Book Briefs: November 6, 1970

A Positive Contribution

Old Testament Times, by R. K. Harrison (Eerdmans, 1970, 357 pp., $6.95), is reviewed by Gleason L. Archer, Jr., professor of Old Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Illinois.

R. K. Harrison, the well-known scholar from Wycliffe College in Toronto, here surveys Israelite history from the prehistoric beginnings in Jericho to the first century A.D., correlating the pertinent data from archaeology. His purpose is to present this highly technical field on a college level, and so he tends to avoid extensive footnoting and to discuss topics as briefly as clarity permits. This means that many points are made without the benefit of the thorough, scholarly discussion that characterizes his Old Testament Introduction (Eerdmans, 1969). Yet on some questions he goes into detailed discussion, especially when dealing with opposing views.

His approach may be described as evangelical empiricism: he examines each matter of history or criticism on its own merits, in the light of all known pertinent data, rather than attempting to bring everything into line with his basic assumption of the trustworthiness of Scripture. Thus he is consistent with his stricture against the doctrinaire liberal scholarship of the Wellhausen school:

No longer is it permissible or desirable for scholars to formulate some concept of development, whether of a biological order or not, and then attempt to fit the facts into such a structure, regardless of the outcome. Instead, all of the relevant factual material, of which at present there is an abundance, must be considered first, and on this basis some cautious conclusions may then be adopted, with the proviso that they be subjected to change in the light of whatever material evidence is subsequently discovered [p. 26].

In the major areas of dispute in Old Testament criticism, Dr. Harrison is unequivocally evangelical in his position. He sees Moses as the author of the Pentateuch and Isaiah as the author of all sixty-six chapters of the book that bears his name, and he supports the authenticity of the Book of Daniel. In buttressing these positions he makes able use of newer archaeological discoveries that tend to destroy the contrary assumptions of nineteenth-century liberal scholarship. He also makes full use of the Ugaritic evidence to show that the great majority of apparent textual anomalies in Old Testament poetry can no longer be regarded as mere corruptions of the original text; they are, on the contrary, reflections of peculiarities in Canaanite grammar and forms of speech that lost their special significance in the course of time.

Harrison acknowledges that the date of the Exodus is “one of the most problematic issues facing the biblical archaeologist.” With a bit less assurance than in his Old Testament Introduction he favors a late date (ca. 1290 B.C., early in the reign of Rameses II), and thus locates in the Hyksos period the migration of Joseph and Jacob’s family into Egypt.

As for First Kings 6:1, which states that 480 years elapsed between the Exodus and the commencement of Solomon’s temple, he suggests that this may have meant only that there were twelve generations between the two events. But he adds: “If the number be taken literally, however, it argues strongly for a fifteenth-century date of the Exodus.” Furthermore, he cites the remark of Jephthah in Judges 11:26 that places the Israelite conquest of Canaan at 1400 B.C. but makes no attempt to reconcile it with the late-date theory.

Unfortunately, Harrison is content to adopt Edwin Thiele’s lower chronology (732 for the beginning of Ahaz’s reign and 715 for Hezekiah’s) without observing that this is irreconcilable with Second Kings 15:30; 16:1, 2; 17:1, and 18:1, 9, all of which point to 743 as the beginning of Ahaz’s coregency with Jotham and to 728 for Hezekiah’s coregency with Ahaz.

The author’s suggestion that a principle of matriarchy (i.e., inheritance passed through the female line only) operated during the Hebrew monarchy is somewhat novel. He seeks to support this by citing David’s disappointment at not marrying Merab, and his insistence on reclaiming Michal from Phaltiel; this may even have been a factor in Amnon’s seduction of Tamar.

The positive contributions far outweigh the negative features of this survey of Old Testament history, and the volume must be judged a valuable addition to evangelical scholarly works in a somewhat neglected field.

Contradictions—Real Or Imagined?

New Testament Disunity: Its Significance for Christianity Today, by John Charlot (E. P. Dutton, 1970, 260 pp., $7.95), is reviewed by Clark H. Pinnock, professor of systematic theology, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Illinois.

This book by a young Catholic radical carries to its rigorous conclusion an idea reminiscent of the theory of Ernst Käsemann that the New Testament is at once the basis of the unity and the disunity of the Church. It is the notion that differences, indeed contradictions, in that revered document “destroy forever the possibility of a unified Christian theology.” In facing the same problem, Hans Küng appealed to the rich abundance of apostolic teachings and to a wider and more flexible idea of unity. But Charlot insists on claiming irreconcilable conflicts of thought in the New Testament, offering as his proposal a theology based upon creative human freedom and subjectivity.

