Book Briefs: April 28, 1972

Three Approaches To Paul

The Apostle: A Life of Paul, by John Pollock (Doubleday, 1969, 238 pp., $4.95), Paul, by Gunther Bornkamm (Harper & Row, 1971, 249 pp., $7.50), and My Brother Paul, by Richard Rubenstein (Harper & Row, 1972, 201 pp., $5.95), are reviewed by Robert Guelich, associate professor of New Testament, Bethel Theological Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota.

In a manner reminiscent of Irving Stone’s well-known work, biographer John Pollock has captured the agony and ecstasy of the Apostle Paul. As you read The Apostle you listen, dictate, laugh, weep, burn with anger, strain, flinch, doubt, and stand confidently with Paul in the vicissitudes of his life and ministry. In short, you are there. This contemporaneity is achieved not by “modernizing” Paul but by skillfully using a type of “instant replay.” By bringing to light the obscure, noting the often overlooked, and weaving the tangled and broken strands of tradition along with historical and geographical illustrations, the author transports his reader without loss of personal identity two thousand years into the past to be present with Paul.

This work, falling under the broader category of biography, is not what in New Testament studies is called a vita (“life”) of Paul; its title, The Apostle: A Life of Paul, could be misleading. The “quester” must be very cautious and detached, while the biographer can consider alternatives and make his own selection. The clearest example of this is Pollock’s use of Acts as the outline for Paul’s life, into which he then fits the Pauline corpus. In so doing he is able to gloss over some of the critical questions and is more at liberty than the “quester” to read between the lines and to recreate scenes that are only sketched in the documents. Read in light of the author’s biographical intent, The Apostle is an exciting portrayal of Paul that would delight layman and clergyman alike.

By contrast, Gunther Bornkamm, known for his Jesus of Nazareth, presents a succinct, popular vita of the Apostle in his Paul. The work is divided into two parts, the first of which focuses on Paul’s “life and work.” In eleven brief chapters Bornkamm lucidly covers Paul’s life before and after his conversion, his initial missionary activity, his world-wide mission, the major church centers, and his visit to Jerusalem that led to his death. Bornkamm’s treatment of first-century Judaism, his insight into the reason for Paul’s mission, and his analysis of the church centers along with their respective epistles highlight this section. Pollock’s work follows a more traditional, conservative approach to Paul; Bornkamm, rejecting an uncritical combination of Acts and the Pauline corpus, often contrasts noticeably with Pollock.

The real reward of Bornkamm’s work is part two, Paul’s “gospel and theology.” In five compactly written chapters, he examines Paul and the Gospel of the primitive Church, lost-man and the world, the saving event, present salvation, and future and present (eschatology and ethics), concluding with a positive statement on Jesus and Paul. Without presenting a “systematic theology” of Paul, Bornkamm exegetically portrays Paul’s theology and, of most importance, demonstrates Paul’s roots in the Gospel of the primitive Church and especially in the ministry of Jesus, which he diversified and amplified but did not, as often suggested, distort. This translation makes available in very readable English a work of real significance for all interested in Paul.

Rabbi Richard Rubenstein, professor of religion at Florida State, presents a third approach to the Apostle in My Brother Paul. Rather than attempting to objectify Paul as a man of the past, Rubenstein bridges the past and the present by means of a psychoanalytical understanding of his subject. Beginning with a chapter on his perspective, Rubenstein finds Paul to be a fellow traveler in his struggling pilgrimage with Judaism. Both were haunted ultimately by a legalistic quest for immortality, i.e., final acceptance by God. Paul’s solution was his conversion to the “Risen Christ” through “identification.” expressed crudely and materialistically, says Rubenstein, as union with Christ (cf. A. Schweitzer); Rubenstein’s own solution has been to replace God’s acceptance with self-acceptance—thus dealing with immortality—through Freudian psychoanalysis. Paul’s conversion, and his teaching about baptism, the atonement, and the Lord’s Supper are seen as unconscious, religious symbols for his remarkable, intuitive insight into the problems of humanity. These problems and Paul’s symbolic resolution of them have become transparent, Rubenstein says, through the work of a twentieth-century Jewish mystic, Sigmund Freud.

