The Church And Social Action

Politics and Evangelism, by Philippe Maury (Doubleday, 1960, 120 pp., $2.95), is reviewed by Edward L. R. Elson, Minister, National Presbyterian Church, Washington, D. C.

Here is a book which ought to be read by every social action “expert” and by all who are unhappy over the absolutisms of the social action “cults.” Philippe Maury, French Protestant layman, now General Secretary of the World Christian movement, stakes down his case on the premise that both evangelism and political action, for the Christian, arise from the Word of God and the eternal gospel of Christ. “For the Church,” says Maury, “the meaning of history is the history of salvation, and no historical event can be understood outside this perspective, and especially that of the coming kingdom of God.”

Maury contends that the Church can and must speak, but must be certain that it is the Word of God which is spoken. The Church should be courageous but also prudent. It should always be cause for alarm when there is not a large concensus when the Church is disposed to speak. Prudence is also a form of courage, and to be silent when there is not a large concensus is more eloquent than speech. It must never be forgotten that the Church speaks by simply being the Church. Her very existence has a prophetic meaning, a missionary dimension.” Political, economic, and social declarations are derivatives; they are not the Gospel nor are they necessarily prophetic. The Church is a divine institution, but the Church is not God. To her has been committed one specialty—the proclamation of the gospel of redemptive love made known in time for all time by Christ Jesus our Lord.

EDWARD L. R. ELSON

New Phase Of Old Quest

Jesus of Nazareth, by Günther Bornkamm (Harper, 1960, 239 pp., $4), is reviewed by Everett F. Harrison, Professor of New Testament, Fuller Theological Seminary.

For many years the so-called quest of the historical Jesus has challenged German scholarship. Schweitzer made him out to be an apocalyptic dreamer. Bultmann retained the eschatological emphasis but stressed also the ethical imperative in Jesus’ teaching. In his attitude toward the possibility of precise knowledge concerning our Lord’s person and ministry, Bultmann was highly skeptical on the ground that we depend for our knowledge upon the testimony of the early Church, which has pictured Jesus in the light of her own situation rather than as he was.

Bultmann’s disciples have been somewhat disturbed that he held so lightly the importance of establishing a solid connection between the kerygma and the historical Jesus. Now, 30 years after the appearance of Bultmann’s Jesus, one of his circle has written on the same theme and opened a new phase of the old quest. Bornkamm is obviously in debt to Bultmann for his basic approach, which is theological and existential rather than historical in the usual sense of the word. He frequently sets aside the testimony of an Evangelist on the ground that it has been shaped or distorted by the early Church and therefore does not portray what Jesus said or did with reliability. “The extent to which the Church’s faith and theology have formed and added to the tradition of the history of Jesus appears most clearly in the legends and in a story’s legendary embellishments, as these increase from one evangelist to another” (p. 19).

Article continues below

What, then, it may be asked, is new in this presentation as opposed to Bultmann’s? One thing is the concern for grappling with the historical data instead of dismissing such data. Consequently there is a chapter on “Period and Environment” as well as one on “Discipleship” and another on “Jesus’ Journey to Jerusalem.” But the main thrust is to deal with Jesus’ teaching and seek for indications of the actual man embedded there. Bornkamm finds a solid bit of historical reality in the sovereignty and independence with which Jesus deals with persons and situations, as for instance his frequently acting contrary to people’s expectations and hopes (pp. 58–59).

The author comes to grips with the tension between the future hope of the kingdom of God and its present reality in the teaching of Jesus. Dismissing several attempts to handle this, including realized eschatology, he adopts something which has affinity with the latter viewpoint. “The future of God is salvation to the man who apprehends the present as God’s present, and as the hour of salvation. The future of God is judgment for the man who does not accept the ‘now’ of God but clings to his own present, his own past and also to his own dreams of the future” (p. 93). Jesus came to a people who had no present, who were preoccupied either with their traditions which recalled the past or their apocalyptic hopes for the future. “To make the reality of God present: this is the essential mystery of Jesus” (p. 62).