The author first states the problem: Christians once assumed the theological unity of the New Testament to be the ground and basis of Christian unity, but, in his view, this conviction was completely mistaken. He discusses textual disunity (without a glance at the evidence for a really superb textual transmission), historical disunity (equally brief and unconvincing in treatment—a couple of alleged discrepancies are discussed that enjoy able resolutions he does not acknowledge), and theological disunity (a longer section consisting of a list of supposed contradictions between certain doctrinal passages). The thesis of this book is only as reliable as the results of radical criticism are valid. Opinions are reproduced, alternative solutions are largely ignored, conclusions are drawn. The author leans heavily on secondary sources that present highly contestable conclusions. In my opinion, the blatant contradictions that Charlot discovers in the New Testament exist only in this liberated Catholic’s mind.

In the second section he critically examines various solutions to his supposed problem. It appears that as a result of criticism all efforts at salvaging the unity of Scripture have fallen to the ground. “The theology disunity of the New Testament is a fact, not a problem.” Although he admits that some of his proposed contradictions might be challenged, Charlot is convinced that sufficient disunity exists to establish his thesis that a normative, biblical dogmatic is out of the question.

The third section is devoted to his own solution. We are to regard biblical language not as a deposit of revealed truths but as an expression of personal encounters with religious reality. No doctrines are absolutely binding and authoritative. Theology is personal and autobiographical. Its claim to propositional truth is to be decisively abandoned.

This is a sad, revealing book that shows where many young sons of the Roman church are now moving. Freed from a triumphalist legalism, they are strongly attracted to the worst sort of radical criticism, resulting in the end not only of Roman dogma but of any doctrinal convictions. In that shift in the documents of Vatican II from static to dynamic categories in formulating the doctrine of revelation, the bishops unintentionally thrust open a door through which many will run to empty mysticism and religious humanism. Evangelical theologians have read and been unconvinced by better arguments against the unity of the New Testament than this one, which is rather superficial and scanty in the marshaling of its thesis.

Aside from Charlot’s caricature of it, there is a problem to which he unintentionally calls our attention. In the New Testament there is a rich diversity of doctrinal expression and ecclesiastical practice. Some of the matters that divide evangelicals today reflect a diversity that was present in the early Church but did not divide it! Can we not suppose that if we were to recognize this diversity and refuse to hide it to protect ourselves, we might find ourselves well on the way to eliminating the scandal of our disunity?

A Noteworthy Contribution

Ecumenical Breakthrough: An Integration of the Catholic and the Reformational Faith, by Herman A. Fiolet (Duquesne University, 1969, 475 pp., $9.95), is reviewed by James Leo Garrett, professor of Christian theology, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky.

Since Dutch Catholicism has come to be recognized as the locus of avant-garde post-Vatican II Roman Catholicism, it should not be surprising that from the Netherlands should come a major step in Protestant-Roman Catholic dialogue. Herman A. Fiolet is professor of Protestant and ecumenical theology in the Catholic Faculty of Theology in Amsterdam. This book combines and revises two of his works in Dutch, one of which earned him the Coebergh Prize “for the most important theological contribution to church unity” in Holland during 1965–67. The book deals only with the theological dialogue between Dutch Catholics and Dutch Reformed, and Fiolet offers no explanation why Mennonites, Baptists, and other Protestant groups in the Netherlands were not included in the dialogue or considered in the volume.

The goal of “the Catholic ecumenical attitude” should not be “irenic compromise” or “an unconditional return” to the Church of Rome or a mere spiritual, invisible oneness. Roman Catholics must recognize “unity in pluriformity” in place of the older “Western-Latin uniformity.” The major chapters deal with the incarnation, the Church, word and sacrament, grace, and Mary.

The incarnation is treated as the completion of the divine plan for creation, the deliverance of sinful creation, and the glorification of creation. Christ’s solidarity with creation is repeatedly emphasized. The Son’s unity with the Father is taken to be primarily a unity of will. The Calvinistic concern for the two natures should not, according to Fiolet, lead to an autonomous human nature.

Fiolet’s treatment of the New Testament images for the Church is not very impressive for those who have read Paul Minear or Hans Küng on this subject. But he does present a provocative study of the ecclesiological significance of diaspora (dispersion) and paroikia (sojourning community), especially the transmutation of the geographical meanings into the religious. On the “bipolar mystery of the Church” Fiolet prefers to identify the two aspects of the Church as “community of salvation” and “instrument of salvation,” i.e., “redeemed and redeeming community.” These two should not be made “autarchic,” but rather the Church “is the instrument of salvation in the community of salvation.” Fiolet construes the Church as a “dialogue” between the word and sacrament of the special office and the vocational response of the entire laity. Significant indeed is his distinction between “apostolic office” and “ecclesiastical office.” These are marked both by continuity (apostolic foundation) and by discontinuity (the unique “eye-and-ear witnesses” of Christ).

