Theology and Apologetics

The most welcome general book in the field of theology last year was The Joyful Christian (Macmillan), a selection of 127 readings from fifteen theological writings of the late C. S. Lewis. Although widely ignored in academic theology, Lewis’s books are probably the bestselling and most influential general treatments of Christian doctrine. It is strange that so many academic theologians delight in finding “meaning” in just about everything except what they denigrate as “lay” theology.

Another popular author had a somewhat similar compilation. Reflections on Life’s Most Crucial Questions (Harper & Row) is a topical collection of short excerpts from the writings of Paul Toumier.

The only major new work of systematic theology is the second volume of Helmut Thielicke’s The Evangelical Faith (Eerdmans) that treats the doctrine of God and of Christ. One more volume is in preparation. On a more popular and consistently evangelical level J. Heading and C. E. Hocking have collected nearly 100 short articles on the various divisions of theology (except for the church, which was treated in a separate book earlier) and entitled it Treasury of Bible Doctrine (Everyday Publications [230 Glebemount Ave., Toronto, Canada M4C 3T4]).

Miscellaneous (but not systematic) collections by evangelical authors include: Obeying Christ in a Changing World, three volumes (Collins + World), edited by John Stott, consisting of papers prepared for an Evangelical Anglican Congress in England; Our Sovereign God (Baker) edited by James Boice, with fifteen papers read at conferences on Reformed theology; volume one of the Collected Writings of John Murray (Banner of Truth), professor of systematics at Westminster Seminary, 1937–66; and volumes six and seven of The Doorway Papers by Arthur Custance, Time and Eternity and Hidden Things of God’s Revelation (both Zondervan).

Brief, miscellaneous statements from prominent European theologians included Final Testimonies (Eerdmans) by Karl Barth, Faith and Reality (Westminster) by Wolfhart Pannenberg, and The Hidden Question of God (Eerdmans) by Helmut Thielicke.

Maurice Wiles, a decidedly unorthodox theologian, has contributed a brief summary of what the discipline is about in What Is Theology? (Oxford). A far more orthodox overview, concentrating on continental thinkers, is G. C. Berkouwer’s A Half Century of Theology (Eerdmans). Interacting primarily with American Reformed theologians of this century is Robert Reymond’s The Justification of Knowledge: An Introductory Study in Christian Apologetic Methodology (Presbyterian and Reformed).

Reprints of systematic or major miscellaneous writings from influential sixteenth-through nineteenth-century thinkers to note: The Writings of James Arminius, three volumes (Baker), Our Reasonable Faith (Baker) by Herman Bavinck, Creation in Christ (Harold Shaw) by George MacDonald, The Christian Faith (Fortress) by Friedrich Schleiermacher, Expositions of St. Paul (Banner of Truth) by Richard Sibbes, and a paperback edition of Spiritual and Anabaptist Writers (Westminster) edited by George Williams and Angel Mergal.

Before turning to the various topics of theology here are a few books by evangelicals that are intended primarily to help non-Christians come to the truth, or at least to help Christians present it to them more convincingly: Is Anybody Up There? (Seabury) by Donald Barnhouse, Hard Questions (InterVarsity) edited by Frank Colquhon, Faith Is for People (Vision) by Paul Little, The Cosmic Center (Eerdmans) by D. Bruce Lockerbie, More Than a Carpenter (Tyndale) by Josh McDowell, The Faith That Persuades (Harper & Row) by J. Edwin Orr, I Want to Be a Christian (Tyndale) by J. I. Packer, Tell Me the Truth (Harold Shaw) by David Pawson, Religion: Who Needs It? (Moody) by Richard Seymour, Questions Non-Christians Ask (Revell) by Barry Wood, and My Answer to the Moscow Atheists (Arlington) by Richard Wurmbrand.

GOD Since God is obviously studied in every division of theology, there is comparatively little that concentrates just on him. Divine Substance (Oxford) by Christopher Stead is a major study of the Greek philosophical underpinnings to the orthodox formulation of the Trinity associated with the Council of Nicaea (three persons in one substance). A more modern statement by a German academic theologian is The Doctrine of the Trinity (Eerdmans) by Eberhard Jüngel. Several essays, mostly by Catholics, treat the crucial concept, A Personal God? (Seabury), edited by Edward Schillebeeckx and Bas van Iersel.

Here are three popular evangelical presentations: God: What Is He Like? (Tyndale) edited by William Kerr, God the Father (Gospel Publishing House) by Russell Spittler, and The Trinity (Inter-Varsity) by Robert Crossley.

