As long as language remains the most effective means of communication, many books will be published and many read. Even within the limits of the religious sector, a prodigious number of books are published each year; and even granting that people read less than they should, the aggregate of hours spent in reading religious publications must be staggering. To help the Christian minister, professor, and layman make their way through the abundance of religious publications, the book review section of CHRISTIANITY TODAY and this semi-annual forecast of books are dedicated.
Book titles not only indicate the contents that lie between the covers; they also indicate the intellectual problems, the agonizing anxieties, and the vexing questions that disturb the hearts and minds of the Church, and of the world no less. Social problems, particularly the “simple” problem of how to get along with one another, seem to be the chief concern of the day. As can be seen below from the titles of volumes that will come from the publishing houses this spring, social and ethical problems, problems of race and prejudice, of war and peace, and of ecumenical relations within Protestantism and among Protestants, Roman Catholics, and Orthodox—these loom large in the Christian mind and conscience.
Not every title can be listed. It is hoped, however, that even if some we mention are not among the most important, all taken together represent something more than a mere cross section.
THEOLOGY: Meredith will publish Christian Faith and Modern Theology (twenty essays by as many men) edited by C. F. H. Henry; Westminster, The Christian Belief in God by Daniel Jenkins, Beyond Belief by Edward W. Bauman, History, Sacred and Profane by Alan Richardson, and No Other Name by World Council Secretary Visser t Hooft; and Harper & Row, God Here and Now by Karl Barth and The New Hermeneutic by J. M. Robinson and J. B. Cobb, Jr. John Knox Press will publish Beyond Fundamentalism by D. B. Stevick and Revolutionary Theology in the Making: Barth-Thurneysen Correspondence, 1914–1925, translated by J. D. Smart; Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Varieties of Unbelief by M. E. Marty; Helicon, Man in the Church (Vol. II of Theological Investigations) by K. Rahner, S. J., and The Church by Pope Paul VI; Eerdmans, The Hope of Glory by D. Moody; Putnam’s, Luther and the Reformation by V. H. H. Green; Fortress, New Meanings for New Beings by R. Luecke; and Abingdon, The Doctrine of the Church by D. Kirkpatrick and The Historical Jesus and the Kerygmatic Christ by C. E. Braaten and R. A. Harrisville. Sheed & Ward will issue One and Apostolic by A. Hastings and Nature and Grace: Dilemmas of the Modern Church by K. Rahner, S. J.; and Herder and Herder, Israel’s Concept of the Beginning: The Theology of Genesis 1–3 by H. Renckens, S. J.
NEW TESTAMENT: Eerdmans will publish Introduction to the New Testament by E. Harrison and Count It All Joy: Themes from the Book of James by W. Stringfellow; Herder and Herder, The Sources of Acts by J. Dupont, O. S. B.; McGraw-Hill, The Pioneer of Our Faith: A New Life of Jesus by S. V. McCasland; Beacon, Jesus, Son of Joseph by D. F. Robinson; Judson, Theology in the New Testament by R. E. Knudsen; and Westminster, Prayer in the New Testament by F. L. Fisher.
Harper & Row will publish The Language of the Gospel by A. N. Wilder, Law and Wrath (Vol. IV of Bible Key Words) by G. Kittel, and The Humor of Christ by E. Trueblood; and Oxford, Jesus and Christian Origins: A Commentary on Recent Viewpoints by H. Anderson, The Interpretation of the New Testament, 1861–1961 by S. Neill, The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration by B. M. Metzger, and The Greek New Testament: Being the Text Translated in the New English Bible by R. V. G. Tasker.
OLD TESTAMENT: From Prentice-Hall, Living Story of the Testament by W. R. Bowie and Old Testament Light: A Scriptural Commentary Based on the Aramaic of the Ancient Peshitta Text by G. M. Lamsa; Hawthorn, Old Testament Apocrypha (Vol. 71 of the 20th Century Encyclopedia of Catholicism) by C. Dimier; Moody, Survey of Old Testament Introduction by G. L. Archer and Gleanings in Joshua by A. W. Pink; and Baker, Egypt and Exodus by C. F. Pfeiffer.