This work might well serve as a landmark in Jewish-Christian dialogue for two reasons. Foremost is the attitude of the author; he sees Paul as a “brother” rather than the “arch-apostate” of the usual Jewish caricature. With insight often lacking in Christian theologians, Rubenstein depicts Paul as a follower rather than a perverter of Jesus and his ministry. Secondly, the author offers a very penetrating analysis of Paul’s teaching and life through the symbols of depth psychology. Those who have come to appreciate the contribution psychology has made to our understanding of man will find this analysis of Paul intriguing. Although Rubenstein is a careful scholar, very conversant with Pauline scholarship, the reader will find himself wondering whether what the author identifies as the goal of immortality and the angst under the Law faced by Paul the Pharisee are not ultimately those of Rubenstein himself. Furthermore, the evangelical reader may ask why Freud’s psychological symbolism makes transparent Paul’s religious symbolism rather than vice versa.

Countering Two Cultures

Youth and Dissent, by Kenneth Keniston (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1971, 403 pp., $9.95), is reviewed by Robert D. Newell, political campaign coordinator, Portland, Oregon.

Kenneth Keniston is too objective to be an ideologue, too eclectic to be a propagandist. He is a man whose byword is balance.

Consequently, Keniston is neither a romantic apologist for today’s youthful counterculture nor a judgmentally defensive detractor of it. He is rather a keen analyst of this new and unpredicted social phenomenon—the counterculture, or, as the subtitle of his latest book terms it, “a new opposition.”

With his first two books, The Uncommitted: Alienated Youth in American Society and Young Radicals: Notes on Committed Youth, both written in the sixties, Kenneth Keniston earned a reputation as a careful observer of what he regards as the social phenomenon of the sixties, the emergence of a youthful opposition. This latest book, Youth and Dissent, is a collection of Keniston’s essays, preceded and concluded by previously unpublished essays that point to what Keniston says is the direction of his future work: a broad social-psychological theory of youth as a new developmental stage of human life.

Keniston’s analytical insight into the current youth scene is unequaled among today’s plethora of “theorists.” His calm and rational examination of the counterculture is helpful both to the student of the subject and to the casual or experiential observer who may fear radicals on campus, hippies in the streets, or a “generation gap” at home. He is helpful because he neither denies nor exaggerates the significance of the youth culture. Instead, he points to the reasons for its existence and shows its legitimacy as a response to modern society.

One would expect Keniston, as a psychologist, to write and think in limited and jargonistic terms. He does not. Over the past ten years he has carefully analyzed the youth movement in what he calls “psychohistorical” terms. That is, he tries to explain it not in wholly sociological or historical or psychological terms but in a combination of all these.

The first psychohistorical observation Keniston makes is that changing historical conditions have caused the emergence of a new developmental stage in the human life cycle. He calls that stage “youth” and defines it as a time of tension between self and society: “The adolescent is struggling to define who he is; the youth begins to sense who he is and thus to recognize the possibility of conflict and disparity between his emerging selfhood and his social order.”

The rest of the book is a discussion of the various responses to that tension. Only a minority of young people experience this stage of life called youth, but Keniston says the minority is growing. One of the identifying characteristics of a “youth” is his ability to make moral judgments according to conscience rather than in accordance with social pressure. When faced with the conflict between self and society, some young people adopt the standards of the society and strive to change themselves to fit it. But most often, “youth” find society wanting and seek to alter it to their vision of what it should be. From this latter group have come campus unrest, the phenomenon of hippies, the drug culture, and talk of revolution.

Keniston points out that today alienation is a condition chosen by many rather than a sentence meted out by society—that the direction of cultural change is toward alienation rather than toward enthusiasm and commitment. He also notes that our fantasies tend to be escapist rather than related to reality—the Horatio Alger myth seems to be dead. Furthermore, we have come to place greater value on technical competence, on performance, on production, than upon the words of the prophet, on whether the performance and production are morally right, on whether what we produce needs to exist and fits into the overall plan (if there is one).

Keniston is unabashedly on the side of the young insofar as they call our attention to these deficiencies and seek correction. But he is critical of the young for their excesses, for their overall apathy (only a very small minority are activists), and for their myopic view of society. He makes the interesting observation that much of the rhetoric of the right and the left is remarkably similar. He appreciates the accomplishments of the counterculture but summons it to develop greater vision and responsibility.