PROBLEM OF EVIL The question of how an all powerful God can allow suffering is perennial. The editor of Campus Life, Philip Yancey, in his usual readable style discusses Where Is God When It Hurts (Zondervan).

More technical treatments are: Providence and Evil (Cambridge) by P. T. Geach, God, Power, and Evil: A Process Theodicy (Westminster) by David Ray Griffin, and God and Human Anguish (Abingdon) by S. Paul Schilling.

ANGELS Often unconventionally speculative meditations on the various kinds of angels are offered by Ladislaus Boros in Angels and Men (Seabury). Fallen angels are the subject of three un-sensational books by evangelical authors: The Devil (Tyndale) by John Wesley White, What Demons Can Do to Saints (Moody) by Merrill Unger, and The Devil Did Not Make Me Do It (Herald Press) by Paul Miller. Miller argues that the power of demons is being exaggerated by some Christians.

A scholarly book of note from the field of comparative religions is The Devil: Perceptions of Evil from Antiquity to Primitive Christianity (Cornell) by Jeffrey Burton Russell.

SCRIPTURE Books about the Bible are the subject of other surveys in this issue. The doctrine of Scripture as a branch of theology, together with the closely related question of the proper method of interpreting the Bible were the subjects of several brief studies, some of them occasioned by the publication in 1976 of The Battle for the Bible by Harold Lindsell. Biblical Authority (Word), edited by Jack Rogers, is a collection of six essays that on various grounds dissent with one or more aspects of Lindsell’s book. In The Debate About the Bible (Westminster), Stephen Davis defends the infallability of the Scriptures in faith and practice but not their general inerrancy.

A well-received defense of the reliability of the New Testament by translator J. B. Phillips is back in print with a new publisher: Ring of Truth (Harold Shaw). Focus on Fact: Why You Can Trust the Bible (Revell) by John F. MacArthur, Jr. is in a very popular style.

Serious discussions with varying conclusions on the proper ways of studying the Bible are The End of the Historical-Critical Method (Concordia) by Gerhard Maier. Above the Battle? The Bible and Its Critics (Eerdmans) by Harry Boer, and Historical Criticism and Theological Interpretation of Scripture (Fortress) by Peter Stuhlmacher.

CHRIST AND SALVATION Certainly the most controversial theological book in English last year was The Myth of God Incarnate (Westminster) edited by John Hick. This magazine has commented on it several times, including page 58 of this issue in the column of John Stott, who writes from England where the book was first issued and where its contributors serve as theology professors. The authors deny that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, which is unfortunately common enough in academic circles. The mystery is why they want to (or are allowed to) remain in positions of leadership in professedly Christian churches. The Truth of God Incarnate (Eerdmans), edited by Michael Green, is a quickly assembled reply from Britishers representing a variety of theological positions. American InterVarsity will soon follow its British counterpart in issuing God Incarnate by George Carey.

What Are They Saying About Jesus? (Paulist) by Gerald O’Collins is a popular, sympathetic introduction to many of the modern Christologies emanating from both Catholics and Protestants, especially in Europe. One of the major writings in the field, Jesus: God and Man (Westminster) by Wolfhart Pannenberg is now available in a slightly revised second edition. Scholars should welcome The Origin of Christology (Cambridge) by C.F.D. Moule. Also of note is The Reality of Jesus (Paulist) by Dermot Lane.

Theology teachers should especially consult Case Studies in Christ and Salvation (Westminster) by Jack Rogers, Ross Mackenzie, and Louis Weeks for possible use in their courses. The book presents a variety of responses from throughout Christian history to the key questions of who Christ is and how we are saved. An interesting answer to the latter question, relating it to the level of our moral development, is provided by Jack Renard Pressau in I’m Saved, You’re Saved—Maybe (John Knox).

The doctrine of grace is comprehensively surveyed by Harold Ditmanson in Grace in Experience and Theology (Augsburg). Aspects of it are treated more briefly in Free Grace Versus Free Will (Baker) by W. E. Best and in Human Nature, Election, and History (Westminster) by Wolfhart Pannenberg.

The crucifixion of Christ is the subject of a brief but moving study by Martin Hengel, Crucifixion (Fortress). He brings together the relevant data to convey more fully the harshness and the “folly” of the cross and its proclamation in the world of the first century. Hengel writes that Paul “never forgets the fact that Jesus did not die a gentle death … he died like a slave or common criminal in torment, on the tree of shame.”

