As Christians from all branches of the church today rediscover the ancient traditions of Christian spirituality, the literature of early Christian monasticism is a welcome voice in our conversation with the saints. Many sources are now available in accessible English translations, so enter into the world of men and women who forsook the expectations of their society to pray in the deserts of Palestine and Egypt. Primary sources predominate on the list below, but each translation is accompanied by useful introductions and commentaries by top scholars. Enjoy!
 Window On The WorldThe World Book Encyclopedia (Field Enterprises Educational Corporation, 1967, 20 volumes, 2.30, deluxe binding), is reviewed by David E. Kucharsky, associate editor,CHRISTIANITY TODAY.An encyclopedia can break a budget, pad a library, illustrate a sermon, settle an argument, help make up for a scanty education, or prove you’re not an obscurantist. The World Book Encyclopedia can also add prestige to a home or a pastor’s study, though not as much as Britannica. But the reason for owning an encyclopedia is that regular referral cultivates the mind. And no encyclopedia invites continued use more than World Book.World Book is currently the world’s best-selling and most widely used encyclopedia. It is a family encylopedia that is comprehensive and scholarly without being stuffy, and it is a delight to read. It costs less than a color TV or a good set of china or wall-to-wall carpeting, and it rates financial priority over all these.But there is the theological problem. Can the evangelical trust World Book for balanced treatment of key issues in Christian thought and experience? Perhaps no better test could be applied than the question, “What think ye of Jesus?” Judge for yourself:“Jesus Christ was the founder of the Christian religion. Christians believe that He is the Son of God who was sent to earth to save mankind. Even many persons who are not Christians believe that He was a great and wise teacher. He has probably influenced humanity more than anyone else who ever lived.…”It is a succinct handling, though attributive in describing the most significant aspect of Christ’s person. The following passage from World Book’s article on the Reformation has a much surer construction:“In Germany, the Reformation began in the heart of an Augustinian monk, Martin Luther. Luther based his thinking on the Epistles of St. Paul. They led him to conclude that only faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, rather than priests, sacraments, or good works, could ensure salvation. He also concluded that only the Bible, not the pope, was infallible, or free from error.”It is gratifying to report that World Book editors have the help of some competent evangelical scholars. Among the 2,700 authorities who shape the content are Bruce M. Metzger of Princeton Theological Seminary, Earle E. Cairns of Wheaton College, Gleason L. Archer of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and Merrill F. Unger of Dallas Theological Seminary, all of whom are in the conservative Protestant tradition.Jewish scholars Cyrus H. Gordon and Nelson Glueck are among the consultants and contributors. Top editorial rank among religion specialists belongs to William A. Clebsch, associate professor of religion at Stanford.Assessing current ideologies, World Book takes a hard line against Communism:“We call Communism totalitarian because it is total in two ways. (1) It controls and dominates all human thoughts and actions. (2) It uses any means to achieve its goals. Communism tries to regulate every part of a person’s daily life. It has no respect for family life or for religion.”The article on evolution is a fairly typical modern secular treatment, but it is supplemented with a column headed “Unsolved Problems of Evolution.” A three-point indictment of the theory of evolution on religious grounds includes the assertion that “if man is in the process of evolving from a lower state, sin tends to become mere imperfection, and the Gospel of redemption from the guilt of sin tends to lose all meaning.” Objections to evolution on scientific grounds are noted also.World Book is largely non-committal on the historicity of the Bible, except to cite the consensus of scholars. For example, the article on Isaiah says, “Scholars have agreed that it was written by a number of persons.” The repeated indication that current scholarly opinion is the final word is a weakness of World Book.The big theological cleavages of our day have not yet found their way into this encyclopedia. The article on Karl Barth, however, does include an analysis of his thought, and runs a marked contrast to the article on Paul Tillich, which is mere biography.A most rewarding aspect of World Book is its attempt to simplify the complex and to show rather than tell. Some may be repelled by what they consider oversimplification, but one can well argue that this extreme is preferable to incomprehensibility (an option more common than one might think).World Book offers good Canadian coverage. It digs into obscure topics as well as offering fresh insights into the familiar. It includes review questions and helpful bibliographies, and is self-indexed. The current set is lavishly illustrated—25,000 illustrations with 7,300 of them in color and 1,900 maps. An exclusive feature is that its content is based on exhaustive research of school curriculums and informational needs in libraries and homes. It is also up to date and is continually being revised, going to press two or three times each year. And the World Book annuals help to keep the set current.Churches would do well to seize the service opportunity offered by the fact that World Book is available in Braille and large-type editions. The Braille edition, a praiseworthy sign of the leadership of World Book publishers, is the largest project ever accomplished in Braille.That the evangelical is taking an increasingly important part in the cross fire of intellectual conflict is evident in World Book. To be sure, the encyclopedia does not have anything resembling the Christian world view undergirding its treatment of the various disciplines. But here and there encouraging recognition is given to evangelical thinking. The entry on the ecumenical movement, for example, refers the reader to an article on the Evangelical Alliance as well as to one on the World Council of Churches. As evangelicals continue to make gains in the realm of ideas, recognition by the secular media will increase.Christ Or Buddha?Buddhism and the Claims of Christ, by D. T. Niles (John Knox, 1967, 96 pp., paper .75), is reviewed by Lit-sen Chang, lecturer in missions, Gordon Divinity School, Wenham, Massachusetts.In the West there are increasing signs of a revolt against the uniqueness of Christianity, and a chase after exotic religions. There is an attempt to set aside the finality of Jesus Christ and to reduce Christianity to an ethnic basis in harmony with non-Christian religions. In the wave of humanistic syncretism and the advance of the philosophy of meaninglessness, this book, first published in Ceylon in 1946 for catechumens with Buddhist background, has become timely for the West, where Buddhism has been gaining converts.Dr. D. T. Niles, author of many books on Christian missions and Oriental religions, is Ceylonese by birth, but he received his higher education in the West and has traveled extensively throughout the world. Out of this background that combines Eastern religious experiences with Western academic training, he is able to present Christianity in fresh thought forms as it encounters the essential tenets of Buddhism. By becoming a Buddhist to the Buddhists, he strives to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ in language familiar to and significant for Buddhists, with an understanding and friendly spirit, yet without compromise.In the strategy of missions today, there are two extreme approaches. The “eclectic” approach overemphasizes general revelation at the expense of special revelation, and stresses the similarities of all religions, overlooking their striking differences. This approach inevitably