ARCHAEOLOGY: McGraw-Hill will print W. F. Albright’s History, Archaeology and Christian Humanism (Vol. I of Collected Studies); and Putnam’s, Temples, Tombs and Hieroglyphics: The Story of Egyptology by B. Mertz.
APOLOGETICS, PHILOSOPHY, SCIENCE: In this broad field much is offered. From Yale, Thomas Aquinas and John Gerhard by R. P. Ascharlemann, The Problem of God: Yesterday and Today by J. C. Murray, S. J., and Thomas Stapleton and the Counter Reformation by M. R. O’Connell; Fortress, The Abolition of God by H. G. Koch; Macmillan, Christian Faith in Our Time by F. Buri; Nelson, Hitler and the Pope by E. Alexander; Eerdmans, Faith and Philosophy by A. Plantinga and The Christian World of C. S. Lewis by C. S. Kilby; and Westminster, Truth as Encounter by E. Brunner (a new and much enlarged edition of his The Divine-Human Encounter) and Christ and Time: The Primitive Christian Conception of Time and History, a book in which O. Cullmann levels sharp criticism against R. Bultmann. Regnery will issue Toward Understanding St. Thomas by M. D. Ceni; Cambridge, Why So, Socrates? by I. A. Richards and The Discarded Image by the late C. S. Lewis; another by C. S. Lewis, Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer, is to be published by Harcourt, Brace & World. Scribner’s will issue Moral Philosophy: Historical and Critical Survey of the Great Systems by J. Maritain; Princeton, Meaning and Truth in Religion by W. A. Christian; Harper & Row, The Basis of Christian Faith by F. E. Hamilton; Doubleday, Tongue Speaking by M. T. Kelsey; Holt, Rinehart and Winston, From Hegel to Nietzsche: The RevolutionaryBreakthrough in 19th Century Thought by K. Lowith, translated by David Green, and Philosophical Interrogations (120 philosophers and theologians interrogate Buber, Weiss, Wild, Wohl, Brand, Blanshard, Hartshorne, Tillich); and Oxford, Apologia pro Vita Sua: Being the History of His Religious Opinions, “his” referring to John Henry Newman.
ART AND ARCHITECTURE: Hawthorn will print The Building of Churches and The Art of the Church (Vols. X and XI of the “New Library of Catholic knowledge”), both by P. F. Anson; and Putnam’s, The Architecture of England by D. Yarwood.
BIBLICAL STUDIES: Revell will give us (loosely speaking) The Analyzed Bible by G. C. Morgan; Baker, An Introduction to the Apocryphal Books of the Old and New Testaments by H. T. Andrews and C. F. Pfeiffer; Bethany, The Heritage of Biblical Faith by J. P. Hyatt; Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Conversation with the Bible by M. Barth; Helicon, Primitive Christian Symbols by J. Daniélou, S. J.; Eerdmans, The Nature of the Resurrection Body by J. A. Schep and Volume I of the monumental Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, edited by G. Kittel, translated by G. W. Bromiley; Princeton, Handbook of Biblical Chronology by Jack Finegan; Harper & Row, Living Personalities of the Old Testament by H. Staack; Zondervan, The Church in Prophecy by J. F. Walvoord; Cambridge, The Setting of the Sermon on the Mount by W. D. Davis; Regnery, God’s Kingdom in the Old Testament by M. Hopkins, O. P.; and Westminster, Turning to God: A Study of Conversion in the Book of Acts and Today by W. Barclay.
BIBLE COMMENTARIES AND DICTIONARIES: Nelson will publish Commentary on the Apostolic Fathers (Vol. I) by R. Grand; Sheed & Ward, The Gospel According to St. Mark: A Text and Commentary for Students by A. Jones; and Eerdmans, Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews by F. F. Bruce, The Book of Isaiah (Vol. I) by E. J. Young, and The Wesleyan Bible Commentary by R. Earle and H. Blaney.
