Concou()io Theol 'gicol Montbly APRIL 1950 BOOK REVIEW All books reviewed in this periodical may be procured from or through Concordia Publishing House, 8558 South Jefferson Avenue, St. Louis 18, Missouri. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT. By Edward J. Young. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Mich., 1949. 5% X 8%, 414 pages. $5.00. During and since the war, Old Testament scholarship in general has shown a trend in the direction of a more positive approach to the meaning and value of the Old Testament. The contents of the Old Testament are again graced with the term "theology" after many years of discussing "the religion of Jahweh" or "the religion of the Hebrews." Thus: Baab, O. J., The Theology of the Old Testament, 1949; Eichrodt, W., Theologie des Alten Testaments, 3 vols., 1949. Other publications have stressed the authority of the Old Testament. Thus: Hebert, Arthur G., The Authority of the Old Testament, 1947. However, the basic theory of the origin of the Old Testament has not changed. While a number of authors have shown more sanity, it is still basically the Eichorn-Graf-Wellhausen, etc., theory of the historical development of the Old Testament books that appears in Introductions with almost painful sameness. Thus: Weiser, A., Binleitung in das A. T., 1949. This assumption also underlies the more constructive publications in the general field of Old Testament interpretation. A book may have a fine title such as Vas Christuszeugnis im A. T., W. Vischer, and contain such fine statements as: "The New Testament shows us who the Christ is, the Old Testament shows us what the Christ is," yet the author accepts in toto the J-E-D-P theory of the origin of the Pentateuch. What a relief to find a new Introduction that is not under the spell of the so-called historicocritical school! It will be welcomed, especially since it is the first thorough discussion of its kind to appear in the English language for some time. The reader is aware at once that the author is not going to deal fast and loose with Scripture truths. He begins to define his viewpoint in words such as these: "In approaching the Bible, therefore, we need to remember that it is sacred ground. We must approach it with humble hearts, ready to hear what the Lord says." (P. 10.) He continues to quote with approval Warfield's book The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible: "Revelation is but half revelation unless it be infallibly communicated; it is but half communicated unless it be infallibly recorded." While this statement may be interpreted as claiming infallibility for existing manuscripts of the Bible, the reader will not find the author supporting an origin of the Old 315 318 BOOK REVIEW briefly of the author, the date and place of wfltmg, the destination, and give an outline of the contents, The readability which the author strove for, I believe, he has achieved. One is carried forward without effort and might almost fancy to be reading a modern document. As to the translation itself, I do not think that the author everywhere caught the real meaning of the sacred text. Rom. 1 :4, f. i., is not correctly rendered in the words, "patently marked out as the Son of God by the power of that Spirit of holiness which raised Him to life again from the dead." The meaning is: "Patently marked out, .in keeping with His being divine, as powerful Son of God by being raised from the dead." Similar instances where the meaning of the original was not fully apprehended by the translator could easily be submitted. But as far as I can determine, the New Testament teachings, generally speaking, are brought out dearly, and the work can be used to good advantage by all Bible students. Of the introductions, the one on Second Peter is the only one which is negative in the view taken of the genuineness of the Letter in question. Besides, it opens with the incorrect statement: "This is the only letter of the New Testament whose authenticity has been disputed." That is not an adequate report on what church history tells us on the distinction made in the third and fourth centuries between homologou1nena and u,ntilegoJ}'],&fta. W.ARNDT THE CHURCH THROUGH THE AGES. The Story of God's Grace to Mankind from the Creation to the Present Day. By S. J. Roth and Wm. A. Kramer. Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, Mo. 1949. 587 pages, 5 Y2 X 8. $2.50. Here is a text for which Lutheran schools have long been waiting. It presents the history of God's people in theif world setting from the dawn of creation to the present time. Its thirty chapters are divided into three sections, of which the first section relates the history of God's people in the Old Testament, the second the history of the New Testament Church up to the Reformation, and the third that of Protestantism, particularly of the Lutheran Church, to the present day, with due emphasis given to The Lutheran Church -Missouri Synod. The book is so arranged that the material may be covered in three quarters of nine weeks each, with a lesson a day, in Grades Six to Eight. The three grades may be taught as one class in schools where one teacher is responsible for a number of grades. Helpful teaching aids are added under the title of "Talking It Over." The book meets the high standards of the publisher. It is printed on good paper in clear type and -an important requirement in schoolbooks -is well bound. It is profusely illustrated and throughout shows the experienced hand of its authors, who are thoroughly familiar with teaching techniques. Parents will enJoy reading this interesting book with their children. 