Full Text for CTM Book Review 19-4 (Text)

Qtnurnr~tu lUqrnlngirul itnut~l!J Continuing L EHRE UND ~EHRE MAGAZIN FUER Ev.-LuTH. HOMILETIK THEOLOGICAL QUARTERLY-THEOLOGICAL MONTHLY Vol. XIX April, 1948 No. 4 CONTENTS Page A Royal Priesthood, 1 Pet. 2:9. W. Arndt ._ .......... ............ _ .................. _ 241 The Timeless God in Time. J. T. Mueller __________ 250 John Chrysostom, the Preacher. John H. C. Fritz ._ ........ _ .. ........ _ ..•... 262 Pastoral PsychololO·. C. A. Behnke . .......... _______ .. _______ ._. _____ ...... _ .. _ .. . _ 270 The Nassau Peri copes ___ ._ .. _______ . ___ .. _____ .. _. ___ .. __ ... ___ . ____ ._ __________ ________ 280 Miscellanea ____ .. _ .. __ __ .. _ ...... _. __ ..... __ ........ ____ ._. ___________ .. _ ________ __ . __ ._ 292 Theological Observer ---.. -.... -.--___ ._._._ .. .. _. ______ .... _ .. ___ . __ ___ . __ ........ _____ _ 301 Book Review .. _ .......... . _. . .. .. __ ...................... _. __ .... _. _____ .... , _____ ' _ __ 316 Ein Prediger muss Dicht alleln ",ei- den, also dass er die Schafe unter- weise, wie sie rechte Christen soDen selD, sondern auch daneben den Woel- fen lDehren, dass sle die Schafe Dicht angreiten und mit falscher Lehre ver- fuehren und Irrtum elnfuehren. LutheT Es ist kelD Ding, das die Leute mehr bel der Kirche behaelt denn die gute Predigt_ - Apologfe, Art. 14 If the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle? -1 eM. 14:8 Published by the Ev. Luth. Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States CONCORDIA PUBLISHING HOUSE, St. Louis 18, Mo. rUlftD IN V • •• &. Book Review AlI books reviewed In this periodical may be procured from or through CoIl- eori1a Publishing House, 3558 S. Jefferson Ave., St. Louis 18, Mo. The Combined Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Com- piled, arranged, and published by Russell Hubbard White. The Colonial Press Inc., Clinton, Mass. 1947. 113 pages. $3.00. This is another of many attempts to harmonize the four Gos- pels. The text is that of the King James Version "presented in nine parts under 132 subjects portraying the life and teachings of Jesus." "As a result of the arrangement, it was possible to eliminate 1,116 verses of purely duplicate material as contained in the four separate Gospels, thus avoiding needless repetition." All verses are identified by sources in marginal notes, and an appendix shows the elimination. The text is readable. There are two columns to a page. The price is an outrage even though the paper is good. Mr. F. A. Behymer, who reviewed the book in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, described the author's procedure as follows: "White's material was two copies of the King James Version, his equipment a pair of shears, a paste pot, and a pile of markers. He clipped the Bibles and sorted the clippings into piles by sub- jects, using red chips to mark a verse or group from one gospel and white ones for the matching passages in the other gospels. Selecting the verse or verses with the most meaning for him, he moved the red chip to that passage and eliminated the others." Truly, an example of the bad side of American pragmatism. The compilation shows an utter disregard for chronological sequence of events. We are informed that Mr. White is on a lec- ture tour attempting to introduce his book into Sunday school and Bible classes. We cannot recommend his Combined Gospels. PAUL M. BRETSCHER New Testament Greek Grammar. By W. E. Vine. Pickering & Inglis Ltd., London. 1947. 228 pages. $2.75. In this day and age when books are expensive, it makes one exceedingly happy that publishers are not hesitant to produce texts bearing on the Greek of the New Testament. Obviously there is a growing market for these materials. Bruce M. Metzger's Le::r:ical Aids for Students of New Testament Greek appeared last year (see review in CONCORDIA THEOLOGICAL MONTHLY, 1947, p. 314). Because of its great demand, Macmillan republished recently Dana and Mantey's A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament. A. T. Robertson's A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research has been reprinted. Before me lies a copy of the seventh edition of Blasz-Debrunner's Grammatik des neutestamentliehen Griechisch, 1943. One of the most funda- mental changes in the new edition is the use of Roman