leads to syncretism and creates the erroneous view that all religions are simply different paths to the same God and that the Church is “latently present” (as Paul Tillich puts it) in paganism. Thus it sets aside the uniqueness of Christianity. The “exclusive” or “expulsive” approach denies the value of general revelation and its relation to special revelation, and thus weakens the basis for meaningful discussion with non-Christians. This approach tends to suspend Christianity in the air and makes it appear irrelevant to the life of the world.Niles’s approach is neither wholly “eclectic” nor wholly “exclusive.” Without attempting syncretism, he uses the cardinal concepts and idioms of Buddhism to convey the Christian message to Buddhists so as to help them “enter into a personal relationship with God in Christ Jesus.” Without completely denying the truth in Buddhism, Niles points out that it is the truth as man sees it from his predicament as man. It is only a protest, and no protest, however profound, can be turned into a true religion or can give hope to this perishing world.Reading For PerspectiveCHRISTIANITY TODAY’S REVIEW EDITORS CALL ATTENTION TO THESE NEW TITLES:• The Wycliffe Historical Geography of Bible Lands, by Charles F. Pfeiffer and Howard F. Vos (Moody, .95). An informative text, excellent photographs, and useful maps highlight this reference work on ten Bible lands.• Run While the Sun Is Hot, by W. Harold Fuller (Sudan Interior Mission, .95). Fuller’s challenging incidents and stories, gleaned from his travels to SIM fields in Africa, will create greater appreciation for the work of missions.• Set Forth Your Case, by Clark H. Pinnock (Craig, .50). These studies in Christian apologetics offer solid evidence for the integrity of the historic biblical Gospel and show it to be rationally compelling and vastly superior to existential aberrations in contemporary theology.Starting without a God and from a false perspective on life, Buddhism denies the relevance of the divine side of life. Once God is ruled out, death becomes the boundary of life. So Buddha, who claimed to be the “Enlightened One,” had never really been enlightened, for he knew only the law of death and not the Way of Life. The basic difference between Christianity and Buddhism, according to Niles, is this: Buddha saw that life was meaningless and set out to rescue men from this meaninglessness; Jesus, on the other hand, saw that life could become meaningful in God and set out to call men to share this meaning. “I am come,” he said, “that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”Although this book offers a valuable refutation of Buddhism, it is not without weakness and distortion. As Niles strives to use the cardinal Buddhist terms to convey the Christian message, readers should always be aware of the risk of identifying Buddhism with Christianity. For instance, the author says: “For a Buddhist, taking ‘Pansil’ seems to have the same emotive value as the taking of Holy Communion for a Christian”; but actually the two rites have nothing in common.In the latter part of the book, Niles says: “God forgives when I repent—that is Old Testament teaching; God has forgiven, before I repent—that is New Testament teaching (Romans 5:8).” This view dismembers the organism of Scripture. For God has a unified approach in his redemptive plan for mankind. Both in the Old Testament and in the New, God’s grace always precedes man’s action; nevertheless he also demands man’s repentance. When Niles speaks of redemption, reconciliation, justification, and propitiation, he emphasizes in each case that “it has been done.” Although he uses such terms as “conversion” and “evangelism,” he gives them special connotations. So to illustrate conversion he uses not the case of the prodigal son but rather that of the leper who had already been healed and simply “came back and gave God thanks.” This implies universalism, the dangerous notion that all men have already been saved—a great distortion of the Gospel.Subjectivism Run Riot!The Church Unbound, by Norman K. Gottwald (Lippincott, 1967, 188 pp., .95), is reviewed by Edward J. Young, professor of Old Testament, Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.What is the proper relation between Church and culture? By carefully examining the relation between Israel and the nations “in biblical terms,” Professor Gottwald has produced an interesting and thought-provoking discussion of the question. On the basis of a study of certain passages from the Old Testament, he considers the Church as distinguished from culture, culture as attracted to the Church, the Church incorporating culture, and culture approximating the Church. This historical study is then made the basis for a consideration of Church and culture in our day.That the study is grounded upon acceptance of the dominant school of prophetic study is bound to affect the author’s conclusions and his application of prophetic teaching to the present day. I myself am unable to accept any view of the prophets that does not regard them as spokesmen, who not only thought they were messengers (Bote) of the Lord, but had in actual fact received special revelation from the one living and true God. Therefore I cannot agree with the basic understanding of the prophets found in this work. I cannot accept the view that there was an “Isaiah of the exile,” for the whole denial of Isaianic authorship of the prophecy is based on a misunderstanding of the teaching of the book as well as on a flat repudiation of what the New Testament says about the book’s authorship. Nor can I accept what appears to be a false universalism. “If the covenant circle includes me in spite of my limitations and rebellion, in principle and intent it includes everyone.”Gottwald’s view of the Church is not that of the New Testament. The Church, he says, is not limited to an institution or to Christians; “the church’s invisibility also refers to the activity of men in culture at large, which is in the character of the church but which is not consciously identified with the historic church.” Thus “the civil rights revolution may be church. Community organization of the poor may be church. Centers for dope addicts and alcoholics may be church. Student activities to gain constitutional rights on campus and to acquire a significant share in educational policy-making may be church.” But enough! “In each case the criterion for judging participation in causes must be the activity of God as best the committed church can discern it.” This is subjectivism run riot.Strangely enough, the “activity of God” seems to be limited to causes that are presently dear to the hearts of political liberals. Would the “activity of God” ever be seen, for example, in an effort to protect the rights of property owners or to protect hard-working taxpayers from being compelled to support wasteful “welfare” projects that seem principally to benefit the shiftless, the irresponsible, and the indifferent? I have my doubts.Far more serious, however, is the fact that this work does not recognize that man is a fallen creature who loves darkness rather than light. No human church or humanitarian effort can ever meet the deep-seated need of fallen man. “Cease ye from man,” said the Holy Spirit through Isaiah, “whose breath is in his nostrils.” From the easygoing humanism of Gottwald’s work we turn to the words of the late J. Gresham Machen: “Human goodness will avail nothing for lost souls; ye must be born again.”Once Over LightlyHighlights of Christian Missions, by Harold R. Cook (Moody, 1967, 256 pp., .95), is reviewed by Harold Lindsell, professor of Bible, Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois.This book has a special purpose: to give Moody Bible Institute students a quick survey of missionary endeavor from the days of the apostles. Within the limits the author sets, he fulfills his purpose.The volume is divided into three sections. One treats the expansion of Christianity historically—in ninety pages. The treatment is consistent with the purpose: it is panoramic and thus sketchy. The second section deals with home missions and is oriented