Book Briefs: January 15, 1971

Trying The Spirit

A Theology of the Holy Spirit: The Pentecostal Experience and the New Testament Witness, by Frederick Dale Bruner (Eerdmans, 1970. 390 pp., $8.95), is reviewed by Watson E. Mills, associate professor of philosophy and religion, Averett College, Danville, Virginia.

Here we have a theological “case study” that compares the present Pentecostal movement with the New Testament witness to the experience of the Holy Spirit. Increasingly, the theological mood of the twentieth century is becoming ripe for a rediscovery of the importance and centrality of the Holy Spirit. The various Pentecostal groups are ready to be heard, and Dr. Bruner believes that if one looks beyond the traditional stereotype of Pentecostalism he can find significant implications for Christianity as a whole. Bruner, professor of systematic theology at Union Seminary in the Philippines, is a graduate of the University of Hamburg, where he availed himself of the inexhaustible resources of the Missionsakademie.

Part One deals with the doctrine of the Holy Spirit in contemporary Pentecostal experience. First Bruner gives a general introduction to the movement as well as essential background materials, including a helpful distinction between Pentecostal and neo-Pentecostal groups. Chapters three and four treat the Pentecostal baptism in the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit. There is a definite attempt to de-emphasize glossolalia as the identity symbol for Pentecostalism. Perhaps the author sees this phenomenon as a fad, but more probably he recognizes that, seen in proper perspective, speaking in tongues is only one symbol for the greater reality—the presence of the Spirit in power.

Part Two presents the Holy Spirit in the New Testament witness. It is a fine example of sound biblical exegesis that is both critical and easily readable. The difficult Acts 2:38 passage is treated (following W. F. Flemington) as an incarnational joining of the divine and the human, of the Spirit and baptism, in one great event. Bruner asserts that Luke is calling for neither a “spiritual” nor a “sacramental” baptism in the usual sense, but rather for both; therefore he is an incarnationalist rather than either a spiritualist or a sacramentalist. Beyond Acts, Bruner’s exegetical studies take him through the Corinthian correspondence, Galatians, Colossians, and First John.

Some Christians might wish Bruner had given more attention to developing an ethical content for his doctrine of the Holy Spirit. What difference in our behavior does the Spirit make? After concluding that “power” is one of the “valid criteria of the presence of the Holy Spirit,” he asserts that the ancestral pedigree of Pentecostalism can be traced through instances of tongues-speaking in, for example, the Old Testament and late Judaism.

Included in this volume is a definitive bibliography (thirty-four pages) on the Pentecostal movement arranged under three headings: (1) primary sources for understanding the Pentecostal movement; (2) secondary and interpretative sources for understanding its background; (3) biblical and theological sources for understanding the New Testament doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Eighteen additional pages of documents give some indication of the source upon which the Pentecostal doctrine of the Holy Spirit rests.

Here is an honest attempt to compare the Pentecostal experience with the conclusions of solid biblical exegesis. Bruner is unlikely to win approval of either Pentecostal or anti-Pentecostal believers, but he has something to teach both groups. The reader ought to realize that the Pentecostalism that Bruner is comparing with the Bible is the movement as he understands it. Others, both within and without, would see it differently. Perhaps Rudolph Otto was right when in 1938 he remarked: “That … [the] church has lost its ‘charisma,’ that men look back to it as a thing of past times, that men make it and the inbreaking kingdom belonging to it trivial by allegories, does not show that … [the] church is not on a higher level, but is a sign of its decay” (The Kingdom of God and the Son of Man).

The Pentecostal movement may fulfill its destiny by summoning the Church to appropriate once again the power and resources of the Spirit. But this will be no small task!

An Answer To Drugs

High on the Campus, by Gordon R. McLean and Haskell Bowen (Tyndale House, 1970, 132 pp., $2.95), is reviewed by L. D. Kennedy, chairman, Department of Literature and Languages, Campbellsville College, Campbellsville, Kentucky.

As the alarming drug craze continues to spread its tentacles into communities, schools, and homes throughout our country, it is imperative that youngsters, parents, and educators be well informed about the subject. Disdain, exaggeration, and scare tactics are not nearly so effective against drug usage as truth and genuine concern. “If someone had placed something like this in my hands two years ago,” wrote a young former addict who contributed the foreward to this book, “I might never have been involved with drugs.”