Bornkamm differs from Bultmann in placing the transition of the aeons between John the Baptist and Jesus rather then between Jesus and Paul. “The way to Christ and into the kingdom of God did not merely lead at one time—in a moment of past history—through John the Baptist, but it leads once and for all only along that path of repentance shown by him. Faith in Jesus Christ is only there where the believer, for himself and within himself, lets the shift of the aeons take place in his own life” (p. 51).

Article continues below

Bornkamm sweeps away the Messianic titles of our Lord as imposed on him by the early Church. In their stead he puts his own reconstruction, “that the Messianic character of his being is contained in his words and deeds and in the unmediatedness of his historical appearance” (p. 178). No answer is given to the ultimate question, Who is Jesus of Nazareth? None is attempted.

EVERETT F. HARRISON

One-Worldism

In Place of Folly, by Norman Cousins (Harper, 1961, 224 pp., $3), is reviewed by Dr. Howard E. Mather, Minister, First Presbyterian Church, Amenia, N. Y.

The publishers assert, “Now Norman Cousins brings together in a single book the essential facts concerning the present danger …;” and they call attention to his continuous writing in advocacy of a “sane nuclear policy” since 1949. That is exactly what this book is: A compendium of all Cousins’ previous cliches in advocacy of “one world government” and the bromides of the pseudo-pacifists who “even in self defense, will not engage in a war that would destroy the world” but would use the force of federal world government, “from which no state could withdraw or be expelled,” to coerce the nations.

The author’s chapters on the horrors of nuclear, biological and germ warfare are considered by many scientists in the “know” as exaggerations. The summary to every chapter is the same: The answer to all our racial and cultural and ideological problems, is federal world government. That powerful and unscrupulous forces might and would sieze tyrannical dictatorship of such a government never seems to occur to the proponents of “the human commonwealth of the whole.” Cousins’ “check list of enemies” includes the selfish and ignorant who do not go along with his “one world” ideology; the politicians and statesmen who do not accept his philosophy of “freedom under world law”; and the clergymen who interpret their religious obligations and responsibilities as spiritual rather than political.

The one supreme and controlling thought that is missing in this pessimistic evaluation of the world order is that of God who “holds the whole round world in His hands.”

HOWARD E. MATHER

Values Underscored

Scientism and Values, edited by Helmut Schoeck and James W. Wiggins (D. Van Nostrand Co., 1960, 270 pp., $6.50), is reviewed by Arthur F. Holmes, Associate Professor of Bible and Philosophy, Wheaton College (Illinois).

Article continues below

The advent of the nuclear age brought to focus perhaps the keenest problem posed by modern science. Industrialization, technological advance, organization man, and the threat of human annihilation have stressed anew the urgency of conserving the uniqueness of man and his values in a scientific age. A respectable body of literature on the subject is rapidly accumulating, the present volume being one of the most significant.

Two philosophers, four sociologists, two literary figures, an economist, an historian, a political scientist, and a biologist present a colloquium on the subject. In particular they attack the “unity of science” thesis that the study of man can be conducted with the same methods, presuppositions, and supposed objectivity as are employed in the physical sciences. The term “scientism” is used to denote such a fallacy. It does not connote any antiscientific attitude; rather it underscores the uniqueness of man, the value-centric predicament of the investigator, and the creativity of the free human spirit. It exposes the over-simplified generalizations of those who treat human values as purely natural phenomena.

The criticism and evidence presented provide both a cogent case and refreshing perspectives. The reviewer gains the impression, however, that insofar as the volume poses a constructive view it is closer to a Neo-Kantian Kulturphilosophie than to a distinctly theistic view of man and his values.

