A Look At American Preaching
Best Sermons: 1962 Protestant Edition, by G. Paul Butler (Van Nostrand, 1962, 318 pp., $5.95), is reviewed by James Daane, Editorial Associate, CHRISTIANITY TODAY.
The craftsmanship of these sermons runs from acceptable to excellent. None is poorly wrought; none made late of a Saturday evening.
Evaluated in terms of evangelical content, some sound the Good News of what God had done in Christ in tones clean and clear. Many, if not most, proclaim the Gospel, but the articulation is more or less muffled. Some of these are open to objection, not for what they say, but for what they fail to say, or assert merely as undertones. Some echo no Gospel at all, a judgment that must fall on more than the productions of two Unitarians.
In general it may be said that these sermons do not reflect the old liberal optimism about man, but the situation of man in crisis. The crisis is not the perennial crisis of the individual caught in the anguish of deliverance from sin and death. It is rather that of the twentieth-century man caught in those narrows of history where the past overtakes the present in judgment. Not a single sermon is devoted specifically to sin; none to that moment in which each man dies alone—even though others die at the same time. While most acknowledge that it is God alone who can save us, none explicitly rings the bells on the theme of salvation by grace alone in the grand style of the Reformation. Some few, not yet perceiving the signs of the times, urge that while God had done his work the rest is up to man, since further action on the part of God would violate man’s freedom (assumedly to be lost!) Happily it may be said that there is more Gospel in these 42 sermons than would have been the case in such a collection 25 years ago.
It could be urged that a sermon by definition is the proclamation of the Word of God through human personality in such a fashion that the seeking soul can find wherein to take his rest and the believing soul be lifted up into an act of worship. By this definition many of these could not be classified as sermons. They are rather religious lectures on noble themes, without the sound of divine judgment on human sin, and without sounds of the divine grace of forgiveness. Yet such classification would not be fair since many were preached to special audiences, by men not engaged in the congregational ministry, and under special circumstances calling for special religious objectives. These sermons, therefore, cannot be taken as representative of what is heard on Sunday mornings in American pulpits. That so many religious lectures should be presented as sermons is, I think, indicative of the status of the American pulpit.
If, however, what claims to be a sermon is subject to the criteria of the sermon, the following observations are to the point. Most of these sermons have no text. By generous estimate a few might be called expository sermons, i.e., a proclamation of the meaning of a given text of Scripture and of its bearing on man and his life. Many are more evangelical than anything else, but even of these, few carry the design of the Cross clearly in their fabric. The best on this score is from the pen of the chaplain of Princeton University. Many evangelicals reveal no essential relationship between the theme of their sermon and the Christ they in fact want to proclaim. They choose a biblical theme but fail to relate it in meaningful fashion to the theme of the Bible: Jesus Christ and him crucified. Many evangelicals would be embarrassed if they attempted to evaluate their production in the light of Paul’s “I am determined to know nothing among you save …”
It is these considerations which give substance to Bishop Kennedy’s remark, “The messages coming from our pulpits are little, squeaking words of cheer.”
These weaknesses characterizing many of these sermons when judged by strict homiletical criteria, flow chiefly from the failure to preach expository sermons.
Constructing sermons without specific texts on large biblical themes, which call for a “cover to cover” type of exposition, should be left to the genius of the pulpit, or attempted only after considerable experience in the simpler forms of expository preaching, lest men hear the Word of God without recognizing it.
God can indeed break through our formally Crossless sermons and make the word of the Cross to be heard, but we ought not tempt the Lord our God, least of all in the pulpit.
This book is better than its sermons. Even so, almost everyone of its sermons can be read, especially by men of the pulpit, with large and lasting profit. These sermons sparkle with ideas, illustrations, factual material, biblical insights, and literary allusions. This reviewer has read them, not always with approbation, but usually with profit.
One final comment in which various men will see different orders of significance. Few sermons reveal the denominational affiliation, or the theological tradition of their makers.
JAMES DAANE
From Plato To Hegel
Divine Perfection: Possible Ideas of God, by Frederick Sontag (Harper, 1962, 158 pp., $3.75), is reviewed by Gordon H. Clark, Professor of Philosophy, Butler University, Indianapolis, Indiana.
