A Treasure Chest Of Insights

Modern Art and the Death of a Culture, by H. R. Rookmaaker (Inter-Varsity, 1970. 256 pp., paperback, $3.95), is reviewed by William Edgar, teacher of French and religion, Brunswick School, Greenwich, Connecticut.

This is a wonderful book. It is a smorgasbord of information, a treasure chest of insights. But more than this it is a remarkably ordered presentation of an extremely complex and difficult body of material. Dr. Rookmaaker, professor of art history at the Free University of Amsterdam, begins with a chapter on the message in art, showing how a painting is more than decoration and always bears a meaning, whether it be Christian or non-Christian. He then gives a lengthy but highly stimulating analysis of Western culture. Beginning with the times before the eighteenth century, he goes on to show how the mentality of the Enlightenment is a turning point, and the basis upon which the modern age is built. He then analyzes the mainstreams of art as following a three-step pathway: first, the loss of the great traditional themes in painting (there is to be no more Venus inspiring love); second, the loss of any reality behind our sensations (no more real subject in art, only colors); and third, the loss of all meaning or universals (only the stark absurdity of life is left).

We then have a rich treatment of the many movements that have grown out of this sequence, particularly the last step. Included in this is a brief look at modern music, especially popular music in its current expression. The last chapter is a tremendously profound section wherein Rookmaaker explores many facets of the problem of Christian art. The facility of his style hides the difficulty of the subject matter, as he goes into such questions as the function and validity of art, form and freedom, truth and beauty, and the Christian artist’s position in the church.

The outstanding virtue of Modern Art and the Death of a Culture is its depth. It is one of the few treatments of the subject we have that are at the same time deep in Christianity and also deep in their understanding of culture. The author thinks of the Christian faith not as a simple set of rules but rather as a rich way of life, in which true humanity and a true fear of the Lord can be realized. He does not leave us to worry that to be Christian means to be superficial or anti-art. Nor does he pretend that modern art can be fathomed by a few easy formulas. He is conscious of the plurality of trends and counter-trends. And in this IVP edition we have a splendid documentation of all these, including fifty-six prints, ample footnotes, and an excellent bibliography for further study.

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Though Rookmaaker is sharply critical of the evangelical church in its failure to deal adequately with our cultural revolution, yet he is never condemning. Rather, he is full of hope, and challenges the church to get involved in a really biblical approach to culture. The Christian artist will be truly grateful for this book. But also any Christian who senses that the changes going on around him are overwhelming and seeks to understand our situation better will find Rookmaaker’s work to be of tremendous value—indeed, a real Godsend.

A Note Long Overdue

Competent to Counsel, by Jay Adams (Presbyterian and Reformed, 1970, 287 pp., paperback, $4.50), is reviewed by Robert E. Weinman, minister, First Presbyterian Church, Columbiana, Ohio.

No professional person in our society has as great an opportunity to prevent emotional illness as the parish minister. He has the awesome distinction of having more persons turn to him for help than turn to members of any other profession, vocation, or group in our society. According to a report of the Joint Commission on Mental Health, 42 per cent of people with emotional problems turn first to clergymen. Physicians in general see only 29 per cent.

The author of this book is professor of practical theology at Westminster Seminary and is well trained in counseling; he knows well the language both of theology and of the behavioral sciences and recognizes the dangers of the Freudian and Rogerian approaches to pastoral care. His lucid interpretation of the inadequacies of the typical nondirective Rogerian method and Freudian principles will be very helpful to the pastor.

Dr. Adams cites much evidence of the growing revolution in psychology that is challenging the traditional Freudian ideas. This new movement fails, however, to solve the problem of responsibility, because the responsibility it advocates is a relative, changing human responsibility. And, as Adams points out, social mores change; when pressed about who is to say what is best, the new movement falls into a subjectivism that amounts to saying that each individual sets his own standard—which as a solution to the problem of sin is acutely disappointing.

Having gained many insights through his experiences with Mowrer and other disciples of “reality therapy” in the Eli Lilly Fellowship program at the University of Illinois, Adams set out to develop biblical counseling techniques based on the inerrant Bible as the standard for conduct. Nearly all recent counseling books for ministers, even conservative ones, rest largely upon the presuppositions of the Freudian ethic of non-responsibility. But Competent to Counsel strikes an entirely new note. Rather than encourage pastors to refer troubled persons to psychiatrists steeped in humanistic dogma, Adams challenges them to help these people by cooperating with the Holy Spirit’s healing ministry through the Word of God. Qualified Christian counselors, properly trained in the Scriptures, are competent to counsel, he says—more competent, in fact, than psychiatrists or anyone else, because the fundamental problem of those who come for counseling is not sickness but sin.