type in place of Gothic. It will also interest our readers to know that the 17th edition of Eberhard Nestle's Novum Testamentum Graece, published in 1941, is now reaching America in larger quantities. Vine's New Testament Greek Grammar, which appeared a [316] BOOK REVIEW 317 number of years ago, is now available in a reprint. We fully agree with the statement by Francis Davidson in the Foreword of this book: "Mr. Vine's progressive method and the direct use of the Greek New Testament are his own. No better book can be put into the hands of those who have no previous knowledge of learn- ing languages. It is worthy of a place in any 'Teach Yourself' series, especially in this revised edition. Designed for the lay reader, it will also find a place in the equipment of others, who wish to feed firsthand upon the Word of God and give themselves to its glorious ministry." The author has packed much material into few pages. He makes ample use of New Testament selections to demonstrate grammatical principles. The student who has mastered the ma- terials in Vine's book will be well on his way toward achieving a fine comprehension of the language of the New Testament and will be delighted at the prospect that he can read many sections in the New Testament without much difficulty. We wholly sub- scribe to the author's statement: "Patience and perseverance are required, but the student who has a few hours to spare in the course of a month will soon make progress and find that he is experiencing a new delight in the intelligent reading of the actual words by which 'Men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Ghost' (2 Pet. 1: 21)." PAUL M. BRETSCHER Hebrews in the Greek New Testament for the English Reader. By Kenneth S. Wuest. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Com- pany, Grand Rapids, Mich. 1947. 271 pages. $2.50. This is volume nine in the series of New Testament manuals prepared by Mr. Wuest, teacher of New Testament Greek in Moody Bible Institute, Chicago. Also this volume compares favor- ably with its predecessors. It is divided into four parts: Historical Background of the Letter; Analysis of the Letter; Exegesis of the Letter; and An Expanded Translation of the Letter. "The book does not claim to be a finished treatise on the Greek text of He- brews, written for the Greek scholar. It is intended for the Bible student who has little or no knowledge of Greek" (Preface). Apart from the millennialist views which are evident in the volume (page 58 and pages 116-117) as well as a few statements dealing with the historical background of Hebrews, with which we do not agree, we heartily recommend this book to our pastors. We have examined a number of the more difficult exegetical pas- sages and find that the author treats them skillfully and, on the whole, satisfactorily. Mr. Wuest holds that Hebrews was written before A. D. 70 and addressed to Jewish converts. PAUL M. BRETSCHER The Reformed Doctrine of Adoption. By R. A. Webb. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Mich. 188 pages, 8x5%. $2.50. Dr. Robert Alexander Webb was professor of systematic the- ology at the Southwestern Presbyterian University, Clarksville, Tenn., from 1892 till 1908 and professor of apologetics and sys- tematic theology at the Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Louis- ville, Ky., from 1908 until his sudden death (at the age of 63) on May 23, 1919, thus rounding out in his ministerial life twenty-seven 318 BOOK REVIEW years of teaching and defending Christian doctrine. While he never attained to the fame of the great dogmaticians at Princeton Theological Seminary, he nevertheless was held in high esteem for both his scholarliness and his devotion to Christian orthodoxy. In his book The Reformed Doctrine of Adoption he takes up for special study the doctrine of man's sonship of God, tracing it through the Old and the New Testament from the sonship of the first Adam to the sonship of all Christian believers, who are God's children in Christ Jesus. Adoption, according to the author, is that "act of God's grace that restores a man to filial standing." When Adam became a disinherited son, he lost his sonhood, and only by regeneration and adoption can man now see the light of his Father's face. For this reason the Cross of Christ, and not His incarnation, is the central