Part I is a well-written history of some major ideas on divine perfection entertained by the great philosophers from Plato to Hegel. Part II is a cross classification of these ideas with the aim of seeing how each affects the others. Some of these chapters seem to add very little to what was said in Part I.
The entire discussion presupposes the possibility of natural theology, and no account is given of those who deny this possibility. In fact, revealed theology is apparently regarded as impossible: “Since God has no lips, he cannot speak … This means that we have much indirect but no direct word about God and by God. Were it otherwise, we would have but one religion and one doctrine of the nature of God.” Both inferences are logically invalid, are they not? The author also rules out verbal revelation by asserting “the natural incommensurability between our language and such a Being.”
Although the author wishes to avoid endorsing any one theory of the nature of God, he does not succeed in refraining from unsupported assertions. “Metaphysic is never born in Ethics”—Nietzsche said it always is—and “Being good himself, God was bound to recognize some but not all value standards in creation,” are two that are stated oracularly.
The main conclusion, however, is well supported, viz. that twelve concepts, infinity and unity, form and transcendence, actuality and self-sufficiency, power and motion, simplicity and division, freedom and volition, are not all consistent when defined in certain ways, but may, most of them at any rate, be made consistent by changing their meanings.
GORDON H. CLARK
Laymen Arise!
The Church and Its Laity, by Georgia Harkness (Abingdon, 1961, 208 pp., $3.50), is reviewed by Leslie Hunt, Principal of Wycliffe College, Toronto, Canada.
Few people will dispute the contention that one of the weaknesses of the church has been the inadequate role of the laity and the layman’s unawareness of what his real role is. Any effort to deal with this problem and clarify the issues is welcome. Indeed one of the themes much under study in recent times is this very matter: “What is the church?” and “What is the true role of the laity?” The new consciousness that these questions should be faced and answered may be found in all denominational groups. This growing interest is in evidence by the many requests for bibliographical guides. To meet this demand, a bibliography on the subject has been published by the Department on the Laity. It is illuminating to me how much work has been done recently on the theme.
“The Church and Its Laity” is another volume to be added to the list. The author, with a real concern for ecumenical issues, is disturbed by the fact that the movement towards ecumenicity, so important in these days, cannot really function at its best until it gets into the blood of not only the people in high places, but also of the clergy and the laity at the local level. The contention is that this will not take place until there is a real understanding of the meaning of the church, and the true place of the laity in it. The author claims that the book is not designed to be a handbook on lay activities or vocations but to help the laymen to a better understanding of the church, and through this knowledge to a better grasp of his own place in it.
Accordingly, the author is prompted to devote the first half of the book to the matter of the nature of the church—what it is, how its principal divisions came to be as they are, and what its true functions are. The second and third chapters present an historical survey of the changes that have taken place from New Testament times to the emergence of the major Protestant denominations. Chapter IV relates more specifically to the current scene, with the fifth and sixth chapters exposing some of the secular standards and practices which have made their way into the life of the church. The author elaborates on some of the channels by which the church can be a constructive force in remaking society. Chapters VII and VIII point up some hopeful projects and signs, such as the ecumenical movement, laymen’s institutes in Europe, lay centers in America. Behind all this the book presents a strong appeal for more effective action by laymen as they endeavor to be the church within the world.
Reading for Perspective
CHRISTIANITY TODAY’S REVIEW EDITORS CALL ATTENTION TO THESE NEW TITLES:
* The Council, Reform and Reunion, by Hans Küng (Sheed & Ward, $3.95). With charity, humility, and ruthless honesty, a Roman Catholic professor urges that reunion of Catholicism and Protestantism requires a renewal and reform of the church. Superbly written.
* Women Who Made Bible History, by Harold J. Ockenga (Zondervan, $3.50). Literary portraits of saintly and some not-so-saintly women of the Bible. Rich in biblical wisdom.
* Martin Buber and Christianity, by Hans Urs Von Balthasar (Macmillan, $3). In penetrating Christian-Jewish dialogue, a Swiss Roman Catholic urges that the faith of Abraham and that of Paul appear irreconcilable only because Jews reject Christ, and Christians reject Jews.
