oncoll~ia Theological Monthly APRIL • 1951 BOOK REVIEW All books reviewed in this periodical may be procured from or through Concordia Pub- lishing House, 3558 South Jefferson Avenue, St. Louis 18, Missouri. INTRODUCING THE OLD TESTAMENT. By Clyde T. Francisco. Broadman Press, c. 1950, Nashville, Tenn., xii and 271 pages, 5% x81A. $3.75. Anyone who knew and used John R. Sampey's book Syllabus for Old Testament Study will be glad to hear that it is, in effect, reappearing under this new title and by a successor of the former author at Southern Baptist Seminary, Louisville, Ky. Like the former textbook, Introducing the Old Testament does not "deal in the technicalities of scholarly research," but wants "to acquaint the average reader with the essential history and teachings of the Old Testament" and "to be helpful to the Sunday school teacher, interested layman, college student, or seminary beginner" (p. ix). The framework also remains the same. However, there are new and added features in the revision which in many respects enhance its value. Thus there is a new chapter on '"The Nature of the Old Testament," which includes a history of the text and the canon of the Old Testament. The isagogical material receives somewhat fuller treatment and is brought up to date. The same holds true of the short explanatory or exegetical notes attached to each book of the Old Testament. The new book, like its predecessor, is a conservative study. However, a different tone is noticeable in Introducing the Old Testament from that of Sampey's book. In the general presentation the author at times seems to lean in the direction of the higher-critical viewpoint. Thus he fre- quently brushes aside the question of the authorship of the book (or part of a book) as inconsequential with the remark that the really essential question is: What does the book in the form that we have it now teach us? However, in some instances authorship is of importance. Did Moses write the book of Deuteronomy, or does it contain Mosaic material "edited by the prophetic party under the inspiration of God" (p. 40) in 621 B. C? Did God speak in this book before 621 B. C, or was it first "regarded as divinely inspired when it was found in 621 B. C"? (P.1O.) The same holds true of the treatment of such books as Jonah, Isaiah, Zephaniah, Daniel. It is true, the author presents both views, but the reader cannot help feeling that he is tipping the scales unnecessarily in favor of the liberal position. This feeling is confirmed when one reads such a statement as: "Ezekiel is also distinguished from the other Old Testament prophets by the special prominence of the pathological element in his prophecy" (p. 160). President Fuller writes in the Preface: "This is the first book to come 294 BOOK REVIEW 295 from the pen of this author, but it will not be the last" (Preface, p. vii). To present an introduction to the whole Old Testament is an ambitious undertaking for a young instructor. The writer has a fine grasp of the material and is well acquainted with the pertinent literature. We hope that further study and experience will enable him to reach a more satis- fying synthesis of historical studies with his own conservative viewpoint. W ALTER R. ROEHRS THE GILGAMESH EPIC AND OLD TESTAMENT PARALLELS. Second Edi- tion. By Alexander Heidel. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1949. 269 pages, 7x9~. $5.00. This new edition of Dr. Heidel's work differs little from the first which appeared on the market in 1946 except for very few improvements in the translation and an occasional revision of the references, which were called for by the results of later research. That no greater changes were neces- sary is not surprising, since the author, who is completely at home in the field of Assyriology, put a vast amount of painstaking research into the first edition, something which gave assurance that his translation of the Epic and of all known related texts would remain practically final until some new text materials became available to fill in the still numerous remaining gaps. For the benefit of such as may not have any acquaintance with Dr. Hei- del's book a brief overview of its contents may be in place. The author presents his work in four chapters, chapters one, three, and four making up the bulk of the volume. Chapter one, about one hundred pages, after a brief account of the discovery of the tablets in the ruins of ancient Nineveh and their publication, is devoted to a summary of the story fol- lowed by a scholarly translation of the Assyrian text which, in the guise of an epic, deals with the problem