1. W. SPITZ BOOK REVIEW 319 THE GLORY OF CHRIST. By John Owen. Edited, and with a biographical sketch of the author, by Wilbur M. Smith. Moody Press, Chicago. 1949. 285 pages,S V2 X 8V2. $3.00. This is the last work of John Owen, the great Puritan divine. Of him the editor says: "John Owen, after years of laboring for and meditating upon Christ, now in the year of his death, gives us here, as it were, the fruit of these y e a r ~ of living in Christ and of Christ living in bim." Owen was at one time or another dean of Christ Church, Oxford, vice-chancellor of Oxford University, and chaplain to Lord Cromwell. In spite of his busy life as a preacher and administrator, he produced some of the most massive theological works of his time, the second half of the seventeenth cenmry. The design of the book, says the author, "is to declare some part of that glory of our Lord Jesus Christ which is revealed in the Scripture and proposed as the principle object of our faith, love, delight, and admiration." John Owen was a disciple of John Calvin and does not deny his theological heritage. One can only wish, however, that all disciples of Calvin today would share his profound love for Jesus and reverent awe in the presence of His glory. 1. W. SPITZ CHRISTIANITY AND AMERICAN EDUCATION. By Edwin H. Rian. The :;:·.Jaylor COH.1pany, SaIl Antonio, Tex,? 1949. GxSyZ, ix and 268 pages. $3.00. One of the better books in religious education published in recent years, Christianity and American Education pictures Protestant education in the United States as it is today, and because of its clear-cut delineation it is a must for the Christian educator and pastor. In order to give a perspective to such a portrayal, the author sketches the history of the public school system down to our present times, pointing out the various philosophies which have had their influence upon our schools. It is the author's thesis, and he makes a good cause for it, that the underlying philosophy of public education today is naturalism. This anti-Christian philosophy pervades the textbooks and the teacher-training schools and has shown its effects in the realm of morals, literature, society, and truth. After devoting a section to the development of Roman Catholic schools in this country, he points out that its strength lies not so much in its size and scope as in the fact that ir has a clearly defined philosophy of education which is an answer to the "challenge of modern, naturalistic education and is carrying out the full meaning of that answer with every force at its command" (p. 179). In the third section the author investigares the question, What is Protestantism doing to meet the threat of a naturalistic public education? Before he presents his answer, he examines what various Protestant groups are doing at present. The first to be considered is the educational system of 320 BOOK REVIEW The Lutheran Church -Missouri Synod. In his evaluation he has put his finger upon a weak spot by emphasizing the fae::t that our Synod has not formulated a comprehensive and integrated philosophy of education. The strength of our schools lies not in its numbers, but in the fact that every teacher and administrator must be a believer in Christianity. Protestants aware of the challenge have tried to meet the educational needs in various ways, particularly through the Sunday school and the released-time. classes. Rian rejects these substitutes as inadequate for real integrated Christian education. In turn he proposes a system of schools from the kindergarten to the university. He realizes that such a program is ambitious because the Protestant Church would have to become convinced of the importance of religious education. "The present state of affairs reflects either ignorance or a conviction that maybe Christianity is only a good way of life and thought, and that other ways are equally true and eventually lead to God" (p. 229). As a definite proposal, the author believes that the first step would be the establishment of a Protestant university. While some may plead for a number of universities, one established along Calvinistic, another according to Lutheran, and another according to Arminian lines, the present emergency does not allow for three universities, but only for one. The author concedes that Protestant education will never attain its goal unless it is undergirded by a Christian philosophy of education. One may not agree with some proposals of Rian, but he has succeeded in reflecting the present status of American education and the challenge with which Protestantism is faced in America. It is also clear that Protestantism has lost its leadership by default. Edwin H. Rian is now vice-president of Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas. A graduate of Princeton, he has studied as a Princeton fellow at Berlin and Marburg universities. He is a member of the Pres-byterian Church. ARTHUR C. REpp PASTORAL CARE OF THE SICK. By J. C. Heuch. Translated from the Norwegian by J. Melvin Moe. Augsburg Publishing House, Minneapolis, Minn. 146 pp., 8X5%. $1.50. In these days of steadily increasing literature on the various phases of pastoral counseling, literature which so often lacks the Christian approach, it is refreshing, indeed, to read a volume which is at once soundly and vigorously Lutheran. In six well-done chapters the author addresses himself to the many problems with which a pastor is faced in the sickroom to supply him with the special insight, skill, and technique needed for this most important work of the Christian ministry. Here is .a book that can be used with great profit. OTTO E. SOHN