Contemporary Christianity
The New Man for Our Time, by Elton Trueblood (Harper & Row, 1970, 126 pp., $2.95), is reviewed by Samuel J. Mikolaski, minister, Braemar Baptist Church, Edmonton, Canada.
This is an essay for our time. Dr. Trueblood is well known as a lecturer and author who for many years was professor of philosophy at Earlham College. In the beginning pages, one might be tempted to sigh that here is yet another tract—anachronistic among the concerns of our times—on disunity among Christians. But the author quickly dispels this impression. The polarization is between social activism and religious pietism. This he sees as an extension of the dichotomy between faith and works, but with a difference: the contemporary social activist too often irrationally jettisons belief and sidesteps his own moral failures, while the pietist, with personal salvation as his primary interest, is insensitive to the suffering world (one wonders whether stating this last generalization isn’t rather like flogging a dead horse).
Professor Trueblood’s book is directed first to those of our time who have no faith but sense the need of faith; second, to the discouraged Christian worker who is on the lookout for a contemporary strategy. The substance of the Gospel must be welded to the reality of our lives, he argues. Necessities for modern man’s life are compassion, reverence, and intellectual integrity. The combination will produce the whole man, which is the new man needed in our time, he says.
Wholeness centers in the spiritual dimension of life. The author seeks historical support from devout men of the past, notably Woolman, the eighteenth-century Quaker. The combination of prayer, an acute social consciousness, and a clear mentality in one whose faith and love are pledged to Christ the Lord create the acute sensitivity to human suffering for which Trueblood pleads.
Important values emerge as the author gathers strength of argument. The positive elements he presents stand out because the vacuum created by their contemporary loss is so apparent. The cultivation of reverence points up the necessity of voluntary discipline and the value of silence—listening to God—in prayer. At the heart of devotional classics is the reality of the divine-human encounter, says Trueblood. Excellence comes at the price of inner control and rules to live by. Valid Christian social concern arises where there is freedom to think (even to doubt), inner moral integrity, a fundamentally religious approach to life, and the capacity for light-hearted self-criticism. Social action does not exclude evangelism for today, but neither does it swallow up evangelism.
In the absence of objective moral values, the rights of others quickly get trampled on, Trueblood argues. Perhaps the contemporary confessional vacuum has made us ready for belief. He stresses the need for rigorous theology that articulates not opinion on peripheral questions but the truth about the personal God revealed in Jesus Christ. Perhaps, concludes Trueblood, modern man is ready to see that this mysterious world makes more sense through a thoroughgoing supernaturalism than in any other way.
A Changing Church
The Reform of the Church, by Donald G. Bloesch (Eerdmans, 1970, 199 pp., $4.95), is reviewed by John H. Gerstner, professor of church history, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
This arresting book most certainly fulfills the promise of its title. In a dozen areas including preaching, sacraments, charismatic gifts, and social relevance, Dr. Bloesch shows the changes occurring in the Church and those that should occur. His sources are as wide-ranging as his subjects. We find men of past and present, secularists, Romanists, and fundamentalists, quoted interestingly and pertinently. This little book could almost serve as a brief contemporary history of the Church. The erudition is impressive, though the book reads so racily one might not notice the vast learning involved. The author seems equally comfortable with Pope John, Billy Graham, and Karl Barth. This book is alive.
It is in the last chapter—“Christian Unity”—that the climax is reached. If the Church is to be reformed, after Bloesch’s thinking, this ideally must take place in union, not in separation, and he draws a large picture that comprehends Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Protestantism (including the “third force”), and Judaism. “Convergence,” not “conversion,” is the formula. This may sound like ecumania, but Bloesch is realistic and doctrinally serious throughout. He wants to avoid sacrificing principle to peace.
Despite this enlightened earnestness, our author does miss the point of, for example, the Spurgeon statement he quotes: “It will not do for us to be all united together by yielding to one another’s mistakes.” Bloesch misses this, I think, because he wrongly supposes that the Reformation was in error as well as Roman Catholicism and specifically that the Protestant doctrine needs the Roman supplement and vice versa. This is a fatal error. We cannot have a twentieth-century reformation of the Church by assuming the sixteenth-century reformation was a mistake or even a half mistake (Pelikan’s “tragedy” as well as “necessity”).