of death and of life after death. Chapter two presents related materials, such as very ancient versions of the Deluge in the Sumerian language, in the so-called Atrachasis Epic, and in Beros- sus' History of Babylonia. In chapter three Dr. Heidel examines in detail the views of the Babylonians and Assyrians in regard to death and, par- ticularly, life after death and compares the statements of the Old Testament on the same subjects. The final chapter is devoted to the Flood story in the Gilgamesh Epic and its Old Testament counterpart. Throughout the entire volume Dr. Heidel maintains a conservative Lutheran position coupled with sound scholarship. To be a scholar and a conservative Lutheran is not incompatible. The book merits careful study by students of the Old Testament. G. V. SCHICK CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. By T. W. Callaway. Loizeaux Brothers, New York, c.1950. 190 pages, 5X7~. $2.25. The title of this book is very inviting. It is also very satisfying to dis- cover that the author is a staunch believer in the inspiration of the Bible and in the deity of Christ. 296 BOOK REVIEW However, it is disappointing to find his presentation utterly inadequate. At best it is a conglomeration of pious thoughts, many of which lack Biblical basis. The writer lacks the scholarly equipment to cope with the subject. Just one example: "Jehovah (Hebrew, Yah-Yahweh; Greek, Jesus; English, Jews)," p.ll. The conservative viewpoint cannot stand on such a ludicrous basis. WALTER R. ROEHRS THE UNITY OF ISAIAH. By Oswald T. Allis. The Presbyterian and Re- formed Publishing Company, Philadelphia, 1950. 134 pages, 6 X ~ by 9K $2.25. The multiple authorship of the book of Isaiah is considered so well established by so many Old Testament scholars that the claim is made: "Today practically all reputable scholars accept the Exilic origin of Deu- tero-Isaiah." Here is a book whose author adds to his reputation as a scholar by upholding the unity of the book of Isaiah. He has the experience and the background of Old Testament learning that makes him not only "rep- umble_" but outstanding among Bible :;tudents today. Dr. C. T. Allis was for many years instructor, assistant professor, and professor in the Old Testament department of Westminster Theological Seminary. He was and is active in literary production: Faculty Editor of the Princeton Theological Review, Associate Editor and Editorial Correspondent of the Evangelical Quarterly (Edinburgh), author of The Five Books of Moses, Prophecy and the Chttrch, Revision (R. S. V.) or New Translation? In his new book he raises his voice against this "most assured result of modern Biblical scholarship" (the division of Isaiah) in a manner that should cause many "reputable" scholars to engage in a little re-exam- ination and, above all, in a little self-examination as to whether they want to remain in the Christian and Biblical tradition or whether they want to operate as humanistic philosophers. For that is the alternative that Dr. Allis presents. And that, too, is the strength of this little book. To take up all the arguments that have been advanced for the division of Isaiah would require a very sizable book. In his Five Books of Moses he reduced the problem of Mosaic authorship to the question: "What think ye of Christ?" Here he presses a similar basic question: "What is prophecy? What is Messianic prophecy?" He asserts that the main reason for the division of Isaiah rests upon a concept of prophecy which is not Biblical. His thesis is that everyone who denies the prediction of Cyrus also rejects (or should do so to be consistent) every Messianic prophecy of the Old Testament and its ful- fillment in the New Testament. Cyrus and the Servant, he says, cannot be dealt with on two levels: the one local and present, the other distant and future, unless one is prepared to make also of the New Testament and its interpretations of the Old Testament a mere human book and to reduce even the New Testament promises for the future to a "philosophical problem." BOOK REVIEW 297 There can be no doubt of the validity of Dr. Allis's assertion that the demand for detaching Isaiah 40-66 from the first part of the book and moving it several centuries ahead in time stems, to a great extent, from the modern critical view of prophecy as a message to contemporaries about contemporary events. Can a person who believes in "the Biblical view of prophecy" and in an unequivocal inspiration of the Bible in general, still hold that not all of the sixty-six chapters of Isaiah flowed from the same pen? Dr. Allis does not elaborate on this question, except that he mentions the manner of the New Testament quotations from Isaiah as precluding any possibility of a multiple authorship. WALTER R. ROEHRS THE LETTERS OF ST. PAUL TO SEVEN CHURCHES AND THREE FRIENDS WITH THE LETTER TO THE HEBREWS .. Translated by Arthur S. Way, M. A. 8th edition. Chicago, Moody Press, 1950. 