Fifty-seven lenten radio messages, previously published 1943–56, are reissued in one volume: When I Survey … (Kregel) by Herman Hoeksema, a staunch Calvinist. Other kinds of responses to the cross are provided by two Catholics: The Calvary Christ (Westminster) by Gerald O’Collins and The Crucified Christ Is No Stranger (Seabury) by Sebastian Moore.

Both crucifixion and resurrection are the subjects of twenty-three sermons by evangelicals in Christ Is Victor (Judson), edited by W. Glyn Evans.

The Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ (Bethany Fellowship) is a convenient compilation of the data by Richard Riss. More technical studies of the implications of resurrection are To Die and To Live: Christ’s Resurrection and Christian Vocation (Seabury) by Paul Minear and The Risen Christ and the Eucharistic World (Seabury) by Gustave Martelet.

THE HOLY SPIRIT From the flood of books we especially commend Baptism and Fullness (InterVarsity) by John Stott, an expanded edition of an earlier work. In it he makes clear, contrary to rumor, that he has not changed his mind. A technical treatment of high quality now has a new publisher. Baptism in the Holy Spirit (Westminster) by James Dunn.

Here are five popular books from different perspectives: charismatic. Experiencing the Holy Spirit (Bethany Fellowship) by Jim McNair: baptistic. The Spirit Within You (Broadman) by J. Terry Young: Eastern Orthodox. The Spirit of God (Morehouse-Barlow) by Thomas Hopko; and reformed, Glorious Is the Baptism of the Spirit by Robert Churchill and What About Continuing Revelations and Miracles in the Presbyterian Church Today? by Robert Reymond, both published by Presbyterian and Reformed.

THE CHURCH The Community of the King (InterVarsity) is an outstanding study of the relationship between the church and the kingdom of God by Howard Snyder, whose first book. The Problem of Wineskins, was also well received. A leading German academic theologian. Jürgen Moltman, adds a major work. The Church in the Power of the Spirit (Harper & Row).

In The Water That Divides (InterVarsity) Donald Bridges and David Phypers present arguments both for and against infant baptism and believer’s baptism. A reprint of a brief case for the former is Baptism (Fortress) by Martin Marty and a thorough case for immersion is The Meaning and Use of Baptizein (Kregel) by Thomas Jefferson Conant.

LAST THINGS A collection of seventeen essays by evangelicals of differing views was issued as Dreams, Visions, and Oracles: The Layman’s Guide to Biblical Prophecy (Baker) edited by Carl Armerding and Ward Casque. Many Christians are exposed to only one line of complex and confident prophetic teaching: it is good to have books available that raise questions about whether we are reading more into the Bible and current events than God intended. A similar book, but restricted to one aspect of the future, is The Meaning of the Millennium: Four Views (InterVarsity) edited by Robert Clouse. Advocates of two forms of preplus post-and a-millennial views present their own cases and react to each other. Millard Erickson of Bethel Seminary seeks to give objective presentations of these four views in Contemporary Options in Eschatology (Baker). He also considers various understandings of the Great Tribulation. Understanding Bible Prophecy (Harper & Row) by Morris Inch briefly shows what prophets in the Bible were up to. Armageddon Now! (Baker) by Dwight Wilson seems at first glance to be another of the dozens of books every year announcing how near the end is. It is not. Instead, as the subtitle says, it is a historical study of “the premillenarian response to Russia and Israel since 1917.” The author, with numerous documented bad examples from books and periodicals of yesteryear, warns his fellow “premils” against being so confident when they identify some current political development with a prophecy in Daniel or Revelation. We need more such studies of the history of the interpretation of prophecy.

Moving from the future of humankind to that of individuals, the major theological contribution is Everlasting Life After Death (Alba) by E. J. Fortman. He speaks from a comparatively conservative Catholic position. Also noteworthy are the following evangelical contributions: Life After Death? (AMG) by Spiros Zodhiates, as usual a thorough job: Heaven for Those Who Can’t Believe (Regular Baptist Press) by Robert Lightner, especially to comfort parents of young children who die; It Will Be Worth It All (Loizeaux) by Woodrow Michael Kroll, a thorough study in what the Bible teaches about rewards to believers: and Resurrection, His and Ours (Advent Christian Conference [Box 23152, Charlotte. NC 28212]) by David Dean, an attempt to give a biblical defense of this evangelical denomination’s beliefs, especially those that are not widely shared such as death being a “condition of unconsciousness” and eventual “complete extinction of being” as the fate of unbelievers. Zodhiates disputes such views.