Digest Of Archaeological Finds
The Archaeology of the New Testament, by Edward M. Blaiklock (Zondervan, 1970, 192 pp., $4.95), is reviewed by Merrill C. Tenney, dean, graduate school, Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois.
In a compact volume of fewer than two hundred pages Dr. Blaiklock has produced an eminently readable summary of the major contributions made by recent archaeology to the study of the New Testament. The literary and architectural witnesses to the culture and history of the early Christian era are presented with deftness and eloquence. The book is designed to be a usable digest of significant discoveries that affect the interpretation of the New Testament rather than a discussion of technical problems. It is consequently popular rather than encyclopedic in its scope.
Numerous quotations from ancient documents that illustrate the everyday life of the first century or are relevant to specific episodes of biblical history are provided, and photographs of sites and artifacts illuminate the discussion in the text. The apologetic value of archaeological evidence is not neglected, but the presentation is descriptive rather than argumentative.
Particularly effective is Blaiklock’s terse but comprehensive sketch of Pilate, reconstructed from the literary and archaeological data available concerning him. It stimulates the imagination and provides the background for a better understanding of the Roman procurator who played such an important part in the death of Jesus.
For any reader who is not familiar with archaeology, this book will be a pleasant introduction to the subject, and the Bible teacher or preacher will find here new illustrative material.
The Best Of C. S. Lewis
A Mind Awake: An Anthology of C. S. Lewis, edited by Clyde S. Kilby (Harcourt, Brace, and World, 1969, 252 pp., $5.75), is reviewed by Glenn E. Sadler, assistant professor of English, Westmont College, Santa Barbara, California.
Indisputably C. S. Lewis is recognized as one of the foremost spokesmen for evangelical Christianity. This in itself justifies and makes difficult any attempt to anthologize his writings. Professor Clyde Kilby accomplishes the task with grace, however, in A Mind Awake.
This anthology can be read profitably both by admirers of Lewis and by those who don’t know him. It offers a pleasant and thought-provoking review of Lewis’s apologetic thinking; it can serve also as moving devotional reading; and some will find it a lively sermonic source.
To compile a representative anthology—particularly of a favorite writer—is a prickly exercise. Textual and topical weeds sprout freely. One wonders, for instance, if “Fallen Man” would not be a better choice than “Sex” for Lewis’s remark, from “A Preface to ‘Paradise Lost,’ ” that the effects of the Fall on Adam were more intellectual whereas on Eve they were mainly emotional. And there is the pitfall of appropriateness. This anthology is for the most part carefully cultivated in this regard. In my opinion its topical divisions are more representative than those in Lewis’s own anthology of George MacDonald, which suffers at times from topical glitter that obscures meaning. Kilby’s divisions fall naturally and inclusively into place; for example, chapter 6, “The Christian Commitment,” is a rich devotional assortment, and chapter 10, “The Post-Christian World,” reverberates with modernity.
Kilby’s anthology repeatedly teases its reader into returning to original sources, which is finally the chief purpose of any anthology. It is indeed an alert collection.
Survey Of Major Thinkers
Philosophy and the Christian Faith, by Colin Brown (Inter-Varsity, 1969, 319 pp., $2.50), is reviewed by David H. Freeman, chairman, Department of Philosophy, University of Rhode Island, Kingston.
This concise study of major thinkers and of schools of thought from the medieval period to the present day concentrates on the central issue of the relation between philosophy and the historic Christian faith. Besides giving an excellent survey of the intellectual history of the past thousand years, Colin Brown points out the tentative and provisional character of philosophical insights and warns against the dangers of allying the Christian faith too closely with any philosophical system.
Philosophy is to be valued as a stimulus to Christian thinkers to rethink their position. However, the Christian need not capitulate to the fashionable ideas of the moment and seek to reinterpret Christianity accordingly. Nor is he to regard a particular philosophical system as the yardstick for measuring the truths of the Christian faith. Each new trend ought, rather, to be evaluated in the light of one’s own Christian experience and faith.