ARTHUR F. HOLMES

Pacifism Defended

Christian Attitudes to War and Peace, by Roland Bainton (Abingdon, 1960, 299 pp., $4.75), is reviewed by W. Stanford Reid, Associate Professor of History, McGill University, Montreal.

The title of this work adequately explains its purpose. It provides an historical exposition of various Christian views on war including those of both Old and New Testaments. Professor Bainton holds that Christians have accepted one of three views: the just war, the crusade, and pacifism. He then applies these three categories throughout history although, from the reviewer’s point of view, not always with adequate authority.

As one might expect, the work mainly sets forth the claims of pacifism. Professor Bainton believes that now if ever, pacifism must establish itself, but this he feels will be possible only if a world government arises. His plea to Christians to push for nonresistance in an atomic age has much on its side. On the other hand it seems clear from the Scriptures that because of sin, wars will continue to the end. Perhaps the desire for peace through world government will help bring in the kingdom of antichrist. This book needs much careful study in order that nonpacifists may re-evaluate their position.

Article continues below

W. STANFORD REID

Ministry For The Times

Making the Ministry Relevant, ed. by Hans Hofman (Scribner’s, 1960, 169 pp., $3.50), is reviewed by Andrew W. Blackwood, professor emeritus, Princeton Theological Seminary.

Harvard’s able young director of the University “Project on Religion and Health” has done well his work as editor. After his own able Introduction, setting forth the difficulties and the outlook, Paul Tillich stresses the difficulty of appealing to our secular age, and the call for vastly more of “the vertical dimension.” To me this is the ablest of all the provocative chapters. Reinhold Niebuhr stresses things ethical. Other experts deal with Depth Psychology, Psychiatry, Pastoral Counseling (Seward Hiltner), and “Theological Education after Ordination.” This last, by Reuel Howe, a specialist on Pastoral Studies, opens up a field of deep concern.

While not easy to read, all of these chapters should prove rewarding. To us of the older orthodoxy they show that we have much to learn from experts with different ideologies. Some day, we hope, such a symposium will include a chapter on making the ministry relevant by basing everything on the Bible.

ANDREW W. BLACKWOOD

Reformed Point Of View

The Way of Salvation, by Gordon H. Girod (Baker Book House, 1960, 157 pp., $2.95), is reviewed by John R. Richardson, Minister, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Atlanta, Georgia.

One of the best books to appear in 1958 was Girod’s The Deeper Faith. It exhibited remarkable theological insight into the Reformed faith. Two years later Dr. Girod contributes another outstanding work pertaining to salvation from the Reformed point of view. The ten chapters deal with the historic Ordo Salutis or the Way of Salvation.

Beginning with the sovereignty of God, the author continues with logical progression of thought till he comes to the subject of glorification which he calls “complete redemption.” God is sovereign but he is specifically sovereign in the area of the salvation of man. With this biblical presupposition, the author proceeds step by step in the explanation of the content of Christian salvation. A cogent argument is presented to show that man is powerless to bring about his own salvation from death unto life, and that he is saved by Grace alone.

Article continues below

Without apology the author insists that election is the sine qua non of salvation. In the exposition of Election, he follows the Canons of Dort. Election is shown to be a matter of practical importance. The author observes, “Only when you realize that you owe God everything will you give to Him the glory. Then you will honor Him as we all should. Then you will accord to God all the glory in your salvation.”

The engaging synopses of the great truths pertaining to our Christian salvation set forth in this volume constitute some of the finest theological and homiletical literature that has come from the press in a long time. The living convictions offered here with such marked simplicity and sound logic should be of tremendous value in today’s life. Laymen seeking to understand the content of the Reformed faith will be enlightened by this work and stimulated to further study in this sphere of Christian theology. Ministers will discover this work to be fresh and moving.

JOHN R. RICHARDSON

History Of Translations

The English Bible, by F. F. Bruce (Oxford, 1961, 234 pp., $4), is reviewed by Merrill C. Tenney, Dean of the Graduate School, Wheaton College (Illinois).

