Full Text for CTM Book Review 20-6 (Text)

I I die l:ic .ar} nJchl angre1fel\ una mit f llscher Lehre vcr- !uehren llfld Irrtum eln!u~hren. Es isl kein Ding. daa die Idlute mehr bel der Kirebe behaelt denn die gute Predigt. - Apo!ogte, Art. 24 Lu.thcT If the tru""''let give an uncertain ~oWld. who shall prepare hlmself to the battic? -1 C OT . 14. :8 Published by The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod CONCORDIA. PUBLISHING BOUSE, St. Louis 18, Mo. I'UII'ftD Dr U. s .... Book Review All books reviewed in this periodical may be procured from or through Con- cordia Publishing House, 3558 S. Jefferson Ave., st. Louis 18, Mo. Studying His Word. By Oscar E. Feucht. Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis. 1948. 6 X 8%, 80 pages. 50 cents. In order that Synod's Centennial Bible Study Resolution may be more than a paper gesture, the Board for Parish Education instructed its secretary for adult education, the Rev. O. E. Feucht, to write a congregational manual to help build Bible-studying parishes. The choice of author was excellent, and Studying His Word was the result. Here every pastor, Bible class teacher, and congregational board of education will find practical suggestions for the establishment and continuance of Bible classes particularly at the adult level. The author has set forth ten steps which he believes will lead to a Bible-studying parish. Each of these steps is sketched briefly and compact1y in separate chapters to make the manual a "must" for every congregation if it is really in earnest to "increase in the knowledge of God" and be "fruitful in every good work." ARTHUR C. REPp Notes on the New Testament, Acts of the Apostles. By Albert Barnes. Edited by Robert Frew. Baker Book House. Grand Rapids 6, Mich. 391 pages, 9 X 6. $3.00. This is the third volume of the new edition of Barnes' ex- planatory and practical Notes by the Baker Book House of Grand Rapids, Mich., and it has all the advantages of the two preceding volumes: enlarged type, numerous additional notes, a series of en- gravings, an exhaustive index to the Notes on Acts, and, above all, a fine chronological arrangement of the events "from Christ's ascension to the termination of the period in which the Gospel was preached to proselytes of righteousness, and to the Jews only" ; in short, from ca. A. D. 29 to 96. Students who have secured the two volumes on the Gospels should by all means add to their library the other volumes as they now rapidly appear. Should the expense be too great, let the Sunday schools support the venture, since it was in the interest of the Sunday school teachers that Barnes originally wrote his Notes. The make-up of the book is excellent, the print legible, and the exposition brief, but thorough and satisfactory. JOHN THEODORE MUELLER Our Christian Heritage. By J. K. van Baalen. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Mich. 423 pages, 9% X6%. $4.50. Who Say Ye That I Am? Wm. Childs Robinson, Editor. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Mich. 173 pages, 8 X 5%. $2.50. Here are two books which the reviewer warmly recommends to his brethren in the ministry despite the fact that they have been written by Reformed authors and that the Reformed doctrine (in the first of the two books) is at times much in evidence. But both works contain so much worth-while material for pastoral application that they are worthy of careful study. Dr. van Baalen [478] BOOK REVIEW 479 in his book offers a comprehensive exposition of the Apostles' Creed, the Ten Commandments, and the Lord's Prayer. He shows a fine grasp of the fundamentals of the Christian faith, adduces much valuable illustrative and apologetic material, and points out helpful older and more recent books by which the student may continue his studies in the three chief parts of the Christian faith which he treats. Dr. van Baalen is a conservative Reformed scholar and as such vigorously opposed to modernism and rational- ism. His expositions, the reviewer thinks, lose very much by his not having been guided by Luther's excellent explanations of the Decalog, the Creed, and the Lord's Prayer. But the book, as said before, repays thorough study, especially its apologetic contributions. Dr. Robinson's book offers the "Six Dunn Award Theses on the Deity of Christ." Dr. (LL. D.) Robert A. Dunn was a prominent layman of the Southern Presbyterian Church and endowed the chair of Apologetics at Columbia Theological Seminary with a per- manent fund "as a tribute to his faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and in recognition