truth and glory of the Gospel, for it is the crucified Christ to whom believers owe their conversion, justi- fication, adoption, and sanctification. While Dr. Webb treats his subject against the background of Calvinism, he enters ,deeply into the Scripture proof of the doctrine and shows that it is truly Biblical, most valuable for Christian consolation and Christian service, and possesses great polemical value against Modernism. His purpose, in particular, is to demonstrate that there is no son- ship of God in the sense of modern rationalism, since man's filial status can be restored 1) not through the Incarnation, issuing in a metaphysical and mystical sonship; 2) not through love, issuing in a moral and sentimental sonship; 3) not through the Atonement as a mere didactic display, issuing in a natural and normal sonship by a divine recognition of repentance, but only 4) through the Atonement as a propitiatory sacrifice, issuing in an evangelical and redemptive sonship. More simply expressed, believers are sons of God by Christ's vicarious atonement and the regeneration which the Holy Ghost works in them, or, to put it in another way, because they have been redeemed by Christ and are re- generated by the Holy Spirit. The doctrine of the sonship of believers is one of the neglected doctrines of Christian dogmatics, which indeed is mentioned in passing, but which but few take time to consider thoroughly. If in Christ Jesus we are true chil- dren of God, what a vista of blessed consolation and earnest mo- tivation for Christian living and Christian serving does not this fact present to our view? Much of the value of the book lies in its convincing polemics against modern religious Liberalism, with its sham substitute of God's fatherhood and man's brotherhobd without Christ. The author's style is appealing, his logic com- pelling, and his apologetic reasoning against unbelief thorough and sound. JOHN THEODORE MUELLER Personal Religion. By H. C. Alleman. Muhlenberg Press, Phila- delphia. 1947. 124 pages, 5x7%. $1.75. The brief chapters of this book were originally chapel talks at Gettysburg College by Dr. Herbert C. Alleman, professor emer- itus of Gettysburg Seminary. With a thought for his audience, Dr. Alleman addressed himself to the task of saying not simply the irreducible minimum, but of leading to deeper insights. To this reviewer the book is remarkable for these unexpected and penetrating flashes which afford a surplus beyond the simple. Dr. Alleman has done this for such stock concepts of the Christian BOOK REVIEW 319 faith as Conscience, Conviction, the Church, Faiili, and most notably Prayer and Temptation. The chapter on ilie Bible is con- cise and effective. These talks will not be judged by the rule that the whole Gospel need be wholly expounded in every sermon. In view of his original purpose, the writer leaves his audience to the device of carrying one affirmation into the text of another. But he leans over backward in making Christ ilie center of each. His comments on the need of aloneness and silence for the spir- itual life of every Christian are unique. RICHARD R. CAEMMERER Prayers for Young People. Abigail Acker Johnson. Westminster Press. Philadelphia. 1947. $1.50. This little book of 130 pages has several praiseworthy features. Every other page is devoted exclusively to well-chosen passages from the Scriptures. The sentiments expressed in the prayers prepared by the author have a loftiness which we so often miss in devotional literature. Finally, an evident spirit of sincerity and warmth permeates ilie book, which adds to its value and its charm. However, we suspect that the "feminine touches" of the auilior will appeal more strongly to young women than to young men, and certain statements made will be received dubiously and negatively by not a few; we refer, for example, to statements like: "Use me to break the stupid and cruel walls of prejudice between 'races' and groups and religions" (p. 83) . WALTER E. BUSZIN Johann Mattheson, Spectator in Music. By Beekman C. Cannon. Yale Studies in the History of Music. Leo Schrade, editor. Vol. 1. Yale University Press,New Haven, Conn., 1947. $3.00. A perusal of only a few pages of this book will suffice to con- vince one that it deserves being reviewed in a Lutheran theological periodical. It contains many references