228 pages, 5 Y2 X 8. $2.50. This translation of a part of the New Testament was first published in 1901. Originally Hebrews was not included; it was added in the second edition, which appeared in 1906. The author, Arthur S. Way (b. 1847, d. 1930) was a British scholar of distinction who made his mark as a translator of Greek and Latin classics, such as the Odyssey of Homer, plays of Euripides, and the Odes of Horace. The principles which guided him in the latter field he applied when he undertook to render the Letters of Paul. Whoever has read the Greek and Latin classics in translation, as they are presented, f. i., in the Loeb Classical Library, will have noticed that the translators anxiously avoid extremely literal renderings and always endeavor to give the thought of the ancient author in good and often elegant English. Way succeeded in putting the Letters of Paul into such a dress. His version will be considered free and often constitutes a paraphrase, but I think he succeeds remarkably well in placing the thought of the Apostle before us in excellent English. Let me quote his rendering of Gal. 1: 6-11: "I am simply amazed to find you so suddenly deserting Him who invited you to share the grace of Messiah, deserting to what is in fact an opposition Glad-tidings, not an alternative one - unless, indeed, we are to allow that these men carry any real weight, these men who are trying to unsettle you, and who would fain distort the glad tidings of Messiah into something different. I tell you, even if I - even if an angel from heaven should come bearing to you a Glad-tidings at variance with that which I first proclaimed to you, let him be accursed! I have said this before, I say it again now - if anyone is proclaiming a message to you at variance with that which you first received, accursed be he. Am I now- as my enemies accuse me of doing - waiting for man's approval, or for God's? Am I angling for popularity? No, if I still sought popularity with men, no bondservant of Messiah should I be." On account of our discus- sions of Rom. 16: 17 f. I insert his translation of these two verses: "Now 298 BOOK REVIEW I beg of you, my brothers, to be on your guard against the men who are exciting those notorious dissensions, and putting those obstructions in the path of believers, all contrary to the teaching which you received. Shun them. Such men are no bondmen of our Lord Messiah: they are slaves of their own base appetites; and by their sanctimonious cant they delude the hearts of guileless people." The Epistles are always prefaced by a little introduction giving information on the date and place of the Letter's origin. A chronology of the Life and Letters of St. Paul is prefixed, containing in the main the dates adopted by Coneybeare and Howson. W. ARNDT EXPLANATION OF THE BOOK OF REVELATION. By C. H. Little. Con- cordia Publishing House, St.Louis, Mo. 232 pages, 6x8. $2.75. If you search for a commentary that answers all your questions per- taining to the Book of Revelation, this is not the book you are looking for. To be candid, it is to be doubted that you will ever find such a work. But if you desire to own an explanation of the Apocalypse which in its various interpretations does not violate the analogy of faith, here you have it. Dr. Little in this work measures up to what we expect of him. This 79-year-old theologian is known as a sturdy Lutheran scholar whose Tennessee Synod ancestry is not belied by the positions he sets forth and defends. After these opening remarks the reader will not find it strange to be informed that Dr. Little supports the Apostolic authorship of Revelation and that he altogether rejects anything that might savor of chiliastic propensities. When the interpretation of details is examined, one fact will strike the student as a special characteristic of this work: The author endeavors to remain general and avoids as much as possible identifying the figures and symbols of this prophetic book with specific personages and events. The explanation of the mysterious number 666 in 13: 18 can here be cited. "This number is ... symbolical. This is the number of incompleteness; and this number plus its multiple by ten, plus its multiple by ten times ten, expresses intensified incompleteness, as falling short three