Book Briefs: July 7, 1972

‘That There May Be Equality’

Jesus and the Poor, by Richard Batey (Harper & Row, 1972, 114 pp., $4.95), is reviewed by Ronald J. Sider, assistant professor of history, Messiah College Campus at Temple University, Philadelphia.

How central was concern for the poor in the theology and ministry of Jesus, the Jerusalem church, and Paul? Chapters two, three, and four of Jesus and the Poor contain a concise discussion of the relevant New Testament texts.

Both by birth and by profession as a rabbi, Jesus was poor. Although Richard Batey does not argue that Jesus led a lower-class movement of economic revolution, he does insist that Jesus’ message envisaged a new economic order. Repeatedly, Jesus taught that the existing relation between rich and poor would be reversed in the kingdom, which would be filled with the poor, the maimed, and the blind. In his teaching on alms, wealth, and possessions, Jesus pointed toward a new economic order symbolized by the common purse that he and the twelve shared.

In chapter three, “The Poverty Programs in the Early Church,” Batey shows how the first believers in Jerusalem continued the material sharing practiced by Jesus and his disciples. Both the spontaneous table fellowship and the voluntary community of goods at Jerusalem show that Christian fellowship (koinonia) included sharing possessions. Private ownership was far less significant than the brother’s need. This new life-style of economic sharing was itself a proclamation of the new life made possible by faith in Christ.

However, the new Christian community’s attractiveness to the large numbers of poverty-stricken Jews who normally flocked to the Holy City led to a crisis. Batey thinks it is very important to remember that the first crisis in church history was not the problem of the relation between Jewish and Gentile Christianity but rather the crisis over how to care for all the poor Christians in Jerusalem.

In a fascinating chapter on “Paul and the Collection,” Batey shows how the desperate poverty of the Jerusalem church offered Paul the opportunity to vindicate his mission to the Gentiles and unify the Gentile and Jewish churches. The money he diligently collected in Corinth, Macedonia, and elsewhere became a symbol of the unity of the entire body of Christ.

In discussing Paul’s theological basis for this collection, however, Batey tends to weaken the radical principle offered in Second Corinthians 8:8–15. While it is true that “no certain amount or percentage is suggested by Paul,” it is extremely important that contemporary middle-class evangelicals feel the full force of Paul’s radical principle: “As a matter of equality your abundance at the present time should supply their want so that [later] their abundance may supply your want, that there may be equality.”

Batey has written a useful book. There is not a great deal that is new here, but it is helpful to have a comprehensive summary of what the New Testament says about the poor. (Short chapters on “A Theology of Poverty” and “The Poor in Israel” round out the book.) I wish, however, that he had offered more suggestions on how contemporary Christians can faithfully exhibit the economic life-style of Jesus and the early Church. Many American Christians easily forget that fellow Christians in such places as Appalachia, the inner cities, and the Third World are starving while we anguish over how we can possibly get along on an eight, ten, or fifteen thousand annual income. Thanks to clever and incessant advertising, vast numbers of people in our evangelical churches have been brainwashed into believing the prevailing culture’s lie that bigger houses, larger businesses, and more luxurious gadgets are worthy goals in life. Wealth is our most common idol. Having convinced ourselves that we must keep up with our neighbors or even go them one better (so that we can witness to them better?!), we buy another dress, suit, or car and thus improve our “standard of living.” The standard of living is the god of twentieth-century America and Europe and the adman is its prophet.

We Western Christians would astound the world if even one-tenth of us had the faith and obedience to share more than a mere token of our relative wealth with needy fellow Christians here and abroad—“that there may be equality”! Our life-style would then be a proclamation that the risen Jesus truly regenerates and transforms egocentric sinners. Dare we follow St. Paul?

Perhaps the only way we can break free from the materialistic stranglehold that is slowly suffocating us is for Christians to adopt some specific plan of vastly increased giving. A graduated increase above the basic tithe would be one answer. Communal groups within the Jesus movement and elsewhere are exploring another approach. We need widespread theoretical and practical exploration of different patterns of economic sharing within the body of Christ. We who accept most firmly the authority of the biblical revelation must find specific ways to return to the life-style of Jesus and the apostles, for whom fellowship included economic sharing “that there may be equality.”

