In this issue we present our Fall Book Forecast, a partial listing of titles to appear over the next few months. From the number of new books available one would never guess that our nation’s economy is in some kind of recession! In just the first six months of this year, 644 new religious volumes poured forth from the presses in this country; another 216 publications were new editions of old books. (These figures are only for those books that enter into the book trade; there are also a few good and many not-so-good titles regularly distributed through other channels.)
Most people who find reading a joy, or even a necessity, simply do not have time to read all they should. Good stewardship calls for purposeful reading of only the most worthwhile books and articles. But how does one sift discerningly through the deluge of titles on any topic to find the “best”?
An ideal way would be to punch some telephone number requesting the computer at the other end to supply the desired reading matter through some electronic gadget in one’s home. But that solution is still a long way off. In the meantime one has to make do with much more haphazard methods—choosing among books that are already around the house from gifts, inheritance, or purchases (often because the price was sharply reduced); borrowing books that a neighbor or fellow church member or fellow student happens to own. When it comes to buying books or borrowing them from libraries, recommendations, skillful (and, dare we say it?, occasionally deceptive) advertisements, special bargains, and availability all combine in unpredictable ways to influence one’s choice.
To help the conscientious Christian be a little better equipped to decide what to read in the time available, CHRISTIANITY TODAY will begin publishing later this year a series of bibliographical articles. Each installment will cover some important topic of general interest to most Christians. Of course, commentaries, topical studies, and background guides on the Bible will be prominently featured. Books on the various topics of church history, theology, ethics, practical ministry, and the relation of Christianity to other fields or faiths will be further areas of emphasis.
When the series—which will appear about once a month—is finished, it will be somewhat revised (in the light of readers’ comments and new titles) and issued in book form, available at modest cost to our subscribers, old and new. Because of the steady stream of new titles and editions, the bibliography will need constant supplementing, and this we propose to do in our annual book survey issue each February. Hopefully, we will be able to revise the book every few years, utilizing these annual supplements.
The editors of CHRISTIANITY TODAY, as the bibliographies will indicate, recognize that there are different levels of approach to every question. A book on drug use that is most suitable for a teen-ager, for example, probably would not be the best book for his parents. And a pastoral counselor would no doubt want a more thorough and technical study than either parents or youth need. Similarly, Bible commentaries are written for different audiences. Therefore, we plan to annotate each title listed so that the bibliographies will be really valuable to all potential users.
However, we do not want to give the impression that we are offering a list of “approved,” wholly trustworthy books and that all others are to be shunned. This sort of “all good” or “all bad” approach is popular in some circles, especially among those boasting of their loyalty to the Bible. (Bibliographies reflecting this approach are readily available.) In reality, the elevation of some writings as being “safe” and “sound” has the tendency to give those interpretations of the Bible equal authority with the Word of God itself. We prefer to leave the ascription of infallibility, even though only implied, solely to the Scriptures.
For that reason, our proposed series of bibliographies will indicate what we consider of value even in books that have concepts with which we disagree. As an added service, we will also mention a few heavily promoted books that are not, in our view, worthwhile. All books, whether or not by men whose theologies approximate our own, are to be evaluated in the light of the Word of God and on the basis of their ability to help Christians better understand the teaching of the Scripture so that we may apply that teaching to our lives today.
Letting The President Drown
President Nixon’s now famous blooper—his saying that Charles Manson was “guilty of” when he intended to say that the self-styled radical was “charged with” several killings—has renewed concern about the isolation of the presidency.
Some tribal chieftains and national monarchs are considered so sacred that no mortal even dare touch their bodies. One of these kings had the misfortune of falling off his royal barge into the river, so the story goes, and naturally he drowned because no aide would risk putting hands on the king to rescue him. Attorney General Mitchell, who was standing right next to President Nixon during the news conference, later said he recognized at once that the President had made an error. Well, then, why didn’t he interrupt or speak up immediately after the President finished (and before newsmen could flee to their phones) to give Mr. Nixon a chance to set things straight? Mitchell’s reply: “It is not the proper posture for anybody to correct the President of the United States.” Better to let him drown!