to Luther, Lutheranism, Lutheran music, Luilieran services of worship, and Lutheran poetry. Though swayed in many ways by ilie thinking of the rationalistic Era of Enlightenment, Johann Mattheson remained loyal to Christianity and to the Lutheran Church to his dying day and thus, like his eminent contemporary J. S. Bach, was much misunderstood. Unlike the great Bach, however, Matilieson was almost violently dissatisfied with ilie status quo of Luilieran music of the 17ili and 18th centuries, and again, unlike Bach, he wanted his Church to discard its precious musical heritage and standards in favor of a type of music which was theatrical as well as dramatic. True, we find also in works like J. S. Bach's Matthaeus- Passion and St. Johannes-Passion elements which are dramatic as well as ilieatrical, but Bach does not go so far as does Mattheson, who often shows no regard whatsoever for liturgical restraint and moderation. For his performances in ilie Hamburger Dom, Mat- theson employed singers of the Hamburg Opera, including women. This caused much consternation, since the rivalry between the Church and the Opera was very keen and church choirs and soloists were almost invariably male until iliat time. It was Mat- theson who induced Handel to become an opera composer railier than a composer of Lutheran church music, in which field Handel could not have enjoyed the liberties he enjoyed as a composer of 320 BOOK REVIEW operas and oratorios. Mattheson's influence is felt in the Lutheran. Church down to the present day; it is being counteracted with great force, however, by the great liturgical movement of the 19th and 20th centuries. - Mr. Cannon, the author of the present volume, has succeeded in writing a book which, despite its very sane objectivity, is interesting and fascinating. WALTER E. BUSZIN The Song of the Church. Marie Pierik. Longmans, Green & Co. New York. 1947. $3.00. A great amount of scholarship and work have gone into this book. What is more, the author has learned to write more inter- estingly and less prosaically since 1939, when her book The Spirit of Gregorian Chant came off the press. We regret deeply, how- ever, that The Song of the Church reveals some very serious weak- nesses. Miss Pierik depends too much upon the works of scholars of three generations ago (e. g., Auguste F. Gevaert and Rudolf Westphal), whose works, though valuable, no longer have the stamp of authority they enjoyed fifty years ago. The findings of more recent authorities are completely ignored; we refer to the oewvres of such men as Otto Ursprung, Hermann Abert, A. Z. Idelsohn, Dom A:nselm Hughes, Gustave Reese, and others. The volume superabounds in quotations, is not well organized, and hence is annoyingly repetitious. Although scholars today are agreed that Gregory the Great knew very little about music and, very unlike Luther, ignored it in his writings, Miss Pierik's loyalty forces her to cling to the outworn idea that Gregory was thoroughly at home in the field of music and was also the composer of plain- song. In her enthusiasm she insists that Gregorian chant should and can be sung readily by congregations, and Gregorian chant is to her the song of the Church. Palestrina is not even men- tioned (Bach is referred to once, in a quotation). Chapter II is devoted to "The Infant Church," and its contents are devoted en- tirely to stories of the martyrs, and no connection is established between martyrdom and the music of the Church. The chapter on Latin Hymnody, though superficial, is one of the best chapters of the book. - There is much precious information in this book, but we can hardly encourage those who are not at home in the history of church music to read it. WALTER E. BUSZIN The Philosophy of Life. By Anderson M. Baten. Halcyon House, Garden City, New York. 1947. 687 pages. $1.49. This is an anthology of widely known epigrams, descriptions, poems, and apothegms. Victor Hugo, Robert G. Ingersoll, Charles Phillips, and Field's Scrap Book occupy far too much space. The introduction, pp.1-80, in which the compiler surveys the legacies of past civilizations, is the best part of the book. We are calling attention to this volume only because pastors who are constantly in search of nuggets to embellish their literary output may find in this collection a few rare gems. PAUL M. BRETSCRER •• I