain—and they may prove irreconcilable. However, what is heartening is that responsible Roman Catholic and Protestant theologians are talking to each other, not past each other. What is significant is that the differences are not always where we think they are.

JOHN FREDERICK JANSEN

Pity And Criticism

John Wesley, by Ingvar Haddal (Abingdon, 1961, 175 pp., $3.50), is reviewed by James Dale, Lecturer in English, United College, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

Mr. Haddal happily avoids both iconoclasm and idolatry, and presents us with a straightforward account which will probably be of considerable interest to those who know little of John Wesley. But the way of popularizers is hard, and there are a number of major defects in the book which are a direct consequence of the author’s simplified approach. There is no treatment of the great Methodist doctrine of Entire Sanctification, Wesley’s Calvinist opponents are dismissed too easily, the churchmanship of the Wesleys is not discussed, and the observations on the Evangelical Revival are inadequate and inaccurate.

It ought to be added that Mr. Haddal deserves our pity for the treatment accorded him by his translator, who turns his Norwegian into an English which is awkward and naïve.

JAMES DALE

Reading for Perspective

CHRISTIANITY TODAY’S REVIEW EDITORS CALL ATTENTION TO THESE NEW TITLES:

* Christian Church Art Through the Ages, by Katherine Morrison McClinton (Macmillan, $6.50). Widely experienced art instructor (University of California) and critic (San Diego Sun) indicates how art may interpret faith and enrich the experience of worship.

* I Am Persuaded, by David H. C. Read (Scribner, $3). Sermons from the well-known minister of New York’s Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church encouraging the reader to surmount the hard facts of life by faith.

* Word and Spirit, by H. Jackson Forstman (Stanford University Press, $4.75). A Stanford professor investigates Calvin and concludes provocatively that he unconsciously held two conceptions of biblical authority.

Help Not Hindrance

Special-Day Sermons for Evangelicals, ed. by Blackwood (Channel Press, 1961, 448 pp., $4.95), is reviewed by Lloyd M. Perry, Professor of Preaching, Gordon Divinity School, Beverly Farms, Massachusetts.

Books of sermons are sometimes dangerous tools for the preacher. However, this collection of 38 sermons arranged by Dr. Andrew Blackwood, the dean of American homileticians, makes a serious attempt to provide helps rather than hindrances. The book provides the reader with a survey of modern preaching by presenting 37 biographical sketches, sermon evaluations and sample sermons. The 38th sermon was written by John Wesley and was selected because of its judgment-day emphasis. The selected preachers represent 17 denominations and four countries. In some cases the preacher prepared the sermon for the particular day to which it was assigned. In most of the instances, however, the compiler and editor selected the sermon which he felt represented the appropriate type of message to meet the challenge of the particular holiday.

Preachers in the nonliturgical churches will gain an acquaintance with the demands made upon the preacher by the special days of the church and civil calendars. The preacher in the liturgical church will appreciate the additional help which is provided for improving his ministry to those who look constantly to him for special help on these special days.

The introduction of 25 pages by Dr. Blackwood provides seed thoughts for additional sermons. The page of comments with each sermon summarizes the positive factors pertaining to the type of illustrative material, use of imagination, the recognition of tone and local color and the value of the content in light of the special day. The sermons are evangelical but often stress the day more than biblical exposition. Textual and topical preaching seem to be more highly regarded by the writers and compiler for use on special days than expository preaching. Rhetorically the value of these sermons rests more in the area of invention than in the area of arrangement. Their style is conducive to reading, but lacks the quality which would be helpful in oral presentation apart from a manuscript.

Rather than including some of the messages where biblical exposition appeared to be a minor factor, the book would have been more helpful to me if messages had been selected not just because of their relevancy for our day but also because of their direct exposition of the Word of God.

LLOYD M. PERRY

Helpful Exposition

The Lord’s Prayer, by Walter Luethi, trans. by Kurt Schoenenberger (John Knox Press, 1961, 103 pp., $2.50), is reviewed by J. Theodore Mueller, Professor of Theology, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri.