of his loyal devotion and service to Him." Dr. W. C. Robinson, professor of Apologetics at Columbia Theo- logical Seminary, is merely the editor of the book. The essays were written under his supervision by advanced students in Apologetics, some of whom are now teaching theology, while others are doing pastoral work. The general theme of the book is "The Witness to the Deity of Christ." The seven essays treat: 1. The Witness of the Immediate Context (Matt. 16: 13-28); 2. The Witness of Matthew; 3. The Witness of Mark; 4. The Witness of Luke; 5. The Witness of John; 6 and 7. The Witness of Paul. The essays are clear, thorough, Scriptural, and supply excellent material for sermon and lecture work. JOHN THEODORE MUELLER Steps Toward a Singing Church. By Donald D. Kettring. The Westminster Press. Philadelphia 7, Pa. 355 pages, 6%X9lh. $4.50. According to its Foreword, this volume "is a study in in- augurating, organizing, and administering the Church choral pro- gram." The sobriety, balance, and all-inclusiveness of this very carefully prepared book prompt us to recommend the volume not only to church musicians, but also to pastors and others who desire to carry out a well-integrated choral program within their parish. The author's musical and theological training are reflected on many pages of the volume, as is likewise his wide and successful experience as a church musician. Because of the exhaustive treat- ment of its subject, the book will not easily be replaced by another more worthy. A few points mentioned by the author will not find ready acceptance in Lutheran circles. The title "minister of music" does not find much favor among Lutheran theologians and clergymen, who insist, and with good reason, that the word "min- ister" be applied to those only who publicly proclaim the Word and administer the Sacraments in the services of worship of the Church. Some of the choral music recommended will hardly be well suited for a genuinely Lutheran service of worship. Never- theless, the book contains so much that is good and helpful and so little to which one might take exception that we do not hesitate to recommend the book quite heartily to those who desire to make fuller use of the potentialities of the parish in which they are privileged to serve. WALTER E. BUSZIN 480 BOOK REVIEW Proceedings of the Thirty-ninth Convention of the California and Nevada District of The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod Assembled at California Concordia College, Oakland, Cali- fornia, June 21 to 24, 1948. 42 pages. Concordia Publishing House, St .. Louis, Mo. 59 cents net. Contains the record of official business. Proceedings of the Twenty-fourth Convention of the English District of The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod Held at River Forest, Ill., June 14 to 18, 1948. Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, Mo. 117 pages. 45 cents net. In addition to the record of official business the Proceedings contain a six-page outline of the lectures by Dr. Rehwinkel on "The Christian and the Social Order." Proceedings of the Twenty-ninth Convention of the Texas District of The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod Assembled at San Antonio, Tex., June 7-11, 1948. Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, Mo. 85 pages. 27 cents net. In addition to the records of official business the Proceedings contain an eight-page outline of Dr. Rehwinkel's essay "The Christian in the World Today." F. E. MAYER BOOKS RECEIVED From Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, Mo.: Portals of Prayer. No. 90. "The Great Amen." Daily Devotions from April 17 to June 7, 1949. By Dr. O. P. Kretzmann. Single copies, 10 cents, postpaid. Sie sahen niemand als Jesum allein. Andachten fuer die Zeit vom 18. April bis zum 7. Juni 1949. By Dr. Henry Nau. Single copies, 10 cents, postpaid. Concordia Bible Teacher. Vol. X, No.3. $1.00 per annum. Concordia Bible Student. Vo1. XXXVIII, No.3. 65 cents per annum. Edited by Dr. J. M. Weidenschilling under the auspices of the Board for Parish Education, The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod. "The Christian and His Leisure Time," April-June, 1949. From Ernst Kaufmann, Inc., New York: First Things. Vo1. I, Old Testament. By Dr. L. B. Buchheimer. 93 pages, 5% X 8. 60 cents. First Things. Vol. II, New Testament. By Dr. L. B. Buch- heimer, 96 pages, 5lj4 X 8. 60 cents. From The Lockwood Luminary, Lockwood, Mo.: Partners with God. By Waldo J. Werning. 51 pages, 5%X8. 1 to 5 copies, 40 cents each; 6 or more copies, 35 cents each.