EVANGELISM A lot of theological writing is being done with respect to the mission of the church. Such books are to be distinguished from those that stress technique. I Believe in Evangelism (Eerdmans) is by David Watson, a Church of England pastor. As with the “1 Believe …” series generally, this is a book of high quality. Declare His Glory Among the Nations (InterVarsity), edited by David Howard, contains twenty messages to the 1976 student missionary convention at Urbana that make very challenging reading. One of the major movements in theology today frequently goes under the theme of “liberation” with more of an emphasis on political and economic freedom than on escaping from eternal damnation. Seven addresses to the Evangelical Theological Society of Canada interact with this thrust in Evangelicals and Liberation (Presbyterian and Reformed) edited by Carl Armerding.

By far the major publisher for advocates of liberation theology (most of whom write from experience in the Third World) is Orbis Books (Maryknoll, NY 10545). Of their many 1977 offerings we mention two: The Militant Gospel: A Critical Introduction to Political Theologies by Alfredo Fierro and The Meaning of Mission by José Comblin.

Noteworthy books from American Protestants are: What Next in Mission? (Westminster) by Paul Hopkins. Mission in a New World (Fortress) by Edgar Trexler, and The Flaming Center: A Theology of the Christian Mission (Fortress) by Carl Braaten.

Broader than the title indicates is Evangelization in America (Paulist) by David Bohr. He looks at the biblical, historical, theological, and ethical background before reaching his goal of studying evangelism by Catholics in America.

THEOLOGY AND THE ARTS AND SCIENCES Nancy Barcus of Houghton College urges Developing a Christian Mind (InterVarsity) in response to the varieties of secular thought. Arthur Holmes of Wheaton College forcefully and capably reminds us that All Truth Is God’s Truth (Eerdmans). Hans Schwarz of Lutheran Seminary. Columbus, interacts at greater length with rival views from scientists and philosophers in OurCosmic Journey (Augsburg). C. Stephen Evans of Wheaton College covers much the same ground in Preserving the Person (InterVarsity), but with a focus on various behavioral sciences. All three of these books are commendable attempts to think “christianly” in a secular world.

God, History, and Historians (Oxford) is an excellent anthology, edited by Carl Thomas McIntire, of a score of modern Christian views of history. Langdon Gilkey gives a very extensive interpretation of history in Reaping the Whirlwind (Seabury).

The Reflection of Theology in Literature (Trinity University) by William Mallard is a major contribution in relating the two disciplines. Of similar interest is Story: The Language of Faith (University Press [4710 Auth PI., S.E., Washington, DC 20023]) by Mason Olds.

Two leading Catholic scholars present overviews of the history and current status of the discipline of philosophy in The Elements of Philosophy (Alba) by William Wallace and Philosophers and Philosophies (Barnes & Noble) by Frederick Copleston.

Evangelicals have been writing on psychology probably more than on any other discipline of late, and with considerable diversity. Research in Mental Health and Religious Behavior (Psychological Studies Institute [620 Peachtree St., N.E., Atlanta, GA 30308]), edited by William Donaldson, Jr., is a 600-page collection of 35 papers from a conference sponsored by several evangelical organizations. Just on the psychology of religion rather than also on counseling is a collection that is almost as long. Current Perspectives in the Psychology of Religion (Eerdmans) edited by H. Newton Malony. Articles from a variety of religious stances are included. Other notable books include: The Rebuilding of Psychology (Tyndale) by Gary Collins, The Essence of Human Nature (Zondervan) by Mark Cosgrove, Mental Health: A Christian Approach (Zondervan) by Mark Cosgrove and James Mallory. Jr., A Religious Foundation of Human Relations: Beyond Games (University of Oklahoma) by George Henderson, Christian Psychiatry (Revell) by Frank Minirth, and Psychology as Religion: The Cult of Self-Worship (Eerdmans) by Paul Vitz.

DENOMINATIONAL THEOLOGY By far the most significant book in this area is volume one of a projected multi-volume series Profiles in Belief (Harper & Row) by Arthur Piepkorn who completed the project shortly before his death. The first volume objectively describes the theologies of the numerous Eastern Orthodox and Western Catholic traditions together with some details about their institutional expressions in North America.

For insights into the teaching of Orthodoxy in the Soviet Union see Our Hope (St. Vladimir’s Seminary [Crest-wood. NY 10707]) by Dmitrii Dudko, a parish priest. The book consists of his answers to questions of both a doctrinal and practical nature.