This winsome little book contains 12 short sermons on the Lord’s Prayer by a prominent pastor of the Swiss Reformed tradition at Bern, Switzerland, who has authored several books, among them The Letter to the Romans and St. John’s Gospel. The author is allied to a group of theologians around Karl Barth, but his sermons are brief, intelligible, and appealing, while at the same time they profoundly interpret the precious thoughts enfolded in the great prayer which our Lord has given to his disciples for all times. The Lord’s Prayer is sadly neglected by many Christians because they fail to understand its significance, while others abuse it thoughtlessly by “vain repetition.” In a masterly way Pastor Luethi expounds and applies the important essentials of Law and Gospel in the prayer under the heads: “The Father,” “The Name,” “The Kingdom,” “The Will,” “Our Bread,” “Our Debts,” “Our Temptation,” “Our Distress,” “His Kingdom,” “His Power,” “His Glory,” “Amen.” Careful perusal of these sermons will benefit both pastors and laymen. The sermons are well translated and only in a few cases does the translation approach the German idiom too closely. Since the addresses originally were delivered in 1946 some of the references are in line with the trials of that time, though the general truths which the writer stresses apply to all Christians everywhere. A very earnest and helpful exposition of the Lord’s Prayer!

J. THEODORE MUELLER

Sunday On Friday?

Space-Age Sunday, by Hiley H. Ward (Macmillan, 1960, 160 pp., $3.95), is reviewed by William G. Reitzer of CHRISTIANITY TODAY’S editorial department.

Because “the responsibilty of alleviating the blue laws controversies rests first with the church” (P. 102) Ward, Detroit Free Press Religion Editor, proffers the church a singular solution.

Beginning with a look at the latest encroachments upon the Sunday (e.g., rocket firing at Cape Canaveral), the author next discusses the foremost state versus blue law violator embranglements, the secular and spiritual meaning of rest, the origin of Sunday worship and laws, and the harmfulness of Sunday laws. Thereupon he advises greater flexibility upon the Church and stronger opposition to Sunday laws upon Christians. He concludes by propounding two imaginative but visionary propositions: (1) that in view of the significance of the Cross we ought perhaps to make Friday “the day” of the week, and (2) that perhaps we ought to spread the rest-and-worship obligation over a three-day period as not only much more utilitarian but also much less controversial for this eliminates the villain of Sunday legislation.

Ward fully presents his side, but overlooks strong arguments on the other side of the issue. He does not take into account that weekly (hebdomadal) cessation from occupation-work might be a “creation ordinance” which passes not away. He disregards the many strong Old Testament enjoinders to keep the Sabbath. He makes the New Testament abrogate the Fourth Commandment solely on the authority of Luther. Further, he ignores that America’s founding fathers in no wise viewed Sunday laws as unchristian or unconstitutional, and that doing away with them creates more problems for everyone than it solves. Finally, the author does not consider that Sunday might have been set aside not so much for Christians as individuals or families as for Christians as a church—to worship, to study the Word, to do good deeds as a body of believers.

WILLIAM G. REITZER

After Forty-Four Years

Brownlow North—His Life and Work, by K. Moody-Stuart (Banner of Truth Tust, 1961, 221 pp., 3s. 6d.), is reviewed by Donald English, Assistant Tutor, Wesley College, Leeds, England.

This book tells the remarkable story of a remarkable man. Of noble birth, converted at 44 years after a gay life, Brownlow North became an evangelist of great fame and influence in Great Britain during the nineteenth century. His personality, theology, preaching, zeal, are all impressive; as are his wide appeal and happy relationships with clergy. The book has its weaknesses. The pious phraseology of 1878 becomes tiresome, the author (awed by his subject?) seems reluctant to show North’s failings, and we never quite meet the whole man. Despite this the book and its subject have much to teach us.