The author has written simply so that any lay reader can grasp the meaning. With clarity and some forcefulness, she has sought to clear away confused thinking on a number of relevant issues. Some may not agree with some of her definitions but there would, I am sure, be general agreement in her analysis of the factors which are preventing the church from making a greater impact upon the world. If this volume can help laymen to catch a new vision of the true function of themselves as the church, and fire them to a greater participation and service, it will be well worthwhile.
LESLIE HUNT
No Ghettos
Poems of the East and West, by Merrell Vories Hitotsuyanagi, ed. by Frederica Mead Hiltner (The Omi Brotherhood, Omi-Hachiman, Japan, 1960, 169 pp., $2.95), is reviewed by Gordon K. Chapman, Missionary to Japan, United Presbyterian Church.
One of the most romantic stories of the modern missionary movement is that of the Omi Brotherhood, founded in 1905 by the missionary-teacher and architect, Merrell Vories. From the beginning he was fully convinced that “the ghetto mentality where Christians separate themselves from those among whom they live and work, and from the culture and life of the nation,” was contrary to the mind of Christ. Thus the 400 workers of this indigenous mission have been engaged in industry, architecture, and evangelistic, educational and social activities as active Christian witnesses. Vories’ marriage to Maki Hitotsuyanagi, daughter of an ancient noble family, and his subsequent naturalization, were the natural outcome of the application of indigenous principles.
His poems are the spontaneous expression of one who has found complete fulfillment in Jesus Christ and reflect the spirit of a very consistent Christian whom God used to accomplish a unique work in a virgin field of Japan. This hook is a significant supplement to the story of the Omi Brotherhood, A Mustard Seed in japan, which should he required reading for all modern missionaries.
GORDON K. CHAPMAN
Crossed Up
The Many-Sided Cross of Jesus, by Alan Walker (Abingdon, 1962, III pp., $2), is reviewed by J. Kenneth Grider, Associate Professor of Theology, Nazarene Theological Seminary, Kansas City, Missouri.
This little book presents what an evangelically-interested (pp. 7, 89 ff.) liberal sees in the cross of Jesus.
The author might be mistaken on occasion, as when he says that the Apostles’ Creed “came out of” “the great councils” (p. 14). He might seem to switch horses, too, on the question whether the atonement does anything for God himself. To Charles Wesley’s line, “ ’My God is reconciled’ ” (p. 18), he takes exception saying this is an “error,” for “God is not reconciled by the actions of his Son.…” (p. 18). Yet he later upbraids the Abelardians for giving “a far too subjective” view, “putting emphasis on the response given to the Cross,” and thereby “transposing the center of God’s saving act from God himself to ourselves” (p. 39).
Nor may the reader look for scholarly treatment. Often, quotes are not footnoted. Scripture passages are not exegeted: he usually simply quotes, as though the meaning were obvious.
Bible-respecting Christians would take hearty exception with the author on whether the Cross was planned. According to Walker, the Father “did not intend” “the Crucifixion,” “but once it happened, … God seized upon the Cross and … made it the occasion of salvation” (p. 75). Nor did Jesus come to earth in order to “give his life a ransom” (Matt. 20:28). Instead, “As he came nearer the end of his life he believed he could do something by dying …” (p. 18).
With all this on the negative side, the book does give the laymen a general treatment of atonement views. It could be useful to the minister because of its illustrative materials and its analogies of the Cross, as, for example, the sustained comparison between Christ’s death and the suffering of a scientist on behalf of others (pp. 50–59).
J. KENNETH GRIDER
The Shape Of The Gospel
Kerygma or Gospel Tradition—Which Came First?, by Robert A. Bartels (Augsburg, 1961, 126 pp., $1.95), is reviewed by Glenn W. Barker, Professor of New Testament, Gordon Divinity School, Beverly Farms, Massachusetts.
One of the fundamental tenets in the modern study of Gospel origins is that the kerygma, the preaching of the earlier church, determined the nature and shape of the Gospel tradition. With this conclusion Professor Bartels, of Northwestern Lutheran Theological Seminary, takes issue. He proposes instead that Jesus “is not only responsible for most of the contents of the tradition, but also for the basic and general shape into which the tradition has been cast by the synoptic writers” (p. 62), and that this tradition, “largely in the shape in which we now have it,” is responsible for the form of the kerygma.