times of the number 7, which is the number of God, including Christ and all His grace and salvation for men. 666, on the other hand, is the number of the antichristian world power, stamping the earth-dwellers as entirely out- side the Kingdom of God and His Christ, and as doomed to final and complete defeat. The number 666 is not cabalistic or cryptic. It does not refer to anyone individual, but to the world-wide opposition to God and His cause, characterizing all who bear this mark as belonging to the dragon and his kingdom of darkness" (p. 138). On the same page an explanation is given of the two beasts brought before us in chap. 13. "In this chapter the first beast represents the whole antichristian power throughout the world. The second beast, who is in the service of the first beast, represents the whole antichristian prop- BOOK REVIEW 299 aganda that is carried on in the world. The first beast personifies ferocious power. The second beast personifies deceptive propaganda." The identity of the two witnesses 11: 3 is another case in point. Who are they? Dr. Little says: "The question naturally arises: Who are they whom the Lord here designates in the expression 'my two witnesses'? In answer we may say: This certainly does not refer to two actual men, whether Enoch and Elijah, or Moses and Elijah, as some commentators conjecture. It is well known to readers of the Bible that, for the establishment of the truth on any matter brought forward for judgment, at least two witnesses are required (d. Deut.17:6; 19:15; Matt. 18:16; John 8:17). It is in this sense, therefore, that this expression is used here. These two witnesses typify the believing congregation or the Church of true believers, which ever bears witness of Christ to the whole world. These two witnesses sup- plied by the Lord bear testimony that cannot be set aside without bringing condemnation upon all who reject their witness. And when it is said here that they shall prophesy, the meaning is that their witnessing is not mere human testimony, but that of divinely commissioned prophets. They testify to Christ's own Word, to the contents of the little book held open in the angel's right hand" (p. 106 f.). A question that our readers quite certainly will ask, as they page through this book, is, Who is the angel that flies through the heavens according to Rev.14:6? In spite of his uncompromising Lutheranism, the author does not identify this angel with the great Reformer. He says: "Some authors have taken the word 'angel' here as symbolical and have interpreted this vision as referring to Luther; but, as we have already noted, the term 'angel' is never used symbolically in the Apocalypse, although it is occa- sionally used in its original sense as 'messenger: But, while Luther did indeed preach the pure Gospel and set it upon its golden candlestick in the Church again, he is not to be identified with this angel who is the messenger from heaven for the whole New Testament dispensation. His work is not to be restricted to Luther or the Reformation period, but includes the proclamation of the blessed Gospel message through all time" (p. 144). A passage where many an otherwise sound interpreter has gone astray is Revelation 20 with its reference to a thousand years of peace. Dr. Little says about it: "This 'thousand years,' a round number, is not to be taken literally, but symbolically in accord with the imagery with which it is surrounded. It stands here for the present dispensation, or the period of Messianic reign (d. Heb.2:14-15; 1 John 3:8), till near its close, when Satan shall be loosed again for a little time (v. 3), and shall go forth to deceive the nations that are in the four corners of the earth (v. 7)" (p. 202). The excerpts show that the comments of Dr. Little are always brief, straightforward, devoid of superfluous rhet- oric. On some passages probably more detailed exegesis should have been submitted; the reader now and then wishes that some of the "ob- scurities" of the Apocalypse would have been treated at greater length. 300 BOOK REVIEW But all in all, we are here dealing with an excellent work which will render valuable service, especially in these turbulent times which have all the characteristics assigned in the Scriptures to the last days. W.ARNDT DAS CHRISTLICHE ETHOS. Grundlinien der lutherischen Ethik, von Wer- ner Elert, D. Dr., o. Professor an der Universitaet Erlangen. Furche- Verlag, Tuebingen. 