If one of the closest friends of a president dare not give him a chance to correct himself over an obvious mistake, then presidents and those around them have allowed their exaltation to go entirely too far. What hope is there for presidential opinions to be challenged by ordinary advisors when mistakes can’t be mentioned even by confidantes? Peter may have had an important role among the apostles, but that did not keep Paul from publicly correcting him when he was wrong. We do not endorse those who show disrespect to the presidency. But neither do we feel that it serves either the President’s interest or the nation’s for him to be so exalted that he is beyond correction. If the Manson remark serves to desanctify the presidency a little and to embolden aides and advisors, then something useful will have resulted.
Missing Day or Missing Data?
The widely circulated story that a NASA computer “discovered” a day missing from history seems to be convincing many that scientists at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland have verified the account in the book of Joshua that the sun stood still. The supply of doubting Thomases seems to be running short in the churches these days, and Christians are as convinced as if they had put their hand in the computer’s side.
This is definitely a case, however, not only of a missing day but also of missing evidence. Authorities at NASA have searched records and talked with everyone who might have been involved in the “research”—and are unable to discover any such activity. The story seems to exist only in the memory of one man, Harold Hill, a Baltimore engineer, who has “misplaced” the names and documentation. Other authorities such as John Read, a member of the technical staff of Hughes Aircraft and a vice-president of the Bible-Science Association, have written articles pointing up the scientific weakness in Hill’s story.
Circulating questionable stories as fact helps neither the Christian nor the non-Christian. The unbeliever who sees Christians swallow a hoax can justifiably label us credulous and naïve—and lump the story of Jesus Christ with the myths and frauds.
More appalling is the state of our faith revealed by our jumping at “computer proof” of the Bible’s accuracy. We don’t need IBM to tell us our God is Lord of heaven and earth. We know the Bible is true—and that it is intended to be the light for a man’s life, not a scientific document subject to confirmation by computer.
“Our God is rubbing their noses in His Truth,” a widely publicized Hill article concludes. Complete scientific proof for the existence of God cannot be adduced. For man to contrive such proofs is a mistake that may be compounded when the proof is based on man’s works instead of God’s.
U. S. Crime: Beyond The Law
Why did crime in the United States soar by an alarming 148 per cent during the 1960s? The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports for 1969, released last month, didn’t say. The documents were long on statistics and short on reasons. The somber news was that, though the rate of increase of serious crime in the United States tapered off last year, the crime rate, or number of crimes for each 100,000 persons, was 2,471 for 1969 compared to 2,234 in 1968. An average of nine serious crimes were committed in the nation each minute last year.
Rape rose 17 per cent over the previous year (the only category of serious crimes that had a larger percentage of increase for 1969 than for 1968), and burglary was the most frequently committed offense. Property valued at almost $2 billion was stolen as a result of 297,600 robberies, 1,949,800 burglaries, 3,812,000 larcenies, and 871,900 auto thefts.
Though J. Edgar Hoover’s report didn’t comment on causes of the dramatic rise in crime during the sixties, one group did draw some conclusions from its probe of the 1968 Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Acts that allocated $63 million for fiscal 1969 to improve law enforcement, justice, and correctional facilities in twelve states. The funds, said the Urban Coalition, largely went for police communications equipment and hardware. “Only negligible attention was given to … juvenile treatment, narcotics control, or court reform,” the coalition report said.
Some of the FBI’s statistics appear to corroborate these accusations. Between 1960 and 1969, police arrests of persons under eighteen increased 90 per cent, while the population of the young age group increased only 27 per cent. During that period, arrests for narcotics-law violations increased almost six times, primarily because of the involvement of the young.
Other figures show law enforcement agencies solved only 20 per cent of the serious crimes brought to their attention during 1969, a decline of 34 per cent since 1960. Smart criminals know they have only one chance in five of being caught and that of those arrested 35 per cent are not convicted. Further, figures back up those who say our penal institutions fail to deter criminals. A study of 18,567 offenders paroled in 1963 showed that 65 per cent had been rearrested by the end of last year; for those under twenty it was 74 per cent.