Because Youth and Dissent is a collection of essays on the same broad subject there is some repetition, which can be irritating, but which also serves to emphasize some key points. Probably the book could have been shorter and written in more lucid style. But it is so rich with insight that I would not want the job of condensation. Kenneth Keniston has given us a remarkable analytical overview of an enigmatic development in society that seemingly has more to offer than any other. We will do well to heed his warnings and carefully consider his vision for the future. He is a prophet in professor’s clothing.

Newly Published

Living Churches, by John Williams (Paternoster [3 Mt. Radford Cres., Exeter, EX2 4JW, England], 144 pp., $2 pb). At a time when many Christians are questioning the traditional institutional and clergy-centered forms of the Church, it is good to have these reflections based on Scripture and on experience within the Brethren movement, which has been a lay movement for almost 150 years. Leadership and ministry in such a context are helpfully discussed.

Who in the World?, edited by Clifford Christians, Earl Schipper, and Wesley Smedes (Eerdmans, 163 pp., $1.95 pb). A simple presentation but based on serious reflection in the light of the Scriptures. Considers the Christian message, and the congregation’s role in communicating it and exemplifying its results in fellowship, worship, and service. Though produced by members of the Christian Reformed denomination, its usefulness is far wider. See also March 31 issue, page 23.

Living Doctrines of the New Testament, by H. D. McDonald (Zondervan, 319 pp., $3.95 pb). A leading British evangelical examines the Gospels, Acts, Paul’s letters, the other letters, and Revelation to see how each part of the New Testament presents its key teachings. Highly recommended.

Church Union: A Layman’s Guide, by Robert Lightner (Regular Baptist Press [1800 Oakton Blvd., Des Plaines, Ill. 60018], 163 pp., $2.75 pb). For those who know very little about the ecumenical movement, an exposé of its unbiblical elements. However, the author is not particularly sympathetic to the mainstream of evangelical cooperative endeavors either.

Christianity and the Occult, by J. Stafford Wright (Moody, 160 pp., $.75 pb). A balanced, informed, biblically sound warning about a reviving alternative to the true faith. Properly distinguishes psychic from occult phenomenon.

Pray: A Study of Distinctive Christian Praying, by Charles Whiston (Eerdmans, 154 pp., $2.95 pb), Help Is Only a Prayer Away, by Etta Lynch (Revell, 158 pp., $3.95), and Encounter With God, by Leonard L. Holloway (Revell, 126 pp., $3.95). Perhaps none of us will ever be satisfied with how we pray, but these books give practical help toward being less unsatisfied.

Eye of the Storm: The Great Debate in Mission, edited by Donald McGavran (Word, 299 pp., $6.95), Don’t Sleep Through the Revolution, by Paul Rees (Word, 130 pp., $.95 pb), Strachan of Costa Rica: Missionary Insights and Strategies, by Dayton Roberts (Eerdmans, 187 pp., $2.95 pb), and The Unresponsive: Resistant or Neglected?, by David Liao (Moody, 160 pp., $2.95 pb). Outstanding books on missions. McGavran collects thirty essays from a wide range of viewpoints, including many that are rather critical of the “Church Growth” position associated with him. The book ably illustrates the irreconcilable split within Christianity over evangelism. Some of Rees’s challenging editorials in World Vision Magazine are now available in an inexpensive edition; we hope this encourages their wide distribution. The late Kenneth Strachan was founder of Evangelism-in-Depth and one of the prime missiologists of our time. Roberts’s study is part biography and part presentation of and reflection upon Strachan’s key insights. Liao illustrates many of the principles of the first three books by studying in depth one group unresponsive to the Gospel, the Hakka Chinese, who form 13 per cent of Taiwan’s population.

After Eve: The New Feminism, by Alan Graebner (Augsburg, 96 pp., $2.50 pb). A fairly complete survey of the reasons behind and the different aspects of women’s liberation.

Herod Antipas, by Harold Hoehner (Cambridge, 437 pp., $22). A Dallas Seminary professor has his definitive Ph.D. dissertation issued in the prestigious Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series.

A Future For the Historical Jesus, by Leander E. Keck (Abingdon, 271 pp., $6.50). Studies the psychological and homiletical implications of the various “quests” of the historical Jesus. Displays masterly knowledge of German radicals and conservatives but ignores non-German conservatives and neglects the Resurrection.

Mission: Middle America, by James Armstrong (Abingdon, 127 pp., $3.50). A concerned Methodist bishop faces the moral, spiritual, social, racial, and political crises of our day with earnestness and compassion. Many “case histories,” but little Scripture and less scriptural theology. Long on currently popular clichés.