595 pages, 5 % X 8%. Leinwand, DM. 18; brosch. DM. 15. This book raises a fundamental question: Can Lutheran theology ever view Christian ethics as an independent theological discipline or even treat it as a separate section of dogmatics, since in Lutheran theology ethics can be no more than an expansion of the entire locus discussed in dogmatics under Sanctification? The Roman Catholic Church, with its atomistic view of sin and sanctification, is compelled to view Christian ethics as a separate branch of theology under the heading "Moral The- ology." Calvinism, which has made the third use of the Law the proprius usus, alsG requires aii .::thics, an ",hies based on "a demanding law." True, in our complex society the Christians' consciences must be quickened to make the right decisions in the many personal and social problems which confront them, and our Christians seek guiding principles for Christian conduct. But this must be done solely on the basis of the Gospel. Dr. Elert is primarily a historical dogmatician, and this is reflected in his book, which in the final analysis is a dogmatical treatise on the Dis- tinction of Law and Gospel, "the special brilliant light of the Reformation." He is the author of Die Morphologie des Luthertums and Der Christliche Glaube, one of the best German Lutheran dogmatics. The reviewer met him in his study on the very day in 1946 on which his home was returned to him by the government after it had been occupied by Polish DP's. (What a sight!) In 1948 he was one of the co-essayists at the Bad Boll Free Conference. The treatise is divided into three chapters: 1. Ethics under the Law; 2. Ethics under the Gospel; 3. Objective Ethics. The author has succeeded exceptionally well to present a genuinely Lutheran approach to the dis- tinction between ethics under the Law and under Grace. There is no least common denominator in ethics applicable to both the Christian and the non-Christian. Among other things Elert points out that as peccator the Christian is totally under the Law with its mandatory and punitive character. As iustus he is totally under the creative and regenerative power of the Holy Spirit. There is no point at which these two "ethics" can ever meet. An ethos under the Law is based on a radically wrong concept of the image of God. In a Law-ethics man forms his own image of God and attempts to become the "measure of all things" and therefore fails completely to understand the Law as Law. He does not know the Scriptural axiom: Lex semper accusat, that is, God's Law is always God's BOOK REVIEW 301 judgment and condemnation. Man, viewing ethics under the Law, at- omizes the Law into so and so many commandments and prohibitions. What is most fatal is that he believes the Law to have as its primary purpose a standard by which man can work out his own destiny. An ethics under the Law does not know sin, original sin. Elert points out that the German word "E"bsuende" occurs for the first time in the writings of Geiler von Kaisersberg (d. 1510). This term is misunderstood when man views "inherited sin" as something which he can accept or reject as any other inheritance. Elert believes, and we fully agree with him, that Luther's definition of "Erbsuende" as "Hauptsue1~de," "Personen- suende," is much better, because it reveals this sin as man's total rebellion against God. Because of his "Hauptsuende" man who has lived under the condemning Law of God also dies in rebellion. Luther understands original sin as man's attempt to justify himself by attempting to deny that God is God and by placing himself in the stead of God. Here, as Elert points out, Luther's definition of sin breaks sharply, distinctly, and com- pletely from that of his theological predecessors down to Augustine. Sin cannot be defined, it can only be experienced in the anxiety and help- lessness of an awakened conscience. Animals die guiltless; man, however, lives and dies in guilt. These are truths that need to be emphasized today, for in spite of the catastrophic events of recent years man's complacency has not been shattered. And Elert, in using Luther extensively, states these truths effectively and challengingly. In this chapter there are many illuminating and thought-provoking sections, each of which constitutes a study in itself. He discusses among other things individual respon- sibility and collectivism; in God's sight no human being exists with the mere designation of N. N., for every man is an individually responsible personality. In the second chapter, "Ethos unter der Gnade," Elert discusses (1) The Encounter with Christ; (2) The New Creature; (3) The New Obedience; (4) The Invisible Conflict. Each of these sections is a gem and deserves careful study. Space does not permit us to give a resume, and we must be content