High on the Campus offers some straightforward and unemotional information on student drug abuse. Gordon R. McLean and Haskell Bowen have had considerable personal experience in prògrams for rehabilitating student addicts, and in writing the book they received help from many other people, such as judges, narcotics officers, and school superintendents. Youth organizations such as Youth for Christ/Campus Life were especially helpful.

Using case histories, the authors discuss why students take drugs. Curiosity, boredom, peer-group pressures, and insecurity are strong motivations, and teachers and parents may unwittingly be contributing factors. “Unrealistic, unemotional, and dull” school work contributes to boredom. Weak-willed, permissive parents who offer “material comfort in place of friendship and personal concern” contribute to the youngster’s sense of insecurity.

The authors also give detailed descriptions of how dope is pushed, how users may be detected, and how they may be helped to kick the habit. A glossary explains more than 150 words and phrases associated with drugs.

The power of Christ to free and transform enslaved lives is thrillingly portrayed. The disillusioned addict needs to be convinced that he can find “more lasting satisfaction in a relationship with the Lord than any drug ever offered.… God is the ultimate high. He’s a trip that never ends.” Once he has experienced Christ’s redemption, he will still be a pusher, but he will be “pushing something new”—the Gospel of deliverance!

In The Journals

We welcome the appearance of what has the potential to become a major tool for research, the Religious Periodicals Index. In it the articles in more than 200 American magazines—popular, scholarly, and in-between, from a broad theological spectrum—are indexed by subjects. The first issue covers January–March, 1970 in 62 pages (1556 Third Avenue, New York, N. Y. 10028; $15 per year).

Another Carl McIntire, the son of the victory marcher, calls for a disentangling of Christianity and Americanism in a provocative article, “Quitting the American Way of Death,” in Vanguard, December, 1970, pp. 7–11, 22 (Box 2131, Station B, St. Catherines, Ontario; single copy $.50). This new publication provides a forum for younger Christians who want to speak out on what they think is a truly biblical approach to modern society.

Fourteen messages at the August, 1970, Convocation of United Methodists for Evangelical Christianity in Dallas are published as the October–December, 1970, issue of Good News (5 N. Douglas, Elgin, Ill. 60120; single copy $1.25). Some of the titles: “The Crisis in Our Church,” “Social Reform: Evangelical Imperative,” “Strategies for Solution of the Crisis.”

The December, 1970, issue of the Journal of the American Scientific Affiliation has seven major articles answering the question “Is Man Only a Complex Machine?” (324½ S. 2nd St., Mankato, Minn. 56001; single copy $1.25). Invaluable assistance for those confronting materialistic teaching.

One of the best evangelical scholarly periodicals is the annual Tyndale Bulletin (39 Bedford Sq., London W.C. 1, England; $3). Articles in the 1970 issue include “Can We Reproduce the Exegesis of the New Testament?” by R. Longenecker, pp. 3–38; “The Messianic Secret in Mark,” by J. Dunn, pp. 92–117; and “Context and Content in the Interpretation of Isaiah 7:14” by J. Motyer, pp. 118–28.

Four articles on Paul compose the November, 1970, issue of Crux (745 Mt. Pleasant Rd., Toronto 7, Ontario; single copy $.85). What Paul said about the resurrection body, his mission, his philosophy, and the relevance for today of some of his views on Jews, slaves, and women are considered.

A topic that has been avoided by many because of popular extremes is dealt with admirably by John Stek in “Biblical Typology Yesterday and Today,” Calvin Theological Journal, November, 1970, pp. 133–62 (3233 Barton St. S.E., Grand Rapids, Mich. 49506; single copy $1). Stek compares Fairbairn and von Rad as a prelude to his own views.

Newly Published

Pat Boone and the Gift of Tongues, by James D. Bales (Gospel Teachers Publications, 1970, 378 pp., $6.95). The most prominent member of the Church of Christ (non-instrumental) who has espoused speaking in tongues is roundly (some would say viciously) taken to task with supposedly scriptural refutation by a doctrine teacher at Harding College.

An Archaeologist Follows the Apostle Paul, by James L. Kelso (Word, 1970, 142 pp., $3.95). A basic introduction (with photographs) to the world, the missionary efforts, the “genius” of Paul.

Teilhard de Chardin: An Analysis and Assessment, by D. Gareth Jones (Eerdmans, 1970, 72 pp., paperback, $1.25). A helpful introduction by an evangelical to a widely read neo-Catholic theologian.