The position taken by Professor Bartels strongly fortifies the authority of the tradition, sounding a note that is sadly missing in much of the modern discussion. However, does the author prove too much? If Jesus is made responsible for both the shape as well as the content of the tradition, is it likely that the differences between the Gospels can he explained as “editorial liberties,” as Bartels seeks to do?
For its involvement with contemporary discussion the book is to be commended. The criticism raised against Bultmann is particularly effective.
GLENN W. BARKER
Into The Stream
The Layman’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 21: Romans, I & II Corinthians by Kenneth J. Foreman; Vol. 16: Matthew, by Suzanne de Dietrich; Vol. 6: Judges, Ruth, I & II Samuel, by Eric C. Rust; Vol. 13: Ezekiel, Daniel, by Carl G. Howie (John Knox Press, 1961, about 135 pp., ea. $2.00 ea., $1.75 in quantities of four or more), are reviewed by G. Aiken Taylor, Editor, The Presbyterian Journal, Asheville, North Carolina.
The Layman’s Bible Commentary represents the major effort to date to launch the Presbyterian Church, US (one of the last holdouts against neoorthodoxy and the effects of “biblical” theology among the larger denominations), into the main stream of contemporary theological thought.
Only one of the present four volumes was written by a member of the denomination publishing the Commentary.
Romans, I & II Corinthians. Here is theology indeed brought to the level of the layman’s understanding. Concisely and attractively written the weakness of this volume is the weakness of the Commentary as a whole: “positive” Christian doctrines effectively affirmed; “negative” or “hard” doctrines ignored or denied.
Thus laymen will find helpful treatments of justification and propitiation (expressed as expiation). But predestination is denied any negative application. There is no doctrine of reprobation; or of imputation; or of condemnation. The elusive shadow of a tacit universalism flits throughout.
Dealing with the “Jewish problem” of Romans 9, Dr. Foreman says that Paul is not here revealing truth, he is thinking out loud, so to speak, turning over in his mind various possibilities respecting the fate of the Jews and rejecting each possibility until he reaches the final answer upon which he settles, namely that all Israel shall be saved.
Matthew. Essentially the same theological position is reflected in this volume. There is one of the most interesting paradoxes of reverence for, and at the same time disbelief in, the supernatural that this reviewer has seen.
Not the slightest shadow of doubt is cast over the Virgin Birth. The miracles are treated respectfully. The Passion is faithfully told. The Resurrection shines forth in all its splendor. Matthew’s repeated references to judgment, rejection, casting away, are not evaded.
But in the story of Christ walking on water the author cannot refrain from suggesting that post-Resurrection traditions may have woven themselves about the story of Jesus. And certain prophecies on the lips of Jesus (as about his Passion) were “fixed in the tradition after the event.”
Miss de Dietrich’s universalism appears this way: “If the sin against the Holy Spirit is not pardoned either in this age or in the age to come, the opposite is true also—there is hope in this age and in the age to come for those who will not have been acquainted with or recognized the Son of Man here below.”
Judges, Ruth, I & II Samuel. If the major fault of the New Testament volumes in the Commentary is a tacit universalism, the major fault of the Old Testament volumes is a slavish acceptance of the findings of higher criticism.
History is only an original peg, now almost wholly obscured, about which the stories have been woven. Natural events, such as plagues, come to be embellished with theological meaning after being handed down for generations. Thus a pestilence which struck Beth-shemesh is later assigned a theological cause, namely that the people had looked into the Ark.
Ezekiel, Daniel. Surprisingly enough, Ezekiel is said to have been a historical figure, actually living among the captives, seeing in his visions the circumstances of Jerusalem back home. The book is interpreted with a fine appreciation of the theological issues of sin and redemption.
Daniel, on the other hand, is not considered a historical figure at all. The “hero” of this epic story, which is compared to the “Joseph saga,” (the “Daniel image”) was created to represent the truest and best in Israel.
