CO:l\ CORDIA THEOLOGICAL MONTHLY The Presence of Christ's Body and Blood in the Sacrament of rhe Altar According to Luther NORMAN NAGEL The Theology of Communism MARTIN H. SCHARLEMANN Thomas More and the Wittenberg Lutherans CARL S. MEYER Pietism: Classical and Modem -A Comparison of Two Representative Descriptions EGON W. GERDES Homiletics Brief Studies Book Review VolXXXIX April 1968 No.4 BOOK REVIEW AU books reviewed in this periodical may be procured from Of' through Concordia Publishing House, 3558 South Jefferson Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri 63118. THE DIVIDED KINGDOM. By Charles F. Pfeiffer. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1967. 117 pages, 30 pictures, and index. Cloth. $2.95. This latest volume in the author's series on Old Testament history describes the history of Israel and Judah from the death of Solomon to the fall of Jerusalem. It is a simple straightforward recital of that history as seen in the light of our expanding knowledge of ancient Near Eastern culture and history. The selection of pictures and the short chapter on religion in Assyria aGO Babylonia -;.-JI pc:;-;.:. he!r~;.;.l to ::'_Je u __ -quainted with that ancient world. The book can serve as a useful survey and reference in school and Bible class. It is to be hoped that those using it will find their appetites whetted to make use of the brief bibliographies included. CARL GRAESSER, JR. tations of 3: 19 and four such interpretations of 4:6 (pp.15-57). The second section (pp. 59-280) puts the text in its literary and historical context by an examination of the literary genre of 1 Peter (a genuine letter employing liturgical and catechetical material), its outline and purpose (a consolatory and pastoral letter giving foundation for Christian confidence in persecution), and the literary structure of 3: 18-4: 6 (3: 18, 22 is part or whole of a primitive Christian hymn; 3: 19-21 is an interpolation in the form of a baptismal catechesis). Careful philologie 1, literary, a-j forrr -., tical :lysis reveals that 3: 18-4: 6 is not a parenthesis or diversion within the context but integral to the whole development of thought. Regarding the most important problems raised by the text, "brought to life in the spirit" (3: 18) refers to Christ's bodily resurrection; "in which (spirit) he went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison" (3 : 19) refers to CHRIST'S PROCLAMATION TO THE Christ's proclamation of victory over hostile SPIRITS. A STUDY OF 1 PETER 3:18 angelic powers on the occasion of His ascenTO 4:6. By William Joseph Dalton, S. J. sian. Thus Dalton, in agreement with all the Analecta Biblica 23. Rome: Pontifical Bib-scholars of the Western church from AugusHeal Institute, 1965. xxiv and 300 pages. tine up to Robert Bellarmine, correctly conPaper. $7.00. cludes that this text is in no way related to Because of its structural, grammatical, his-the doctrine of Christ's descent into hell. torical, and theological complexities, this text Similarities with the book of Enoch suggest has been acknowledged by a long line of that the "disobedience" of the spirits was Biblical scholars, including Luther, as one considered the cause of human sin and of the of the most difficult passages in the New flood (3: 20 ). Reference to Christ's prodaTestament. This doctoral dissertation (Pon-mati on to the spirits intended to announce tifical Biblical Institute, Rome) by Fr. Dal-his victory over the spirits to 1 Peter's conton, professor of New Testament exegesis at temporary pagan world as well as to intraCanisius College, Sydney, Australia, repre-duce the flood as a type of eschatological sents the latest in a series of studies treating judgment and Christian Baptism. The this text and is a masterful demonstration of "preaching to those who are dead" (4: 6) sound methodology and balanced compelling refers not to Christ's preaching to souls of conclusions. the dead in hell but to Christian evangeliza-The first of its two major sections reviews tion heard by Christians who had died before and briefly criticizes three general interpre-the writing of 1 Peter. Reference to such 276 BOOK REVIEW 277 preaching was intended as comfort to meet the pagan jibes of 4: 4. While certain minor points are open to question (e. g., is 3: 17 really just a "passing thought" [po lO5}? Is there really a connection between 3: 18 and 2: 5, 9? How might the shift from flood to circumcision be better clarified [pp. 215-34}?), Dalton's argument in toto is most convincing. It provides another fruitful area for discussion between exegetes and systematicians. JOHN H. ELLIOTT MITHRAISM IN OSTIA: MYSTERY RELIGION AND CHRISTIANITY IN THE ANCIENT PORT OF ROME. Edited by Samuel Laeuchli. Evanston, Ill.: Northwestern University Press, 1967. xii and 116 pages. Cloth. $5.00. This liberally illustrated volume is the result of an interesting experiment in graduate theological education Four professors and three post-B. D. students of Garrett Theological Seminary spent five weeks studying the cult centers (14 in all) of Mithras in the ancient port of Rome. The purpose was to introduce students of Christian origins to the methods and values of archaeology, to give a laboratory experience in placing Christianity into the social and economic framework of its day, to practice a form of team research, and to reevaluate Mithraism in the light of recent discoveries. The results are presented in five essays. These