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Adams believes that Jesus Christ is at the center of all true Christian counseling, and that any counseling that displaces Christ from the center has to that extent ceased to be Christian. He calls his approach “nouthetic counseling,” from the Greek word meaning “to admonish.” Nouthetic confrontation has at least three basic elements. (1) It presupposes the need for a change in the person confronted. The counselor must realize that there is a problem, an obstacle that must be overcome; something is wrong in the person’s life. The fundamental purpose of the confrontation is to bring about personality and behavioral change. (2) Problems are solved nouthetically by verbal means. The nouthetic confrontation aims to straighten out the counselee by helping him change his patterns of behavior to conform to biblical standards. (3) The purpose of the verbal correction is always to benefit the counselee, to change that which hurts him. The counselor strives to meet the obstacles head on and overcome them verbally—not to punish but to help.

Adams gives an excellent exposition of the biblical position of nouthetic confrontation from the point of view of a convinced Calvinist who recognizes the role of covenant theology as a frame of reference for dealing with personal problems. And in the latter part of the book he describes practical applications of nouthesis in many different areas of life.

In The Journals

A warm welcome to Christian Scholar’s Review (255 Grapevine Road, Wenham, Mass. 01984; $6 per volume of 4 issues, single copy $1.75). The first number of this new journal co-sponsored by fifteen diverse evangelical colleges includes articles entitled “On Thinking of God as King” and “Responsibility for the Ecological Crisis” and fifty pages of reviews. Should be in all college and many personal libraries.

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Students at Fuller Seminary have begun an annual journal for their best essays, Studia Biblica et Theologica (135 N. Oakland Ave., Pasadena, Cal. 91101; 61 pp., $1.75).

Topics include the image of God, evangelical anti-intellectualism, and baptism in Ephesians.

Evangelical thought from down under is conveniently available in an Inter-Varsity-sponsored journal, Interchange (511 Kent St., Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia; semi-annual, $2.50 per volume of 4 issues). Recent issues include articles on Malcolm Muggeridge, abortion, and a theology of music.

Evangelicals involved in elementary and secondary education will want to subscribe to Spectrum (47 Marylebone Lane, London WIM 6AX, England; thrice-yearly, over 40 pages an issue, $1.50 per year). Although edited for the British situation, this journal has much of value for teachers everywhere. (Don’t confuse it with an American religious-education journal of the same name.)

The eighth annual edition of Macmillan’s New Theology (866 3rd Ave., New York, N.Y. 10022; 312 pp., $1.95) gathers fourteen published articles of merit into an anthology. Presents various aspects of the contemporary cultural revolutions—including those of blacks, women, and Catholics—plus a good bibliographical survey of ecotheology.

Newly Published

Four versions of the whole Bible produced by evangelicals are all appearing at about the same time. The New Testaments only of all four have long been available. Each is available in variously priced editions. The four are: King James II (Associated Publishers and Authors), Living (Tyndale), Modern Language (Zondervan), which is actually only a renaming of the New Berkeley that appeared two years ago, and the New American Standard (Creation). A major comparative review will appear in due time. Meanwhile work is progressing on A Contemporary Translation by a team of evangelical scholars sponsored by the New York Bible Society.

Man: God’s Eternal Creation, by R. Laird Harris (Moody, 190 pp., $4.95). A professor at Covenant Seminary summarizes the Old Testament teaching on man’s nature, society, worship, and destiny. He also briefly interacts with current prevailing views on man’s origins.

Is Gay Good? Ethics, Theology and Homosexuality, edited by W. Dwight Oberholtzer (Westminster, 287 pp., paperback, $3.50), and Christian Homosexuality, by Billy Hudson (Now Library, 240 pp., paperback, $2.95). The first book begins with “Toward a Theology of Homosexuality,” by John von Rohr, and each subsequent article reacts to it. Von Rohr concludes the volume with “A Response to the Responses.” A good, objective collection, including essays by such men as Carl F. H. Henry, Troy Perry, and Norman Pittenger. Christian Homosexuality espouses the idea of Troy Perry, that Christianity and practicing homosexuality are not incompatible.

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Brave New Baby, by David Rorvik (Doubleday, 1971, 202 pp., paperback, $5.95). Discusses problems of the present—infertility, embryo implants, sex selection—and then moves on to the future of test-tube babies, cloning, and the cyborg. Interesting, at times frighteningly bizarre, study.

Men Who Knew Christ, by William Sanford LaSor (Regal, 1971, 167 pp., paperback, $.95). A Fuller professor offers a dozen studies—accurate and readable—of New Testament figures.

The Future of Philosophical Theology, by Robert A. Evans (Westminster, 190 pp., $6.95). In April, 1970, a Consultation on the Future of Philosophical Theology was held at McCormick Seminary for twenty-six thinkers. The four public lectures—by Burrell, Harvey, Ogden, and Ott—are included plus a summary of the discussion. The introduction by the editor calls for a life-changing philosophical theology utilizing insights from the “emerging counterculture.”

Confessions of a Workaholic, by Wayne Oates (World, 1971, 112 pp., $5.95.) The author, in what he calls “a serious jest,” looks at a necessity that can become an addiction. If this is your problem, and it is a common one, read this book (written by a professor of psychology of religion at Southern Baptist Seminary) to find out what to do about it.