DONALD ENGLISH

Religion: Good Or Bad

Christian Faith and Man’s Religion, by Mark C. Ebersole (Crowell, 1961, 206 pp., $5), is reviewed by Harold B. Kuhn, Professor of Philosophy of Religion, Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore, Ky.

The relationship between the nature of Christian faith and “man’s religion” or religion in general, is challenging today’s thinkers as never before. This is the result of several factors: first, the crisis of the times demands a more precise understanding of what is meant by Christian faith; second, non-Christian faiths are asserting themselves with new vigor; and third, alternatives to Christianity from within secular culture are making increasing claims to adequacy.

This author has chosen five writers in the field of recent religious study as expressive of the spectrum of thought with respect to the relationship between Christianity as distinctively understood on the one hand, and “religion in general” on the other. Erich Fromm, well-known author in the field of a psychological humanism, is analyzed by the author as expressing “Religion Without the Christian Faith”; and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, famous for his opposition to Hitler on spiritual grounds, is selected as representing “The Christian Faith Without Religion.” Friedrich Schleiermacher seems to our author the major exponent of the view that Christian faith fulfills man’s religion, while Karl Barth is seen to possess, as a major thrust in his system, the motif of “The Christian Faith as the Judgment Against Religion.”

True to the synthetic method, Dr. Ebersole seeks for a man who will do justice to the valid features which each of the foregoing lifts into prominence. This man he finds in the person of Reinhold Niebuhr, whose system he feels to be an assertion of “The Christian Faith as the Judgment Against and the Fulfillment of Religion.”

Throughout the work, the author is seeking to arrive at an evaluation of Christianity by which he may judge the contemporary revival of interest in “religion.” In this quest, he sees both Schleiermacher and Fromm as so preoccupied with the human that the divine loses its essential significance by virtue of the surrender of God’s transcendence. On the contrary pole of the matter is the work of both Barth and Bonhoeffer, who emphasize the transcendent reality of God to a point which renders the Christian affirmation irrelevant to the man of today’s world. Both dissociate God from man too sharply.

One can anticipate the conclusion: Reinhold Niebuhr avoids both of these pitfalls, and combines in his formulation of Christian faith the essentials of a correct statement concerning the biblical understanding of the relation of faith to religion. This relation is, naturally enough, a dialectical one, involving encounter and dialogue between God and man.

The body of this work has merit as containing succinct and penetrating analyses of the systems of thought of the men which it analyzes. These surveys, particularly those of Schleiermacher and of Niebuhr, are rewarding to the reader who will go to the heart of what the men concerned taught. From the point of view of Christian evangelicalism, however, there is a disappointing lack of concreteness at the point of what role Christian faith is to play in the life of the believer.

HAROLD B. KUHN

Westminster Confession

Faith For Today, ed. by W. Martin Smyth (Mourne Observer Press, 1961, 107 pp. 3s. 6d.), is reviewed by Martin H. Cressey, Minister of St. Columba’s Presbyterian Church, Coventry, England.

This is a useful exposition of the Westminster Confession of Faith by some younger ministers of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. They commend it, especially to young people, by relating it to present-day thought and experience. The exposition is on the whole sound and lucid, though some parts suffer from over-compression and allusiveness (e.g., the discussion of the Genesis narratives, pp. 22–24). The Confession itself is printed at the end of the book.

M. H. CRESSEY

Kierkegaard For Today

In Search of the Self, by Libuse Lucas Miller (Muhlenberg, 1962, 317 pp., $4.95), is reviewed by Arthur F. Holmes, Director of Philosophy, Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois.

A variety of volumes have appeared on Sören Kierkegaard: brief introductions, critical studies, historical and philosophical works. The present volume, subtitled “The Individual in the Thought of Kierkegaard,” is noteworthy in several regards.

Sensitive to the style and intent of the Danish writer, it focuses on a well-chosen theme which effectively opens up the whole of his thought. Mrs. Miller faithfully expounds important segments of a large corpus of relevant literature, so as to confront the reader with both Sören Kierkegaard’s spirit and his thought and to suggest the excitement of reading him for oneself.