The story of the fiery furnace celebrates (for the encouragement of the persecuted Jews of the Maccabean period) the historical event when “Israel was rescued from the fiery furnace of Chaldean captivity when the people were set free by the hand of Cyrus the Persian.” The story of Nebuchadnezzar’s madness is explained by reference to extra-biblical stories of Nabonidus, who ruled after Nebuchadnezzar, and who spent so much time at Tema, a resort in the desert, that he “was probably considered a ‘nature boy.’ ”
To this reviewer the marvelous thing about this sort of approach to the Bible is how the commentators can speak appreciatively of material they characterize as a deliberate lie. Scripture is said to be historically inaccurate, the stories garbled, the dates fabricated, the characters unidentifiable. Yet this is to be taken as “containing” the Word of God from which we can learn much!
One hopes that this Commentary is not designed to form the theological perspective from which the new curriculum of the Presbyterian Church, US, will be published in 1964.
G. AIKEN TAYLOR
Semantic Dilemma
The Language of Faith, by Samuel Laeuchli (Abingdon Press, 1962, 272 pp., $5.50), is reviewed by Robert H. Mounce, Associate Professor of Biblical Literature, Bethel College, St. Paul, Minnesota.
The basic dilemma of Christian language is pointed up by Irenaeus’ comparison of the Gnostics’ use of words to the disassembling and rearranging of a mosaic: the gems are the same but the two images are quite different. Dr. Laeuchli’s fascinating study introduces the reader to this semantic dilemma of the early Church. To speak meaningfully to the second century the Christian faith had to employ two languages simultaneously the canonical and the contemporary. Whether it could accomplish this without such distortion as would obscure the essential message was the crucial question of that formative period.
Two dangers lurked close by: Gnosticism (ch. I) with its imaginative language and metaphysical subtlety, and post-apostolic Christianity (ch. II) with its moralizing and legalistic distortion of the canonical language of affirmation. Of pivotal importance in this period of theological striving and semantic failure was the contribution of Irenaeus of Lyons (ch. III)—the presentation of a theological language of Christian proclamation.
This is a rewarding book. The temptation, upon finishing the last page, is to return immediately to the first and begin again. In this dialogue with the second century one cannot escape the feeling that there is a strange contemporaneity about it all. The problems of Irenaeus are still with us. To take a hard look at his course of action is to pain direction in the current discussion of religious symbolism. As Gnosticism rearranged the canonical mosaic into an image more philosophically intriging, so also is there the continuing lure to transform the kerygmatic core of revelation into whatever the current philosophy might be. As post-apostolic Christianity used the language of faith as a “handy whip for theologians who have to assert authority,” so also is there the constant danger of allowing the joyful news of New Testament proclamation to become rigid creed and the tool of ecclesiastical conformity.
Dr. Lauechli, who teaches at Garrett Biblical Institute in the field of the history of Christianity, has done us a real service. In the course of his book certain major emphases find repeated expression: that the Christian stands in the clash of two languages; that Christian communication is affirmation, not cosmic speculation or moralizing; that canonical language places man in confrontation with God. The author’s extensive knowledge of the German literature in the field has made available many valuable insights that English readers may have missed. The epilogue, “The Language of Faith,” points up a major conclusion—that relevant proclamation can take place “only when we put ourselves into both the speech of the canon and the idiom of our age.”
ROBERT H. MOUNCE
Mystery Of Life
The Meaning and Message of Lent, by Eugene R. Fairweather (Harper, 1962, 159 pp., $3), is reviewed by James D. Robertson, Professor of Preaching, Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore, Kentucky.
A provocative little book on how an understanding of Lent can deepen the life of the Church and of the individual Christian. Lent is seen as a time of intensive training in Christianity, calling forth serious reflection on such themes as Baptism, the Eucharist, Sunday worship, Christian instruction, penitence, and fasting. The book successfuly bodies forth three things: God’s solution of the mystery of life and death lies at the heart of the Gospel; the great observances of Christianity are designed to set it forth; and the faithful keeping of Lent and Easter can help the believer make God’s answer his own victory
JAMES D. ROBERTSON
Salvation Of Infants
From Limbo to Heaven, by Vincent Wilkin, S. J., (Sheed & Ward, 1961, 145 pp., $3), is reviewed by R. Allan Killen, Professor of Systematic Theology, Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri.