Learning to Love, by Lewis P. Bird and Christopher T. Reilly (Word, 177 pp., $4.95). A thorough, helpful resource guide for various approaches to church sex education.

Bible Characters and Doctrines, by Scripture Union (Eerdmans, 128 pp. each, $1.50 each). Sixteen volumes are to appear over the next four years, each designed for three months of daily Bible study, with alternating biographical and doctrinal emphases. The first two volumes cover Adam to Moses (by E. M. Blaiklock), the doctrine of revelation (by Philip Crowe), and creation and providence (by Arthur Cundall). Highly recommended as an aid to daily Bible study.

Shriven Selves, by Wesley A. Kort (Fortress, 149 pp., $4.50 pb). By focusing on modern writers of confessional fiction, as defined by Northrop Frye, Kort helps clarify modern man’s religious confusion.

Women in Church and Society, by Georgia Harkness (Abingdon, 240 pp., $4.75). America’s outstanding woman theologian gives us a somewhat wry narrative of the role of women in church history and offers optimistic evaluations of current trends, inspired more by a vaguely Christian humanism than by biblical doctrine.

Creation, Evolution, and God’s Word, edited by Paul Zimmerman (Concordia, 176 pp., $2.50 pb). Five messages by five Missouri Lutheran scientists offering evidence against the general theory of evolution.

The Draft and the Rest of Your Life, by Richard L. Killmer and Charles P. Lutz (Augsburg, 104 pp., $1.95 pb). A useful manual presenting in a realistic way the choices open to the draft-eligible. Generally fair, with a slight sprinkling of anti-Establishment rhetoric (“involuntary servitude,” “repression”); does not consider the religious pros and cons of service, conscientious objection, and draft evasion.

The Incomparable Christ (Moody, 256 pp., $4.95) and The Pursuit of the Holy (Zondervan, 180 pp., $1.25 pb), both by Oswald Sanders. The retired general director of the Overseas Missionary Fellowship offers enlarged editions of two of his well-received inspirational works. The first reflects on the person and work of Christ; the second does the same for the Christian.

Tyndale Bulletin No. 22, edited by A. R. Millard (Tyndale [39 Bedford Sq., London WC1B 3EY, England], 126 pp., £1.25 pb). The 1971 edition of this important annual by evangelical scholars has seven major articles, including studies of Second Corinthians 5:1–10, the Rock-Stone imagery in First Peter, Ugaritic poetry, the covenant concept, and the central sanctuary in Deuteronomy.

Paul: Messenger and Exile, by John J. Gunther (Judson, 190 pp., $6.95), and The Writings of St. Paul, edited by Wayne A. Meeks (Norton, 454 pp., $12.95, $4.95 pb). Gunther, a Harvard Ph.D., offers an important study on various aspects of the chronology of Paul’s life and letters, including his visit to Spain, which should interest all evangelical scholars. Meeks accompanies Paul’s letters in the RSV with a wide range of interpretations of Paul and his influence from antiquity to the present.

A Procession of Friends, by Daisy Newman (Doubleday, 460 pp., $10). An entertaining, mostly uncritical stroll back and forth through the corridors of Quaker history in America. Underemphasizes the role of evangelical Quakers in this century.

The Image Maker, edited by Ron Henderson (John Knox, 96 pp., $3.95 pb). For those who want to learn about the leaders in the newest art medium, film, this is the book to read. Part one is interviews, part two, essays.

The Universe: Plan or Accident?, by Robert E. D. Clark (Zondervan, 240 pp., $2.95 pb). Reflections on the religious implications of science by a British evangelical who is a chemistry professor. Last revised a decade ago, now made inexpensively available.

Billy Graham Talks With David Frost, by David Frost (Holman, 94 pp., $2.95). Complete transcripts with pictures added of the two television interviews Frost had with Graham.

The Christian Church and the Old Testament, by A. A. van Ruler (Eerdmans, 104 pp., $2.45). Gives help in handling the perennial temptation to the Church to neglect or distort the Old Testament. By a recently deceased Dutch theology professor.