primarily to the American scene. It is quite general and is descriptive rather than analytical. Some basic problems are mentioned, but not much by way of solution is offered. The third part of the volume sketches the geography and missionary work of the Church in Africa, Asia, and so on. A short bibliography is appended.The author hopes his book will be used in local congregations and has written in non-technical language. It is a good book for the lay reader who wants a quick, easily read overview of missionary endeavor. It is not useful to the informed reader or the specialist.The publisher has done the author a disservice by overstating the usefulness of the volume on the jacket. It is hardly a “valuable resource volume,” and to call it “a comprehensive view of missionary endeavor which includes little-known men and events as well as those more widely reported” is to embarrass the author, whose own preface says something quite different. The blurb writer might have spent his energy more profitably in editing the book itself.Conviction, Compassion, And StyleA Varied Harvest: Out of a Teacher’s Life and Thought, by Frank E. Gaebelein (Eerdmans, 1967, 198 pp, .95; also in paper, .45), is reviewed by Emile Cailliet, Stuart Professor Emeritus of Christian Philosophy, Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, New Jersey.The browser who grazes among the shining leaves and twigs of our day’s inflationary output of printed matter is likely to ignore this title, possibly with the thought that here is another bundle of essays and addresses gathered together by one of those emeriti who cannot bear to think that any of their productions might be lost to posterity. Very well, then! Let prejudice have its way. We judge books. By certain books we are judged. Frank E. Gaebelein’s A Varied Harvest is a book for discriminating readers.It has rightly been said that “the style is the man.” A personality comes to expression in these pages—one of the strongest, most persuasive leaders of evangelical Christianity in our day. From his early childhood his nurture has been Holy Writ. For forty years he was headmaster of the Stony Brook School, and during these years he came to grips with the problems raised by Christian education and youth, and coped with the intricacies of public affairs and social concern, of culture and taste. When he retired from academic life, CHRISTIANITY TODAY invited him to serve as co-editor, which he did from 1963 to 1966. He has occupied many pulpits in churches, colleges, and universities. Throughout this rich career he has been led to achieve a most impressive integration of evangelical thought in action, and it is this that comes to expression in A Varied Harvest.No wonder the book is so strongly articulated. The sturdy, impelling ways in which paragraphs and chapters press forward the case for a working faith well bespeak the character of the fully surrendered soul who tells the story. We see him plotting a strategy for Christian education, taking full advantage of the educating power of the Bible, rallying men of good will with the outcry, “What are we doing to our youth?,” pleading for Christian compassion, exalting the Christian’s intellectual life, pleading for a recovery of taste, enthusiastically magnifying the Church and its ministry at work and, above all, the truth of God’s Word and the majesty of Jesus Christ.Well might the reader get out of breath keeping pace with the man on his way, illustrating as he does Kierkegaard’s description, “Purity of heart is to will one thing.” Happily he gives the reader an opportunity to go with him on a vacation, and the section on mountain climbing makes for pure delight. But even then, the evangelical teacher allows his companions no rest from Christian instruction. The memory of a treacherous ascent of the East Ridge of the Grand Teton, alternating between difficult rock and precipitous snow as a storm howls along the sky, invites the “lesson” that “sometimes God puts us in places of severe testing.” There is no harm in this to be sure, except that one wishes at times through these particular pages that happenings might be allowed to speak for themselves. A point is reached where lecturing carries its stumbling block within itself. But then, to quote Kierkegaard again: “Purity of heart is to will one thing.”Jaspers’ Wistful DialoguePhilosophical Faith and Revelation, by Karl Jaspers (Harper & Row, 1967, 394 pp., ), is reviewed by Stanley Obitts, assistant professor of philosophy, Westmont College, Santa Barbara, California.Karl Jaspers’ Philosophical Faith and Revelation, translated by E. B. Ashton, is the eighteenth volume in Harper & Row’s prestigious “Religious Perspectives” series. The purpose of the series is to “present the numinous reality within the experience of man.” This work, described by Hannah Arendt as “the only authentic philosophy of religion written in the twentieth century,” is the final and systematic form of the octogenarian Jaspers’ almost wistful dialogue within himself between the siren call of the Christian believer’s cognitive revelation of God and the unescapable but philosophically limiting method of modern science.Jaspers decides that the true philosopher seeking the whole of Being will neither ignore the two sides of the dialogue nor relinquish to either one his freedom of intellectual struggle. The withdrawnness of “transcendence” requires a “philosophical faith” in which the choice of what a man “will live by and for is his to dare and to destine,” declares this German existentialist. As anyone familiar with Jaspers knows, the notion of a “philosophical faith” is designed to avoid, on one hand, the irrationalism of Kierkegaard’s religious faith, with its “leap,” and, on the other hand, Heidegger’s curtailment of metaphysical speculation about the Being of the things-that-are to transcendental horizons projected by the self.The more rational and optimistic Jaspers sees the self’s reading of its “general situation-limits” as directing its attention away from the “Encompassing” that it is and toward the other “Encompassing” that is Being itself, of which the self is a part. This latter, the Transcendent, is, as Heidegger would agree, not man’s object; but neither is it, contrary to Heidegger, just man’s creation or “interpretation.”The person rightly beginning his quest for truth with the facts of empirical existence handled so well by the sciences soon discovers these to be only appearances of a Being continually eluding his grasp. The signs of the Transcendent’s manifestations must be read as “ciphers.” At this point the unwary may be deluded by the pretense of a historically factual revelation, the truth of which is authenticated by the witness of the Holy Spirit. But being unable to predict or comprehend revelation, reason cannot sit in judgment on it. God’s revelation, if it came, could never be enmeshed by the general concepts employed in philosophy. Hence, philosophy’s faith springs neither from the factual source and exact procedures of the sciences nor from the faith in revelation of theology. It is its own source; it is “philosophical faith”; and as faith in reason, it is affected by its opposite, faith in revelation. The two faiths must forever be willing to learn from each other, counsels Jaspers, even though neither one will be fully scrutable to the other.He eloquently portrays the nihilistic bondage of man resulting from the scientific superstition and technological dominance of our day. But how free is a man, really, who is told that God is beyond all objects, “ciphers,” and categories of thought? If, as Jaspers claims, Being speaks in the ensuing silence as Transcendence “reconstitutes itself for Existence” and reaches those who have a “readiness for existential action in the world” within and without, philosophy being a “liberating force in its negations,” then what keeps Jaspers’ “philosophical faith” from becoming either a kind of epistemological voluntarism or else an incipient mysticism? If twentieth-century philosophy of religion in the Occident is as beholden to the post-Kantian tradition as Jaspers appears to think, then it