The author, chaplain of Liverpool University for 12 years, who wrote his book during the last four months of his life, discusses the problem of the salvation of unbaptized children who die in infancy. A staunch Roman Catholic who believes in the infallibility of the pope and the supreme authority of his church, the immaculate conception of Mary, etc., he maintains that his church has never made any authoritative declaration on this subject, beyond saying that they go to “limbo,” and sets himself the task of solving this problem in the light of Rome’s view of baptismal regeneration.
Wilkin teaches that there are three kinds of baptism: (1) baptism of water or regular baptism “at the font”; (2) baptism with blood, namely the baptism Rome teaches which saved those Christian martyrs, and the “Holy Innocents” at Bethlehem, who died before they could receive regular baptism; (3) baptism of the Spirit which occurs to all at the second coming of Christ and coincides with the resurrection (pp. 98, 99). Wilkin’s case stands or falls with Rome’s doctrine of baptismal regeneration. He ends by declaring all the heathen and all children who die unbaptized in infancy to be saved by this “baptism of the Spirit,” and only those who willfully and knowingly reject Christ to be lost.
R. ALLAN KILLEN
Bridge Builder
Foundations for a Philosophy of Christian Education, by Lawrence C. Little (Abingdon, 1962, 256 pp., $4), is reviewed by J. Marion Snapper, Professor of Education, Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Professor Little presents us with a sourcebook of the raw materials out of which he believes an adequate philosophy of Christian education must be formulated. The raw materials are the behavioral sciences (e.g., psychology, sociology, anthropology) and theology, “the discipline by which man seeks to organize his religious beliefs into coherent and ordered form.” The method proposed is a “synthesis of the knowledge about human beings and the ways they learn that comes from ‘secular’ sources and that which comes specifically from the Christian heritage.”
Standing quite clearly in the theological tradition of Schleiermacher and Harnack, and impressed by Tillich and Bultmann, the author does not make theological distinctions between general and special revelation. He notes only that the different sciences deal with different aspects of reality. Nowhere is there any clear indication of which sciences are normative and which are descriptive. In fact, it may be inferred from his approach that he wants to be rid of such distinctions.
In his chapter on “The Scientific Image of Man” he includes a discussion of the worth of the individual and makes value judgments such as, “the tensions should be resolved in a spirit of compromise so that the fullest possible good for the whole may be realized.” Certainly no scientist qua scientist made these value judgments.
For theology he proposes “a reconstruction” of Christian doctrine through an intensification of Christian experience and a more realistic interpretation of this experience in terms of contemporary thought through the pooled insights of thinkers who are specialists in a variety of disciplines.”
Evidently Professor Little’s norm is human reason which first identifies Jesus as “the master student of human nature and the world’s best exemplar of high religion”; and secondly demands that the systematized insights (doctrine) derived from the historical Jesus be rescued by science (e.g., philology, archaeology) from Pauline and subsequent interpretation; and finally calls for such a reconstruction as described above.
A theology thus derived must then be synthesized with the findings of the behavioral sciences. Professor Little demonstrates a breadth of scholarship in that field as he presents us with thumbnail sketches of the more prominent theories of learning and personality. They are included to create an awareness of the broad range of insights which are afforded by the behavioral sciences and to whet the reader’s appetite for more. He is encouraged by such eclectics as Gardner Murphy, and Henry A. Murray, and by O. H. Mowrer, Gordon Allport, and others who are recognizing the spiritual dimensions of existence.
This is a consistent book. The author himself contributes to the bridge he is trying to build. He avoids using traditional theological terms; instead the reader will find that the author is continually restating his understanding of those concepts in the language of the behavioral sciences. He tries to give us the psychological concomitants of his theological constructs. It may make us uncomfortable to have the teachings of the Bible psychologized. But it also makes the psychologist uncomfortable to have his work spiritualized. Our author is trying to build a bridge and his effort deserves careful study.
It may be hoped that this book will stimulate some evangelical scholar to deal with this same problem with the sophistication and honesty which characterize Professor Little’s attempt—but without a price tag which bankrupts conservative theology.