Beyond this, she suggests throughout Kierkegaard’s relevance for our day. The volume begins with a chapter “How to Learn Something from Kierkegaard.” It ends with “Concluding Remarks: Some Lessons for Today.” And such remarks range from the conscience of the intellectual to the poverty of modern humanisms, from parallels in recent personality theory to the popular American notion of the individual. The author ably but cautiously fulfills her Kierkegaardian role of social critic.

Finally, Mrs. Miller shows a wide acquaintance with Kierkegaard’s intellectual milieu, and a sensitivity to the theological issues of that day. Appreciative of historic Christianity, she employs the same kind of gentle severity she finds in her master. This is provocative and rewarding reading.

The author is the wife of a Kenyon College (Ohio) physicist, herself conversant with both physics and psychology as well as philosophy and theology.

ARTHUR F. HOLMES

Any Word For Today?

Prophetic Truth for Today, by John E. Dahlin (Beacon Publications, Minneapolis, 1961, 185 pp., $3.45), is reviewed by John F. Walvoord, President, Dallas Theological Seminary, Dallas, Texas.

“Is there any word from the Lord?” for such a day as this asks Professor John E. Dahlin of Northwestern College, Minneapolis. As historian, pastor, teacher, and editor, the author has a wide experience to serve as a criterion for his judgment. The answer to the question is found in classical fundamentalism and the premillennial interpretation of Scripture. The author believes that the end of the present age is rapidly approaching and that the rapture of the church is imminent. His treatment of eschatology, presented in 23 short pungent chapters, runs the gamut of important prophetical themes including critiques of a millennialism, neoorthodoxy, and ecumenicalism. His convictions are stated forcibly though somewhat dogmatically and constitute essentially a popular exposition rather than a formal defense of premillennialism. Taken as a whole, the work is a solid contribution, helpful alike to pastors and lay students of prophecy.

JOHN F. WALVOORD

From The Right Perspective

The Preacher’s Portrait, by John R. W. Stott (Eerdmans, 1961, 124 pp., $3; and Tyndale Press, 1961, 111 pp., 5s.), is reviewed by Herbert M. Carson, Vicar, St. Paul’s Church, Cambridge, England.

This expansion of the 1961 Payton lectures, delivered at Fuller seminary, is a refreshing handbook to preaching by one who is clearly gripped by the task in which he himself is engaged. Its further merit is that it is essentially a biblical treatment of the preacher’s task. The author does not try to deal with preaching techniques, or, to use the hackneyed phrase, with the problem of communication. These questions are, after all, secondary; and so with him the primary aim is to expound from Scripture the nature, aim and method of the preacher’s work. In thus endeavoring to let us see God’s purpose in preaching, he lifts the task to a new level—indeed the only level where justice can be done to it.

His method is to take some of the New Testament word pictures, and to expound their significance. He deals with the conception of the steward, entrusted with stores by the householder for the good of his household. By contrast he sees the herald in terms of the public proclamation. We might criticize in passing his distinction on p. 30: “We are stewards of what God has said, but heralds of what God has done,” for surely God’s action in Scripture is never a bare fact. It is always act plus significance, action in terms of revelation.

There follows a treatment of the analogy of the witness, who, like one in a law court, gives personal substantiation of the facts; and in this case the witness focuses his evidence on Christ. The picture of “the father” is set in its true context. This is not the authoritarian fatherhood of an unbiblical sacerdotalism. It is rather the attitude of affection and earnestness which is seen in the true home, and should be reflected in the pastoral preaching of one who loves the flock. Finally the preacher is the servant who calls attention not to himself but to the Word preached.

For any man embarking on the solemn task of preaching the Word, or for any who are rethinking their position or trying to assess their work, here is a book to be highly commended. It draws us back both to the source of our commission and to the theme of our message, namely Christ crucified.

HERBERT M. CARSON

Ecclesiastical Business?