The Unique Disclosure

The Old Testament: Its Claims and Its Critics, by Oswald T. Allis (Baker, and Presbyterian and Reformed, 1972, 509 pp., $9.95), is reviewed by Ludwig R. Dewitz, professor of Old Testament, Columbia Seminary, Decatur, Georgia.

Many of the themes that have flowed forth from this nonagenarian’s pen over the years are gathered up in his most recent book. The title is somewhat ambiguous in that the word “claims” might be understood from the point of view of theological content, but Dr. Allis focuses on the historical data, which, he asserts, must not be tampered with and can only be properly evaluated from an “inside” point of view. Since “the biblical history is consistently and sanely supernatural from beginning to end,” Allis maintains that “the history recorded in the Old Testament is a unique history and is to be studied as such. It is not to be measured and tested as to its correctness and accuracy by the course of history among the neighboring nations.”

For one who, like Allis, acknowledges the unique disclosure of God in the Old Testament and realizes his way of action, nearly everything falls into place. There are hardly any problems left. A few chronological items may defy final solution, the date of the Exodus may remain open-ended, but since “supernatural” happenings are to be expected when the transcendant God intervenes in history, the miracles of the Old Testament pose no problem. Thus the, 600,000 men involved in the Exodus should raise no question, for “it is only when full justice is done to the supernatural in the record that [the numbers] become credible and we can accept and rejoice in them as the biblical writer would have us do.”

Although many present-day Old Testament scholars have abandoned Wellhausen’s basic suppositions, Allis still thinks they do not honor the claims of the Old Testament; he is highly critical of Eichrodt, von Rad, and Barth, not to mention Eissfeldt, Mowinckel, and Noth. One wonders what positive content Allis’s historical and theological research would have, apart from a rich devotional attitude and repetition of biblical statements, if his attacks were not so fully launched against all proponents of “non-conservative” views.

However, Allis knows his subject, and his book is an excellent balancing factor against scholars who are apt to react over-critically against biblical statements and are over-confident when it comes to extra-biblical sources. Archaeological data and literary discoveries have often been misused in that a house has been constructed on what really is not more than a pebble. Allis presents some good examples of such aberrations.

A short chapter deals with “Israel and the Land of Promise.” Here one wonders if an Augustinian or Lutheran view has overextended itself when Allis writes in regard to Hitler’s attempted genocide of the Jews: “We think with horror of this terrible scourge and of Hitler as a devil and a mad man. But, in the light of the Scriptures, can we deny that this, like the other visitations through which Israel passed, was a punishment for sin?” Referring to the destruction of the Northern Kingdom, the exile, the destruction of Jerusalem, Allis continues “can it be denied that the recent genocide attempt of Hitler with its insufferable horrors was a further punishment for the age-long refusal of the Jews to recognize and receive their King?” Although the author seems to know something of Christian-Jewish relations through the centuries, his judgment appears unwarranted and rather biased, to put it mildly.

The book, which is an outgrowth of special lectures at Fuller Seminary delivered two decades ago, is long and somewhat repetitive. The concluding chapter on chronology is worth studying, as is indeed the whole book, since it presents a point of view rarely articulated in these days.

Newly Published

Demons, Demons, Demons: A Christian Guide Through the Murkey Maze of the Occult, by John Newport (Broadman, 159 pp., $4.95). Magic, witchcraft, astrology, Tarot, and spiritualism are among the topics treated by a philosophy of religion professor at Southwestern Baptist Seminary. One of the better treatments of these rival religions from an evangelical viewpoint.

God Help Me, I’m a Parent!, by Gordon McLean (Creation House, 109 pp., $3.95). A book to impress parents—and would-be parents—with the deep responsibility of raising children.

The Book of Isaiah: Volume III, by Edward J. Young (Eerdmans, 579 pp., $9.95). The late Westminster professor’s monumental commentary is now complete with this volume covering chapters 40–66.

Ethics: Real or Relative?, by William H. Bartlette (Vantage, 135 pp., $4.50). A popularly written, straightforward discussion of the shift from absolute to relativistic ethics with the author’s proposals for a return to biblical standards.

The Broadman Bible Commentary: Volumes 7 and 12, edited by Clifton Allen (Broadman, 394 and 392 pp., $7.50 each). With the appearance of Hosea through Malachi and Hebrews through Revelation, this set, which can be helpful if used with discretion, is complete (except for the revision being done on the first volume).

Introduction to Indian Religious Thought, by Paul Younger (Westminster, 142 pp., $2.45 pb). A helpful and informative introduction by one who has apparently bought the package.