CHURCH HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY: Oxford will print The Oxford Movement edited by E. R. Fairweather and John Wesley edited by A. C. Outler; Yale, The Quakers in Puritan England by H. Barbour; Abingdon, The History of American Methodism by forty-four writers; Eerdmans, The Church in an Age of Reason (1648–1789) by G. R. Cragg and The Church in an Age of Revolution (1789 to the Present Day) by A. R. Vidler, and The Reformers and Their Step-Children by L. Verduin; Sheed & Ward, The Theology of Marriage: The Historical Development of Christian Attitudes Toward Sex and Sanctity in Marriage by J. Kerns; Scribner’s, Henry Sloane Coffin: The Man and His Ministry by M. P. Noyes; Christian Publications, 20th Century Prophet (a biography of the late A. W. Tozer) by D. J. Fant and Beyond All Waters (a story of the Christian and Missionary Alliance after seventy-five years) by J. Hunter; Herder and Herder, How the Reformation Came by J. Lortz; Princeton, The Two Kingdoms: Ecclesiology in Carolingian Political Thought by K. F. Morrison; McGraw-Hill, The First Six Hundred Years (Vol. I of The Christian Centuries: A New History of the Catholic Church) by J. Daniélou, S. J., and H. I. Marrou; Harper & Row, The Russian Religious Renaissance of the 20th Century by N. Zernov and The Elect Nation by W. Haller; Beacon, Christian Unity and Religion in New England (Vol. III of Collected Papers in Church History) by R. H. Bainton; Helicon, Blessed John Neumann: Bishop of Philadelphia by J. Galvin, C. S. S. R.; Hawthorn, Bernard of Clairvaux, Doctor Mellifluous by H. Daniel-Rops, Christianity and Other Religions (Vol. 145 of the 20th Century Encyclopedia of Catholicism) by R. C. Zaehner, Christianity and Colonialism (Vol. 97) by R. Delavignette, and Primitive and Prehistoric Religions (Vol. 140) by Bergounioux and Goetz; and Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Priest and Worker: The Autobiography of Henri Perrin translated by Bernard Wall. A Way Home: The Baptists Tell Their Story edited by J. S. Childers; and In the Service of the Lord: The Autobiography of Bishop Dibelius.
ECUMENICS: New books here show both continued and expansive interest. Westminster will publish The Problem of Catholicism by V. Subilia; and Herder and Herder, The Quest for Catholicity: The Development of High Church Anglicanism by G. A. Tavard. From Putnam’s will come The Latter-Day Saints in the Modern Day World by W. J. Whalen; from Scribner’s, The Prospects of Christianity Throughout the World edited by M. S. Bates and W. Pauck; from Eerdmans, Church Unity and Church Mission by M. E. Marty; and from Nelson, Justification and Structures of the Church, both by Hans Küng. Abingdon will print Parish Backtalk by B. Barr and The Doctrine of the Church by D. Kirkpatrick; Helicon, The Rise of Protestant Monasticism by F. Boit; John Knox, Unitive Protestantism: The Ecumenical Spirit and Its Persistent Expression by J. T. McNeill; and Sheed & Ward, Mind If I Differ: A Catholic-Unitarian Dialogue by J. Hasley.