Man in Rapid Social Change, by Egbert de Vries (Doubleday, 1961, 240 pp., $4.50); and The Churches and Rapid Social Change, by Paul Abrecht (Doubleday, 1961, 207 pp., $3.95), are reviewed by S. R. Kamm, Professor of Social Sciences, Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois.

These volumes present the results of approximately six years of study and observation on the part of two commissions established by the World Council of Churches after the Evanston Assembly in 1954. Egbert de Vries, a Dutch sociologist with international experience, endeavors to synthesize the findings of the Commission on Rapid Social Change in the first. In it he follows a methodological approach involving such concepts as “prime mover,” “catalyst,” and “inhibitor” in a sociological interpretation of social change in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Professor de Vries recognizes the force of spiritual as well as material forces in his delineation of “prime movers,” and is quick to admit the role of Christian conversion as an important factor in stabilizing social change.

The second volume, written by an American social scientist now residing in Switzerland, brings together the findings of the World Council study group on “The Churches in Rapid Social Change.” Mr. Abrecht conceives of the church as so identified with the forces of social change that it cannot avoid taking certain responsibilities in assisting the peoples of the newly established nations to solve the problems which are confronting them. He is quite clear concerning the challenge which Communism presents to the church in these premises.

Even though one is inclined to agree with the necessity of Christians being aware of their responsibilities in the area of social change it remains a moot question whether these responsibilities can best be undertaken by organized churches, as such, or by groups of Christian laymen and ministers that are brought together to deal specifically with public issues. If the latter procedure is not followed, how long can the church be said to recognize the line of separation between civil and spiritual issues which has long been championed by historic Protestantism? This is one of the problems of social change which neither of the studies recognizes.

S. R. KAMM

Book Briefs

“Adventuring with Christ” (Gospel Light Vacation Bible School kit, $2.59 regular kit, $5.50 special kit). This VBS series shows careful attention to pupil age-group, staff, and administration concerns. Scripturally sound and relevant content, presented by educationally valid materials and methods, enforces the overall ministry of the church. No detail has been overlooked to encourage a spiritually fruitful VBS.

A Cloud of Witnesses, by Asa Zadel Hall (Zondervan, 1961, 88 pp., $1.95). Pen portraits and character sketches of the Apostle Paul’s contemporaries, both friends and enemies.

Modern Viking, by Norman Grubb (Zondervan, 1961, 206 pp., $3.50). The fascinating story of the International Christian Leadership Movement and its founder, Abraham Vereide, known especially for its sponsorship of the annual Presidential Breakfasts in Washington, D. C.

Gleanings in Exodus, by Arthur W. Pink (Moody, 1962, 384 pp., $4.50). Spiritual comment on subjective religious experience by one who was vastly unaffected by his own times and was in some ways a “return of the Puritan.”

Baptist Foundations in the South, by William L. Lumpkin (Broadman, 1961, 166 pp., $4.25). Extensive treatment of the Baptist phase of the Great Awakening in the South.

Evangelistic Illustrations for Pulpit and Platform, ed. by G. Franklin Allee (Moody, 1961, 400 pp., $5.95). Anecdotes and illustrations to drive messages home and keep audiences awake.

The Golden Path to Successful Personal Soul Winning, by John R. Rice (Sword of the Lord, 1961, 314 pp., $3). An exposition of what the Bible teaches about the duty, the doctrine, and the method of soul winning.

The Hidden Remnant, by Gerald Sykes (Harper, 1962, 241 pp., $4). An exposition of the leading psychological movements stemming from Freud, Jung, etc., contending that the remnant that shall survive in our atomic world are those who “retain a sure sense of the best that is in them.”

The Companion of the Way, by H. C. Hewlett (Moody, 1962, 159 pp., $2.75). A devotional treatment of the experience of 12 biblical characters to whom the Lord appeared.

Thinking Out Loud About the Space Age, by Chaplain Melvin T. Ostlin (Dorrance, 1962, 144 pp., $3). On the basis of a curious mixture of biblical truth and shaky theological positions, the author thinks aloud about the adequacy of the Christian Faith for the Space Age.