Evangelism Now, edited by George M. Wilson (World Wide, 1970, 231 pp., $4.95). Twenty-five of the messages to the U. S. Congress on Evangelism, Minneapolis, 1969. All but one or two of the nineteen speakers are leading evangelicals from a variety of denominations. Public, school, and private libraries should have this volume.

Jesus—Human and Divine, by H. D. McDonald (Zondervan, 1968, 144 pp., $3.95). The first American edition of a valuable introductory study of New Testament Christology by a London Bible College professor.

The Beginnings of the Church in the New Testament, by Hahn, Strobel, and Schweizer (Augsburg, 1970, 104 pp., paperback, $2.25). Three technical essays on pre- and post-Easter discipleship.

Nine O’Clock in the Morning, by Dennis J. Bennett (Logos, 1970, 209 pp., $3.95). One of the “fathers” of the neo-Pentecostal movement, an Episcopal clergyman, tells his story.

The Bible and Modern Doubt, by Mack B. Stokes (Revell, 1970, 279 pp., $5.95). Assuming the major teachings of the Bible to be true, indispensable, and relevant, the author devotes himself to thoughtful and systematic interaction with the various modern objections to Christianity. Every area of doctrine is touched upon, but suggestively rather than comprehensively. One may disagree here or there with Stokes’s summaries of the biblical teachings or the contemporary challenges while at the same time profiting greatly from a careful reading of the book.

Life’s Greatest Trip …, by Arthur Blessitt (Word, 1970, 92 pp., $2.95). Pictures, poetry, and narration describe the author’s witness for Christ at “His Place” on Sunset Strip.

My Anchor Held, by Stephen R. Harris as told to James C. Hefley (Revell, 1970, 160 pp., $3.95). In simple language the intelligence officer of the Pueblo tells the story of the ship and the faith that sustained him.

The Continuing Quest: Opportunities, Resources and Programs in Post-Seminary Education, edited by James B. Hofrenning (Augsburg, 1970, 154 pp., $4.95). Not a directory but rather essays examining the need for and varieties of continuing education. All supervisors of ministers could be helped by this book.

God at Large, by Chad Walsh (Seabury, 1971, 136 pp., $3.95). This book is “intended not to discuss religious experience but to evoke it.” Instead, it verges on blasphemy, intermingling paganism with Christian doctrine.

Gone Is Shadows’ Child, by Jessie Gray Foy (Logos, 1970, 159 pp., $4.95). The story of a child schizophrenic from birth who was cured by vitamin treatment. Through the struggle, lasting fifteen years, the parents of this child found a solid faith in the “God who heals.”

The Bible, the Supernatural, and the Jews, by McCandlish Phillips (World, 1970, 366 pp., $7.95). Traces a terrifying supernatural plot, involving drugs and the occult, to seize Jewish minds for ruinous influence on the world. A powerful, sympathetic appeal for Jews to reckon with biblical realities and to receive Christ.

God in the Dock: Essays on Theology and Ethics, by C. S. Lewis (Eerdmans, 1970, 346 pp., $6.95). Walter Hooper edited these witty, incisive essays never before published in book form.

Historical Protestantism: An Historical Introduction to Protestant Theology, by William A. Scott (Prentice-Hall, 1971, 229 pp., $6.95). A Catholic surveys the Reformation, Puritanism, Methodism, and liberalism, and Barth, Bonhoeffer, Bultmann, Niebuhr, and Tillich. The book is therefore regrettably deficient in presenting contemporary orthodox Protestantism.

Concordant Discord: The Interdependence of Faiths, by R. C. Zaehner (Oxford, 1970, 464 pp., $15). The Gifford Lectures for 1967–69 compared and contrasted the mystical traditions of India, China, Islam, and Christianity.

Getting Acquainted with God, by Otto H. Christensen (Review and Herald, 1970, 128 pp.). A helpful introduction to the doctrine of God.

All the Animals of the Bible Lands, by G. S. Cansdale (Zondervan, 1970, 272 pp., $6.95). Here they are, with pictures. An interesting, unusual book.

The Soul Patrol, by Bob Bartlett with Jorunn Oftedal (Logos, 1970, 170 pp., $3.95). Another story about another Teen Challenge—this one in Philadelphia.

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

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