The Puritan Experience: Studies in Spiritual Autobiography, by Owen Watkins (Schocken, 270 pp., $12), The Great Awakening, by Jonathan Edwards, edited by C. C. Goen (Yale, 595 pp., $18.50), and Witchcraft, edited by Barbara Rosen (Taplinger, 407 pp., $9.95). The contemporary revival of both biblical and occult spirituality was parallelled among English-speaking peoples of Post-Reformation times. These three scholarly books take us back to the documents reflecting these earlier true and false spiritualities. Watkins includes Bunyan and the Quakers, focusing upon individual experiences as revealed in diaries, and other sources. Goen gathers some writings of America’s foremost theologian, who combined evangelistic passion with his calling. Edwards’s reflections on the good and the bad in mass movements are as relevant now as ever. Rosen lets us see the words of both practitioners and persecutors. There were many victims of injustice when unbiblical standards were allowed to guide the Christian response.

Abortion: The Personal Dilemma, by R. F. R. Gardner (Eerdmans, 288 pp., $5.95). The American edition of an important English book reviewed by J. D. Douglas in CHRISTIANITY TODAY March 17 (p. 47).

Haircuts and Holiness, by Louis Cassels (Abingdon, 128 pp., $1.75 pb). The religion editor of the United Press gives thirty-four starters on topics for group discussions pointing in a generally orthodox direction.

Preaching on the Parables, by David Granskou (Fortress, 127 pp., $3.50 pb), and The Parables Then and Now, by Archibald Hunter (Westminster, 128 pp., $2.25 pb). Helps for applying the parables to life today, but Granskou will turn off those who do not accept the currently dominant critical views of Scripture.

Human Life: Some Moral Issues, by John F. Dedek (Sheed and Ward, 180 pp., $5.95). A short, gripping study of ethical aspects of abortion, genetic engineering, euthanasia, and war. Fine presentation of traditional Catholic teaching on these topics.

The Faith Once Delivered, by William Culbertson (Moody, 192 pp., $4.95). The sermons that from 1953 to 1971 keynoted the annual week of inspirational preaching at Moody Bible Institute.

Prophet of the Myrtle Grove, by Frederick A. Tatford, and Twentieth Century Prophet by John McNicol (Prophetic Witnes Movement [2 Upperton Gardens, Eastbourne, Sussex, England], 172 pp. each, £1.25 each). Tatford, a retired British civil servant, is one of his country’s better-known speakers and writers on prophecy understood within the dispensational framework. The first book is a commentary on Zechariah, launching a proposed series on the prophets. The second is a biographical sketch of Tatford together with excerpts from his writings.

Time Invades the Cathedral, by Walter H. Capps (Fortress, 152 pp., $3.75 pb). A not altogether illuminating study of three “hope theologians”—the atheist Bloch, the Protestant Moltmann, the Catholic Metz—by a fourth. Lacking in biblical orientation.

Jeanette Li, translated by Rose A. Huston (Puritan Publications, 361 pp., $2.50, pb). Fascinating autobiography of an incredible woman. The flavor and atmosphere of Chinese culture, retained even in translation, makes the book a joy to read.

Enigmes de la Deuxieme Epitre de Paul aux Corinthiens, by J.-F. Collange (Cambridge, 352 pp., $18.50). A doctoral thesis at Strasbourg, “Enigmas of Second Corinthians” is a carefully written, closely reasoned exegetical study of chapters 2:14–7:4. Collange is very open and fair to the conservative view of the authenticity and essential unity of the epistle, though his conclusions reveal he does not accept them. He deduces the existence of a Judaeo-Christian proselytizing movement that made grandiose claims about apostolic authority and thinks Paul was defending his own ministry against it in Second Corinthians.

The Prophet Isaiah, by Victor Buksbazen (Spearhead Press [475 White Horse Pike, Collingswood, N. J. 08107], 321 pp., $6.95). Although he believes in the unity of Isaiah, this Polish convert from Judaism to Protestantism here offers a translation and commentary of only the first thirty-nine chapters of the prophecy.

Prophet Without Portfolio, by Virgil Todd (Christopher [53 Billings Road, N. Quincy, Mass. 02171], 161 pp., $4.95). A study of the themes of Isaiah 40–55, stressing the eschatological dimension. Todd teaches Old Testament at Memphis Seminary (Cumberland Presbyterian).

Philosophical Travelogue

Faith Seeks Understanding, by Arthur F. Holmes (Eerdmans, 1971, 175 pp., $2.95 pb), is reviewed by Paul W. Gooch, assistant professor of philosophy, Scarborough College, University of Toronto.