Shout It From the Housetops, by Pat Robertson (Logos, 238 pp., $4.95). Autobiography of a U. S. Senator’s son who has built a Christian television station and broadcast network.

Ecclesia Reformata: Studies on the Reformation, by W. Nijenhuis (E. J. Brill, [Leiden, Netherlands], 220 pp., 56 guilders). Nine first-rate essays, newly published or translated, on such topics as Cranmer on the eucharist, Bucer on the Jews, Calvin on the Augsburg Confession, and Presbyterians versus Episcopalians at Dordt.

Christ and the Modern Mind, edited by Robert W. Smith (Inter-Varsity, 312 pp., $3.50 pb). A helpful introduction to the various academic disciplines in the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. For the Christian about to enter college or choose a major.

Afro-American Religious Studies, by Ethel Williams and Clifton Brown (Scarecrow [Box 656, Metuchen, N.J. 08840], 454 pp., $12.50). Comprehensive classified bibliography of the literature, together with where copies may be found. Belongs in every institutional theological library.

The Church in God’s Program, by Robert L. Saucy (Moody, 254 pp., $5.95). A major work on the nature and role of the Church from a generally Calvinist/Baptist perspective; clear, concise, and thorough, with a fair presentation of other points of view.

They Found a Common Language, by W. Cameron Townsend (Harper & Row, 124 pp., $5.95). The founder of Wycliffe reports on his trip to the Soviet Union (which is only half Russian), in which he observed many of its language groups. He suggests workable ways for increasing communication in other multilingual lands, including America.

Old Testament Covenant, by D. J. McCarthy (John Knox, 112 pp., $3.95 pb). A Catholic scholar’s brief but highly detailed study of the Old Testament concept of covenant. A masterly summary of the detailed work of many recent scholars. Unfortunately, the authoritative continuing value of the Old Testament documents disappears in a welter of citations and footnotes.

Reflections on the Manson Trial, by Rosemary Baer (Word, 175 pp., $4.95). An interesting look at the juror’s responsibilities, and those of his family. Written journal-fashion by the wife of one of the Manson jurors; both she and he are committed Christians.

God Is Great, God Is Good, by Rolf Aaseng (Augsburg, 125 pp., $3.95). An excellent collection of fifty-six messages from the Bible suitable for reading and discussing at devotions of families with young children.

Neo-Pentecostal Doctrine

Holy Spirit Baptism, by Anthony A. Hoekema (Eerdmans, 1972, 101 pp., $1.95 pb), is reviewed by Watson Mills, associate professor of philosophy and religion, Averett College, Danville, Virginia.

In his earlier volume, What About Tongue-Speaking? Eerdmans, 1966), Calvin Seminary professor Anthony Hoekema dealt with the psychological aspects of this phenomenon, giving attention to the history of Pentecostalism and neo-Pentecostalism. Now, limiting himself to a consideration of neo-Pentecostalism, he sets out to discover whether the biblical record offers support for the concept of “Spirit-baptism.” He clearly states that he in no way rejects neo-Pentecostals as brothers but steadfastly maintains that the teaching of “Scripture must always be normative for our Christian experience.”

Chapter one is given to a brief statement of “the” neo-Pentecostal teaching on the baptism in the Spirit. In presenting the neo-Pentecostal view Hoekema quotes Laurence Christenson, John Sherrill, Robert C. Frost, and Frederick Dale Bruner. But these are hardly adequate for demonstrating the variety found in neo-Pentecostalism.

Curiously, although Hoekema says in his preface that he will not focus upon “tongue-speaking as such,” he devotes more pages to it than to Holy Spirit baptism itself.

The main thrust of the book is the examination in chapter two of the pertinent biblical passages. Actually, the New Testament does not contain the expression “baptism in the Spirit” but rather a number of instances in which the verb “to be baptized” is used in connection with the Holy Spirit. Of the seven instances, five (Matt. 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33; Acts 1:5) refer to the event of the outpouring of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost. Likewise, Hoekema regards Acts 11:16 as a reference to a Spirit baptism that was simultaneous with an integral part of conversion. He gives a similar interpretation to the seventh reference, First Corinthians 12:13.

Hoekema’s conclusion is clear: “Never in the New Testament is the expression ‘to be baptized in the Spirit’ used to describe a post-conversion reception of the totality of fullness of the Spirit.”

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