Philosophy helps us to see where we are and evaluate contemporary movements. It enables us to view Christianity in perspective without regarding it as a religious form of Platonism, idealism, existentialism, or any other ism.
The Christian faith does not require a natural theology to support it. Rationalistic arguments in support of the existence of God are to be rejected as fallacious. Natural theology has opened the door to much speculation that has obscured the message of the Gospel. Men do have an awareness of God as One to whom we are ultimately responsible. This provides a point of contact for the Christian message.
A philosophy of the Christian religion ought to be concerned with what is involved in faith, with revelation and Christian language, with the relations between the natural and the supernatural, as found in the Christian religion. The Christian motto ought to be that of Anselm of Canterbury, “I believe so that I may understand.” It is not a question of proving first and then believing; rather, the act of believing enables us to understand.
Brown’s book provides a remarkable survey of the past thousand years of intellectual history, though his dismissal of natural theology is a bit too easy. The book calls attention to some of the major problems confronting the Christian who wants to understand the intellectual trends of the time. It should be a part of every intelligent Christian’s library.
Against One-Sided Extremism
In Search of Balance, by Virginia Mollenkott (Word, 1969, 151 pp., $3.95), is reviewed by Millard J. Erickson, associate professor of theology, Bethel Theological Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota.
When the Christian turns to the Bible for guidance, he finds himself confused. What is given is not a neat set of unambiguous rules but rather: “Paradoxes. Polarities of truth. Absurd contradictions, both of them somehow true at the same time. The Bible is full of them—but then, so is life.” Perhaps, Dr. Mollenkott suggests, what is needed is an acceptance of the polarities of truth, in which one strikes a balance between opposed concepts.
She applies this principle in several areas. A prominent one is the tension between God’s power (he does it all) and the Christian’s effort. Because there are texts that urge the believer to abandon his own understanding and trust God, and others that counsel the employment of one’s intelligence and testing, a balance must be struck. As a semi-situationist, the author has as her maxim: follow the established moral rule unless there is clear reason for not doing so. When she does break such a rule, however, it will be with a sense of doing the lesser of two evils—not, as for Joseph Fletcher, of doing a positive good.
The meat of the discussion is contained in the first four chapters. The book is brief and clearly written and can be read in a fairly short time. Its major value is in warning against a one-sided extremism (on either side), which is too common among Christians. The author also points out directly and indirectly the importance of thorough exegesis of Scripture. The contradictions she finds are often not between two texts of Scripture but between two extreme interpretations of them.
This leads to one of the shortcomings of the book: the proof texts are sometimes inadequately examined. For example, Dr. Mollenkott finds a paradox between Paul’s exhortation, “Bear ye one another’s burdens” (Gal. 6:1), and his statement, “Every man shall bear his own burden” (Gal. 6:5), without observing that two different words for “burden” are involved. Nor is the relation between the Bible and experience spelled out.
Further, there is inadequate definition and analysis of some key terms. The author does not really define paradox but at times equates it with contradiction. She suggests there must be a balance between altruism and egoism; in the case of a fire in a building filled with altruists, she says, no one would go first and all would perish. But is this what a true altruist would do, or would he decide to go out the door, not for his sake but for the sake of others? Perhaps a seeming exception to a prima facie duty does not negate the rule but, as Paul Ramsey suggests, indicates that the rule is more complex than originally thought.
Although there is room for some improvements in the book, its lesson is a timely reminder.
Book Briefs
Treasury of Courage and Confidence, edited by Norman Vincent Peale (Doubleday, 1970, 309 pp., $5.95). Prose selections, poetry, and quotations from a variety of sources.
This Morning with God, Volume 2, edited by Carol Adeney (Inter-Varsity, 1970, 130 pp., paperback, $1.50). This daily devotional guide makes use of well-worded questions to lead the reader into his own study of each day’s passage.