Fiolet’s discussion of sacraments includes only baptism and the Eucharist. He seeks to lead Catholics away from a one-sided preoccupation with the nature of Christ’s presence in the Eucharist and toward a coordinated emphasis on both word and sacrament. He encourages the Reformed to move beyond their preoccupation with the question of who, being justified, is worthy to partake and toward a moderate objectivism in the sacraments. In discussing the relation of Scripture and tradition, Fiolet depends on J. R. Geiselmann and the Vatican II dogmatic constitution on “Divine Revelation.”

On the issue of sola gratia versus man’s cooperation in salvation, Fiolet magnifies the paradox of grace and freedom and the personal dimension in grace, interprets predestination as personal rather than causal, defends reward as biblical, and reinterprets merit as the sharing of Christ’s glory.

On Mariology the Dutch Catholic magnifies Mary’s “act of faith” as the clue to her motherhood. Her role is that of “a prototype of faith,” a faith filled with anguish and temptation that nevertheless led to her being “the one who is eminently redeemed” by Christ. Fiolet’s effort to reinterpret the various Mariological dogmas in the light of this faith-clue will convince few Protestants, but his protest against any dogmatic development of the “co-redemptrix” role will be appreciated.

Fiolet has made significant strides in ecumenical theology. Usually his positions are clearly stated. Occasionally he manifests an obvious inconsistency. For example, he clearly rejects the idea that the Church is the “extension” or “prolongation” of the incarnation (for such is the glorified man Jesus Christ) but then argues that sacramental action is a “prolongation” of the personality of Christ. His citation of biblical texts is frequent, but his awareness of critical and hermeneutical questions seems limited. Yet the volume invites other efforts in serious fraternal theological questing on issues that really do matter.

Newly Published

A Philosophy of the Future, by Ernst Bloch (Herder and Herder, 1970, 149 pp., $5.95). Although an atheist, the author articulates a theology of hope—hope in oneself and one’s abilities. “I am” is the key to his philosophy.

‘Secular Christianity’ and God Who Acts, by Robert J. Blaikie (Eerdmans, 1970, 256 pp., paperback, $2.95). A very worthwhile study of a recent theological trend (witness the number of books with “secular” in the title). Blaikie concludes, after due consideration of many aspects of modern thought, that “ ‘secular Christianity’ and biblical theology are mutually exclusive incompatibles.”

The Gospel Tradition, by Harald Riesenfeld (Fortress, 1970, 214 pp., $8.50). Nine previously published articles by a leading Swedish New Testament scholar are here brought together.

Peter Abelard, by Leif Grane (Harcourt, Brace, and World, 1970, 190 pp., $6.95). A Danish church historian ably presents the social and religious background in his study of a key intellectual reformer.

Encounter in the Non-Christian Era, by John W. Sanderson, Jr. (Zondervan, 1970, 95 pp., paperback, $1.60). To understand this “post-Christian era” (with both negative and positive characteristics), we must study the history of Western thought, from Plato on. Though hardly an exhaustive study, this series of lectures does contain some astute analyses of our age.

Men of Revival in Germany, by Ernest Modersohn (Herold, 1970, $2). The stories of many great German evangelical leaders in the twentieth century, written largely as the memoirs of the author.

A New Face for the Church, by Lawrence O. Richards (Zondervan, 1970, 288 pp., $5.95). A professor of Christian education at Wheaton Graduate School documents his change from being a “traditional” churchman to “one who is convinced that ‘let’s do it differently’ is both right and necessary.” His book is suggestive, even provocative, and includes a study of the biblical data on the Church, case studies of churches that are changing, and speculation on the “new face” he foresees for the Church.

Between Two Worlds: A Congressman’s Choice, by John B. Anderson (Zondervan, 1970, 163 pp., $3.95). The third-ranking Republican in the House is a committed evangelical; his is the kind of Christian social action that really counts. Some of the nineteen chapters: “One Society—Open and Equal,” “Our Alienated Youth,” “Poverty Amid Plenty,” “What Kind of Society Do We Want?”

A Dictionary of Comparative Religion, edited by S. G. F. Brandon (Scribner, 1970, 704 pp., $17.50). An essential work for college, seminary, and public libraries.