Anyone seeking the definitive Christian philosophical system won’t find it in this book. Indeed, if such a seeker reads this book, he might just be convinced that he is seeking the impossible.

In taking up this theme at least as old as Augustine, Holmes (chairman of the Department of Philosophy at Wheaton College) does not intend to build a complete metaphysical system: such enterprises, he argues in chapter two, are doomed to failure. But he does not therefore reject metaphysics. Thought and language cannot avoid the “a priori” brought to experience (the point of chapter one), and since metaphysics cannot be escaped, it is best seen as perspectival and confessional. The task of the philosopher (the Christian included) is to develop his confession into a coherent vision, always keeping his work exploratory and open-ended. Crucial to this enterprise is epistemology, the study of how we can know, for unless we take this seriously, our metaphysical beliefs may not be well founded. From here Holmes goes on to explore four epistemological areas, asking about understanding in history, in ethics, in personal relationships, and in religion.

Holmes calls his work a guidebook, and in many respects this is the right term. A guidebook is no substitute for “being there,” but it contains maps and hints for those undertaking the trip. So Holmes acknowledges that his is not an original piece of analysis, and that the work presupposes “some acquaintance with the views discussed.” Christian philosophers therefore will not find their work done for them here; instead, Holmes offers a helpful map of alternate routes—some dead-ends, some more promising. Only occasionally does one feel that the reader is assumed to need elementary instruction and even motivation—e.g. in the first part of the chapter on moral knowledge.

It is certainly the work of someone who has traveled extensively: there is evidence of thoughtful reflection not only on the entire history of philosophy but also on contemporary issues in analytical philosophy, phenomenology, and existentialism. If one misses a discussion of Wittgenstein in the section on interpersonal knowledge, he can content himself with well digested insights from a dozen philosophers and theologians, from Socrates to Buber.

The audience for Faith Seeks Understanding should not, however, be limited to philosophers. The book may be treated as a travelogue as well as a guidebook. Those who do not travel philosophically will benefit from Holmes’s comments on a host of theological positions. He clearly discusses the philosophical assumptions underlying nineteenth-century liberalism, existential theology, situation ethics, and various views of revelation. The book is well organized and has the twin virtues of conciseness and clarity.

Not Enough Pluses

The Thessalonian Epistles: A Call to Readiness, by D. Edmond Hiebert (Moody, 1971, 383 pp., $6.95), is reviewed by David W. Wead, assistant professor of New Testament, Emmanuel School of Religion, Milligan College, Johnson City, Tennessee.

This commentary on the Thessalonian epistles is by the professor of Greek and New Testament at Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary. Hiebert sees Paul writing two letters, mainly eschatological, calling the Christians in Thessalonica to be ready when the Lord returns. The first letter has two major sections: one personal, dealing with Paul’s relationship with the Thessalonian church, and the other practical, showing how doctrine (especially of the second coming) must be applied to life. The shorter second letter reaches its climax at the eschatological section in chapter two.

The method of the commentary centers in two areas: a survey of English commentaries and the meaning of individual words. Only the more important footnotes are placed at the bottom of the page, the others are relegated to the back of the book. This made the book easier to use. (I would rather have them appear under the chapter in Thessalonians than under the chapter of the commentary, however.)

An expansion of the author’s method would have enriched the commentary. Hiebert might have indicated more awareness of the Old Testament background. For example, in the passage dealing with the armor of the Lord, the allusion to Isaiah is important. And further exploration into the first-century setting—for instance, into the concept of sons of darkness and light as it relates to John, to Qumran, and to dualism in general—seemed needed.

The handling of the Day of the Lord seemed to illustrate both of these deficiencies. One would expect a thorough investigation of the background and evolution of this term in the Old Testament rather than summary statements of other commentators’ positions. Indeed, there seems to be an abrupt evolution in Hiebert’s own view: After reading the comments on First Thessalonians 5:1, 2, where the Parousia and the Day of the Lord are treated together, the reader is quite unprepared to find them separated in discussion of the Second Epistle.

The author assumes the premillennial position with the pre-tribulation rapture. While he tries to be charitable to those who hold the post- and mid-tribulation varieties, he seemed to overlook the fact that those who are not premillennial at all are also found in our evangelical American world.

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