first describe the arrangements of the Mithraea, then evaluate their position in the city. They are found in all areas, even those with little density of population. They were somewhat arcane, hidden from the street in buildings not constructed especially for them; mithraea are modifications of existing structures. All date from the second and third centuries. Another essay discusses the Mithraic liturgy. The two most provocative essays are written by the editor. He discusses the myth of Mithra, arguing that it meant different things in different areas. The important feature in Ostia was its social dualism (not ethical or religious) . Men could retreat from the world. From the number of Mithraea Laeuchli argues that Ostia was religiously bankrupt by the second century. But the archaeological evidence simply will not bear the contention out. Laeuchli overlooks the difference in function of the temple in official cultic religion and the mithraeum. The temple was designed to house the cultic statue, not to serve as a gathering place for a congregation. Thus one temple could serve an entire city. Athens had only one parthenon. It is known from literary and epigraphic evidence that Vulcan was an important Ostian deity; his temple has still not been found. Nor is Laeuchli convincing when he states that much of Ostia was converted to Mithra from other religions. Christianity and Judaism were unique in their exclusivism In the Mediterranean world. Laeuchli argues that both Mithraism and Christianity were arcane religions; one might question whet '. __ ._~. _ ... ~e about earliest Christendom. Were the first Roman churches house-churches by choice or by necessity? Finally, the dangers of making strong religious judgments on the basis of archaeology's finds in Ostia might be seen from a consideration of the Christian remains there. One would not suspect that it had overcome from the remains. Such critique does not mean that this attempt was a failure. It does argue that students of early Christian history need more grounding in classical philology, history, and archaeology. Perhaps the major failure in the team work was the lack of a good classicist. The volume is liberally illustrated and beautifully made. EDGAR KRENTZ JESUS IN OUR TIME. By James McLeman. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Co., 1967. 158 pages. Cloth. $3.95. This is a popularization of a rather radically sceptical view of the New Testament's witness to Jesus. It eventuates in a call for Christianity to recogniZe the necessity of rewriting the content of its faith in terms of the hope of humanity rather than in theological terms. The book can be overlooked with-out fear. EDGAR KRENTZ 278 BOOK REVIEW READINGS IN BIBLICAL MORALITY. Edited by C. Luke Salm, F. S. C. Englewood Cliffs, N.].: Prentice-Hall, 1967. ix and 148 pages. Paper. Price not given. This collection of essays by 10 scholars is designed to give the general reader an insight into the effect Biblical studies are having on Roman Catholic moral theology. The essays deal with such familiar topics as commandment, sin, faith, justice, law, freedom, forgiveness, and love. They vary widely in extent and depth. Yet all should aid the circle of readers intended. The most interesting to this reader were the study of commandment in the Old Testament by Matthew ]. O'Connell, the Biblical idea of faith by Bruce Vawter, and the study of freedom in Christian revelation by Gabriel Moran. The last especially found its way through Paul's statements on the law with care; somewhat less satisfactory was Stanislas Lyonnets article on liberty and law. The editor introduces each selection by identifying the author and alerting the reader to the issues that will be discussed, a method he had earlier used in another volume of essays, Studies in Salvation History. EDGAR KRENTZ KONFESSION UND (jKUMENE. ASPEKTE -PROBLEME -AUFGABEN. Edited by Helmut Ristow and Helmuth Burgert. Berlin: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, 1965. 588 pages. Cloth. DM 22. Every pastor and theologian interested in the interrelationships of Protestant churches and the Protestant-Catholic dialog will find much of interest in the present volume. Fifty-nine contributors from the entire Christian world (both sides of the iron and confessional curtains are represented) describe the plans and dreams, the failures and shortcomings, the hopes and fears of ecumenical progress and cooperation. Many topics are discussed. An opening group of essays discusses the Biblical basis of the concept ecumenical, the nature of confessional theology, and the ecclesiology of the World Council of Churches. A second group discussed the possibilities of continuing progress in ecumenical relationships with Orthodox Catholic and Roman Catholic churches. After essays on altar fellowship, political differences and ecumenical hopes, and the laity in the ecumenical horizon, the volume concludes with reports on ecumenical progress in several denominations (Methodist, Anglican, Baptist) and geographic areas (Austria, Spain, Brazil, etc.). The last section, perhaps, makes the greatest contribution. While the Weltkirchen Lexikon (Stuttgart, 1960) gives much useful statistical and factual material on Christian cooperative work throughout the world, its compressed form leaves Ettle room for evaluation of current trends. The article on Brazil in the present collection, for example, will prove a major source of information in the future. Unfortunately, there is no clear pattern disce Lible by which selection of areas to be trea____ _______ . "' __ Je grateful for what one one wishes there were more. The contributors are all competent, even distinguished men. This volume will hold an honored place in the history of ecumenical publications. EDGAR KRENTZ THE WORK OF JOHN THE BAPTIST. By Jean Danielou. Translated by Joseph A. Horn. Baltimore and Dublin: Helicon Press, 1966. 