With deft hand and discerning analysis, Professor Bruce has traced the long and complicated history of the English Bible from the first Anglo-Saxon interlinear paraphrases of the Latin Vulgate to the New English Bible which has not yet been released for publication. He has covered adequately the early translations of Tyndale, Rogers, Coverdale, and the Geneva Bible which were the immediate ancestors of the familiar and currently dominant King James Version. The subsequent versions produced by committees, such as the Revised, American Standard, and Revised Standard Versions, and the private translations like those of Moffatt and Williams are discussed at some length. Two chapters on Roman Catholic versions complete the account.

For evangelical Christians the question of translation is singularly important, because the faith of the individual believer rests ultimately on his personal comprehension of the Word of God rather than in ecclesiastical traditions and dogma. Since he is not equipped to read Hebrew and Greek, he is dependent on the versions made for him by scholars. In the multiplicity of these there may be safety, for each will supplement or correct the deficiencies of the other, but the reader may be perplexed by the variety and occasional contradictions that he finds in their renderings.

Article continues below

Dr. Bruce’s excellent review of the history of these translations sets them in their historical perspective, and evaluates them with moderation and keen insight for accuracy, style, and usefulness. Those who have never undertaken to translate the Scriptures, and who consequently have no practical understanding of the difficulties entailed, can profit greatly from the account of the early translators. They risked their lives to give the Bible to the people in their own tongue. Later scholars in more peaceful times struggled with lexical and hermeneutic problems to make the meaning of the first century intelligible to the present day.

One or two translations are not mentioned at all, such as Ballantine’s and Helen J. Montgomery’s. Since these were American products, with rather limited circulation, they may not have been considered important enough to mention. The book is scholarly but not tedious, critical but fair and dispassionate, and occasionally lightened by flashes of humor. The layman will find it informative and enjoyable reading, and the scholar will gain from it new material for reflective thought.

MERRILL C. TENNEY

Steward Of Truth

Expounding God’s Word, by Alan M. Stibbs (Inter-Varsity, 1960, 112 pp., 4s.), is reviewed by Herbert M. Carson, Vicar of St. Paul’s, Cambridge.

This is the third volume of a trilogy, the earlier volumes being Understanding God’s Word and Obeying God’s Word. In the latest book we move from exegesis, with which the author dealt earlier, to exposition; but his contention links the two together, for any exposition worthy of the name is rooted in a faithful exegesis. Thus in expounding, the preacher is endeavoring to declare and apply to his hearers the meaning of the Word before them.

There are two ways of teaching men how to preach, namely, by giving them general principles and by showing them illustrations of these principles. This is the method adopted here. After his valuable emphasis on the importance of faithful exposition, in which the preacher is simply the steward put in trust with the truth of God, he gives illustrative expository outlines dealing with varied types of scriptural exposition. Beginning with six outlines on John 2:1–11, with different audiences in view, he goes on to deal with expounding narrative short statements and longer passages.

This is a valuable book for men in training for the ministry, and for lay preachers. Indeed, it may be that some who are already in the ministry and who are retracing their steps from the barren cul-de-sac of what the author calls “imposition,” rather than exposition, may find here an introduction to a truly expository ministry.

Article continues below

H. M. CARSON

Man Of God

Eivend Berggrav: God’s Man of Suspense, by Alex Johnson (Augsburg, 1960, 220 pp., $3.50), is reviewed by E. E. Ryden, Editor of The Lutheran Companion.

Most of us know something about the heroic role that Eivend Berggrav, Bishop of Oslo, played in the resistance movement during the Nazi occupation of Norway in World War II, but we have little knowledge of the formative years of this man and of the spiritual struggles that helped mould a man of God who in the day of crisis stood firm as a rock.

It is this period in the life of Bishop Berggrav that forms the most illuminating portion of Alex Johnson’s fascinating book, the English translation of which has been done in unusually lucid style by Kjell Jordheim, a Wisconsin pastor.