Tim Whosoever, by Jerome Hines (Revell, 1970, 149 pp., $3.95). The Metropolitan Opera’s celebrated basso offers four one-act plays which present a Christian message.
The Book of Joel, by Mariano Di Gangi (Baker, 1970, 78 pp., paperback, $1.95). This volume and The Books of Ruth and Esther by C. Reuben Anderson are additions to the “Shield Bible Study Series.”
Pope John XXIII: Letters to His Family (McGraw-Hill, 1969, 833 pp., $15). The 727 letters included in this volume were written over a period of sixty years and provide an interesting character study of the pontiff.
Church Growth and the Word of God, by Alan R. Tippett (Eerdmans, 1970, 82 pp., paperback, $1.95). Spells out the biblical basis for the concept of church growth advocated by the School of World Mission and Institute of Church Growth at Fuller Seminary.
Children and Conversion, edited by Clifford Ingle (Broadman, 1970, 160 pp., $4.50). A study of biblical, theological, and practical considerations that must be taken into account by those who seek to lead children to make a commitment to Christ.
On Religion, by Friedrich Schleiermacher (John Knox, 1969, 383 pp., $11.95). This new translation includes an introduction and critical notes by the translator, Terrence N. Tice.
First Timothy—James, by Leon Morris (Eerdmans, 1970, 91 pp., paperback, $1.25). A helpful commentary from the pen of an outstanding New Testament scholar.
Man Becoming, by Gregory Baum (Herder and Herder, 1970, 285 pp., $6.95). A well-known Catholic theologian reinterprets the doctrine of God along the lines of secular theology.
The Story of the Christian Church in India and Pakistan, by Stephen Neill (Eerdmans, 1970, 183 pp., paperback, $3.95). Studies the history and impact of the Church on the subcontinent of India.
Handbook of Denominations in the United States, by Frank S. Mead (Abingdon, 1970, 265 pp., $3.95). This is the fifth revision, updating a standard work first issued in 1951. It is currently the best of its kind, but don’t expect completeness, and disregard the classifications.
Christian Counter-Attack, by Arnold Lunn and Garth Lean (Arlington House, 1969, 176 pp., $5). Written jointly by a Roman Catholic and a Protestant, this volume underscores the areas of agreement between conservatives of the two faiths.
Resurrection and the New Testament, by C. F. Evans (Allenson, 1970, 190 pp., paperback, $4.65). A scholarly study of the New Testament concept of resurrection.
Pastoral Care Come of Age, by William E. Hulme (Abingdon, 1970, 175 pp., $4.50). A survey of the present state and future possibilities of the ministry of pastoral counseling.
The Churches and the Nations, by O. Frederick Nolde (Fortress, 1970, 184 pp., $7.50). A WCC leader suggests ways in which the Church should affect international affairs.
Tables of Stone for Modern Living, by Randal Earl Denny (Beacon Hill, 1970, 120 pp., paperback, $1.50). Applies the precepts of the Ten Commandments to the world of the seventies.
Ministers’ Research Service, edited by William F. Kerr (Tyndale House, 1970, 854 pp., $9.95). Provides material—exposition, illustrations, and outlines—for fifty-two sermons.
The Epistles of John, by Donald W. Burdick (Moody, 1970, 127 pp., paperback, $.95). Another in the “Everyman’s Bible Commentary” series.
Temple Beyond Time: The Story of the Site of Solomon’s Temple, by Mina C. Klein and H. Arthur Klein (Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1970, 191 pp., $6.95). A survey of the history and present status of this well-known biblical site.
Deuteronomy: A Favored Book of Jesus, by Bernard N. Schneider (Baker, 1970, 163 pp., paperback, $2.95). This devotional commentary emphasizes Deuteronomy’s message of God’s love for his people.
Lift-off!, by James C. Hefley (Zondervan, 1970, 159 pp., $3.95). Men involved in the space program—astronauts, scientists, engineers, and others—speak of their faith in Christ.
Church Business Methods, by Edgar Walz (Concordia, 1970, 85 pp., paperback, $2.50). Pastors and church leaders may find this handbook quite useful.