Obadiah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, by J. H. Eaton (Macmillan, 1961, 159 pp., $3; SCM Press, 12s. 6d.). Brief, informative commentary; with introduction. Torch Bible Commentary series.

Letter to Philemon, by Frances and Winthrop Nielson (Thomas Nelson, 1962, 250 pp., $3.75). A novel of passion and spiritual insight; traces the tale of the runaway slave Onesimus’ adventure and his journey through disbelief and doubt to a triumphant faith.

A Century in the Madura Mission, by Harriet Wilder (Vantage, 1962, 352 pp., $4.50). Story of Madura mission work from 1834 to 1934.

Arnold’s Commentary 1962, ed. by Donald M. Joy and Lyle E. Williams (Light and Life, 1962, 328 pp., $2.95). Sixty-eighth annual volume of the International Sunday School Lessons.

Paperbacks

Kierkegaard, by Walter Lowrie (Harper, 1962, 640 pp., $1.75 for Vol. I, $1.95 for Vol. II). Biography and mental development of Sören Kierkegaard by a lover of Kierkegaard. First printing 1938.

A Study of History, by Arnold J. Toynbee (Oxford, 1962; Vol. I, 485 pp., $2.45; Vol. II, 454 pp., $2.35; Vol. III, 551 pp., $2.75). Volumes I and II deal with the genesis of civilizations and Volume III with the growths of civilizations. First printed in 1934.

Enter Into Life, by William Fitch (Eerdmans, 1961, 110 pp., $1.25). One message in six parts on the true Christian life.

Challenge and Response in the City, by Walter Kloetzli (Augustana, 1962, 156 pp., $2). A theological consultation on the urban church by the Division of American Missions of National Lutheran Council.

The Bible and Race, by T. B. Maston (Broadman, 1959, 117 pp., $.85). An examination of the biblical teachings on race relations. First published in 1959.

The Private Devotions of Lancelot Andrewes, translated by F. E. Brightman (Meridian Books, 1961, 392 pp., $1.65). Brilliant translation of F. E. Brightman (1903) and essay of T. S. Eliot (1926).

Marriage Guide for Engaged Catholics, by W. F. McManus (Paulist Press, 1961, 128 pp., $.75). Paulist Fathers present down-to-earth information for Roman Catholics about to marry, convinced that such “novices” need better schooling for marriage than they currently receive or really want.

Your God is Too Small, by J. B. Phillips (Macmillan, 1961, 126 pp., $1.10). Written to stretch our poor, niggardly ideas of God that we may see that he is so much bigger than our small-sized ideas about him. Reprinted.

Good Grief, by Granger E. Westberg (Augustana, 1962, 57 pp., $1). Description of what happens to us when we love someone, or something important.

A Manmade Hell

CONCEDED TO BE LOST-The fallout against which fallout shelters can provide some protection is … one of four effects produced by nuclear weapons. The other three, as the civil defense literature makes plain, are the “prompt effects”: initial radiation, heat, and blast, in order of their emission from a nuclear detonation. Against the latter three, the civil defense literature and the announced plans of the government offer no protection. The lives of those “close to ground zero” are conceded to be lost; it is the others—“all the others,” the official handouts say—that may be saved from fallout.

In estimating the relative hazard of the prompt effects one must ask: How close is “close” to ground zero? It is curious to note in the civil defense literature the continued mention of the “initial radiation.” This is the pulse of gamma radiation emitted from the nuclear reaction in the first instant of its ignition. At Hiroshima this radiation was a hazard to all who were within the range of heat and blast; for the ranges of the three prompt effects of the “nominal” 20-kiloton fission bomb are the same—about 1 mile.…

Translating these ratios into numbers, one finds that in the detonation of a 20-megaton thermonuclear bomb the blast effect—the “ground zero” of civil defense imagery—has a radius of 10 miles. But the radius of the fire effect reaches out 20 miles farther. In other words, the result is not a disaster somewhere downtown, with time to get the suburbs into fallout shelters. The result is the obliteration of the central city by blast and a conflagration that sweeps the entire metropolitan area.