J. MARION SNAPPER
Leading To Membership
Light from Above, Christian Doctrine Explained and Applied, by Alfred W. Koehler (Concordia, 1960, 165 pp., $1.50), is reviewed by Robert Preus, Professor of Systematic Theology, Concordia Theological Seminary, St. Louis.
This book is written as an introduction to the Christian faith. It is designed to be a help or textbook in adult classes leading to membership in the church. In this purpose it is notably successful. It is comprehensive, touching all the chief points of Christian doctrine; its style is plain and readable—and original; and its theology is eminently conservative. It is to be hoped, however, that the book will have a wider distribution than merely as a textbook. For it commends itself to any serious Christian reader. Herein the great articles of our faith are not only set forth with clarity and conviction, but the biblical basis in all cases is brought to bear to convince and strengthen the reader.
A more usable introduction to the Christian faith will be difficult to find.
ROBERT PREUS
Book Briefs
Prayer Pilgrimage Through the Psalms, by John Calvin Reid (Abingdon, 1962, 128 pp., $2.50). Written in belief many people need help in praying, Reid has written 118 short, expressive prayers, each based on a verse in the Psalms.
In the Presence of God, by O.W. Toelke (Concordia, 1962, 72 pp., $1.50). Devotions specifically intended for the newly married; relevant and recommended.
Unity in Marriage, by W. J. Fields (Concordia, 1962, 156 pp., $3). A fine, evangelical, realistic and perceptive discussion on how to achieve unity in marriage. Recommended to engaged and to most married people.
The Gospel According to St. Mark, by Alan Cole (Eerdmans, 1961, 263 pp., $3). A good substantial evangelical commentary which is neither unduly technical nor unhelpfully brief. Recommended to pastors and laymen.
The World: Its Creation and Consummation, by Karl Heim (Muhlenberg, 1962, 159 pp., $3). A substantial and scholarly consideration of the counterclaims of the scientific and biblical interpretations of the origin and destiny of the universe. For those who think.
They Came to a Place, by Robert L. Otterstad (Augsburg, 1962, 47 pp., $1.25). Lenten reflections, written on edge of personal total blindness, in which “deep answers to deep.”
Hope In Action, by Hans Jochen Margull (Muhlenberg, 1962, 298 pp., $5). The first full historical account of the ecumenical movement’s concern with evangelism in our century. Competently done by former faculty member of the university of Hamburg.
Devotional Selections from George Matheson, ed. by Andrew Kosten (Abingdon, 1962, 95 pp., $2). Forty brief devotional messages from the late nineteenth-century Scotch poet and preacher.
Suddenly from Heaven, by Carl Brumback (Gospel Publishing House, 1961, 380 pp., $3.95). A history of the Assemblies of God and of the phenomenal growth of Pentecostalism in the twentieth century.
The Ministers Manual 1962, ed. by M. K. W. Heicher (Harper, 1961, 333 pp., $3.50). Brought to date each year with entirely fresh new material.
Paperbacks
To the Golden Shore, by Courtney Anderson (Doubleday, 1961, 520 pp., $1.45). A great story of the life of Adoniram Judson, Man of Mission. (First printing 1956).
From State Church to Pluralism, by Franklin Hamlin Littell (Doubleday, 1962, 178 pp., $.95). Author explodes the categories that have shaped our vision of American church history. Early American religious unity is declared a lie to be cut down. In colonial times, America, like Europe, was officially religious, but this was in fact a “baptized heathenism.”
George Macdonald, ed. by C. S. Lewis (Doubleday, 1962, 160 pp., $.95). Lewis gleans the best from a nineteenth-century Scottish cleric he highly regards.
The Doctrine of Evolution and the Antiquity of Man, by J. D. Thomas (Biblical Research Press, Abilene, Texas, 1961, 64 pp., $.95). Christian thinker looks squarely at the theory of biological evolution and the problems involved.
A History of Biblical Literature, by Hugh J. Schonfield (New American Library of World Literature, 1962, 224 pp., $.75). An examination of the origins, authorship, and authenticity of the Bible in the light of historical events, literature, and recent documentary discoveries. An original.
According to the Scriptures, by Theodore S. Liefeld (Augsburg, 1962, 70 pp., $1.50). Brief, biblical Lenten devotions.