ETHICS AND SOCIAL PROBLEMS: The offerings in this field reflect the many problems of church and society. Harper & Row will publish Church and State in the United States by A. P. Stokes and L. Pfeffer, Reshaping the Christian Life by R. A. Raines, and How the Church Can Minister to the World Without Losing Itself by L. Gilkey; Oxford, Religion and Social Conflict by R. Lee and M. E. Marty; Van Nostrand, Profile of the American Negro by T. Pettigrew; Seabury, Christians in a Technological Era edited by H. White; Putnam’s, The Cured Alcoholic by A. H. Cain; Eerdmans, Slavery, Segregation, and Scripture by J. O. Buswell and Christian Social Ethics: Some Basic Questions by C. F. H. Henry; Beacon, Black Religion: The Negro and Christianity in the United States by J. R. Washington, Jr., and Intermarriage: Interfaith, Interracial, Interethnic by A. I. Gordon; Abingdon, Religion and Leisure in America by R. Lee and In This Free Land: A Case for Responsible Conservatism by C. M. Crowe; and Doubleday, The First Amendment by W. H. Marnell and The Christian Fright Peddlers by B. R. Walker.
Sheed & Ward will issue Black, White and Gray: 25 Points of View on the Race Question edited by B. Daniel and Peace and Arms: Reports from ‘The Nation’ edited by H. M. Christman; Holt, Rinehart & Winston, The Teaching of Contempt: Christian Roots of Anti-Semitism by J. Isaac; Herder and Herder, Mutations of Western Christianity by A. Mirgeler, This Nation Under God: Church, State and Schools in America by J. Costanzo, S. J., and Peace on Earth, a commentary on Pope John’s encyclical, by P. Riga; Westminster, The Christian Understanding of Human Nature by W. N. Pittenger and Radical Obedience: The Ethics of Rudolf Bultmann by T. C. Oden; Hawthorn, Religious Orders of Women (Vol. 85 of the 20th Century Encyclopedia of Catholicism) by S. Cita-Mallard; William Morrow, The Face on the Cutting Room Floor: The Story of Movie and Television Censorship by M. Schumach; and Beacon, The John Birch Society: Anatomy of a Protest by J. A. Broyles.
MISSIONS: Revell will offer The Unpopular Missionary by R. E. Dodge; Bethany, The Layman Views World Missions by L. A. Davis; Prentice-Hall, Missionary, Go Home by J. A. Scherer; Herald, Evangelism, An Invitation to Discipleship by M. S. Augsburger; and Westminster, The Christian Witness in an Industrial Society by H. Symanowski.
PASTORAL THEOLOGY: Judson will publish The Campus Ministry by G. L. Earnshaw; Lippincott, Careers of Service in the Church by B. Y. Landis; Moody, The Pastor’s Wife and the Church by D. H. Pentecost; Baker, Preaching Values from the Papyri by H. H. Hobbs and Proclaiming the New Testament—Philippians, Colossians, Philemon by P. S. Rees; Augsburg, Unfragmented Man by Hans-Joachim Thilo, translated by A. Seegers, and The Making of Ministers edited by K. R. Bridston and D. W. Culver; Abingdon, The Art of Illustrating Sermons by I. Macpherson; John Day, When a Child Is Different (about mentally retarded children) by M. Egg; Harper & Row, For Preachers and Other Sinners by G. Kennedy and The Whole Person in a Broken World by P. Tournier; Broadman, Psychology in Search of a Soul by J. W. Drakeford; Prentice-Hall, Pastoral Care in Historical Perspective by W. Clebsch and C. Jaekle; Zondervan, The Art of Preaching by A. S. Wood; Herald, Servant of God’s Servants by P. M. Miller; and Holt, Rinehart and Winston, The Silent Pulpit: A Guide to Church Public Relations by E. Greif.
RELIGIOUS LITERATURE: Eerdmans promises The Rustle of Wings by C. Holding; Fortress, The Sudden Sun by O. Hartman; Funk & Wagnalls, Man on Fire: A Novel of the Life of St. Paul by L. Blythe; Seabury, The Climate of Faith in Modern Literature by N. A. Scott, Jr.; and Sheed & Ward, The New Orpheus: Essays Toward a Christian Poetic edited by N. A. Scott, Jr.