to refer to a few samples to show the author's approach. Speaking on the Wagnis der Werke (the daring adventure of good works), Elert quotes Kierkegaard on Abraham's dilemma when com- manded to sacrifice his son. Kierkegaard views the tension in the collision of two commandments and finds Abraham's solution of the paradox in this, that his "faith" suspends the Law which is applicable to all and accepts the specific commandment. In answer, Elert refers to Luther's explanation of Abraham's dilemma. Abraham does not see two con- flicting commandments, but a conflict between God's commandment to kill Isaac (the Law) and His promise to bless all nations through Isaac (Gospel). In this terrific tension, Abraham's faith ignores, as it were, God's commandment (the Law) and trusts fully and implicitly in God's promise (the Gospel). Probably the most illuminating section of this 302 BOOK REVIEW chapter is the treatment of the "invisible conflict." Elert points out that Lutheran theology here shows its truly dialectical character, for there is a real conflict between the old Adam and the new man, which is not solved by a paradox, as "dialectical theology" would have us believe. "The two ways," "the two times," "the two realms," place the total person under the Law, so that the total person lives under the judging and condemning power of the Law and again the total person lives only by God's grace in Christ Jesus. It is at this point where in the reviewer's opinion Elert reaches the climax of his book and of Lutheran theology. For that reason the third chapter, "Objective Ethics," seems somewhat anticlimactic. This chapter deals with a description of the Church as a social entity in the world, and Elert comes to grips with the problems arising out of the inevitable collision of the two realms, which occurs not only in the in- dividual's life, but also in society. We found the volume very stimulating and thought-provoking. Elert's style is vivid, plastic, and, for those who have at least a modicum of German Sprachgefuehl, not too difficult. Each of the 63 subheads has an extensive bibliography; including, for example, A. W. Meyer, "What Is Conscience?" in CONCORDIA THEOLOGICAL MONTHLY, 1934. Elert has not answered all questions in the area of his treatise. Further study must be given to such questions as: Does the Natural Law convict the sinner of sin as a rebellion against God? What is Christ's opus alienum? F. E. MAYER FIFTY YEARS OF PROTESTANT THEOLOGY. By Carl F. H. Henry. W. A. Wilde Co., Boston, Mass. 113 pages, 8x51;2. $1.50. THE THEOLOGY OF REINHOLD NIEBUHR. By Edward J. Carnell. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Mich. 250 pages, 9 X 6. $3.50. Dr. E. J. Carnell is professor of Apologetics of Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, Calif., at which school of theology Dr. C. F. H. Henry is professor of Philosophy of Religion. Both teachers are members of the Evangelical Theological Society, founded in Cincinnati in 1949 for wit- nessing in general against the various forms of liberalism prevalent in our time and for supplying a "competent literature reflective of the Biblical outlook." Dr. Henry's monograph grew out of his essay read at Cin- cinnati on the subject that forms the title of his book. The Biblical scholar cannot but read it sympathetically and appreciatively. Of necessity the work is in part somewhat sketchy. The average reader will hardly grasp its terse delineations unless he consults more comprehensive works on the subject. Should there be a second edition, the author might add more meat to the somewhat bare outline of his dogmatico-historical treatise. It is nevertheless a helpful guide and as an overview of the theology of the past half century it forms a valuable contribution to modern conservative apologetic literature. BOOK REVIEW 303 Of greater scholarship, though more narrow in its scope, is Dr. Carnell's evaluation of Reinhold Niebuhr's theology, though it deals in the main with the dialectical relation between time and eternity as the controlling concept of Niebuhr's theological thinking. The author sees in Niebuhr's theology a remarkable synthesis of Continental pessimism and American liberal optimism. Niebuhr in his opinion is the outstanding leader of American dialectical theology, who has crystallized neo-orthodox thought into a system. The book is divided into four parts: "The Background for the Dialectical Theology," "The Construction of Dialectical Theology," "The Christian Dialectic," "Concluding Implications: Agape and the Realm of Culture." The subject with which Dr. Carnell deals is of course diffi- cult, and the reader, before venturing upon this monograph, should be acquainted at least with the elementary principles of dialectic theology. Dr. Carnell, however, puts his evaluations as simply and intelligibly as this can be done. JOHN THEODORE MUELLER EVANGELISCHES GUTACHTEN ZUR DOGMATISIERUNG DER LEIBLICHEN HIMMELFA--~"" "'·-TENS. Chr. V . :r Verlag, Muencl:::::.. 