The New Testament in Shorter Form, by Samuel Terrien (Macmillan, 1970, 211 pp., paperback, $2.95). Samuel Terrien, a professor at Union in New York, has extracted and rearranged large portions of J. B. Phillips’s translation, for which he provides introductory and transitional comments. However, the notes by Phillips himself found in unabridged editions of his translation are preferable.

Competent to Counsel, by Jay E. Adams (Presbyterian and Reformed, 1970, 287 pp., $4.50). Here is an honest, forthright look at psychology and mental illness from the biblical point of view. It is not a simplistic “become a Christian and all will be well” approach, too often found in evangelical circles.

The Oxford Classical Dictionary, compiled by N. G. L. Hammond and H. H. Scullard (Oxford, 1970, 1,176 pp., $26). A major revision of a standard reference work, important for studying the background of the first few centuries of Christianity, among other uses.

Interpretation and Imagination: The Preacher and Contemporary Literature, by Charles L. Rice (Fortress, 1970, 158 pp., paperback, $3.50). The preacher needs to have a “cultural awareness,” but he cannot be so full of literary symbolism as to veil the gospel message—as the author does here in the sermon examples.

Victims of the Long March and Other Stories, by John Pollock (Word, 1970, 115 pp., $2.95). The stories of several people (some well known, others not) who have struggled to change the world, among them William Carey, James Ramsay, Lord Radstock, and John and Betty Stam.

The New Religions, by Jacob Needleman (Doubleday, 1970, 245 pp., $5.95). Examines several Eastern religions (Yoga, Krishnamurti, Subud, Zen, and others) and tries to conclude how beneficial they are to America. Such an attempt might be valid, but this author’s superficial treatment of the subject is hardly convincing.

God Goes to High School, by James C. Hefley (Word, 1970, 188 pp., $4.95). A super-complimentary chronicle of the men and ministry of Youth for Christ.

Call to Mission, by Stephen Neill (Fortress, 1970, 113 pp., $3.95). A thoughtful appraisal of the history, task, and future of the Christian missionary (including what missionaries have done right as well as their wrongs).

Congress and Conscience, edited by John B. Anderson (Lippincott, 1970, 192 pp., $4.95). Essays by several congressmen on ethics and politics. Divergent political views are represented by Senators Goldwater and McGovern, and Congressmen Wright, Bennett, Quie, and Anderson.

Pulpit in the Shadows, by Freddie Gage with Stan Redding (Zondervan, 1970, 123 pp., $.95). The director of a ministry exclusively dedicated to reaching youthful victims of drug abuse tells about it. Well written and timely.

My God Is Real, by David C. K. Watson (Seabury, 1970, 95 pp., paperback, $1.65). A very able presentation of the Gospel based on well-attended lectures to students at Cambridge and elsewhere. Highly recommended.

Some of the above books will later be reviewed at greater length.

In The Journals

This new feature will serve to call attention to a few of the many worthwhile articles of special interest to evangelicals that have appeared in limited-circulation, more or less scholarly journals. Bible and theological schools should be receiving these periodicals, and it is hoped that this feature will encourage them to subscribe to any not now in their libraries. Addresses and single-copy prices of the journals are supplied so that interested readers can order particular issues from the publishers. Journal editors who would like to be sure that their periodicals are being seen for possible mention in this column are invited to write the book editor.

“Exegetical Paper on Job 19:23–27,” by Rudolph E. Honsey, Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly, July, 1970, pp. 153–206 (3616 West North Ave., Milwaukee, Wis. 53208). Concludes that Job definitely believed in resurrection to eternal life.

“The Black Student at the Christian College,” by Tom Skinner, Ralph Bell, et al., The Other Side, July–August, 1970, pp. 1–72 (Box 158, Savannah, Ohio 44874; single copies, $1). Messages and discussion from a conference in Boston.

“On Creeds and Making New Ones,” by Herman Ridderbos, Paul G. Schrotenboer, et al., International Reformed Bulletin, Summer, 1970, pp. 1–46 (1677 Gentian Dr. S.E., Grand Rapids, Mich. 49508; single copies, $.50).

“Fundamental Issues in Contemporary Micah Studies,” by John Willis, Restoration Quarterly, May, 1970, pp. 77–90 (Box 8227, Station ACC, Abilene, Tex.; single copies, $1.50). Thorough survey by an evangelical of a much-disputed book.

“The Evangelical and War,” by William E. Nix, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Summer, 1970, pp. 133–46 (Box 10,000, University Park Station, Denver, Colo. 80210; single copies, $1.25). Thoughtful critique of both pacifist and militarist views.

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