SERMONS: Baker will publish Fathers of the Church by C. P. Dame, Parables of the Old Testament by R. Norden, and Personalities of the Old Testament by R. G. Turnbull; Abingdon, And Our Defense Is Sure (sermons and addresses delivered at the Pentagon) by H. D. Moore, E. A. Ham, and C. E. Hobgood; Van Nostrand, Best Sermons (Protestant edition), Vol. IX, edited by G. Paul Butler; W. A. Wilde, Great Sermons on the Resurrection edited by W. M. Smith; Nelson, The Easter Message Today by H. Thielicke, L. Goppelt, and H. R. Muller-Schwaefe; Scribner’s, Sons of Anak: The Gospel and Modern Giants by D. H. C. Read; Broadman, Nehemiah Speaks Again by K. O. White; and Zondervan, Spurgeon’s Park Street Pulpit (six volumes) by C. H. Spurgeon and Preaching Through the Bible by E. W. Hayden.
DEVOTIONAL LITERATURE: From Seabury will come The Night and Nothing by G. D. Webbe; from Eerdmans, The Christian Calling by J. H. Kennedy; from Doubleday, Pilgrim’s Primer by L. Cassels; and from Zondervan, The Mystery of Godliness by W. I. Thomas, The Ministry of Keswick by H. F. Stevenson, and God Speaks to Women Today by Eugenia Price.
PAPERBACKS: Westminster will publish Drinking: A Christian Position and Agents of Reconciliation, both by A. B. Come, His Life and Our Life: The Life of Christ and the Life in Christ by J. A. Mackey, and A Protestant Approach to the Campus Ministry by J. E. Cantelon; United Church Press, The Principle of Protestantism by Philip Schaff and Moments of Truth: A Book of Meditations for Lent by R. L. Shinn; Signet (New American Library), Promises to Keep by A. Dooley (Dooley’s mother tells the story of his life) and Why We Can’t Wait by M. L. King; Judson, Baptists—North and South by S. S. Hill and R. G. Torbet; Herder and Herder, On Heresy by K. Rahner, S. J.; Eerdmans, The Revelation of St. John by A. Kuyper, An Introduction to New Testament Textual Criticism by J. H. Greenlee, Missionary Principles by R. Allen, and Phantastes and Lilith (two novels, one volume) by G. MacDonald; Seabury, The Word on the Air by G. M. Jones; Sovereign Grace, Antidote to Arminianism by C. Ness and Absolute Predestination by Zanchius; Fortress, The New Dimension of the Soul by R. Kroner, The So-Called Historical Jesus and the Historic, Biblical Christ by M. Kahler, The Genesis Accounts of Creation by C. Westermann, The Lord’s Prayer by J. Jeremias, Only to the House of Israel? by T. W. Manson, and Jesus and the Wilderness Community at Qumran by E. Stauffer; Moody, Our Neighbor, Martin Luther by E. R. Charles; World, The Holy Bible (RSV); Bethany, In the Presence of Death edited by C. Dale; Warner, What Was Bugging Ol’ Pharaoh? by C. M. (“Peanuts”) Schulz and Brief Introduction to the Old Testament by A. W. Miller; Baker, The Heidelberg Story by E. Masselink, The Sin of Being 50 by J. Johnson, and An Introduction to Communism by H. H. Barnette; Augsburg, The Church in a Diverse Society edited by L. W. Halvorson; John Knox, The Heidelberg Catechism for Today by K. Barth, The Social Humanism of Calvin by A. Bieler, Sowing and Reaping: The Parables of Jesus by E. Brunner, The Three R’s of Christianity by J. Finegan, and Trinitarian Faith and Today’s Mission by L. Newbigin; Faith and Life, The Theological Basis of the Christian Witness to the State (tentative title) by J. H. Yoder; Friendship, Death of a Myth by K. Haselden; and Abingdon, The Young Church by G. Ladd, Great Nights of the Bible by C. E. Macartney, Getting to Know God by J. A. Redhead, and The Methodist Church in Social Thought and Action by G. Harkness.