Growing permissiveness in American society during the sixties saw numerous leading clergymen—among other persons—openly defy laws they considered unjust. And a disrespect, pervasive in some circles, for police authority must also be blamed for the unusual increase in crime and criminal behavior. Doubtless the breakdown of American family life, discipline, and standards in the home is a root cause of the upsurge in lawbreaking. These underlying changes are of course beyond the immediate control of law enforcement agencies.
Amid the gloom, there was a flicker of hope last month in crime-ridden Washington, D.C., when it was announced that serious crime there in July of this year dropped 13 per cent from the rate of July, 1969. Mayor Walter E. Washington attributed the decrease to a greatly expanded police department, and a massive program for treating narcotics addiction.
Unfortunately, such measures only restrain actual and would-be offenders. We wish crime would fall away to nil because each man, woman, and young person obeyed God and loved his neighbor as himself. Such a notion is admittedly unrealistic because it ignores man’s sin—some original, some highly repetitious. Until God’s kingdom comes on earth, we can pray for a mighty spiritual revival. Where the Spirit of Christ is, there is love, peace, kindness, fidelity, tolerance, and self-control. Against these, there is no law.
Hitting The Trail
Labor Day in American life not only marks the end of summer; it also brings the time when aspirants for public office hit the campaign trail. This year some of the candidates got off to an early start. Last month, Arthur Goldberg, who hopes to capture the New York governorship from Nelson Rockefeller, carried a heavy backpack in a ten-mile New York State wilderness hike in the interest of conservation and anti-pollution.
Between now and election day, America will be inundated with the usual flood of political rhetoric, liberally sprinkled with promises of what the candidates did or can do for the people. We can anticipate plenty of smog, a good deal of bombast, charges, and countercharges, and a mixture of truth and falsehood. Traditionally this sort of talk has been part of the political scene, and the closer it gets to election day the rougher the language becomes.
As citizens it becomes Christians to exercise the right of franchise, choosing representatives selectively on the basis of merit rather than on the basis of political party. It may be that a vote for one man will be more a vote against his opponent, a choice between the lesser of two evils. Christians should not sit on their hands and criticize the system. They should get involved. They should find candidates they can support, work to elect them, and contribute to their campaign chests. On election day they should hit the polling places and behind closed curtains vote for conscience’s sake. This is democracy at work, and Christians have a stake in determining which way the country goes.
The Chain-Letter Gang
Members of the American clergy are being solicited to participate in the old chain-letter racket that has been declared illegal by Post Office authorities. Ministers are promised a return of $8,000 if they send $1 to the person whose name appears at the top of a list of four people. The victim then is supposed to eliminate the first name, place his own fourth on the list, and send copies of the letter to twenty friends. If he does this within twenty-four hours after receiving his letter, in twenty days he will receive 8,000 replies, each containing a dollar.
This shell game has been operating in various forms for a long time. Whoever started it again should be reported to the postal authorities, and anyone who receives such a letter should file it in the waste basket where it belongs. Of all people, ministers should be least gullible about this racket and least susceptible of trying to get something for nothing.
Blacks In Christian Colleges
Every Christian college is working its way through the knotty puzzlement of how to provide educational opportunities for black students who continue to constitute a minuscule group on most campuses. Sincere efforts have been thwarted and problems compounded by factors beyond the control of both whites and blacks. For one thing, the present supply of black college teachers is inadequate in the face of current demand. Many who are available end up holding lucrative posts in private schools or state institutions whose salaries the Christian colleges cannot equal.
The number of available black students is also limited, and institutions vie with one another to recruit young blacks. Again Christian colleges, with only meager scholarship funds for white or for black students, are caught in a bind—the secular institutions can outbid them in the effort to enroll black students. The problem is further complicated by pleas from black administrators of black institutions of higher learning not to raid their faculties of good personnel.