When the weapon is employed to achieve these results, there is no local fallout. The weapon is burst at a carefully calculated altitude above the ground, just as in the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki (where there was no local fallout). For bombs of 20-megaton and larger caliber, the area embraced in the incendiary effect progressively overtakes and exceeds the area that can be covered by intense fallout.

The incendiary effect of a giant weapon can be greatly magnified by bursting the weapon at very high altitude. The thermal energy then needs to penetrate only the few miles of dense atmosphere closest to the ground on the way to its vast target. As footnote to this analysis, it may be mentioned that preliminary reports on the worldwide fallout from the 30-and 50-megaton thermonuclear bombs tested by the Soviet Union show them to have been relatively clean bombs.…

It has been estimated that the enemy would have to deliver a salvo totaling 300 megatons in order to knock out the 18 hardened Titan missile bases that surround the city of Tucson. By contrast, a single 20-megaton bomb, burst in the air over Chicago, would suffice to destroy the entire metropolis. The first conclusion pressed by this analysis is this: the civil population is far more vulnerable to prompt effect than are its defenders and is more likely to be exposed to these effects should it be chosen as the target of attack.

Each of the two sides in the present balance of terror is said to have a minimum of 30,000 megatons of weapons in readiness for use. This, in each case, is about ten times more than enough to kill the corporate body of the other. But, given the delivery systems presently available—still primarily manned aircraft—neither one is equipped to knock out the striking force of the other. The civil populations, therefore, constitute the target against which such forces would be directed and against which they could expect to deliver an attack with success. Such an attack by one side, however, exposes it to the certainty of the same kind of attack by the other. This is the essence of the present stalemate. A second conclusion, therefore, pressed by this analysis is this: if fallout is ever to be a strategic hazard and the fallout shelter a significant arm of civil defense, now is not the time. The fallout-shelter campaign makes sense only as a means for public education in—or public habituation to—the peril of thermonuclear war.

When the capacity for mutual annihilation mounts beyond the 30,000-megaton stage and as the number of contestants increases, the danger of war by miscalculation and accident must rise. At some point in the ever-less-distant future is the point of no return. As C. P. Snow has bluntly summarized it: “We know, with the certainty of statistical truth, that if enough of these weapons are made—by enough different states—some of them are going to blow up.”—Gerald Piel, publisher of Scientific American, “On the Feasibility of Peace” (1961 Duncan Memorial Lecture of the Mellon Institute), published in Science, Feb. 23, issue.

CREATION TO DOOMSDAY—I close with the analogy of a three-year movie, showing the earth from creation to the present, with every second in the movie equaling fifty years of time. The audience is bored for the first year of the film as it sees nothing but vapors floating about. It is not until the beginning of the second year that organic life appears. Half-way through the third year vertebrates are seen, and it is not until two years, eleven months, and three weeks of the movie have passed that man enters.

With two minutes and twenty seconds left, the movie arrives at the point where recorded history began. Then there is a terrific exhilaration of movement. Everyone seems to be supremely exercised. Tribes and armies invade and are pushed back. Castles are built and destroyed. Huge cities erupt onto the landscape. With forty seconds left, Christ is born, and with two seconds remaining, Lincoln frees the slaves. It is not until four-fifths of a second are left in the three-year movie that Communism makes its dramatic entrance. And then with one swoop, it covers one-third of the globe. In the last one-twenty-fifth of a second, man discovers the cobalt bomb, which scientists tell us can render the human race incapable of reproducing itself.

And then, suddenly, the lights are switched on. The members of the audience are sitting at the edge of their chairs biting their fingernails. ‘How does the movie end? What happens next?’ they ask.

The answer lies within ourselves. And the time is now.—Peter Grothe, To Win the Minds of Men, Pacific Books, 1958.

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