2~ ;.:.ges, 6x9. DM.90. Under the chairmanship of Dr. E. Schlink the theological faculty of the Heidelberg University prepared this theological opinion for joint discussion of Evangelical and Catholic theologians prior to the publication of the new dogma. But the Roman hierarchy completely and summarily ignored the theological and historical arguments and protests. Subsequently this opinion became the basis for the pastoral letter of the German Lutheran bishops, published in the February issue of this journal. F. E. MAYER THE CRAFT OF SERMON ILLUSTRATION. A Source Book for Ministers. By W. E. Sangster. The Westminster Press, Philadelphia, 1950. 5 liz X 8, 125 pages. $2.50. Here is a thoroughly useful book on a subject which so frequently re- ceives juvenile treatment. We have here in no wise a "compendium" of illustrations. Rather does the author, a British Methodist, give mature suggestions for developing the skill of illustrating preaching. He describes the functions, the types and sources, and the methods of remembering and using illustrations. With the exception of a theologically irritating quota- tion from Wesley, the book is all to the good and should get to work immediately in the practice of our parsons. RICHARD R. CAEMMERER RENDER TO GOD. A Study of the Tribute Passage. By J. Spencer Ken- nard, Jr. Oxford University Press, 1950. 5;4 X 8, 148 pages. $3.00. With a mass of historical, numismatic, and theological documentation Dr. Kennard, a former teacher of theology in Japanese and Chinese Chris- tian universities, seeks to maintain the position that the tribute money was in itself an act of idolatry. He asserts that "render unto Caesar the things 304 BOOK REVIEW that are Caesar's" has religious significance in the mind of Jesus and is spoken either in irony, telling the chief priests that they should compound their felony of consorting with the Roman rule and bow to this idolatry; or in rebuke, saying in effect: "Do not render to Caesar a thing that does not belong to him, namely, a token that he is a god." "Render unto God the things that are God's" is, then, a comment on, and development of, the concept that men should acknowledge only the true God. The author believes that Christ thereby actually forbade giving tribute to Caesar, that this fact was reflected in the charges against Jesus at His trial, and that the Savior sought to establish a kingdom that involved the overthrow of the Roman rule. While the author bolsters his argument by hypothetical treatment of the Gospels and arrives at a conclusion at variance with the concept of the spiritual Kingdom, he does offer most stimulating sugges- tions about the meaning of the celebrated dictum of Our Lord on Caesar and God. RICHARD R. CAEMMERER THE CULTURAL CONCEPT OF CHRISTIANITY. By Arthur Wallace Cal- houn. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Granel Rapids Mich, 1950 5%x8Y:2, 155 pages. $2.50. In twenty-five brief chapters Dr. Calhoun, dean of the United Pres- byterian Sterling College at Sterling, Kans., and author of books 00 sociology, develops the thesis that society to be alive must be "organismic," namely, not a collection of individuals, but an interrelation of individuals. The author seeks to relate the physical, social, and psychological sciences to this thesis. In this process the absoluteness of Christ as the Way to the Father, by the road of redemption and not merely of example, suffers. The author feels that the regeneration of the social order is the goal of the Gospel. RICHARD R. CAEMMERER BOOKS RECEIVED From Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, Mo.: CONCORDIA BIBLE TEACHER. "The History of Israel." Part I, Vol. XII, No.2. $1.00 a year. - CONCORDIA BIBLE STUDENT. "The History of Israel." Part I, Vol. XI, No.2. 65 cents a year. January to March, 1951. Edited by Rev. John M. Weidenschilling, S. T. D., under the auspices of the Board for Parish Education, The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod. Prom Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, New York: EVERYDAY RELIGION. By Joseph Fort Newton. 4% X 6Y:2. 240 pages. $1.25. From Van Kampen Press, Wheaton, Ill.: THE SABBATH AND THE LORD'S DAY. By Charles L. Feinberg. 5 X 7. 32 pages. 25 cents.