is little wonder that the “honest” generation is giving Eastern religious thought such a serious look. But perhaps Augustine’s use of the Christian revelation as a basic source for philosophy, binding together philosophy and faith in revelation, is still a viable alternative.The Cullmann SlantOikonomia: Heilsgeschichte als Thema der Theologie, edited by Felix Christ (Herbert Reich Evang. Verlag, Hamburg, 1967, 412 pp., DM 40), is reviewed by Ralph P. Martin, lecturer in New Testament studies, University of Manchester, England.The name of Oscar Cullmann is internationally known among students of Christian theology. It is a further tribute to his fame and scholarship that after the publication of an important Festschrift to honor his sixtieth birthday there appears this volume to mark his sixty-fifth year. The earlier volume was entitled Neotestamentica et Patristica and was written by a representative group of international scholars. This new book covers a wider field, from Old Testament to dogmatics, from ecumenical studies to practical theology. And most of the writers are, it seems, scholars who have come under Cullmann’s direct influence. Indeed, most of them write from a distinctive Cull-mannian slant, expressed by the conviction that the magic word to solve the mysteries of the Bible and theology—and even some thorny matters such as the veneration of Mary—is Heilsgeschichte (salvation history).Of the thirty-six essays (written in English, French, and German) that make up this tribute, we may select the following as representative, though not necessarily the most important. The opening contribution (in German) surveys the three motifs of Old Testament theology and history in the light of Heilsgeschichte, and finds that the ideas of creation, election, and exhortation in the Law were capable of perversion by exposure to the clangers of paganizing, ritualizing and legalizing. A discussion of the Temple-theology by Lloyd Gaston throws light on a central issue in Jesus’ ministry and early Christianity, while Robert Meye’s treatment of the messianic secret in Mark attempts to take the matter beyond where Wrede left it. Other studies in biblical theology are competent and full of insight. There are treatments of the wedding in John 2 and of the imagery of the vine in John 15, as well as of Paul’s apostolic awareness and teaching.In the area of historical theology I. J. Hesselink offers a new understanding of Calvin, whose notion of “suspended grace” provides the clue to his view of the Old Testament as a preparation for Christ. The points of contact between second-century gnosticism and Bultmann’s theology (alleged by Cullmann) are examined (in German) by W. Rordorf. (A translation of this important study is in New Testament Studies, 13). T. F. Torrance has a long, erudite article on Clement of Alexandria’s knowledge of God. A critical inspection of Cullmann’s functional Christology is made by David Wallace from the standpoint of the Chalcedonian formula, though his discovery of “Hebrew metaphysical affirmations about God” sounds strange.Two studies on the Virgin Mary make for unusual reading, and the attempt to find her a place in the heilsgeschichtlich program is not overly convincing. On the level of practical theology there are contributions on preaching as storytelling (in German), the place of the sacraments, and even the Passion music of Bach.In all, this is an interesting compilation in honor of a prominent theologian, even if no single essay can be judged world-shaking.Book BriefsDictionary of Christian Ethics, edited by John McQuarrie (Westminster 1967, 366 pp., .50). A useful book mostly by non-evangelical contributors, on ethical terms, concepts, and viewpoints; bibliography references reflect few conservative works.Count It All Joy, by William Stringfellow (Eerdmans, 1967, 101 pp., ). Against the backdrop of the Book of James, the author-attorney offers somewhat unsatisfying observations on wisdom, doubt, and temptation. Along the way he takes potshots at sectarianism as secularization, evangelistic crusades, pietism.The Ongoing Purpose of God, by William H. Clark (California Lantern Press, 1967, 147 pp., .95). Strong sermons that bristle with faith and conviction from a respected Presbyterian missionary and pastor.Hostage in Djakarta, by Harold Lovestrand (Moody, 1967, 215 pp., .95). A TEAM missionary vividly describes his imprisonment in an Indonesian jail. An inspiring story of a man’s faith and God’s faithfulness.Alcohol Problems: A Report to the Nation, prepared by Thomas F. A. Plaut (Oxford, 1967, 200 pp., .75). That controversial report!Peloubet’s Select Notes, 1968, by Wilbur M. Smith (W. A. Wilde, 1967, 432 pp., .25).Christian Worship: Its Theology and Practice, by Franklin M. Segler (Broadman, 1967, 245 pp., .95). A sensible and practical book on worship: its biblical foundations, its theology and psychology, its forms and order.The Apostolic Fathers, Volume V, by William R. Schoedel (Nelson, 1967, 130 pp., ). A new translation with commentary of Polycarp to the Philippians, Martyrdom of Polycarp, Fragments of Papias.In Defense of the Faith, by W. A. Criswell (Zondervan, 1967, 88 pp., .50). In five lucid sermons the pastor of one of the world’s largest churches confronts atheist, liberal, Communist, materialist, and sinner with the Gospel. Preached during the 1967 Easter season.PaperbacksOutside the Gate, by Carl McIntire (Christian Beacon Press, 1967, 351 pp., ). A distorted and unreliable attack on the World Congress on Evangelism and particularly on its leaders, set to Carl McIntire’s theme song, “Only the ACCC is left” (or right)!For God’s Sake Faugh!, by Nelvin Vos (John Knox, 1967, 75 pp., .50). From a Christian perspective, Vos examines the vital role of laughter in life. He views human laughter as a means of self-discovery and a balm of healing because God really has the last laugh. Incisive, stimulating, and entertaining.A Comparison of World Religion, by Henry J. Heydt (Christian Literature Crusade, 1967, 112 pp., .75). An oversimplified survey of the history and literature of eleven world religions that compares their teaching on important topics and shows Christianity’s distinctives.A Reader in Contemporary Theology, edited by John Bowden and James Richmond (Westminster, 1967, 190 pp., .95). A sampler of selections by Protestant and Roman Catholic theologians (Barth, Bultmann, Rahner, Van Peursen, Buber, and others) that consider biblical interpretation and the doctrine of God.The Church: Design for Survival, by E. Glenn Hinson (Broadman, 1967, 128 pp., .95). A well-balanced book that rejects the current emphasis on secularization of the Church and points up the need for an adaptable and flexible Church that views its present mission in the lights of its biblical and historical backgrounds.For All the World: The Christian Mission in the Modern Age, by John V. Taylor (Westminster, 1966, 92 pp., .45). A call for involvement by the whole Church in God’s mission to the world through proclamation, witness, and service.Barth’s Soteriology, Bultmann’s Demythologized Kerygma, and Brunner’s Dialectical Encounter, by Robert L. Reymond (Presbyterian and Reformed, 1967, 41 pp., 30 pp., 29 pp., $.75 each). A scholar committed to the authority of an infallible Bible offers three penetrating critiques of crucial aspects of the views of Europe’s three most influential twentieth-century theologians. Recommended.The Reluctant Worker Priest, by Eugene P. Heideman (Eerdmans, 1967, 106 pp., .45). Experiences of a Protestant pastor who takes an industrial job and finds it an avenue to Christian ministry. |
The Desert Fathers: Sayings of the Early Christian Monks Edited by Benedicta Ward, London: Penguin Classics, 2003. |
These early words of spiritual direction from desert fathers and mothers are compelling, sometimes disturbing, and far more relevant to 21st-century life than one might think at first glance. Don't hurry through this work, but make time to absorb and reflect on these words of spiritual wisdom from a culture far distant from our own. And remember—the words of the monks were shocking to their own contemporaries as well.
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 What is the “state of the union”—as God sees it?A few weeks from now a state-of-the-union message will be presented to Congress and to the American people. It will deal with domestic and foreign problems, war and peace, the economic structure of the country, the abounding social ills.Political values and implications will probably be stressed, and outlines of legislation needed to accomplish changes and reforms will be presented. Material and secular problems and suggested solutions will dominate the message. All this is a part of the administration of a great democracy.However, Christians must consider the state of the union, not from the human standpoint alone, but from God’s. His evaluation, the standards of which are revealed in Scripture, will take into account all those things in which we have sinned and come short of his glory.The Old Testament prophets, inspired by the Holy Spirit, looked beneath the surface of national life to find the things that mar and destroy a nation. In their messages we see God’s diagnosis of sin, his hatred of it, and the certainty of judgment, all coupled with his yearning love for a wayward people and appeals to return to him and live.The state of politics always seems confused. The tendency to “give the people what they want” is ever present, regardless of fiscal stability or moral rightness. In fact—and we must face it—some of the great projects now envisoned entail the spending of our grandchildren’s money, and are perhaps designed to win votes more than anything else. This form of bribery, or buying of votes, proves a temptation to politicians of every party, as well as to the people.One of the greatest menaces of national stability is the fostering of the idea that the government owes everyone a living. Unquestionably the government owes every citizen freedom of opportunity, and this entails freedom from every form of discrimination. But in addition, individual initiative must be protected and promoted if our people are to be truly blessed.The state of the union is affected by the soundness of our economy. Many citizens are rightly concerned about a tendency to appropriate and spend staggering sums without compensating income. This inevitably leads to inflation, which affects everyone, particularly those who are dependent on the savings of the past.Primary considerations in any assessment of the state of the union are the growing tensions within the social order and the feeling of some that the social structure can be improved without change in the hearts of those who make up society. Many in the Church have been beguiled into believing this fallacy and are thus adding to the confusion of an already confused generation.The state of the union is also in jeopardy because the basic concept of law and order has been undermined by willful activists who try to settle social problems in the streets. Their “peaceful” demonstrations too easily become violent and riot-like.Those responsible for maintaining law and order have become targets of vilification and abuse. And often the law-breakers they apprehend either are released or are “punished” only by having to pay a piddling fine. A generation has grown up without knowing the wholesome discipline of the Bible—“Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him” (Prov. 22:15). Now, when confronted with restraint by those responsible for law enforcement, many cry out, “Police brutality!,” and many social “do-gooders” join them in their protests. What amazes me is the police restraint exercised in the face of violence and open face defiance.The serious state of the union is reflected in the failure of the courts to enforce existing laws and the devious means used to thwart justice. There is a verse in the Bible that describes the situation perfectly: “Because sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the sons of men is fully set to do evil” (Eccl. 8:11). By a strange philosophy on the part of some sworn to maintain justice, the criminal is now given every advantage while the victim is often twice a victim—once at the hands of the criminal and again at the hands of the courts.The state of the union is woefully evident in the growth and exploitation of lust under the guise of art and literature. Books, plays, and movies portray and often make attractive the vilest acts of which man is capable. No nation can long exist if such evil goes unrestrained.Above all else, the state of the nation is reflected in the nation’s spiritual life, or lack of it. We have received the blessings of a godly ancestry, but the momentum of this is largely spent. The open immorality that flourishes on every side belies the widespread existence of spiritual convictions, on which alone the nation or the individual is secure.On every hand men speak of the deceased influence of the Church. Some attribute this to lack of “involvement” in the social order. Others feel that the message of the Church has been watered down so that the secular needs of society are given priority over men’s need of Christ as Saviour from sin.Within the Church there are deep cleavages—loveless pharisaism and hard orthodoxy on the one side, and sophisticated sadduceeism with rank unbelief on the other. In too many cases the battle has been waged in the strength of the flesh, without compassion and reliance on the power of prayer and the Holy Spirit, by which alone such problems can be resolved. The Church too often tries to solve spiritual problems by secular means.This brings us to the source of hope, the way by which God can restore sinning men and nations. It is no platitude to assert that God has the answer. He has the only answer. Man is both stupid and blind if he fails to realize that for God there are no insoluble problems; he is hindered only by man’s perverse unwillingness to turn problems over to him.The Bible states the nature of good and evil, of right and wrong. It lays down the principles by which men and nations are to live, and clearly states the immediate and ultimate penalties of those who go their own way, rather than God’s.But the Bible does more than this. It reveals the One who came to make all things right through redemption and regeneration. It reveals the simplicity of God’s plan for making new men out of old, changing them into the image of his Son. It states in the clearest way possible what a man’s duty to God and his fellow man is, and reveals the source of power by which men and nations can obey and please him.The state of the union is not good. But God can change the lives of countless individuals and through them bring glory to himself in the land.The Gospel of Jesus Christ—preached, believed, and obeyed—can change the state of the union. It is our only hope. |
Athanasius : The Life of Antony and the Letter To Marcellinus Edited by Robert C. Greg |
This life of the Egyptian-peasant-turned-holy-man was a best seller in antiquity; translated into many languages, it spread throughout the Mediterranean world and played a role in the conversion of the erudite Augustine of Hippo. The urbane and educated author Athanasius, Patriarch of Alexandria, held up the rustic Antony as an exemplar of ascetic holiness and a staunch defender of the orthodox Nicene faith. Through this literary account, St. Antony became the model monk for generations to follow.
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Sister Benedicta offers a delightful combination of riveting primary sources about female converts to monasticism and thoughtful analysis of the theological message of these texts. She is the rare scholar who masters both the historical context of these texts and their spiritual significance.
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 What is the “state of the union”—as God sees it?A few weeks from now a state-of-the-union message will be presented to Congress and to the American people. It will deal with domestic and foreign problems, war and peace, the economic structure of the country, the abounding social ills.Political values and implications will probably be stressed, and outlines of legislation needed to accomplish changes and reforms will be presented. Material and secular problems and suggested solutions will dominate the message. All this is a part of the administration of a great democracy.However, Christians must consider the state of the union, not from the human standpoint alone, but from God’s. His evaluation, the standards of which are revealed in Scripture, will take into account all those things in which we have sinned and come short of his glory.The Old Testament prophets, inspired by the Holy Spirit, looked beneath the surface of national life to find the things that mar and destroy a nation. In their messages we see God’s diagnosis of sin, his hatred of it, and the certainty of judgment, all coupled with his yearning love for a wayward people and appeals to return to him and live.The state of politics always seems confused. The tendency to “give the people what they want” is ever present, regardless of fiscal stability or moral rightness. In fact—and we must face it—some of the great projects now envisoned entail the spending of our grandchildren’s money, and are perhaps designed to win votes more than anything else. This form of bribery, or buying of votes, proves a temptation to politicians of every party, as well as to the people.One of the greatest menaces of national stability is the fostering of the idea that the government owes everyone a living. Unquestionably the government owes every citizen freedom of opportunity, and this entails freedom from every form of discrimination. But in addition, individual initiative must be protected and promoted if our people are to be truly blessed.The state of the union is affected by the soundness of our economy. Many citizens are rightly concerned about a tendency to appropriate and spend staggering sums without compensating income. This inevitably leads to inflation, which affects everyone, particularly those who are dependent on the savings of the past.Primary considerations in any assessment of the state of the union are the growing tensions within the social order and the feeling of some that the social structure can be improved without change in the hearts of those who make up society. Many in the Church have been beguiled into believing this fallacy and are thus adding to the confusion of an already confused generation.The state of the union is also in jeopardy because the basic concept of law and order has been undermined by willful activists who try to settle social problems in the streets. Their “peaceful” demonstrations too easily become violent and riot-like.Those responsible for maintaining law and order have become targets of vilification and abuse. And often the law-breakers they apprehend either are released or are “punished” only by having to pay a piddling fine. A generation has grown up without knowing the wholesome discipline of the Bible—“Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him” (Prov. 22:15). Now, when confronted with restraint by those responsible for law enforcement, many cry out, “Police brutality!,” and many social “do-gooders” join them in their protests. What amazes me is the police restraint exercised in the face of violence and open face defiance.The serious state of the union is reflected in the failure of the courts to enforce existing laws and the devious means used to thwart justice. There is a verse in the Bible that describes the situation perfectly: “Because sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the sons of men is fully set to do evil” (Eccl. 8:11). By a strange philosophy on the part of some sworn to maintain justice, the criminal is now given every advantage while the victim is often twice a victim—once at the hands of the criminal and again at the hands of the courts.The state of the union is woefully evident in the growth and exploitation of lust under the guise of art and literature. Books, plays, and movies portray and often make attractive the vilest acts of which man is capable. No nation can long exist if such evil goes unrestrained.Above all else, the state of the nation is reflected in the nation’s spiritual life, or lack of it. We have received the blessings of a godly ancestry, but the momentum of this is largely spent. The open immorality that flourishes on every side belies the widespread existence of spiritual convictions, on which alone the nation or the individual is secure.On every hand men speak of the deceased influence of the Church. Some attribute this to lack of “involvement” in the social order. Others feel that the message of the Church has been watered down so that the secular needs of society are given priority over men’s need of Christ as Saviour from sin.Within the Church there are deep cleavages—loveless pharisaism and hard orthodoxy on the one side, and sophisticated sadduceeism with rank unbelief on the other. In too many cases the battle has been waged in the strength of the flesh, without compassion and reliance on the power of prayer and the Holy Spirit, by which alone such problems can be resolved. The Church too often tries to solve spiritual problems by secular means.This brings us to the source of hope, the way by which God can restore sinning men and nations. It is no platitude to assert that God has the answer. He has the only answer. Man is both stupid and blind if he fails to realize that for God there are no insoluble problems; he is hindered only by man’s perverse unwillingness to turn problems over to him.The Bible states the nature of good and evil, of right and wrong. It lays down the principles by which men and nations are to live, and clearly states the immediate and ultimate penalties of those who go their own way, rather than God’s.But the Bible does more than this. It reveals the One who came to make all things right through redemption and regeneration. It reveals the simplicity of God’s plan for making new men out of old, changing them into the image of his Son. It states in the clearest way possible what a man’s duty to God and his fellow man is, and reveals the source of power by which men and nations can obey and please him.The state of the union is not good. But God can change the lives of countless individuals and through them bring glory to himself in the land.The Gospel of Jesus Christ—preached, believed, and obeyed—can change the state of the union. It is our only hope. |
The Desert Fathers on Monastic Community Graham Gould |
People tend to think of the desert monks as loners who fled all human contact. Gould argues to the contrary that community, compassion, and hospitality were at the very heart of desert spirituality.
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 Recently a reputable author of religious books spoke on the radio about a volume he had written on the Apostle Paul. Before Paul’s appearance, he said, the Christian Church had never expected to be anything but a small sect. This contention conflicts sharply with Jesus’ order to his disciples: “Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples.… And remember! I will be with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:19, 20, Today’s English Version). It conflicts also with Peter’s statement on the Day of Pentecost that God’s promise was “to you and your children, and to all who are far away” (Acts 2:39).For centuries the Bible, speaking with what J. B. Phillips calls “the ring of truth,” has convinced men of its authenticity. But today many prominent scholars snap a lock on the Word so that it is not given a chance to speak for itself. And then they try to speak for it. The Word is light; it is a fire, a sword, a life-giving force, a purifying power—but to what avail, when the masses hear the words of men rather than the Word of God? One man said, “Prior to becoming a Christian, I faced the pulpit in my church a thousand times. I heard philosophy, psychology, literature, and theology—but never did I hear the Word of God actually proclaimed!”The paradox confronting us, then, is that men inside the Church are confirming the unbelief of those outside it. These misunderstanders and misquoters of the Bible are heard. They have made formidable names for themselves. They write books that catch the world’s fancy and make statements that shock people. Their churches shelter goings-on that are nearly, if not actually, blasphemous.The atheists of today must be greatly heartened as they see their cause supported by men who wear the robes of religion. All the while innumerable Christians writhe silently, embarrassed and angry, but with few outlets through which to reply to the enemies of the Word. When Methodism’s Christian Advocate published an article in which Charles Keysor pointed out the voicelessness of the multitudes in the denomination who embraced the Bible as God’s Word, the response was tremendous—so large that a “forum for scriptural Christianity within the Methodist Church” was founded, with a magazine called Good News.Is it not high time that the millions in all denominations who believe in scriptural authority speak out? The false prophets loudly hawk their unholy theology from lofty places. The presses pour out print-rivers of heresy.No valid reason exists for the success clever minds have had in silencing the Word—save that evangelicals may be allowing their slight theological differences to keep the gospel trumpet hushed. In their ranks are enough voices to shake the world! Let them but find a speaking-stand. Can we not afford to forget little family quarrels in the face of the far greater quarrel—with heresy?We should not sound a call to some mere “protest” march; we need not exert our energy in diatribes against the foe. For false prophets will be unmasked and silenced when the lovers of truth outspeak them with the positive Word of God.We have much to unite our spirits. The Christ, the Cross, the dynamism of the Spirit, the eternal Word, the Apostles’ Creed, the disciplines and confessions of the Church, mighty hymns with blessed history, the inspiring memory of those who died for the faith—all these should influence our creation of a global evangelical voice.This is no time for petty claims or self-interest. We must open our hearts to all who still believe. We must not only stand up and be counted; we must stand up together. The false prophets are not kidding; they mean to have the world. Shall we let them? The longer they shout from the high places, the smaller our chance of being heard.One trumpet note, sounded loud and clear, could gather the host at the Cross. We are restless, humiliated, frustrated, anxious to accomplish something large for our Lord in this time when he is being “crucified afresh, and put to an open shame.” We might move the world. We have the numbers, the sense of urgency. We have the Spirit and the Word. If only we could hear again the sort of cry that rose from a long-ago prophet: “Blow the trumpet in Zion … Call a solemn assembly: gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders.… Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach.… Wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?” (Joel 2:15–17).We are ready for a long charge. Will we hear a bugle blow a “forward” command? If so, we might give history a fresh start. The evangelicals did it in the early Church, and again in the times of Luther and Wesley. We might set the Cross over kingdoms, and kindle a hope in the troubled world. We might hear truth ring again “to the uttermost parts of the earth.”Is it not worth at least a Herculean effort? Not only might it be later than we think; more of the future might be on our hands than we know.Where are adequate ethical guidelines to be found?Distinguishing a right course of action from a wrong one is a vexatious problem none of us can escape. It is a recurring fact of experience that issues are not clearly labeled black or white; often a gray region makes the right difficult to discern.Recent discussions of ethical principles and motivations that govern our Western society have thrown into prominence four competing views.On the unreflecting level there is a style of life called hedonistic, the belief that what gives us pleasure is right. This attitude toward life runs through much of our Western social structure and comes out chiefly in the areas of sex and status-seeking. Advertisers on TV and radio have set this to music; the publishers of the “entertainment for men” glossy magazines and the producers of consumer goods are successfully persuading our generation that life demands an ever increasing satisfaction of the sex appetite and an ever greater supply of those gadgets that contribute to our material prosperity and pleasure. The chief count to be brought against this outlook is one of irresponsibility. It debases what is noble, cheapens all that is worth preserving in our national heritage, and is at root a selfish, “I-take-what-I-want” philosophy that is destructive of true civilization.Another commonly accepted attitude toward moral decisions is called aesthetic. This approach says: What is nice is right. What is distasteful, ugly, or embarrassing is wrong. Canon Herbert Waddams (in A New Introduction to Moral Theology) comments on this view: “Deformed children and foetuses are rather disgusting to the aesthetic senses, and may therefore be abolished. A hanged man is equally distasteful and he should therefore not be hanged; the same principle applies to opposition to war and blood sports.” Along with this aestheticism goes the notion that every person can do what he wants to, provided he doesn’t cause a public nuisance and unduly offend society. An obvious illustration of this type of moral theory is the campaign to legalize homosexual acts between consenting adults.Prescriptive ethics finds the genius of morality in the divine commands for human life. It appeals to some principle or set of principles as regulative for conduct at all times, though the degree of fixity and absoluteness is not the same in all areas of life. This is not the exaggerated legalism that Paul Lehmann castigates as “a standard of conduct which can be and must be applied to all people in all situations in exactly the same way” (Ethics in a Christian Context). Prescriptive ethics is a type of ethical thinking according to which human behavior must be shaped by the presence and authority of external laws. Sometimes these laws are indecisive in a given situation. Sometimes various principles conflict. Often, however, a course of action can be prescribed in advance in obedience to principles. For instance, adultery is wrong because it violates the seventh commandment; therefore the moral man, loyal to his prescriptive code (which he as a Christian finds grounded in God’s will for his life and human society), will never consent to or condone adultery.In our day prescriptive ethics has come under heavy fire. One gun (inscribed Honest to God) is aimed at the transcendent character of God and his office as lawgiver. Another attack is mounted from the platform of man’s autonomy: modern man will not be told what to do—even by God! His experimenting with law-breaking has (he believes) succeeded, for sanctions and penalties that used to deter him can now be neatly averted. Thus sex taboos, for example, are now largely outmoded, thanks to penicillin and contraceptives. Not the least significant factor in the moral breakdown in Western democracies has been the exposé of the lapses of men in high office, as in the Christine Keeler-Pro-fumo scandal that rocked the British government and in the Bobby Baker and Walter Jenkins affairs on this side of the Atlantic.Out of this moral collapse there has arisen a new “school” that claims to deal realistically with our predicament. Known popularly as the new morality, it begins with two assumptions: first, that all men do, as a matter of psychological fact, experience the transcendent claim of love in some personal relationship; and second, that provided men understand the facts of the situation, they need only ask themselves, What would love do here?, and the correct answer will occur to them. Joseph Fletcher spells out this philosophy: “Christian situation ethics has only one norm or principle or law (call it what you will) that is binding and unexceptionable, always good and right regardless of the circumstances. That is ‘love’ ” (Situation Ethics).Here is the pith of the new morality. It says: No line of action may be prescribed before the event; and what is wrong in one set of circumstances and personal relationships (e.g., sexual relations outside marriage) may in another situation be a response to the claim of love. This ethical theory thrives by meeting the needs of a generation that eschews all external authority (the state, the church, the Bible, parents), yet seeks for a directive, albeit one that does not legislate in advance for moral choice.Today the new morality is popular, but it is not to be accepted on that count. We do well to heed the protest the situationists are making. To dismiss the approach as only the “old immorality” is lamentable, for often there is a serious grappling with moral issues that makes some evangelical codes look trivial and antiquarian. Nevertheless, the approach they advocate must certainly be judged inadequate and their examples remarkably naïve and jejune.First, the situationist assumes that men in general feel the undisputed claim of love upon them. This is a mighty assumption to make; indeed, it can be made only if we gloss over the real meaning of “love.” Love is a word batted to and fro like a shuttlecock in Fletcher’s Situation Ethics. Little attempt is made to give it a New Testament content by reference to the transcendent God self-revealed in Christ, the Son of his love. “God is love” is not the same, whether theologically or semantically, as “love is God,” and it is a disastrous mistake to say that love per se is the absolute norm for human conduct. The absolute norm is God’s will, albeit expressed in love. Once grant that and we are bound to ask: Can the will of God be read off from a set of human circumstances without reference to some prior revelation of that divine will, especially in Scripture and its witness to the perfect Man?Second, situationism does not escape the charge of perfectionism, for it has an unbounded, almost naive confidence in human ability. But this overlooks human sinfulness. Man’s warped nature makes him adept at evasion, rationalization, and self-excuse. Situational ethics commendably deals with overt acts but culpably ignores man’s nature; and what he is delimits what he will do. A railroad ticket has only a token value to a man in jail. He would use it if he could!Third, as an exercise in psychologizing, situational ethics—like all other existential systems—lies open to the charge of atomism. This descriptive word carries the idea that life is made up of a succession of independent and isolated acts. Fletcher’s book in particular forgets that life is a network of habits, dispositions, and desires, partly inherited and partly acquired, which we cannot shed as an old suit of clothes. And it overlooks the fact that acts that seem innocent to us may hurt others, even years hence.A follower of true biblical ethics stands upon a far more adequate foundation. He recognizes the ethical norms of Scripture and submits to them as to principles which reveal the love and will of God. Where Scripture is not explicit he seeks God’s will in more general guidelines for personal and corporate conduct. The guidelines embrace such elements as: (1) the character of Jesus, who sets the standard and to whose attitudes we are drawn as we seek the mind of Christ, (2) our social responsibility for our brethren within society and especially in the household of faith (1 Cor. 8), and (3) a call to nurture the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22, 23), who seeks to shape our lives within the polarities of love (the first in the list of fruit) and self-control (the last fruit mentioned).Love and self-control are perhaps the two aspects of Christian morality most in need of definition. The first word is so elastic in modern discussions that it has virtually lost its identity. Rightly Henlee Barnette says, “If love is not defined in terms of objective ethical guidelines, such as chastity, charity, and concern for others, and grounded in the living Christ, it has no adequate dynamic and dissolves into sentimentality” (The New Theology and Morality, p. 71). “Self-discipline” is a term not even used in the modern debate. Critics of the ill-timed British Council of Churches’ report on Sex and Morality have been quick to note this missing element.It becomes clear that while there is no place in Christian morals for a legalism that leads to bondage and offers no guidance for circumstances not covered by the original prescriptions, still less is there justification for a vague situationism. What is needed is an ethic that is God—ordained and thus authoritative, and that offers direction for the needs of the future. We need deliverance from the clutches of subjectivism and relativism, from the tyranny of our whims and fancies, from the invitation to libertinism.Legalism and libertinism, though they stand at opposite poles, are equally deplorable, because both are distortions of what is true. A true ethic finds its polarity in law and love, which are not opposites and which, held together in Scripture and in the actions of God, are the only valid basis for determining God’s will for man and his society.TOLERANCE OR LOVE?Not long ago someone observed that CHRISTIANITY TODAY seems not to view tolerance as a Christian virtue. And that set us thinking. Actually, tolerance is not a Christian virtue. Christians rightly condemn acts of intolerance and remember with sorrow centuries of religious persecution, often in the name of Christianity. Yet the word “tolerance” never occurs in the New Testament, and the great lists of Christian virtues omit it. The Middle Ages spoke of wisdom, justice, courage, temperance, faith, love, and hope. But not tolerance.Is there a failure here on the part of Christian ethics? Not really, for tolerance falls short of Christian standards. Tolerance is ambiguous; it can be good or bad. It can mean a willingness to co-exist with vice or error as well as a proper accommodation of ourselves to other people. It can be a substitute for conviction, for courage in defense of what is right. It can even be a substitute for love.The real Christian virtue is love, love patterned after the love of God for us and motivated by it. Such love is not intolerant. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. But it is not noncommittal. It learns from others. Above all, it seeks to lead men out of error and to introduce them to all that is good, particularly to the full salvation, liberty, and purity of the Christian Gospel.LET’S HAVE THE FACTSThe irrational, ill-tempered, and illegal demonstrations of raw power that defiled American streets, campuses, and public buildings during the long, hot summer and cool, unruly fall of 1967 are far from finished. Americans must steel themselves to withstand even greater attempts at social disruption by young revolutionaries committed to breaking “the American system.”A month after the Pentagon demonstration, Jerry Rubin, a leader of protests in Berkeley and Washington, D. C., urged New Left rebels to look forward in anger to a continuing program of “disruption as a leading strategy for the white peace movement.” His stated goal is “a massive white revolutionary youth movement which working in parallel cooperation with the rebellion in the black communities could seriously disrupt this country and thus be an internal catalyst for a breakdown of the American ability and will to fight guerrillas overseas. Thus defeated abroad by peasant revolutionaries and disrupted from within by blacks and whites, the empire of the United States will find itself faced with rebellions from fifteen different directions.” Rubin claims future tactics will be more militant and will include draft resistance, sit-ins, tax payment refusals, a nationally coordinated paralysis of major colleges, traffic disruptions, massive symbolic demonstrations, encouragement of young people to run away from their middle-class homes, and recruitment of “full-time revolutionaries” to transform “the peace movement into a liberation movement.” “That’s where it’s at,” said Rubin. “We’re angry. We’re angry like Che.”Staging of simultaneous anti-American Viet Nam demonstrations on October 21 in Washington, the San Francisco Bay area, London, Bonn, and elsewhere points to the well-planned world-wide scope of these radical so-called peace protests. Recently House majority leader Carl Albert charged that the Pentagon demonstration was “basically organized by international Communism,” apparently basing his statement on information the President gave orally to congressional leaders. Minority leader Gerald Ford urged the White House to make public the information on the true nature of the Pentagon demonstration. Subsequently, he claimed, Attorney General Ramsey Clark visited him to argue against release of the information. Nevertheless Ford, on the floor of the House of Representatives, called for a full report so that the American people could know “the extent of Communist participation in organizing, planning, and directing the disgraceful display.” This disclosure, he said, would also be beneficial “to the well—intentioned Americans who participated in this demonstration not knowing who had organized the demonstrations at the Pentagon and elsewhere throughout the free world.”The past rash of riots and violent protests has caused serious destruction and created disunity within the nation. Future radical strategies promise even more serious internal strife. If America is to prosper as a democracy, maintain her domestic tranquillity, and fulfill her commitments abroad, the government must make greater efforts to halt illegal protest activities that weaken our national fiber and aid and abet our enemies. One means is for the President to give the American people the full story of Communist penetration of disruptive social movements. If all Americans could know of the devious means now being used by Communists and their sympathizers to subvert the American way of life, the impact of such demonstrations would be significantly lessened, and fewer naive but loyal citizens would be lured into alliances with them.The complex issues and increasing peril facing America without and within today demands not only that freedom to dissent be zealously safeguarded but also that our laws against civil disorder be stringently enforced and our enemies’ true strategies be clearly revealed.ASYLUM FROM THE DRAFTSecular religionists are reviving the sanctuary concept as a means of escape from the draft. Thirty-five clergymen promised sanctuary in churches and synagogues to young Americans who refuse military induction. Yale Chaplain William Sloane Coffin, Jr., said that “any man who asks asylum will be given it.” Last month the student body of San Francisco Theological Seminary (United Presbyterian) passed a resolution offering sanctuary “to those who in good conscience choose not to cooperate with the Selective Service System.” The offer was made in “a context of Christian fellowship in which this community can identify with those who have chosen” non-cooperation with the draft. Thirteen seminarians turned in draft cards; more planned to follow.The modern version of sanctuary is hardly in accord with the biblical institution. The right of asylum is mentioned three times in the Old Testament—Exodus 21:12–14; Numbers 35:9–34, and Deuteronomy 19:1–13—and in no case is it ever made a right to escape from justice. It was a protection against revenge by relatives of a dead man for accidental homicide. It was meant to save innocent life. The Old Testament “cities of refuge” and medieval sanctuary were established to prevent vengeful killings and to insure justice.American law allows conscientious objection to military service. But the secularists’ sanctuary policy affirms the sanctity of the dissenting conscience at the expense of law and order. It appears to be an irresponsible grandstand play to dramatize a questionable viewpoint. It can only hinder the Selective Service System, demean the Church’s reputation, and encourage disobedience of legally constituted authority. |
Barsanuphius and John of Gaza: Letters (The Fathers of the Church), 2 Volumes Translated by John Chrysavgiss |
Barsanuphius and John of Gaza are my own favorite desert fathers. They are from a later generation (6th century), transplanted from Egypt to Gaza, but their remarkable collection of letters to monks, priests, civic officials, and lay people captures the intimate conversation between spiritual fathers and disciples. Through their letters we catch a glimpse of the dynamic human relationships behind the enduring but static Sayings of the Desert Fathers.
Jennifer Hevelone-Harper is associate professor and chair of history at Gordon College, and author of Disciple of the Desert: Monks, Laity and Spiritual Authority in Sixth-Century Gaza (Johns Hopkins, 2005)
Copyright © 2010 by the author or Christianity Today/Christian History & Biography magazine. Click here for reprint information on Christian History & Biography.