Inside magazine, published by the Evangelical Committee for Urban Ministries in Boston, recently printed speeches delivered at a conference on “The Black Student at the Christian College.” Some of the remarks were complimentary to Christian colleges; others were highly critical of them. The conference proposed no essentially new or novel actions, but it did reiterate the basic needs that do not require discussion so much as implementation. It is still up to Christian colleges to expedite what they assent to in principle but can attain only by hard work, imaginative thinking, and genuine perseverance. The black brethren challenge Christian colleges to
• Combat all forms of racism within their institutions;
• Find more effective means of recruiting black students;
• Hire black administrators, counselors, and faculty who can communicate with black students and deal effectively with their problems;
• Institute a tutorial program to assist incoming black students who have poor educational backgrounds;
• Aid black students financially by establishing more scholarship aid rather than offering work-study programs;
• Establish more black representation in chapel, convocation, and other programs.
The blacks have passed the ball; now let their white brethren run with it!
The Power Of Pornography
The President’s Commission on Pornography probably will report that pornography does not cause sex crimes or corrupt youngsters’ morals. Although the report will not be released officially until later this month, a first draft has been leaked to the press.
This preliminary report, still subject to revision and strongly opposed by some commission members, says: “There is no evidence to suggest that exposure of youngsters to pornography has a detrimental impact upon moral character, sexual orientation or attitudes.” It further states: “Research indicates that erotic materials do not contribute to the development of character defects, nor operate as a significant factor in anti-social behavior or in crime.”
The validity of these opinions is open to serious question. The commission was established only two years ago, a rather brief period in which to formulate such sweeping conclusions. We doubt that it is possible to evaluate adequately in that short time the effects of exposure to pornography on the development of moral character. Furthermore, the findings regarding pornography’s effects on youngsters were not based on actual study of those under eighteen because of sensitivity toward such investigations. Instead, the commission studied college students (who grew up before society became so openly exposed to pornography), feeling that that research would be valid for younger people. Moreover, tests of physical responses during prolonged exposure to pornographic material don’t really tell much about character development. Clergymen and psychologists who have counseled young people could tell more—and some have—about how even mild forms of pornography have proved to be a serious problem in character development.
Even if it could be shown that there is never any causal connection between sex crimes or moral corruption and pornography (and this is far from certain)—so what? At the very least, the ready availability of pornography indicates a flabby moral climate. Both the Scriptures and history tell us that the society that rebels against God’s plan for the proper use of sex faces in due time God’s judgment. This fact is vastly more important than the superficial two-year study of any commission. We hope legislators will give the commission’s report scant attention if the finished product turns out to be what the preliminary report suggests.
A Petition For The President
In all the years of history few empires have displayed the might of ancient Babylon. And few men have wielded the power of the Babylonian kings, Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar. Yet in a period of an hour Nebuchadnezzar became a madman and was driven from his throne to keep company with the beasts of the field. And Belshazzar and the Babylonian empire suddenly and surprisingly met their doom only hours after Daniel’s interpretation of the handwriting on the wall warned that both the king and his kingdom were finished.
Why did these things happen? Daniel gives the answer: “Thereby the living will know that the most high is sovereign in the kingdom of men: he gives the kingdom to whom he will and he may set over it the humblest of mankind” (Daniel 4:17 NEB). Isaiah expresses God’s sovereignty over the nations of earth in these words: “Why, to him nations are but drops from a bucket … all nations dwindle to nothing before him.…” (Isaiah 40:15, 17 NEB).
No nation has ever become so great or powerful that God cannot bring it down; no nation is so small that God cannot raise it to a place of power if he chooses. God has promised to bless and exalt the nation that honors and obeys him (Psalm 33:12, Proverbs 14:34). He also promises to judge the nations that forget him (Psalm 9:17).
By the grace of God, America is a powerful and prosperous nation. But many things about America reflect a lack of gratitude to God or concern to obey him. Certainly this is an hour in which the people of America need to gather together to pray for their nation—to thank God for his goodness, to repent of the evils that exist, to affirm allegiance to the will of God, and to seek the wisdom and strength to know and do his will.
We call upon President Nixon to exercise the privilege given him by Congress to set aside an annual day of prayer. And we respectfully request that it be announced long enough in advance of the date so that there might be ample publicity and preparation for it. Only with the help of God can America be a nation worthy of honor, and only as America genuinely honors and obeys God can we expect his continued blessings. The alternatives are frightening.