After eleven long years of doubt, during which he refrained from holy communion, it was the Lord’s Supper itself that furnished the final solution to the many questions that troubled the future bishop’s soul. Says the biographer, “When Berggrav came to realize that Christ was Christ, unique in Himself, and that He was, if not the Son of God, nevertheless the one in whom God was and worked, then he could refrain no longer from the sacrament. For Christ Himself had said, ‘Do this in remembrance of me.’ Berggrav had to obey.”

“The whole maturing process,” the author goes on to say, “had been a gradual resolving of the tensions within him. All the sentiments, thoughts, discussions and experiences had unconsciously united into something organic within him, so that he did not sense his faith until it had become a reality. Thus it seemed clear to him that faith is neither thought, nor emotions, nor intellect, nor sentiment, but activity—a function within the soul, accomplished not by oneself but by God.”

After light had dawned on his own soul, Berggrav became particularly helpful to those who were “searching.” However, he could never quite forget that he himself had doubted so long, and that the “eager ones” had never been able to help him. He never, therefore, tried to “push others into faith. He drew them—slowly.”

How he finally became a country parson, then a bishop, and finally a spiritual leader to all of Norway during the dark days of World War II forms an intriguing story that makes for fascinating and profitable reading.

Article continues below

E. E. RYDEN

Soul Winning

You Can Win Souls, by C. E. Autrey (Broadman, 1961, 160 pp., $2.75), is reviewed by Faris D. Whitesell, Professor of Practical Theology, Northern Baptist Theological Seminary.

A deeply compassionate spirit of evangelism pulsates through this book on personal evangelism written by the Southern Baptist Home Mission Board’s director of evangelism. The reader can easily see why Dr. Autrey holds his present position and why Southern Baptists are spear-heading the Protestant thrust to evangelize America.

In thirteen chapters the author discusses the urgency for personal evangelism, qualifications and equipment of the soul-winner, approach and techniques, and how to deal with the anxious, the indifferent, the Jews, Roman Catholics, Spiritists, doubters, those with false hopes and the fearful.

While the book is orthodox, practical, clear and inspiring, yet it adds little to older books on this subject by such men as Torrey, Evans, Sellers, Scarborough and Wilson. The best chapter is that which deals with the Jews. There is need for a book on personal evangelism combining all the good and true in the older writers with the new insights and techniques of psychology, psychiatry, personality research, and social science.

FARIS D. WHITESELL

Book Briefs

When We Worship, by Robert T. Fauth (Christian Education Press, 1961, 88 pp., $1.50). A guide to effective worship.

Prayers for All Occasions (Baker, 1960, 80 pp., $1.95). Sixty-six evangelical leaders offer guidance in public prayer.

The Patience of Hope, by Spiros Zodhiates (Eerdmans, 1960, 299 pp., $4). Third in a stimulating and searching study of the Book of James.

Selections from Early Christian Writers, by Henry Melvill Gwatkin (Revell, 1961, 196 pp., $3). A Cambridge historian’s compilation of Christian writings (with original text) to the time of Constantine. Happy choice for a reprint.

The Eucharistic Memorial, by Max Thurian (John Knox, 1961, 117 pp., $1.75). An essay on “liturgical theology.” Seventh book in a series of Ecumenical Studies in Worship.

This Faith We Live By, by James H. Jauncey (Zondervan, 1961, 157 pp., $2.50). Practical insights into the real meaning of Christian living. Inspirational without being sentimental.

Introduction to Dogmatic Theology, by E. A. Litton (James Clarke, 1960, 608 pp., 27s. 6d). A new edition of a valuable and scholarly survey of Systematic Theology by a last-century Anglican evangelical.

Have something to add about this? See something we missed? Share your feedback here.

Our digital archives are a work in progress. Let us know if corrections need to be made.

Tags:
Issue: