THE SPRINGFIELDER is published quarterly by the faculty
cordia Theological Seminary, Sp~gf ie ld , Ilhois, of the L
Church-Missouri Synod.
EDITORIAL COMMIIITEE
ERICH H. HEMTZEN, Editor
R~YMOND F. SURBURG, Book Revitxu Editor
DAVID P . SCAER, Associate Editor
JOHN D. FRITZ, Associate Editor
PRESIDENT J . A. 0. PREUS, ex officio
Contents
EDITORIALS
R.I. Luther, b. Nov. 10, 1
iVho speaks for the bliss
A DANISH LUTHERAN DOGMA
RAYMOND F. SURBURG, Department of Exegetical
Theology, Springfield, Illinois
................ EVANGELICAL TESTIRIONY AT SITTENSEN.. ::
OTTO F. STAHLKE, Departme
Springfield, Illinois
\VHO CAY THIS BE? A R
EUGENE F. KLUG, Departme
Springfteld, Illinois
BOOKS RECEIVED .............................................................. .i
Missouri, mill also cover mailing change of The Springfielder.
of address should be sent to the Business Manager of The Spring
cordia Theological Seminary, Springfield, Illinois 62702.
Address communications to the Editor, Erich H. Heintzen, Concor
logical Seminary, Springfield, Illinois 62702.
Book Reviews
INVITATION TO T H E OLD TESTAMENT. By Jacob M. Myers. Double'
day & Company Garden City, New York, 1967. P'dper. $1.95.
This book i s intended as a. laymen's guide to the major religious
nlessages of the Old Testament. The contents of the volume were oril-5-
inally written for The Lt~lhel-an, the official organ of The Lutheran Church
in America. The book was first published in 1965, with its copyright being
by the Commission on Church Papers of the uni ted Lutheran Chul'ch
in America. The fact that Doubleday & Company has decided to ~ubl i s l l
it in Paperback will make its contents available to lrlany more readers
Outside the Lutheran Church in America.
The views set forth by this well known l~rofessor of Old Tcstarllent
at Gettysburg Seminary a r e those that the student can find ill RnY nulllbel*
critical Old Testament introductions. While the book co~l ta ins 1lluch
helllful Inaterial, the author rejec'ts the inerrancy of Scrilltul'e a s ~ ~ 1 1 as
i t s reliability on mat ters reported in the Old Testanlent. A11 the major
dist inctive positions of Eiblical criticis111 that. have been stn1~d:~l.d ill
cri t ical circles for a long t ime have been c.mhl.aced by 1)1.. MYPrs. 1410~
hilll Parts of the Old Testalllellt a re ]lased upon pagan myths \\'hicll tjlc
Hebrews borrowed froill their environment. The docunl~ntary
t h e lllultillle authorship of Isaiah, Zecllariah a n d othcr books il(lo~)tcd.
as is the second century date for 1);lnicl. IssiaIl 53. rrferrcd 10 f r~ (~ l l~ l l t l J '
i n the New Testament as prophecy of the death, cbrucilisiarl, rcsulrc('tiOn
Of Christ was not ;l direct Messianic prol~llccy, bill ilpl)liC'(l in the first
Place to the Israelite nation.
/,'(I 111 0t1d /'I. ivli 1 [J 1 1 I . ! /
THE OLD TESTAMENT U~J)EKST.\S ~)IS(; OF (;()I). 13y .J. S i a l l l c ~
Chestnut. The %Testminster prpss. pl~ilndcll,hin, 196s. 3 9 2 1):lGf's
ra i ler . $2.45.
The author is Associate I'rofessor of ItcJiginn ;tntl Associatt: 1)iri:cLoY
Sunllller School, Florida I>res),yterian College. 111 the pr(-f'ncc! the
W1.iter s ta tes : ''This book js ahollt, idens of Cjod i l l the Old 'rcst,illHent.
It at:teml)ts to djscover t]le most sjglljficant e spress io~~s nE ar1cic.11t Israel's
unders tanding of ~ o d , \vllo was kllnwn l o her a s Yahwc l~ . and to relate
t he se expressions to l:hct ongoil>,q history of Israel's rc l ig io~~." I lr . C:hcstnl.lt
s t a t e s t h a t his is not to b~ rcgardcd i . 1 ~ a ~.csl ,c,~~sc to the so-called
"dea'th of God" theology, Old Testament, silnply ;lsslllll(!S the: ~ ~ i s t . c r l c ( :
o f God as fact.
I n ten chapters the allthor set.s forth thi? diffcrcrit 1 1 ) God
h e l d f rom i,atriarc],nl lilllps t o t h e latest period of Oid Tf>stnalent rc l i~ion
as r'eflected in the wisdolll literature and in the poct~.~' of tl-IC Old Testa-
They believed in God l~ecause they had encountered Him ill t h e every day
experiences of their lives. After acknowledging ' that God is--one is still
forced to ask: Wha t does the Old Testalllent s a y cibozct God? T h e answers
to this question are not altogether clear. Old Testalllent wr i te rs did not
concern thenlselves with 'the matter as to how God made Himself known.
The most importallt way tha t God revealed Hinlself in t h e Old Testa-
ment was by llleans of history. Israel's religious life was t h e l~roduct of
a n historical fa i th tha t centered ill God.
In dealing with Old Testalllent theology Chestnut clai~lls t h e student
ought not concerli hinlself about "religious institutions and rituals, the
na ture of worship, system of ethics, o r anything else bu t the fact of God
and His relation to man" (11. 1 8 ) . According to th i s rliethod t h e doctrines
of man, t h e world, sin, salvation, death and t h e fu ture life a r e not central,
but obtain the i r significance fro111 a n understanding of the existence and
deeds of God.
While the re is a certain unity in the Old Testament, Dr . Chestnut
clailns that there is also a surprising variety. Thus he asserts: "Con-
sider the theological naivet6 of the Ynhwist t radit ions in Gen. chs. 2 and
3, against t h e nlonotheisnl of Second Isaiah. Or the reflections of demon-
ism in Gen. ch. 32, and Ex. ch. 4, against t h e awareness of t h e Presence
of Cod i n Ps. 27 and Isa. ch. 6."
Dr. Chestnut avers tha t one of the iiiost challenging insights coming
from twentieth-ccntury Biblical criticis111 is t h e suggestion of Bultnlann
to delnythologize the ~nytliological world view of the Bible. How to use
13ultmann's nlethodology i n the Old Testa.inent field needs t o he pursued
fur ther so a s to 1iiak.e the Old Testament relevant for 11eol)le today.
While t h e author states that in the past the Old Testanlent was
api)roached in :I wrong manner by a s sun l i~ ig tha t t he Old Testalllent did
not sinlply grow from a~l i l l l i s~l l to l)olytheis~ii to n~ono the i s~ l l i n the space
of few centuries, yet I)r. Chegtnut portrays the religion of Yahweh
developing from polytheism to nlonotheisnl. Ilowever, t h i s position is
not according to the New Testalllent where t h e God of thc patr iarchs was
t.lle same God that Jesus canle to luake known. According to our au'thor
there was no csplicit ~nonotlleism kllowll in the days of Moses. There
are no clirect prophecies in the Old Testanlent, a t ru th enlphasized agaill
arid i~b'ain by Christ and the A1)ostlc.s. T h e idea of God as depicted in
this volullle i s more a matter of discovery t h a u tha t of divine revelation.
The volume js 11ell)ful in showing what conclusions Old Testanlent stn-
dents reach when they adopt the historical critical l r~e thod a n d the
theories that, have been developed by i ts devotees.
1i'(1~11/.01/ (2 if'. .Y 11,1-?1?1 ?-{I
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TI-1E 1:OOk.i O F ABIOY. I3y Page 11. JCelley. Raker Book House, Grand
Rapids, 1966 9s pages. I'al)cr. $1 50.
This volume is designcd as a s tudy ~ u i d e a n d represents another
volunle in t h e incomidete Old Testalllent selqics, a t gresent be ing l~ublished
by Iiaker I3ook House. This book follo\vs t h e general pa t te rn of t h e other
h o k s i n 7'h(3 Slriclrl Uible S t ~ d j t G1pi[les1. There js an j n g t ~ ~ c t j ~ ~ jntro-
Book Reviews 4 7
.
duction and a clear logical outline of the Book of Anlos. This is followed
by a brief but thorough colnnlentary which will serve any group or indi-
vidual well as a guide in studying the Book of Amos.
The author, Dr. Page H. Kelley, i s professor of Old Testament Inter-
pretat ion a t The Southern Raptist Theological Seminary, Louisville,
Kentucky. Those of our readers who have specialized in the Book of
Amos will recognize tha t the author is well versed in the literature dealing
wi th this prophetic book. Amos has been extremely popular with those
religionists who have been and who are advocates of the social gospel.
Dr. ICelley claims t h a t the Christian pastor and laymen nlus't be concerned
wi th the social ills of our time, tha t preaching on social issues ought to
be a par t of the pastor's duty. However, "at the saine tinle," he opines,
"one lllust recognize 'the danger of a secularized social ethic. Some would
adopt the ethic of Anlcs but. reject his theology. There are those who
admire the teacllings of Jesus but will not accept the atonement. Against
t h i s kind of "social gosl~el" there is a legitimate protest. To follow this
road i s to fail to recognize that the prophet's ethic was grounded in his
theology. A purely secularized social ethic will always lack the dynainic
t h a t one encounters in tlie prophets. They became crusaders for justice
Precisely because thei r knowledge of God demanded 'that they do so" (1).
2 4 ) .
Professor Kelley believes tha t the Book of Anlos has a number of
messages which a r e relevant for today. The discerning reader will note
h o w t h e author has successfully pointed out the parallels between Amos'
d a y and our own.
T h e Book of Amos ends on a note of hope. I11 the last five verses
the re has been depicted a glorious picture of the golden age 'lo come.
Scholars have differed on the question of whether or not the colicluding
verses were penned by Amos or wlletller some one later added Lhem. 1x1
Kelley's opinion i t would not i i~a t t e r if they were later added by a n indi-
v idual ; nevertheless the verses could still be illspired by the Lord. Iiegret-
tably nothing is said about the flilfillinent of th is prophecry in the days
of t h e Apostolic Church, as Janies informs the participants i n the Apos-
tol ic Conference in Jerusalem, meeting about A.D. 45 (Acts 15) .
W e agree with 'the author's remarks in tlle preface where hc expresses
t h e hope tha t this book should ]lot only be studied in [.he senlinary c1a.s~-
rooill and the church Sllnday School, but that men in Inany walks of life
ough t also study th is book wherein they will find light and truth.
]\'a ?/ n1, o ,z d I;'. S 11 r bu ?'!I
CREATION VERSUS CI-IAOS. Ey Bernhardt Anderson. Association l'rcss,
New York, 1967, 1 9 2 pages. Cloth. $4.95.
Dr. Bernhardt IV. Anderson, fornlerly of Ilrew Theological Seminary
a n d now a member of the Princeton Theological Seminary faculty, author
of t h e well know11 book, t'nderstcl?tcli~?g t l ~ c Old Tcstr17nerrt has wrilten a
volunle in which he has endeayored to show the dependence of the Biblical
doct r ine of creation upon the primordial water chaos belief as found in
the BabyIoniali Enunm Elisle el~ic.
Although Hernlann Gunkel has been dead since 1932, i t inay be said
that though dead, yet he speaketh. Through his writings and books, as
the father of form criticism he is influencing scholarly studies in the Old
Testament field. Gunkel was also a proponent of the school of colnparative
religion (religionsgeschichtliche Schule) . Anderson admits that the in-
spiration for C?.eation versus Chaos came from Gunkel's Sch6pfu?zg 2lnd
Chaos, published in 1895. IIe follows the lead of Gunkel in labelling the
early chapters of Genesis as mythological. Even though Dr. Anderson is
aware of the fact that myth is not the proper terin to be used when
discussing the Biblical materials in Genesis 1-11, yet with the help of
another scholar he still inanages to find a definition of myth which he
then applies to the opening chapters of the Scriptures.
His interpretation of Genesis is worked out within the framework
of the documentary hy~o the s i s and other critical views tha t have charac-
terized the history of theological liberalism. Anderson has adopted
Mowinckel's view that an annual new year festival was celebrated in
Israel similar to the enkitu festival of the Babylonian, a t which i t was
custo~llary as a paft of the liturgical proceedings to recite the Enuma
Elish epic, which gave the 13abylonian version of the creation of the world
and of man. The Princeton professor is fur ther concerned t o show that
the 13abylonian story is found in many other passages of t he Old Testa-
nicnt. The word "sea" is interpreted by him as a direct or indirect
reference to water-chaos of the Enunla Elish epic. There is no reference
whatever to the fact that this interpretation has been questioned by
Ass~riologists and Semitists.
The reason that Dr. Anderson call present such extreme views on the
doctrine of creatiorl can only be accounted for by his seriously deficient
view of irlspiration and revelation. A proponent of revelation by the
"nlighty acts of God," he only allows for a few acts by which God
revealed llimself and all else is man's response to these Divine acts.
Thus in the Old Testanlcnt we lllerely have the iinpressions which
the Israelites had of God in history, rather than recognizing that in the
Old Tcstnn~ent we have a record of God's revelation of how God dealt
dil'cSctly with i i l ~ l l ike Adani, Koah, Abraham, Moses, Sainuel, the prophets
and conllnunicated not only Hilnself but also made known to them divine
truths in l~ropositional st;\temcnts, which Christiails to th is day can read
:Ire es1)ectc.d to accept and obey. TVe prefer to believe tha t in Genesis
1-2 we llavc accounts that are reliable because their contents were revealed
by (:od.
ficlyl~rond F. Sul-b?ir!/
HESET) I N THE 13llJLE. By h'elson Cilueck. Translated by Alfred
Gottsl-halk. Wit11 an Introduction by Gerald A. Larue. Edited by
Elias 12. 1Spstei1i. Tlic ITebrew I'nion College Press, Cincinnati, 1967.
107 1,nces. C'loth. $5.00.
111 ]!I27 Alfiaed TBpelmann in Giessell l~ublislied the doctoral disserta-
ti011 wllicll Glueck had submitted ;tt the University of Jena and which
1l;ls l l ~ ( ~ 1 1 W r i l t e l l nnder tlle super~is ion of proferjrjors )Vil l i Staerk and
Hook Reviews
--
4
--
IIug.0 Gressmann. In 'this d isser ta t io~l Glueck endeavored to show tha
L~secl was a n idea that was not born full blown. I t evolved with l0gica
a n d dynamic consequences in connection with the development and deep
en ing of the socially equitable a n d divinely based relationship of man tc
m a n and to God and especially in the refinement of the covenant relation
sh ip of the brotherhood of man under the fatherhood of God.
In this volume Glueck concluded that "the significance of hesed Car
be rendered by 'loyalty,' 'mutual aid,' o r 'reciprocal love,'" the attributf
whicll is in order among the people united by some bond. According t c
Young's AltCLZyti~al Concor(lctr2ce t h e King James version transkites the
Hebrew root hesecl by eleven different words, with the meaning "mercy"
used most frequently.
Although much water llas run under the bridge of OId Testalllent
studies since 1927, Dr. Glueck writes in the 1960 preface to the second
ckrlllan edition of his study published again by Alfred Tiipelniann: "I
have had occasion during the irltei-vening years to reexamine i t and have
found no reason to change i ts methodological a l~ l~ roach or its final con-
clusions."
The translation by Elias Epstein has made this lexico,ora~)liical stlldy
available to a larger reader audience. I11 the preface Mr. Larut' refers to
other important studies of hesed that have appeased since 1927. After
surveying then1 he coilcludes tha t despite these new studies, "thel-e can
be 110 doubt tha t Glueck's interpretation has remained psi l l lar~."
This is a book which the serious student of the IIe1)l .e~ Old Testalllent
will want to have in l ~ i s library, so that he may consult i t fro111 tillle to
tinie.
i f ( l ? / l l l 0?l (T if'. A'-"ll v/
EVANGELICAL, WHAT ~ ) O E S IT ~ ~ E A L L Y NEAN? Uy E1.11st Kindel'.
Translated by Edtvasd and JIal.ie Scliroeder. Co~lcordia ~ ' ~ ~ h l i s ~ ~ i ~ ~ f i -
House, St . Louis, 19GS. 105 pages. $2.75.
111 a day such as ours whell the word '3e\ang(;lical" is sc, frc~luorltl?:
misunderstood and misnsed, it is refreshing to read a book ~vhicll seeks to
clarify th i s rich and vital tel-111 by tracing it to its root wol.d ctl!ln(trlion in
S e w Testalnent. Ernst Kindel- has perlorlned ~i valnable scl-vice for
the church by conduci,i1lg this stlldy. This snla.11 h u t \cry rendablc I)ook
contains llluch interesting and relevant m:itc?rinl.
The author contellds tha t this sig1lific:tnl wort1 has unforlunatclv lost
much of i ts lllealling and and has dcg-cnerai:ed into little nlorc
thall .h label ilidicatillg a Christianity t h a t is not Ronla~) Catholic. I n
other instnnccs it is equated with an e:isjer, 1)roader I'rotestantisr~ll without
substance or conlnlitnlent, or a more moderll, Illore el-~ligbiened. nlorc
liberal and prosressiv(! forlll of C!hrisl,i;inity t.1~11: im1)lies a permissiveness
i n doctrine and, life.
On the crontrary, says Kinder, i f the church is lo l ~ u 1 4 . C!va1lgelical.
the11 i ts at t i tude, profession, and lift: must hi! ' 'shaped by t h e Gospel and
attllned to Gospe).lp The a u t l r ~ l - then ~>rOcc€!d~ to d ~ f i 1 1 ~
lnealls ),y th(> tern1 C;osoel, 13e deals i\*it.h such i n l ~ o r t a l l ~ S I ~ ~ ~ Q C ~ S 33
s in , law and Gospel, justification, fai th and new life. All of these, i l l lp l ie~
Kinder, a r e t o be included in t h e te rm Gospel.
Kinder then relates all of t h i s to the Reformation. The Reforlllation
was t ru ly evangelical because i t rediscovered th is Gospel a s the true,
living principle of Christianity and t h e churcll. T h e author clainls tha t
t he reformation actually did not introduce anything substantially new;
i t only established a new priority. It yrovided tha t t he Gosl~el, which i s
t he genuine hea r t of the church, should now be consciously and admit-
tedly the center of t h e church, dominating everything else.
If Lutheranisni today i s to be evangelical, i t lllust identify itself
with th i s sanie principle, r a the r than al igning itself in soille s l a ~ i s h
colnnlitlllent to the persou of hlartin Luther as if to appropriate all of his
opinions and expressions a n d consider all of 111s measures uncondit iona:l~
correct and worthy of imitation. T h e church nlus't instead concentrate
on the Gospel of Christ and have this beconic the control ins 1)rinciple for
everything instituted and undertaken in t h e church, with everything ill
the church obediently related to it.
According to Kinder, to be evangelical implies furthernlore tha t t he
Christian nus st be incorl~orated into the total life of the c o ~ ~ ~ l i l u n i t y of
faith. Thus the author sees the churcli as a very i inportant factor in
evangelical Christianity. Evangelical, he says, implies conl~nuni ty and
fellowship. I l e laillcnts the existence of what he calls uilevangelical,
indiridtialistic l J ro t c*s t an t i s~~~ . He evc.11 goes a s f a r a s t o clailli t ha t
" ~ e r s o n a l faitli in the Gospel cannot exist without the church." One
wonders a t this point Iiow hv defines t h e church.
C a r r y i ~ ~ g liis al.gumcnt one stell fortlier. ICiiider suggests tha t evangel-
ical also i n i ~ l i t ' s c:c~lnieiii(ral o r catholic.. H e arr ives a t th is c o l l c l ~ ~ i ~ l l by
calling a t tcnt io~i to the Reforniation doctrille of the " o n e n c ? ~ ~ " of the
church. TIC argues that. Lutlieraiis at. the time of the Reformation con-
fessc?d on the basis of Scripture that tliere is oilly one church which
consist.^ of all believers. I n this oile church were 1)ot.h Lutherans a n d
Catllolics. said the refor~iicrs. This u11it.y existed under the Gospel. From
this lie coiicludes Illat an evangelical sp i r i t or a t t i t ~ t d e nlust have a n
cculnenical pc.rspect ive. 'Hut does this follow?
Kinder grants that t h c one church of Jesus Christ, of which the
L n t l ~ r r : ~ i i confessions speak. is not a11 estel.nal organization. Still t h e
Chl.istia11 tod;lp should seek to espress sonir.thing of this oneness. This ,
of course, is an attitude shared 1)y many Lutheran theologians of t h e past.
But iiiiporrant is thc question: "kIo\v sIiall Christians give esljression to
this unity of 1\11 11clic.vers ill Christ?" Kinder suggests t h a t uni ty does
not nccessai~ily have to sllo\v itself in uniformity, or identical organiza-
tions and folSlns, as valuahl(1 :IS tliis might br. But i t s tr ives by a l l m e a n s
for. expression " t l i rou~l i a coliiiiion binding c.onft.ssioii of t he t r u e center
of the cllurcll. the (:osl)cl in TYord and Sacranlc.nt." I(indel- then a s se r t s
tlizit ~vllcrf. there is rlliity in this respect. "tliere the c>ssontial oncncss of
the c1iui.ch :\pllenl.s in sufficient ineasurc tha t onc can p1-actice church
Icllo~\-shil~." I:ut is this in fact a sufticient basis for such fel lo\vshil~? D i d
the Lut11cr;cn C1111rch at t h c t l n w of tile f i c l o r ~ ~ ~ i ~ t i o n consider i t sufficient?
Rook Rcvie~vs 5 1
---- --- - -_ _ _ __ -__-__I___-__----- -
Did they not require subscril)tioll to the entire c'olplrs ctoctrinnt: a s ex-
Pressed in t h e confessions before fellowship be established?
Finally, Kinder discusses what cont.ribution the Evangelical Lutheran
Church can make in the current ecumenical struggle. H e suggests that
"the Evangelical Lutheran ~ h u r c h ' s contribution must be its Gospel-
centered view of the one church of Jesus Christ." But is this the extent
of t h e Lutheran contribution?
These have been a few of the major points in the book that seem
Particularly significant. s 1 a . n ~ others could be highlighted with profit.
Kinder has performed a valuable seryice for the church ~>articularlY in
reem~)hasizing the central glace of the (;ospel in Lutheran theology. It
is also heartening to note the author's comu~ent that "nccol-ding to the
Reformation, comnii tn~ent to the Gosl)cl must also be esl)resscd by corn-
nli'tment to t h e t ru th revealed in the Gospel. There can be no pal'ticipa-
tion witliout also confessing the contents of t h e Gospel. This is dogma
in t h e evangelical sense of tile term. ~t is not riglit to sce (:os~)cl alld
d o ~ l l l a a s i ~ i c o ~ ~ l p a t i b l e ogposites a s did a 1:ttcr Protesta~lt is~ll , whcll eV:lll-
gelical was erroneously ,thought to bc a tllorougllly 11ondog1n:ttic and ;illti-
doglnatic form of Cl~ristianity."
Kinder is also to be colnmcnded for such statements a s : '.The closer
each church collies to t h e Gosl)el, t l l ~ closel. the churc l l~s ( ~ l l l f ? to
another. The path to the cellter is tile path to oneness."
Bu t lllally Lutheran readers will find in illis book ~el-t.aill disii~l)oint-
especially whcn the authol- relates c\-;tnge?ical to c('lll1l['ni(:itY.
we to assume that tlie Lutheran (:llurch is sonlething less tllall ~'varl.~cli(!al
i f i t cannot arr ive a t an ester.ll:il rl1lioll'! M~lst take fol. ~ ~ ; u l t ( ; ( i
t he Refonlintion doctrillc of the oIleIl(;ss of the C ~ U ~ C I I I C C ( ' S S ~ ~ ; ~ ( C S ( : I~ I ITc]~
fellowsllip?
Furtherinore, olle migllt wish tha t t.he arlt,llor ll;rd csl,rt!ssc~I I ~ i s ~ i c w s
C0ml)lctely c o n c ~ r n i n g the content of tllat Cospcl \vlii(~Ii 111us1. shfi1)e
t h e fa i th a n d life of the church i f it is lo ))e c?vanficlic.al. S ~ ) t ! ~ . ~ i ~ i i : ~ ~ ~ ~ ,
which doctrines a r e to be illcludrd in the tern1 C;osl)el? \\.ha1 I.; the
extent of the Gospel wllich determines fc.llowshi1)? Is 1.11(! t ( ? l . l l l (';0sllel
intended to inclllde the entire co,-),,,.s rloct,.intri: a s they arc1 sci fo r th j11
t h e Confessions?
Ipinally, orle nligllt \vjsh that t.hc al~l.llor had gi~t:11 :I J l 1 ( \ I ' C b ~l(~[ilil~'d
dcscriptioll of his views regarding such yil.31 doctrines as just ifi(:atioll and
f a i th since h e inclndes tllelll i l l te1.m Cospc!~. Is justific:ltior~ a forens ic
act Of God as collfessions state? 1s faith to hc: thoright 0i rrllst i n
t h e redemptive work of Clirist, or does i t include I ~ x : I ~ ~ ' s oScdi!:l~c(:'~
T1lerc? can be little doubt that this book will be l'c2d 1,)- Illan?', 1';lr-
ticulal.ly since it is now i n p;r~glish t rans ln t~ol~: :~rld i ts
cnce on I,ntheranisnl ill Alllerica will he (lcc[)l\.* [elt.
~ [ Q I I . ( I 1.d i\'. I ' ~ . / ) ~ f , t '
T H E CRISIS OF PIETY, I : ~ I)orlnld c.. Jlloesch. 1 ~ 1 1 1 . 13. h:crdn~al~s
Plthlisl1illg ~ o l ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ , ~ , ~ m n d Rapids, 196s. 16s lX%SrS. 1 . $ 3 . 8 0 .
serving as a professor a t a Presbyterian seminary, is destined to lllal
h is ]nark on the Alnericari theological scene in a constructive Way. I
is already known to Inany of our readers through recent articles in t
Missouri Synod related I,uthe~.(in I701.2111~ and Gh?-istinnity l ' o d a ~ . T
Crisis o f Piety follows one year behind Y'he Chris t ia~z L i f e (rnd Ka l l ;~ t i (
which as the review in this journal indicated was a high water m a r k
fresh and original approaches to theology. Hloesch, who identifies hilns
as a "conservative" does not suffer from the disease so collllllon to llla
conservatives in that he is constructive rather than destructive. A
here is his approach different.
Faced with the near eradication of personal and corporate 1IietY
the wake of the secular theology, 13loesch lays out a course of action
the Christian which involves recoycry of the devotional life and un(
standing conversion and cornnlitment. Tlle purpose is here in a se
polemical in that he wants to restore a pronlinence Christian sanctifical
in a theological system which has blurred the lines between tho religi
and the secular. Espoused is the cause of "evangelical devotionisnl" wl
is based on the nlessage of the justification of the ungodly, folio
necessarily by the lifelong process of sanctification. Careful considera
is give11 to other options such as an extreme mysticisnl or an extr
involvelllent in the world. Refreshing in Dloesch's approach is t h a t R
he distinguishes the church's nlissions for the concerns of this world
the next world, he does not separate them. One is continually inl1)re
by Bloesch's broad understanding of historical theology from whicl
effortlessly demonstrates his thesis. 13loesch's sacralllerltal theology st
a t tilncs a little less than consistent. While he chastises the L u t h
doctrine of Raptisln as approachiug "sacralllental objectivism," h e
not see that he comes undcr the same verdict with his own espous
a bestowal of the Holy Spirit on the child a t Baptism. Blocsch's t '
seeills very llluch to be related to Jiirgen hIoltmann's I'heoloyy o f
where "the kingdon1 is both radically future and th is worldly."
One of the side benefits for the reader in Bloesch's a1,proach i s
the reader enjoys his assessillent of a t least 250 theologians and a
nuniber of deno~ilinations and religious societies. How niany of our re
know t l ~ e "ultra-conservative evangelicalism" of "such neo-Anab
groups a s the Society of Brothers"? Did you also know that Angl
Folino prayed for the death of her falllily so tha t she rnight be a'
lnore effectively serve God? I n bringing a wide background of knov
to delllollstrate a point, Gloesch st~ccecds in making theology both
able and interesting. Readers of this journal will take sl~ecial in
in the fact that Jaroslav Pelikan and the founder of the Spril
seminary, JVilhelm Loehe, a rc called part of t h e school of E v a n
Catholicislll because of their insistence tha t the Bible nlust be read
the churcll. Tlie reader lliust a t times forgive Rloesch's native de
to Calvin o w r against Luther on Illany points, but the reader \vi
here a kno\sledgeable yoice intruding itself in what frequexitly a
to hc :L \TrY ~ o n f ~ l ~ i l l ~ . theological sitnation.
1)trcirl Y. rrcr
Book Rcvicws 5 ; 1
JVHAT'S NEW IN RELIGION? By Kenneth Hamiliton. A Critical S t u d ~
of New Theology, New Morality and Secular Christianity. Wm. B.
Eerdnlans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, 1968. 176 pages.
Cloth. $3.50.
The name Kenneth Hamiliton is appearing as author on an ever
increasing number of books dealing especially with secular theology. The
Canadian divine is not only a gifted theologian, but also a penetrating
analysist and interesting writ,er. This recent book follows quickly
behind others dealing with Paul Tillich and the phrase "God is dead."
Even apart from any discussion of theology proper, the first two chapters
with their discussion of what exactly is meant by "new," so ~ ~ o p u l a r in
coIltemporary theological jargon, is both devastating and delightful.
Hamiliton well suills up the present situation:
As each generation rebels amins t the values and attitudes of the
l~revious one, t h e historian of culture who tries to see the larger
picture beyond the inlnlediate clash of "new" and "old" is likely to
view the successive rebellions as so lllany swings of the pendelum.
Those who a re inlbued with a "new" and "revolutionary spirit," or who
at least make these and similar words prominent in their vocab~llary arc
embarrassingly reminded of Martin Heidegger's whole-hearted endorse-
ment of the Austrian house painter:
The new courage nus st be conditioned iiito steadhstness, for the
struggle for educational strongholds of the leaders will take 10llg.
I t will be fought with the energies of the new state wliich thrx ~ e 0 l ) l e ' ~
chancellor Adolf Hitlcr will bring to reality.
Solliehow this language reniinds this reviewer of llrc'sent day move-
ments. Colulnbia University, anyone'?
Getting down to the business of the "new theology," I-Tal~liliton llas
sonle deep cutting bu t still pleasant to read observations. IIo is very
critical of the procedure used by the "I-Ionest to God" bishop, l)r. John
Robinson, in that he clumps tlleologia~is together who have no 1)nsiness
being tarnished by association. Iiescued fro111 the falllily tree o f thc 'God is
dead' theologians is surprisingly enough Dietrich Ronhooffer. After rend-
i n g Robinson and the others one receives the impression that Bonhoeffer
was a lllore radical Biblical critic than Rudolf I3ult1nn1ln. %-hell ill reality.
Bonhoeffer was as nluch a biblicist a s any Gernlan theologinll could yossi-
bly be. H e wished for death of religion so that "there would be 'a clearing
of t h ~ decks for the God of the Eil>le.'" These arc hardly appropriate
words coming frotii a 111iu11 designated as a step-father, or a t least one
of t h e god-fathers, of the secular theology. In prison J3onhocffer read the
Bible piously and observed the church year rigorously. This hardly sounds
l i ke t he religionless Christianity of Altizer et 111.
Cox is put forth as a disjointed theologian. He has tnkrn c o l l c ~ ~ t s
applicable to the Biblical descri~tion of the kingdon1 of iilld sim1)I~
superjml)osed then1 on the city, or to use the more terhnirnl tel'rll, "Leach-
nopolis." In the challtcr on the "Selv 3Ioriiljly" JJnrn~lllon it5 iit his
devastating best. H e chastises ''New Morality" theologian Fleicher for
his absurd blessing of Tru~l lan 's decision to use the at0111 bomb a s " 'a
loving use of force."' The ''New Mol-ality" which prides itself in i ts
ethic of freedom from rigid codes i s itself especially rigid and cabalic.
I n supporting abortion, Fletcher writes, '; 'no ,unzc;anted and unintended
baby s7loulcl ever be born.' ". ( the italics a r e Fletcher's). Hamilton 1)oints
out tha t Fletcher with the words "no" a n d "ever" is establishing a m i -
versa1 rule. Thus the "New Morality" h a s a legalism all of its Own.
This book would fit perfectly into the decor of the pastor who has
the opportunity to steal away into the living room on a quiet evening to
study a contemporary theological ~ r o b l e m without drowning hilnself ill
a sea of technicalities. The tongue in cheek att i tude of Haniiliton is
demonstrated in his own self-assess~nent a s he assesses the secular the-
ology.
AS it is, my role has been apparently that of the wicked fairygod-
mother a t the baby yrincess's christening. Where everyone else had
blessed the child and predicted a happy and fortunate future, I have
thought it ~ l i y duty to cast a gloonl over the proceedings by foretelling
a disaster.
At the head of every chapter and scattered here a n d there through
the text a r e little ditties placed there f o r wisdoill and for what aI)Pears
to be conlical relief. This reviewer could not avoid the nasty temptation
of including this one.
I often think it's co~nical
How Nature always does contrive
That every boy and every gal
That's born into the world alive,
1s either a little Liberal,
Or else a little Conservative!
Diil;id I-'. Xccre?'
CI-lRIST TIIE TIGER. I3y Thom:ts Howard. .J. R. Lippincott COlllPanY~
I-'hiladclphia/New York, 1967. 160 pages. Paper. $2.25.
If I recall correctly, it was the a~lcieiit cynic, Diogonese, who in a
period of national cl-isis rolled a n empty barrel through the streets of
Athens because he was of the opinion, so he said, tha t i n such crucial
timrls ever~bodv ought to be doing so~lletlling! I n t h e critical tillles in
which we live, Illany people seem to t l l i~ lk tha t i t is vitally necessary to
wrltc hooks. anal?-.tic;tl or autobiographical, ahout human existence-alld
allllost every one of these hooks leaves the iillprcssion t h a t its author was
the m e who tliscove~etl htlman existence, or a t least sollle insight into
hulllan existence known to no axle hel-etofore,
The safest way, of course. to write about hunlan esistence is to use
the autobiographical method. You tell the story of ~ o u , - life, and state
the understanding of human existence a t \\.hi& arr ived on the basis
of Sour 911n cs~er ience : and i f anyone challenges t11c validity of Your
interpretation. you look hill1 ~LraiRllt In tile eye. and 1~1 th all the jntensjly
Book Reviews 5 5
and earnestness that you car1 xiluster, you declare siniply and solemnly:
"I lived it!" No one can a rgue with such a claim.
This reviewer does not intend to argue with Howard's book, first,
because you can't argue with a report of a man's own inner and private
experiences; secondly, because I agree with tha t part of the book which
I th ink I understand; thirdly, because i t wouldn't be good sense t o argue
with the part I don't understand--the more sensible procedure in this
case i s to ask the author to say more clearly whatever i t is that he is
t ry ing to say.
T h e part of the book I think I understand covers roughly the
first 150 pages. As nearly as I can inake oat , t h e author in these pages
traces the route by which he arrived at the conclusion that hulliail exist-
ence abounds with ambiguities, entails considerable risk, and is nlarked
by lilnitation. While it is highly doubtful t h a t anyone else ever arrived
a t such a conclusion by precisely the sa111e route, i t is very improbable
that there a r e many people old enough to grow a beard who not
discovered for themselves tha t human existence is too fragile to perillit
much "coziness." There a re many of us who a re quite ready to gl-ant
the validity of the author's observations about hztmn)! ezistc?lc'(~--but
some of us would ask by what logic this rules out the possibility of
inspired Scriptures, 01. necessarily implies the incertitude of orthodox
Christ ian doginas !
T h e part of t h e book I do not understand begins at page 153 \rrIlel'e
the au thor begins to talk about "redemption." Read his owl1 words to
see wha t you can get out of theni:
The Christian vision affirms iilythic and mimatic iniagery. I t sees
here the heroic attestatioil by hunian consciousrwss to perfection and
worth in t h e face of our experience of fraglncntation a ~ l d havoc. It.
sees here t h e huiiian suspicion that there is an order which is uncon-
ditionally significant, and which is not necessarily or im~nediatcly
apparent to tech~iological inquiry.
nu ' t Christian vision steps beyond aesthetics whcii it affirms that a t
a point in history the I-;iythology was actualized. Perfec:tic.)~~ and
beauty became visible. Glory and truth appeared. Thc epiphany
was, to be sure, a disappointing one. Tlie ternis were not auspicious.
Nevertheless, the Christian understanding is that. in the fignro o f
Inlmanuel t h e human eye sees the final and the perfect. actualization
of the myth. (page 153)
. . . But 1 could think tha t i n the figure of Jesus w e s aw I l i i ~ l l a ~ ~ e l ,
t h a t is, God, that is, Love. I t was a figure who, appeariilg so inauspi-
ciously among us, broke U D our secularist aiid our rc:ligio~ls categories,
a n d beckoned us and judged us and damned us nild saved 11s. and
exhibited to us a kind of life that participates in t.he i~idestrnetihle.
And it was a figure who announced the validity of: our eterllal eft'ot-1
to discover significance and beauty beyond inanition and horror h~
announcing to us the unthinkable: redemption. (paga 1.54)
H e appeared a s a Illall alld demonstrated a kind of life wh011~ foreign
'to a]] of our inclinations. For h e showed 11s what il l l l a l? '~ lilt JS l i ke
when i t is energized by cxcrita.~, and in doing this, he became our
judge, because we knew too well tha t i t is that other love, c t b ~ ~ i d i t a s ~
that energizes us. H e told 11s of a city, the City of God, in which
ctr?.itGs rules. H e told us that a,l] who participate in this are citizens
of t ha t city. (page 155)
It would seen1 tha t th is Rind of language does not express the tradi-
tional, orthodox understanding of redemption.
The back cover of the book reports that Martin Marty said: "y'i!lel'
burns bright." Whatever this remark means, it can hardly mean that
Tifjel* shines with the l ight of the GoslIel of Christ's substitionary l ife
and death which atones for the sins of all Inen, and brings 11ardon and
lIeace to everyone that believeth.
H . -1. H~lt71
HEYTORY O F THEOLOGY. By Bengt Hiigglund. Translated by Gelle J.
Lund. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1968. Cloth. 425
1)ages. Subject and person index. $9.95.
"It looks good," a history depar tn~ent colleague who borrowed ll1Y
coi)y coliinicnted, before I was able to tu rn attention to it. IIaving read
it I can now add the 1)ersonal conviction: I t is good. The fact that by
1966 it went through three editions in Sweden alone is evidence eno1lgl1
that ;I 111ajor ill~l)ortant work had beer1 lannched. History of theology
books do not ordinarily attain such distinction ix1 this day age. That
fact also led t,o i t s tmrlslation, a good, readable one incidentally. Con-
cordia Publishills. IIouse has therewith rendered a distinct service in
broadening thc hook's f idd of llenetration. I t is really not a long book,
considering the: vast scope, and yet i t stlcceeds in laying out the whole
1)icture of C:hristiall tlleology. As everyotle knows, th is is a n in t r i ca tc l~
involved tapestry. The great ~uc?rit of Hiigglund's work is that i t is so
(:leal., and 111-oceeds with snch grace fro111 period to period, trend to trend,
t.l~iriker to thinko~., all thc \\rhilt? keeping llold of the mainstrean]
central thrust of thc Christian, evangelical core. The book's jacket
describes 'Hii~.glnlld as objective in his \vork. I think this is so. 13nt 110
Illan a1~1Iro:ic'hcs any task \\:it11 com1,lete T ~ ~ o ~ ~ r r ~ r s . s e t x z ~ t ~ g s l o s i y k c ~ i f . wi'thout
P~es l~ l~ l~os i t ions . kno\v his predecessors, IIarnack, Sceberg, Loof%
h a d (11(?111. and \v(? know, too, the effect that. these "glasses" tiley were
wear in^ had on \vll:lt they said aiid 011 whe1.e they canle out. EIiigzlund
clellrl!: 1135 a 1 ove for conservative Christian t ruth , for the collsistellcY
of Luther ant1 tho Cnnfessions, and lle ultiniately draws everything illto
critirluc befor.(: this ~ositioxi, althongh he does this so subtly and softly
that. e\(?ll th(: libcl.al mill hardly llot,ic(? i t \vllile he is haying his hide
tanned or his scall) lifted. This holds trtle also for the fine coxlcludillS
chal~tcr. an addition t.o the third edit.ion, "The Tlleology of the Early
20th (;clliul-y: Coiltc?lnporary Trends." Ual4th, Tillich, Bnlt~llanll. etc..
rc?cf?ivf2 \vhat call Only be described as an escelle~lt, bit: of s u ~ l l ~ ~ a r i z i n g ,
brilliant bccausc of its sllarl,, short. fair analysis, llleaningfnl alld useful
bccausr of j t a i n c i s i \ . ~ C T ~ ~ I ~ U P , ]-iijgg]~]ld does silnglv stand tjlere
Book Revic~vs 5 7
- - --
with mouth open and eyes transfixed for holy awe of the lnodern the-
ological "giants." H e knows both dogma and history, a n d with ad~n i rah le
egalite et ela?t h e deinonstrates where the philosophical and historical
roots of modern theologizing a r e to be found.
Very little can be said to he missing it1 this survey of Christian
theology. Without cluestion this , plus the fac t that the au thor never
loses h is readers with tiresome parade of facts, accounts for the book's
appeal. But i t i s scholarly. One can 'travel froin the a1)ostolic fathers,
Clenlent, Qnatius, Polycarl), etc., all the way to the three "B's" (Barth,
Bultmallll, Hrunner ) and feel t ha t t he story of Christian theology and
i t s vicissitudes i s there. The otitline i s eminently lucid and easy to
follow. Probably that i s inore properly the book's title, "Outline" of
Christ ian Theology, because of t h e relative brevity of i t s chapters. But
f rankly th i s i s n o real weakness, and Hligglund has not failed h i s readers
in th is reslject, for he evinces ,the kind of sagacity of the sander in the
lumber lllill who knows when t o hear down with more pressure and when
to let UP. Generally a n excellent balance of material is nlajntained.
Individual tastes and favorite focal yoints are, of course, things to reckon
with. 13ut Hiigglund has managed to keep from getting on a n y specific
"kick," even le't us say a s to a special treatlncnt for the Scand iaa~ ia l l
theologians (which might have been expected n i ~ d excusable), and as a
result has achieved a w1-ayltrcgn optls of a kind. T h e footnoto- and dctail-
snooper will of course be disappointed, as will also the "fans" or tllcology's
hall-of-fanlers, s ince for the forluer Hiigglund c.oulii no1 c'nrc lcss ( n o t that
h e i s not precise in detail! he just does not belabor thel~l! ). and, ;IS for
lat ter , he was shown that the i r idols tit a f te r :ill into their littlc t l i ~ h e s
a n d t h a t they often have feet of s t l~ iw .
Where does h e s t and? That 's a good cluest-ion, a n d it is left
unanswered. H i s enlphasis :lt the right plnc(~ls, \vi l l~ f'11lle1- :~llti Illore
detailed handling, show this, f o r it is Atl~anasius. Augustil~c, and cbsi)e-
c i a l l ~ Lu the r , who come in for the most solit1 trcat.lncllt: nl~tl uncl(!l-lillil~g.
A n d why not? T h a t also accords wit11 history. \Vitho~~t. rc~nlly saying
i t in SO illany words, the hook reaches the top o f Evc:rcsl. ~vit.Il L~ l the r ,
because, a s Hiigglund puts it , '.his \vritings llavc to n grcxter or lesser
degree served as a. direct source of i~~sp i rn t ion for t.licologic:al I h o u ~ h t
a n d the preaching of the Word thro~lghout all of l l ~ r ol)ochs which h t~vc
13assed sillce t h e tillle of the Reformation" (21 1 ) . $lcli\11~11t 1on. %\vingli.
Calvin, etc., ge t appropriate coverage, but all in good h:al:lncc to t.llc!il'
lesser significance in Clll.istian t,heo]ogy. Thc tl.c;ttlnenl. of the tllc()lWi;lns
of Lu the ran Ortllodosy is illore sel~si t ivc ailti sensibl(! t h a n hns yccellt.lJ'
appeared anywhere excel,t in co1isel.v:itivc Lulhcl.n~l circlcs. 'rhis is
ref reshing because it is more :lccl~l.ate historically a n d tht!olo~:'i('allY.
Hiigglulld's delineatioll of pictisln's place in theology is sul)erI). as is
t h e period of t h e El,]ightenment, and then the mutldletl 19 th ccntur?. with
Sch]eierll1acher, Rage], t he Erlangen school, el(?., brief though all of
sketches are . pe rhaps this brevity ncc~IIIlt ,~ for the fact that in lrcat,ir'g
t h e forces in 13th century tlieology IIliggll~ntl 0nlik rnclltiorl
of A ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ T ~ thcologjcal giant in the Luthcran C ~ U ~ C ~ I , C. F7. \r. \\':lltllcr.
Perhaps, on the ot}ler hand, tlljs 1)()jni.; U p tltf O n ? r t n k ~ ~ t s s lhr 1)l)f)b
shows: t h e l)redilection for characterizing all "free" churches as throw-
backs to a kind of Donatist tendency, o r si~nl>ly omitting all mention of
thein a s is the case wi th the Lutheran groups, whether American or
Eurol~ean. (Cf, 124-26; 365-1313 where they a re given the old "repristina-
tion" t a g ; 384 where they a re linked with Pietism in Sweden.) This
kind of lumping is neither accurate nor understandable. Also puzzling
is the omission of reference to the Prllssian Union of 1817 which had
sue11 far-reaching effect on the theological scene in Germany and beyond.
Devotees of contemporary glanloi- figures in the theological realm, like
Bonhoeffer, Niehuhr, Pannenherg, Kiing, etc., will be let down. Hiigglund
does not bother with them. Wisely SO, no doubt. Time will tell whether
what they have said, or still will say, has made any lasting iml>act on
theology or whether i t was af ter all theologically peripheral. The pace-
setters through twenty centuries a r e all therc, and lIligglund deserlres
kudos fo r a work well done.
Concordia Publishing IIouse has a s usual done i ts knitting well, too,
in the printing makeup, and as usllal i ts price also is high. TOO bad
011 tha t last point! The book deserves wide reading and a lower Price
with volume sales might have nladc up the difference.
- - - .- -. - -- - - - - -- .
I< . F. Kluy
MO1)ERN TI-IEOLOGIANS, C H R I S T I ~ ~ N S ANI) JEWS. Edited by Thomas
E. Rird. The University of Notre Danle Press, Notre T)anic, Indiana
and Associati011 Press, New york, 1967. 224 pages. Cloth. $5.95.
Presented here a re theological evalllations of ten theologians. Of the
tcn tlic~ologians evaluated, three a r e Protestant (Hick, J.A.T. Robinson
and Hromadka), t\vo a r e Jewish (13uber and Heschel) and the relllaining
five a r e Ronlan Catholic (Murray, liiiring, Schillebeccks, Lonegrall and
Luhac..) Since there a r e ten different authors, the essays differ in quality.
I J J \ v ~ ~ ~ Streiker's essay on Buber consists lnairlly in large blocks of quota-
tions fro111 his sul~jcct and u t l fo r t~~na te ly lacks in evaluation. The same
could be said of the same 11ian's ailnlysis of the "Honest to God" B l s h o ~ ,
Dr. Rohinso~l. The Protestant clergynlell will find the value of this
colleclioll i l l their evaluation of Catholic theology today. The Dutch
Catllolic theologian, Schillcheecks' rcinterprcltation of scholastic theology
in l>ersonali~ti(. terms is almost essential in understanding a n inlportant
trend in Roilian Catholicisill today. \lThile not denying given theological
realities. he does allow for a change in conce1)tual cogxlition of these
realities. Rothchild's essay on Rabbi $Iescllel clearly shows ho\v nee-
or t l lodox~, generally associaled with Protestantis~n, can also fit into the
scheme of Judaism. Though the foul. sectioils of the book classify the
theolo~ialls according to these four tollics, dialogue, l i fe of the cllurch,
intellectual rcnel\lal, and mystical experience, the editor nlight have done
well merely lo have liniited lii~nself to Itonla11 Catholics wri t ing on RollIan
Catholics. The Protestant churches a r e in dire lleed of uxldersta~lding
the theologlcal currents in the Church of Rollle today. I i e re are a few
steps in the right direction. An exhaustive bibliography 011 each thelogian
is a131lended a t thc back of the book for tllosc illclined to additional
research, Dcrz7i(l P. Swtl'
PHILOSOPHY FOR EVERYRIAN, by Dagobert D. Runes. Philosophical
Library, Inc., New York, 1968. 148 pages. Cloth. $4.75.
C a r r ~ i l l g the sub-title, E1ron~ Socrates to Sartre, this handbook of
Philos01)hical thought offers the reader brief (some too brief! ) studies of
a n i l l l~osing a r ray of philosophers, touching on thctil- background, con-
cepts, and impact on 111odern civilization.
Dr. Runes has undertaken a truly impressive task, too iml~ressive in
fact! Because he devoted h i s research less to schools of philosophy than
the ~hi1osol)hers themselves he oftell leads the render from one thinker
to another without quite making a meaningful connection between them.
In discussing t h e early philosophers, for example, he does not point out
differences and similarities be'tween the Ionians, Eleatics and Hylozoists.
A mere twelve pages take one from Aquinas to Francis Bacon! Christian
Wolf£ lllerits but eleven lines and Schleiermacher rates only nine. Ortho-
dox theologians of his day and a few decades after his day llligllt retort
t h a t lv0lff and Schleicq-macher collld have been skipped entirely but all
lnust ZWee tha t to g i ~ e David IIullle one 1)aragraph s i~nply will not do-
not when a n assessmctnt of l)hi~osopI~icsl thought is under consideration.
Logical Positivislll is take11 care of in twellty four lines, about half of
which describes Moritz Schlick's tragic death and 1)hilosophical method-
ology. Under Existelltialisln Jaspers, Heidegger, and Sar t re each get
Paragraijh with scant mention goiiig to Kierkegaard.
This does not suggest that there art: no nugget.^ to be found in this
.mine of information. I thillk that one gets a different p e r s i ~ e c t i ~ c on the
l ife and work of Ficllte he ~.e:tds that his .I,ectlr~.cs o,11 tlrc CC'l.lll.(l~?~
Natiot~, already carried overtones of Cer~~lani l : racial mipcriority. Alld the
author serves sollie very palatable food for thou.~ht wllr<11 hc ohser~t?s
t h a t reactionaries like Fichte, Schclling. and Hegel coultl gel. awn!' with
the i r rash ~h i losoph ic ~-al~l\)linjis hecause they always \v\.cr'c c:nl.eful to
renlain loyal to the govt?rnlne~lt. The social r.c:fol.n~ei.s ci)uld f i g h t f o r
l iberty; the phi1osol)llers ~ r o p o s e d simple panaceas of rcsul.rt?ctian i l l the
next world and subjection in this one.
~ ' i l . i l O . ~ O p i ~ y for El .cry~, la ,~ is described by the cover its ail illt.crcsliIIg
reference book for quick consultation. I gr~css it can rlunlify f o l - that.
1)r. Ruiies would undollbtedly b,: alnollg the first. t o rccogni~(? tllal justice
can im1)ossibly be done t.he giarlts illcluded i n his S L I ~ ~ C Y \vhcn one, dashes
from ThaIes t o Sartl-e in 139 pages follo\ved by ]line 1)agcs of n0t.W.
.loll , , I.'. .ioh?t.sow
CHRIST AKD THE .JEX];:'S. Cornelius Van Til Thc T'resbytt)ri;~n and
Refornled Publishing Coulpany. Philadelphia. 1968. 90 pages Pnr~cr.
$1.95.
This is a nlollograph in tile serles of the International L ~ b r a r y of
Philosophy and Theology (Biblici~l and Theological Studies). T h e edltor
is Robert I,. Heynlond who has also written a preface! to th r volunle
W e call attention to this ''nlonograph on Jt>wisll X~)ologetics" as t h e
a u t h o r calls i t , hecause of t h e comparafi\.elq. I a r ~ e number of books arid
essays on the problem of the Jew \which hare alil~enred Rlnce t h ~ ",?I1
Days War." The events of the last collflict between Jew and Arab have
focused the attention of all kinds of theological convictions on the web-
le1n of the conversion of the Jews with many and varied eschatological
and eschatomillenialistic views. Add t o that the so-called "ecumenical"
thrust of our day which spreads i t s a rms t o embrace as spiritual brothers
any and every religion and we haye a veritable psychedelic whorl of
opinions and beliefs.
I t is a relief t o have men say, as Reymond in the preface to ''Cllrist
and the Jew:" "The Christian should love the Jew, certainly, but the
sooner the Christian realizes that the Jew is as hopelessly lost and as
hopelessly blind, if not illore so (Rom. 11:G-II), than the Gentile, and
that to win the Jew to Christ he must crush any and every hope for
salvation which is related in any way to the fact tha t he is a Jew and
a "son of the Torah," the sooner the Chrjstian will honor his Lord by his
witness to the Jew and the lllore effective will his witness become."
The author sets Jewish thought, both ancient and modern over
against Christian thought and de11lonstr:ites that there is no 1)ossibIe
reconciliation between the two. Moreolrer, he shows tha t liiodern Prates-
tantisill inakes a nlission to tile Jew ilnpossible by denying the infallible
revelation of God in the Old and New Testaillent.
T l ~ e four chapters treat Philo, T\vo T y ~ c s of Fai th , the Torah, The
Lord of History. The chapter on Two Types of Fa i th discusses Martin
Bu1)er. Of IJubcr Van Ti1 says ill llis introduction: '.TVheil Uuber sl)eaks
of J e ~ u s a s liis "great brother" without speaking of hiin as his divine
Savior, this is still to reject Christ" (l)age 2 ) .
(;ad's Word has power to give life. All Inen, dead in tressgasses and
siris need the mc.ssnge of C,l1ristvs atonelllpnt. So we preach Christ i o
JCWS and Circeks and know that th~b Ivord of Life can br.iiig rnen to the
knowl rd~c of thrir Sayioi.. This hook call Iielp us to understand the
1)rohlclll of our nlissioll to t]lra .Jp;v.
31. -1. A-11 li ~ t ~ ( O l 1 ~
T(~lllIIS'I ' 1N ISRAEL. By 8. 31. I-Iougllton. The I?annel- of Truth Tl'nst,
Lorldoli. 19G'i. 220 Dages p;rpel-. 5 shillings.
Lfsccllc~it r.c;tding fol- those lvho a1.c planning a Palestine tour;
delifhif'ul for tliosc who llnvc 1nadc the pilgriniage. I n n few instances
\-ii:\vlroint jB 13nglis11, hut this lllay he counted as added rharnl. \yell
scllc(:lcd piclurcs and 1)octry accolllpally the test. The "Toni-kt!' goes
solllc\~h:kt. I )e~ond the boundaries of .'lsracl." since Allllllall i~lld r e t r a arc
also visited. Thc 1iai.rative t~riiigs Tiiblical. arcliaeologica1, and hislor.ical
illf0l.lll~tioll to bear ul)oli the illaces under discussioll. The hopc that
God rlitlst Iiavc sor~ic grcal Zut.ure destiny fol- Israel is strongly c?~prcssed
"cod's calling of Tsr:~el is i l.l.eyoca)>le."
The anther \Vi IS in Palestine shortly before the ont,break of last year's
hos l i l i t i r~ : the iriciurc of the national boundaries is ill :~ccol.d with that
fact. Tllc thousands of L ~ ~ t h e r a n '.toulSists in Israel" will also enjoy this
book nud find ll~cl~lsclvcs \vit,h the author ill the conlpany of 11lally allciellt
and r~~odi:rn l)ilfi~.illl~.
o t t o I,'. 8j(1?/1Xe
Hook Reviews 6 1
READINESS FOR RELIGION. By Ronald Goldman. The Seabury Press,
New York, 1968. 235 pages. Cloth.
This reviewer agrees wi th hlnrvill A. Johnson, Educational Research
Associate of t he Board of Par i sh Education of the Lutheran Church in
America, t ha t ". . . this is not a n important book, it's a veru important
book."
Originally published by Routledge and Kegan Paul in 1965, t h i s F i r s t
Seabury Edition br ings to the American p~tb l ic more of the collcerns of
Ronald Goldman abou t religious education. Much of the book refers to
t h e Bri t ish se t t i ng of teaching re l ig io~l in thc s t a t e schools p u r s u a ~ ~ t to
t h e Education Act of 1944. These references can be overlooked. Essen-
t ial ly, Goldman is asking, "Why is religious educatiori so inc~ffective?"
H e ignores t h e logical answer t h a t teaching rrbot6t religion cannot be
equated wi th teaching the fai th fo r life. Rather , he examines the theoreti-
ca l bases for curr iculum and method and suggests drastic changes.
Goldman gives us a popular npplicat ion of t he devclopniental psy-
chology of J e a n Piaget . We seen1 to be in the nlidst of a Piagct ian fad.
Nevertheless, educators of all kinds \vo111d do well lo fairliliarize them-
se lves wi th the concepts.
Following Piaget , Goldnian suggests t ha t beforc dcc id i l i~ what ; u ~ d
h o w t o teach religion to children, we n111st nndarstand that their cogllitive
a n d emotional abi l i t ies advance in rather sgcc.ific stagc>s. Pr ior l o t h e
a g e of thir teen, a child does not 1)osscss the 111ental slruc.1urt.s to think
abstrncl ly. Since t h e Bible is ;I book written for rtdulls, 111nr.h of i t is
unteachable t o cliildrert without "translation."
C!lildren a r e ready for religion froni n very early asc' Goldman
i n s i s t s t ha t t h i s m u s t be qualified in ternis of wliat kind of rc4igioli they
are ready for. "To teach the Christ ian fai th 'p:lre a ~ i d n ~ ~ d t ~ f i l c d ' in au
a d u l t form to chi ldren is impossible l~crnuse it i s ~ ~ ~ i r c ~ n l i s i ~ r . " 111 t h r
e a r l y years, t h e chi ld is cs t rc~l le ly cgor.c.11tric and forlns c o ~ ~ c ~ r ~ ) ~ ? ~ of 0 1 1 1 ~
Very conccrte things. Goldnlan arrivcbs a t the princi1)lr lhnl r t ' l i ~ i o a s
educai ion fo r young children s h o ~ ~ l c l be built dircrt ly 1111:)rl t hc11' Ow'n
experiences wi th na ture . ln ln~aturc \ c>oncepts o f i l ~ n r i~l ld hi):L('t' nlake
sys t ema t i c a n d chronological teaching of biblical evcnts 1 1 1 1 ~ a t i s S a ~ t 0 r ~
Goldman's thesis csglains our proble~ns w i t h youlh Ijiblc classes.
J u s t when they begin to get t he nlental c~cluipii~rnt t o ~l~ldcrslarhd thc
abs t r ac t ions of religion, their \villilignrss t o think sfrcnuo~lsly n h ~ ) u t ~t
Seems t o die. This , says the author, is becaose their csonc.epls o T (;od
h a v e been based upon the parental relationship. I n ;~tlolcsccnct: t he youth
beg ins t o reject h i s parents, and God goes with them.
It i s in teres t ing to ~ i o t e t ha t the traditional pracnt~c-cb of t'onfirnlilrg
c h i l d r e n at t h e a g e of thirteen has strong support. in l'iagcl-Coldnlnn
terms. Both intellectual and emotional rradincss for tlortrintl ;II ' (> dckcl.
oped a t t h a t point.
One cannot follow C;oldnlan in his cstini;ttes of Srl-ip111r.c l)tal>ending
u p o n one's psychological bias, one may not wish to follow' h l ~ meth-
odological directives. The important 1,oinl seems to b(. that h ~ r e 211 I('aSt
a man has held to a consistently dev~lo1)ed psycholony of cllild growth
and developlnent and translated i t in to practical pedagogy. If Piaget falls,
so will Goldman. I n view of Piaget 's highly vulnerable (one almost
wr i tes "sloppy") research techniques and h is peculiar interlningling of
scientific research and l,hilosoghical genetic epistemology, the practical
educator reads wi th interest but abides by the wise adage, " C a ~ e a t
emptor."
IZicl~cr~-rl J . S c h ~ l l f z
VISION AND TACTICS. By Gabriel RIoran. Herder a n d Herder , Xew
York, 1968. 155 pages. Cloth, $3.95; P a ~ e r , $1.95.
This reviewer finds hinlself heart i ly in accord with t h e basic theses
of Moran's book. Pract ical Christ ian educators need the theologians to
build a s t rong theological foundation under our practices. (Hence the
title, Vision ant1 Ttcctics.) Too much Christ ian education i s a patchwork
of various ( a n d often conflicting) learn ing theories, philosophies of edu-
cation, theological fancies and orthographic tricks. Fur thermore , me
clap fo r joy to read tha t if one takes seriously the theology of t h e Scrip-
tures, t h e whole focus of Christian education will sh i f t f rom children to
adults. Lutheranism, a s well a s Roman Catholicisn~, suffers froill a mis-
placed emphasis on children. T h e whole tlieological emphasis on the
theology of renewal, the church as God's 1)eople on r ~ ~ i s s i o n and the
theology of the lai ty will not be imple~rlented until we have a radical
change in the age-focus premise of Christ ian education.
Mora l ' s grirlcil)lcs and prol>osals o ~ i g l ~ t to be of interest to tlleologialls
and churchmen, even if they a re not particularly interested in child edu-
cation. H e 1)rogoses not merely new content and new niethod of religious
education, but "the large-scale changiilg of institutional pattel-11s." I-Iis
book bclongs in the "renewal of t h e llarish" l i terature.
One can readily take th i s book a s a Roman Catholic l)olemic against
Roman Catholic parochial schools. I t h a s such a n elenlent. T h e new
elelllent is that the au thor would not lilcrely drop schools. H e would
replace (luztntity wit11 quality. H e insists tha t theology can't be taught
to children. To face our kind of world, howe\-el., we need Christians who
can theologize.
JIoran's l>rol)osals are, by his o\\-n adlizission, revolutionary. Several
r e a d i n ~ s of his book would bc required to grasp and work out t hc ii1ll)lica-
tions of h i s position. I-Te is dclibprately s t rong on "vision" and sketchy
on "tactics." This is evidenced, for instance, by his suggestion tha t
hcinceforth teacher-lraining consist of sol~hist icated theology and thc eliln-
inatin,- of the old content-method approach. Teachers a r e t o become
ra ther high class theologians so tha t they call assis t in t h e formation of
the bod? of Christ and i n helping Christ ians to face the i r mission in a
secular world. Lay people would have to be committed to solnething
l ike two full ?-ears of theological s tudy before teaching in t h e parish. Their
tcachiilg would bt. ~ilostly adult education.
The new Dutch C a t e c h i s ~ l ~ i s defended ns ;t "catechism conle of age."
It is t l l c o l o g ~ for the laity ~.is-rr-~.i .? t h e seculall \\lor]d. It takes [)]Q queSm
--
Rook Reviews 6 3
t ions of the coritemporary world and throws the light of the Gospel upon
them, claims Moran.
In general, Moran demonstrates what embracing recent Catholic
t rends would mean in a prograin of parish education. One finds here
applause for freedom of conscience, denial of ultinlaie authoritarianism,
t h e theology of hope vs. the theology of faith, the arrival a t orthodoxy
v ia inductive reasoning rather than deductive assiinilation, the social
dimensions of Christian morality and many others.
Perhaps the specific post-Vatican 11 content of this book is not the
significant elenient for a non-Catholic reader. Rather, the kind of task
which the author sets for himself is the intriguing reality. He boldly
faces the probability that new theological accents callnot be nlerely lubri-
cated into existing institutional fornls. The forlns thenlselves must change.
New wine requires new skins. The book is stiillulatiilg and highly infor-
mat ive about Catholic theology and practice on the farthest frontiel-s.
Ric'hard J . S c h l ~ l t ~
TINDER IN TABASCO. By Charles Bennett. Willialll 1). Eierdnlans
Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, 196s. 213 pages. Paper. $2.95.
Charles Bennett writes an excellent analysis of the recent Presby-
t e r ian missions in Tabasco, the south eastern niost province of Mexico.
Anlong his qualifications one may illclude the author's statemei~t: "Befo1.e
in i t ia t ing the formal study of the Tabasco Chnrcll, I had visited 109 of
t h e 244 congregations on one or many occasiolls during an eight-year
Period, attending regular services in most cases. During the sanle period
I h a d made over 10,000 low-altitude flights over Tabitsco and had come to
know every community and alrllost eyery chapel and mecting placc? by
sight."
For those who must evaluate and report the work in any nlission
field th is little book call serve as a niodel. The writer has "writtcLn with
llluch devotion and love," but also "with uncoinmon conc.reteness of con-
ception." H e is not blind to sollle of the lnislakes and the "overhallg"
of European nlethods and idealism. Tile indigenous church is tlear t o his
hea r t , even if the local lninistry will be deficient in acaden~ic t.r,?illiil&' for
a t ime. Bennett also defends the Pentecostal leaders, whose work is not.
of such "poor quality" that merits the condescending sl l l i l~.
Since Tabasco borders on Guatemala and Honduras, t h i s l~lission
deserves close scrutiny on our part, since \ve are tvorking anloll:: silllilar
people. O t t o .I.'. Strlhlkc
DICTIONARY OF PROSU~CIATIOS. By Sallluel Soory. 11. S. Barnes
a n d Company, Inc., Xew Irork, 1965. 519 pages. Cloth. $7.50.
There is little doubt tllat all English-s~eaking people pay n heavy
cu l tu ra l price for the way they spell their words. English spelling is
o n e of t h e most difficult and archaiac in the world. Ilnagiue tile time
t h a t could be saved and the headaches avoided i f we \ V O U ~ ~ write Our
l anguage in a letter-to-sound manner.
These thoughts proinpted this reviewer t o bring Noory's book to Your
attention again, though it has been off the press for 3 years, in hopes
that inore of you will take a good hard look a t it and join forces with
those of US who would like to inlprove the crazy spelling of English.
Mr. Samuel Noory worked 25 years to ~ r o d u c e his Dictio?zcl?'y of
Pronunciutiolz, which is not only an excellent guide for pronunciation, but
also is a lucid analysis of English speech. The dictionary "distinguishes
variable spellings a t a glance (gray , grey) ; cross-references and defines,
again for the first time in any dictionary, the ambiguous English homo-
nyms (such as zcrife. u'right. ?-ight. r i t e ) : and introduces other original
features."
n u t nlore than that. His dictionary introduces an egoch-71~ctki?i!/
phonetic alphubet fo?. E n y l i s l ~ that is based entirely upon the reading
and writing habits of English sl~eakers. The alphabet that he proposes
is silllple and easy to read. He uses 26 sylllbols for the 37 basic sounds
that he distinguishes. All but two of these a re the same alphabet with
which we grew up. The two new characters are but slight modifications
of the familiar e and 7 r . Thus the phonetic writing that results does not
appear to be difficult or outlandish. Retween Phontypy, with i ts nlany
unfaniiliar letters, and the partial reform represented by Simplified Spell-
ing, that still contains inany "irregular spellings," lies Noory's ~ rac t ica l ,
and linguistically sound alphabet.
I n his article in the front of the book, l t ' hy . lohnny Can't Rend . Noory
Paries the usual objections of etymology, intelligibility, pronunciation,
and homonynis with skill and true linguistic insight. The last pages con-
tain Lincoln's inaugural address both in the ordinary and phonetic spell-
ings, placed side by side.
Noory feels that his work is the first realistic apl~roach in its field.
IIe believes that it will "simplify ini~nensely the phonetic idea in English,
and ~ a v e the way for a pronouncing systeni, and ultimately for a spelling.
as easy to learn and as virile as the language itself."
Otto (1. I f i 7 l t z ~
THE PREACHER'S HERITAGE, TASIC, S N D RESOURCES. By Ralph
G. Turnbull. Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, 1968. 178 pages.
l>a])cr. $2.95.
Tlic author is pastor of the large First Presbyterian Church of Seattle,
kVasliington. 1Ie foriilerly served as P~~ofe s so r f Homiletics a t Western
Theological Senii~iary, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and has held pastorates
i n Grcat Britain, Canada, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A frequent
lecturer a t l'astor's Institutes, Church Conferences, and Seminaries, the
rore of his book consists of ten lectures in the field of practical theology
and p r c a c h i n ~ niodified for presentation in book form. Under the preach-
er's heritage the author discnsses the Puritan, Evangelical, and Liberal
influences and thc~ir interaction. The 1)rcacher's task is considered i n
terms of its aims, difficulties, and opportunities. In collnection with t he
prcacllt3r's resources the author speaks of the use of Puritan and neforllled
standards, the urgency of preaching, the evangel in preaching, and the
i l n ~ o r t a n c e and influence of the pulpit.
I n the first part of the book the author contends that neither human-
isnl nor scientific natnralism can explain the Ainerican way of life. That
social concerns, materialistic pursuits, and idealistic politics dominate
our life does not obviate the fact that "we are the heirs of religious
forces" (1). 80) . "The history of A~ner ica testifies abundantly to t h e power
a n d influence of the preacher with the Christian inessage" (p. 12) . The
Dulllit, he believes, still has a unique opportunity to reach men. No
o ther agency secures the minds of inen to listen. People do not come out
every week, year af ter year, to listen to a politician. Rut illillioils still
a t t end the word of the preacher, expecting to hear some Word of the
L o r d through his lips (1). 76) .
Other millions do not listen to the preacher, however, and i t is with
th i s 1)roblem of reaching p e o ~ l e outside the church that the author con-
cerns himself in t h e second part of the book. After describing 111:1n as
seen through lllodern fiction, he nlakes clear that men wiIl not be con-
ver ted (conversion is oil^ of the ailils of preaching) by Iowerinfi o w
s tandards o r by changing our message. Not even a change of 1anfiua:i.c
to becollle l ike "the outsider" will do it. While Paul and his comi~anions
Presented thei r message in the speech of that day, they also brought new
ideas, new words, new concepts. A Ronian world order, a Gl-eek-speaking
l)eople, were confrorited with Hebre\\r idcas. The breakthrough \\.as
accolnplished not by accommodatioll hut by the preaching of truths wliich
answered the questiolls in the llrofonnd drpths of man's bciiig. At the
Sallle time, the preacher must be vital in spirit. Fervor and corivic-ti011
a r e needed. This does not call for shouting but intensity. l ~ i i r t l ~ ~ r i i i o r e ,
t h e preacher who would win lnen must have tllc slicplirrd-htlart; 1ir ~iiust
be knowledgeable and esl)eric>nced, watchful and si~icerc
T h e author does not oversimplify the task of r re aching. In i l l ( > third
P a r t of llis book h e poillts out that thtt Cospcl nlust he preached in t h e
l igh t of man's needs in this generation. Every ajic has I ~ S s l ~ ~ c i n l 1)erils
a n d needs. Prophetic l~reachers a re needed ~ I i o have the: insight to srr
t h e tillles in which we live ill the light of God. This calls for wisdom
a n d discernment. \Vhat was 0rigin;illy l)rc.acblled and recorded is 11i('n
"rel>reached as eternal truth for thc 1)l.esent n ~ c " (I) . 130).
Turllbull is well acquai~lted with t h c Biblc and wit11 othcr lltcrnlure.
T h e bibliography a t the end of the book reveals a jildiciolis Use of a wid(;
r a n g e of theological works. Fro111 this niatcrial the :luthW' draws striki11.r:
vignettes and percelltive insights. IIis own solidly Scril)tllral and cv:ln-
gelical stance together wit11 his scllsible c ~ l l ~ l ~ l ~ i o n ~ con]l)ine to 1~rodll('c
a book on preaching that is instructive nlld inh1)irirl~.
Gcrlrcr?'tl -1710
FROM THE ROCK TO THE G-kTES O F I-IEIAIJ. By Andrew IV. Iilack-
wood, Jr. Raker Book House, Grand Ral~ids, 19GS. 127 pages. Cloth
$3.95.
S o n of t h e late holllileticiall a t 1'1.inc-eton, Andrew I!lackwood, .JI'. has
a claim to fame as a preacher in his own right.
This series of eight serlnons is specifically directed to the church
whose skies a re nlore and lllox-e darkened by the verbage and the problems
of the secular theology. T h e concerns of the recent nlovements in Chris-
tianity are applied constructively to the man in the pew. More specifically,
each sermon centers around a different aspect of the church's c o r ~ o r a t e
life. Topics discussed include the origin of t h e church, the church as the
body of Christ, the church as the center of the Spirit's activity, the church
as i t confronts the ecumenical inovernent, worship, Christian leadership,
the church and civil affairs, and the fu tu re of religionless Christianity.
This book will serve well that pastor who wants to take a doctrinally
sound approach to the church in the contemporary setting. But for those
IJastol-s, who consciences a r e not so tender, these sermons can be preached
ill t o t o with only a few alterations here and there. Clackwood's n~e thod
of inundating a congregation with Biblical data and contelr~porary con-
cerns in rapid fire succession would make fo r successful preaching in any
1)ulpit. llctcicl P. Srttcl'
-- - 1 --
THE SILEh'T TH0USAKI)S SPEAK. 13y Charles E. Blair. Zo~~derva l l
Publishing I-Iousc, Grand Rapids, 19G8. 149 pages. Cloth. $3.95.
I t was Niebuhr who said, "There is nothing so irrelevant as a n
answer to a question that is not being asked." Ministers, of coursc, lla\'e
often been accused o f answering questions that no one was asking. This
book rel~resents the results of trying to determine, scientifically, wha t
i)t'o~)lt? really wanted to hear from the pulpit. After methodically 1)olling
large audiences froin bot.11 inside rind outside the church, the wri t ten
rerluests of five tliousnlld respondents were analyzed by a co~nl)utc!r, and
arranged in order of tllc? ten snbjects people wanted most to hear dis-
cussed. Tlle poll revealed not ollly the g e ~ ~ e r a l subjects of highest interest
bllt also those details within cach subject that peol)le wanted to have
cxi~lainecl. Armed with this inforniation, the author prepared and delivered
a series of "The Ten 3Iost Asked-For Sermons Of Our Day."
Charles E. Blair is the pastor of Calvary Temple, Denver, Colorado,
an j~iterdenonlin;lt,ional church tllat is somet.hing of a 1)henonlenon on t h e
-4lllerican scene. This single chllrch supports \vholly or in part, o n e
hundred th1.t.e ~n i s s io l~ary falnilies in forty-three countries. Blair h a s
an hour-long Sunday telecast fro111 l ~ i s church each Sunday, and collducts
a. half-llour radio counsc?lling service five days n ~veek.
The tell tcq~ics lliat the respondents listed a re : Where Are JVe 111
Pro i )hec~? How Can I Find God's Will I'or RIy Life? What Will H e a v e n
n e Like? II'iliit Is The Fornlula For a EIapl)y Home Life? How Call I
Live n Full and Effective Life? Hou- Can I Overcome Fear? How Can I
I-'ra\- Effectively'! \\'hat Exactly I s Salvation? How Can I Deal JVith
~ t ~ l ~ t i o l l a l Stresses'! l3ow no 1 Have F a i t h ?
and large tllc sermons are soundly Scriptural and exude g r e a t
\+:;ir111tk and understanding. The style is plain and direct.. While so lne
of the sermons arc scattered, ]lot as tightly structured as they migh t be.
Illair does a nlasterful joh of letting the Scripture speak to the v a r i o u s
needs of ucoplc. Idis ouoting of Scriptrrre is ~le~btinent, and his illustra=
- Book Revicws 6 7
t ions make many of the abstract ~Veligious colicepts meaningful. There
i s always the danger in 1)roblein-centered preaching tha t one focuses Illore
on People than on Christ and the Gospel, but Blair has achieved a healthy
balance. His down-to-earth discussion of peol,lels needs and God's answers
t o those llceds is worthwllile reading.
Gei.hav(l .1h0
ALL LOVES EXCELLING. Aillerican Protestallt Wonlen in World Mis-
sion. BY R. Pierce R e a v e ~ . TVm. 73. Eerdinans Publishing Col1ll~anY,
Grand Rapids, 1968. 227 pages. Paper. $2.95.
Agaill Dr. Beaver conles forth with more very useful nlnt.erial on t,lle
rise and dcveloplllent of American ~nissions.
T h i s t ime he surveys the American protestant women's world ~ n i s -
s i O n a r ~ mO~enlerlt ' that began with a Cent Society and tt wolnen's inite.
he traces i t s development from a Miss hIary Webb. an invalid
in a wheelchair, who gathered together 14 13apt.ist and Collgrogationnl
wOnlen on October 9, 1500, and orgarlized the I:lost.on Fcillale Socicty for
Pur1)oses. Women were to (:ontribute their lllites towartl the
of the (iospel. Their dues were $2.00 annually. Soon other wolncn
over New England and eventually all oyt!~. the country copied t l l ~
exalnple of the wolllell ill rjostoll. ~ l l e y met lvitll stiff 01)position fro111
the lllen who thought that \vomen had n o ljlac'e i n such work 011 thclii-
Own. At length they overcalne this opposit.ioll, but nc.vtXr conll)lett:lv.
~ i O l l l e n ' ~ lllission efforts centered on honic. ~nissions a t first.. but
a r o u n d 1812 branched out into foreign ulissiolis. 'rhc sailing of the first
P a r t y of l~~ i s s i ona r i e s fro111 Xlnericii t.0 India had much l o (lo with th:lt.
Tirives of missionaries in overseas (:ountl-ies elicited a gr(:;lt deal of
i n t e r e s t and supl,(lrt f r o m wonlen at, ]lnlllc. \vidows who S ~ R Y P ~ 011 or'
r e t u r n e d in place of their. deceased hlrs1)~nds becanie t h o forcrllrln(:r:: of
s i n g l e wonlell 111issional.irs \vho~ll hoards (?vent ually sent abroa(1. l i e r e
a g a i n was ~ n u c h opl,ositioll to the stxllding of si l~glc "defenseless w o l l ~ ~ l . "
Gradual ly t h e wolllpn forlned their own ljoards whicll \\.ere scndillg
agencies . I t was the only way in which rhey ,\-ere ablc 10 ~ f ? t I.@'@
pol icy making, determining strategy, and admillistration. At c\cl'Y
--children, teell-age girls yollng wnmt:l~---the~-r was illl.ensi\.(.' clllti1.ii-
t i o n of stewardsllil, alld systelllatic giving t i , S1l~l)ort the overSt:as pro-
grams of an evangelistic, educational, medical and philanfhrol)ic nature.
T h e y s e n t orlt Illany single wolllell who did o~ltstandil~.z kirlgdolll lvork.
Wonlen's boards united to accoinplisll thirlgs that individual ones
coll ld no t .
W i t h full p r ~ r t i c i ~ a t i o n 111 t h e \vorld lllissio~l by thc wonlen, allegatiolls
fro111 t h e officials of the denominational hoards (111erl) concerning C @ l l -
f u s i o n , duglicatjoll, over-emli]lasis 011 one aspect of ~rlis.;inn cork,
of m o n e y fo r tire gelleral cause, cle. arosi: lllorc f requcn t l~ force full^,
Then lletweoll l f j 1 0 a n d 196.1 the women's hoards were intecmted into t h e
denominat ional boards, at t,i]lres Being coei-ced
t h i s
~~r.OCeSs was gencrslly achieved b y the end of tfle 1920's.
Women continued to exert influence thru the administrative posts
allowed them. But progressively throughout the years the number of
these posts has declined, as has the influence of the women. As these
waned, so also did the participation in the world mission effort. Now'
since the decade of 1810 to 1820, commitment, to world missions has never
been so low.
Dr. Beaver's book makes inforinative and inspiring reading for any-
one, but especially for the members of our Lutheran Women's Missionary
League. There is a good sprinkling of the life stories of great wonlen
throughout his book. I t is a must for the officials of the League to read,
for there a r e many important lessons to be learned from the history of
the work of other women. Finally, those in our Synod who are making
a study of the relationship of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and
the Lutheran Women's ilIissionary League should ponder Dr. Beaver's
interpretation and conclusions.
Otto G . IIi?lfze
Rooks Reccived
BOOKS RECEIVED
filflck Q?zd If'rce. 1lx Ton] S l i i ~ ~ n e r . Zondcrvnn I'r~blisliing Jlonsc, Gr:lnd Rapids,
1%S. 154 pages. Clo t l~ . $".!).i.
T'hc Infol l iblc 1Ferd. I:y Facu l ty of 1%-cst~ninstrr Theo1ogic:rl Semin i l~ .~ . Presby-
t e r i a n a n d ReEorlned P n b l i s l ~ i l ~ g Company, Phi1ndrlphi:l. 194G. 30s pages.
P a ~ e l ' . $2.05. Reprint , 1968.
7% Second Epist le of l 'e tcr cr~td Iltc 1;pistlt: of Jude. I:y Michael Green. Wnl. 13.
Nerdmans l 'uhl is l~ing C O I I I ~ ~ I I Y , Grand Ilapids, 196s. 192 pages. Cloth. $3.95.
A ~ T e ~ ~ ~ Z ' M l o s o ~ l i ~ of Lifc. Gy J. 13. Wegerif. Phi losopl~ical Library. S c ~ v l'ork,
IDFS. 290 pages. Cloth. $ i . ! )S .
W71,flt is tltc Qucstiori? B y I Ia r ry N. I iushold. Concordia 1'1lblislli11g EIOUSC, St.
I ~ o u i s , 1966. 91 pages. Clotll. $2.95.
Runshinc. 13y Jock l'lirvea. rrhe I3anuc.r of T r u t h T r u s t , Lo!idon, 106s. 206
Pages. P:ipcr. ( K O price given).
Crisis a?zd C'reetl.. L:y 0. l 'homns Jlilcs. Ivillinln 1%. I.;erdlnnns IJr~l)Jisl~i~~:: Conipnng,
G r a n d Ral~ ids , 1966. 62 pages. l>apcr. $1.6;.
B?J O ~ t h Consigned. I3v Jlcreditli (;. Klincb. W i l l i a l ~ ~ 1;. I C ~ r d ~ ~ l n n s I'ublishing C01ll-
paily. Grand 11:rpids. 106s. 110 1):lgc.s. Cloth. $3.75.
Soul rebook fo r ~YpcczLcr,~. l g l e a ~ ~ o r Don!i. %oiidei-ran I ~ u l ~ l i s h i n g House, (:rand
Rar)ids, 1068. 407 pages. Clotll. $ 5 . 0 ~ .
C?-~~C*,' .Y Compizt Co?zco+da.i~ce. l3y Alexander Cruclcn. John 12adic. Editor. %on-
d c r v a n Publishing ZZousc, Grand Rapids. I!lCil. 56:: pages. Clotli. 83.95.
Py-eff l~e to Puri.uh ltcnclr-(17. E y n7al]a(.t: I,]. I~Tsl~er . -\bingdon I'rcas. Silshvillc, 196s.
14.3 pages. Pnlwr. $I . i s .
T7ae G r c a t Lig11.t. IEy Jamcls .\t\tin:ion. mill. I:. I