God’s New Israel, by Conrad Cherry (Prentice-Hall, 381 pp., hardback, $8.95, paperback, $4.95). Thirty selections ranging from Jonathan Edwards and Thomas Jefferson to John Kennedy and Martin Luther King illustrate both constant and varying aspects of America’s civil religion.

Ecology Crisis, by John W. Klotz (Concordia, 176 pp., paperback, $2.75), Earth Tool Kit, edited by Sam Love (Simon and Schuster, 369 pp., paperback, $1.25), and Technology—The God That Failed, by Dorothy M. and Gerald H. Slusser (Westminster, 169 pp., $2.95). The first gives a good summary of the problem, with examples and statistics. The second tells what to do about the problem and is a good, practical discussion. The third is a technological approach to the ecology problem. The thesis is that our love of wealth and worship of technology precipitated the current crisis in ecology.

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The Big Little School, by Robert W. Lynn and Elliott Wright (Harper & Row, 108 pp., $3.95). A brief, sprightly, accurate survey of the 200-year-old Sunday-school movement in American Protestantism. Teachers will enjoy reading it. Recognizes that the movement’s “mainstream” is not flowing within ecumenical channels.

Where the Action Is, by Stephen W. Brown (Revell, 128 pp., paperback, $1.95). A young man just beginning his life as a minister tells why he is in this work and what it means to him in this age. As he says at the conclusion of his story: “I am young. I am a minister. I will live during those years. I’m glad.”

Right or Wrong?, by T. B. Matson (Broadman, 1971, 146 pp., $2.95). A standard treatment of the sins of “cheating, gambling, Sunday movies, smoking, drinking [and] petting.” The approach lacks freshness, originality, and—most importantly—sensitivity to young people’s searching, uncomfortable questions.

Revolutionary Priest, edited by John Gerassi (Random, 1971, 460 pp., paperback, $2.45, also in hardback, $10). The editor says, “To many priests all over the world, Camilo Torres will always remain one of the most glorious examples of genuine Christian charity and solidarity.” Here,’ for the first time in one volume, are this priest’s writings. The topics range from social problems to Communism in the Church. In the academic world Torres is best known as a sociologist.

The Christian Way of Death, by Gladys M. Hunt (Zondervan, 1971, 117 pp., $3.50). Sensitively explores the problems of this painful reality.

Philosophy and Religious Belief, by George F. Thomas (Scribner, 372 pp., $10). A constructive, systematic discussion of such fundamental issues as the validity of religious experience, the nature of God, the problem of evil, human freedom, and faith and reason. The author interacts with the views of others in offering the results of his own reflections.

As the Spirit Leads Us, edited by Kevin and Dorothy Ranaghan (Paulist, 250 pp., paperback, $1.45). Twelve Catholic Pentecostal leaders provide insight into their mushrooming movement, counsel on doctrine and structures for followers, valuable documentary account of the movement’s spread, and a penetrating analysis of the crisis of faith in their church. Catholic and evangelical.

The Catacombs and the Colosseum, edited by Stephen Benko and John J. O’Rourke (Judson, 318 pp., paperback, $6.95). A brief overview of this period. Each chapter is footnoted extensively and includes bibliographies for advanced reading. The book begins with a list of first source material for 31 B.C.–A.D. 138. Good for those who know little of the historical and political background of the early Church’s development.

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On the Way to Language, by Martin Heidegger (Harper & Row, 1971, 200 pp., $7.95). The author explains, through dialogue and lecture, the meaning of his much misunderstood phrase, “language is the House of Being.” His idea seems to center around the last two lines of the poem “Words,” by Stefan George: “So I renounced and sadly see: Where word breaks off no thing may be.”

The Gods of Atheism, by Vincent P. Miceli (Arlington, 1971, 490 pp., $12.50). A conservative Catholic writes on the views of seventeen thinkers such as Nietzsche, Camus, Bultmann, and Altizer.

Revelation, by Donald Grey Barnhouse (Zondervan, 1971, 432 pp., $5.95), and Of Things Which Soon Must Come to Pass, by Philip Mauro (Reiner, 1971, 623 pp., $6.95). Two commentaries on the last book of the Bible that served the previous generation have now been released in new formats. The first is staunchly “pre-trib”; the second is by a man who left that view to become adamantly “a-mil.” If you read one, then read the other too.

Plug In for Life, by Bill Keith (Nelson, 1971, 158 pp., $4.95). One woman discovers, through her bout with Bright’s disease conquered with the help of a kidney machine, that God can use any, even the most disabled, who willingly give themselves to him.

The Staggering Steeple, by P. C. Conley and A. A. Sorensen (Pilgrim, 1971, 143 pp., $5.95). “The purpose of this book is to explore the social and cultural role of the church in relation to alcoholism and alcohol problems in American society,” the authors state in the preface. The book, which includes a brief history of alcohol and drinking in the United States, presents a reasonable, well-considered approach to drinking that will not, however, find favor with many evangelicals.

The Haunting of Bishop Pike: A Christian View of the Other Side, by Merrill Unger (Tyndale, 1971, 115 pp., paperback, $1.45). The story of the late Bishop Pike’s fall into the occult. Fascinating, frightening reading.

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