Of the many books on Roman Catholicism we mention Our Christian Faith (Our Sunday Visitor) by Richard Hire, an overview of the whole of doctrine from a traditional perspective. The Resilient Church (Doubleday) by Avery Dulles, a well-known theologian who believes in innovation (“adaptation”) but faults those who have gone too far, and Infallibility: The Crossroads of Doctrine (Sheed Andrews and McMeel) by Peter Chirico, an attempt to reformulate the understanding of the papacy so that it will not be the stumbling-block to merger with certain other denominations.

Charismatic Catechism (New Leaf) by Ernest Gentile presents in question and answer format a Pentecostal view of the range of doctrine.

Adventist theology has been seldom studied in depth. See Foundations of the Seventh-day Adventist Message and Mission (Eerdmans) by P. Gerard Damsteegt for an academic study of the beginnings of Adventism with special reference to its aggressive missionary concern. The Shaking of Adventism (Zenith [1300 Market St., Wilmington. DE 19801]) is by Geoffrey Paxton, an Anglican who has been closely involved with one side of an internal Adventist controversy on the understanding of justification by faith.

Lutheran doctrinal emphases are popularly presented in Faith and Freedom (Augsburg) by Charles Anderson and in Getting into the Theology of Concord by Robert Preus and Getting into the Story of Concord by David Scaer, both from Concordia.

PARTICULAR THINKERS Michael Polanyi (1891–1976) was a chemist turned philosopher, whose approach to reality has been found congenial by theologians of various perspectives. Richard Gelwick gives an introduction to his thought in The Way of Discovery (Oxford) while John Apczynski seeks to apply Polanyian insights to the nature of religious belief in Doers of the Word (Scholars).

Other religious thinkers about whom books were published last year include: Bultmann. The Quest of the Christ of Faith (Word) by William Baird: Cobb. John Cobb’s Theology in Process (Westminster) edited by David Ray Griffin and Thomas Altizer; Dostoevsky, The Burden of Vision (Eerdmans) by George Panichas: Jung. Masks of the Soul (Eerdmans) by Jolande Jacobi and Jung’s Analytical Psychology and Religion (Southern Illinois University) by Carl Alfred Meier; Niebuhr, Reinhold Niebuhr (Word) by Bob Patterson; Rahner. The Theological Method of Karl Rahner (Scholars) by Anne Carr; Ricoeur, Mystery and the Unconscious (Scarecrow) by Walter James Lowe; and Tillich. The Nature of Theological Argument (Scholars) by Robert Schrader.

PHILOSOPHICAL THEOLOGY This is a catch-all category for books of which advanced students of religion and theology should be aware. They share little in common other than their concern with questions that are central to religion or to Christianity and their generally speculative rather than expository character. The authors’ views cover the spectrum. The Self-Embodiment of God (Harper & Row) by Thomas Altizer, Christianity for Pious Skeptics (Abingdon) by James Ash-brook and Paul Walaskay. Reason and Religion (Cornell) edited by Stuart Brown, Being and Will (Paulist) by John Bur-bridge, Process Theology (Westminster) by John Conn, Jr. and David Ray Griffith, The Pursuit of Death (Abingdon) by Howard Congdon, Patterns of Grace (Harper & Row) by Tom Driver. Images for Self-Recognition: The Christian as Player, Sufferer, and Vandal (Seabury) by David Baily Hamed, Theological Method and Imagination (Seabury) by Julian Hartt, Above or Within? The Supernatural in Religious Education (Religious Education Press) by Ian Knox, The Necessity of Faith (Eerdmans) by Harry Kuitert, The Pursuit of the Divine Snowman (Word) by Peter Macky, Identity and the Sacred (Free Press) by Hans Mol, Stories to the Dark: Explorations in Religious Imagination (Paulist) by William James O’Brien, Belief and History (University Press of Virginia) by Wilfred Cantwell Smith. Christ and Consciousness (Paulist) by William M. Thompson, God and Utopia: The Church in a Technological Civilization (Seabury) by Gabriel Vahanian, First Considerations: An Examination of Philosophical Evidence (Southern Illinois University) by Paul Weiss, and Tensions: Necessary Conflicts in Life and Love (Templegate [Springfield. IL 62705]) by H. A. Williams.

D. Bruce Lockerbie is chairman of the Fine Arts department at The Stony Brook School, Stony Brook, New York. This article is taken from his 1976 lectures on Christian Life and Thought, delivered at Conservative Baptist Theological Seminary in Denver, Colorado.

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