148 pages. Boards. $3.95. This work on the life and meaning of John the Baptist, written by an outstanding French Jesuit, could be read to great advantage by laymen and cleric alike. The language is simple, the scholarship hidden, the theology generally faithful to the New Testament texts. John is regarded as one who had been influenced by the Essenes in his youth; his role was to prepare the people of God for the imminent judgement that was the fulfillment of God's Old Testament promises. It is only in Danielou's description of John's mission in Sheol after his death that one feels very uncomfortable. But this one paragraph should not detract from the value of a well-written book. EDGAR KRENTZ BOOK REVIEW 279 THE MEANING OF STOICISM. By Ludwig Edelstein. (Martin Classical Lectures, Volume XXI.) Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press for Oberlin College, 1966. xv and 108 pages. Cloth. $3.00. The late Ludwig Edelstein, professor of classical philosophy at Johns Hopkins University, delivered these lectures at Oberlin College in 1956. Edelstein was a lifelong student of Stoicism, a world-respected expert on Panaetius and Posidonius, the two major Stoics between 150 and 50 B. C. The four lectures discuss in order the Stoic sage, the natural philosophy of Stoicism, the revisions made in the system by a self-critical study in the Middle Stoa, and the Stoic way of life. Edelstein worked from the primary sources, not all quotations of which are noted in the footnotes. He has a sincere respect for Stoic achievements. He compares their philosophy, which arises in an age when idealism was discredited, with that at the Renaissance. led to its peculiar emphasis on the hypothetical syllogism, a casuistic approach to ethics, and its individual-oriented approach to society and law. Edelstein protests against certain popular notions of Stoics, e. g., that they are inferior to Plato and Aristotle in accomplishment. He admires their originality in developing, for the first time in Western thought, ideas about the worth and dignity of women and slaves and a form of professional ethics. Engagingly written, this volume might well serve as an introduction to Stoicism by an appreciative yet critical mind. EDGAR KRENTZ CREEDS IN THE BIBLE. By Frederick W. Danker. (Biblical Monographs.) Saint Louis, Mo.: Concordia Publishing House, 1966. 64 pages. Paper. $l.50. This little paperback is both more and less than its title promises. It is more in that it takes Biblical affirmations of faith in God (as one) and in Jesus (as Christ, Son of God, Lord, dead and risen, and Savior) and fleshes them out by gathering and interpreting the Biblical materials necessary for their proper understanding. Thus, Creeds in the Bible is a miniature Biblical Christology. Lay people and pastors alike will respond favorably to this treatment, which demonstrates the value a knowledge of the OT has for understanding the meaning of the NT. The title is not descriptive in one sense. The author does not indicate to the lay reader any of the formal or conceptual criteria by which modern students identify creedal statements in the Bible. The definition of a creedal statement is given on page 9, where it is described as a "worshipful verbalization of specific aspects of God's action" without making clear how a worshipful verbalization is recognized. This also leads to an underplaying of the variety inherent in some of the creedal formulae and a lack of emphasis on the varying needs of local churches in the formulation of NT creedal statements, e. g., worship, apologetics, persecution, etc. But that is probably expecting too much from one small paperback; perhaps it may lead to the author's p . ,. second volnrt1(' :his same series to supplement the preSE ~atment. (The short bibliography appended will aid the interested reader.) Danker's stimulating style of writing, the central importance of the material covered and the author's conservative, synthetic ap~ proach suggest that this volume might well be the text for a 7-to lO-week Bible class. The time would be well spent. EDGAR KRENTZ NEW TESTAMENT WORD LISTS FOR THE RAPID READING OF THE GREEK TEST AMENT. Compiled and edited by Clinton Morrison and David H. Barnes. Grand Rapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1966. xv and 125 pages. Paper. $2.95. This practical aid to the rapid reading of the Greek New Testament contains all the words that occur less than 10 times in the New Testament with the appropriate definitions, arranged by sections of Huck-Lietzmann's Synopsis of the First Three Gospels and by chapter in the remainder of the New Testament. Words are in alphabetic order under each section or chapter. The appropriate definitions are taken from Bauer-280 BOOK REVIEW Arndt-Gingrich. Two appendices list all words that occur 10 times or more in the NT and give the principle parts of the common verbs. Used correctly the volume can be of great aid in developing facility in reading the Greek Testament; it is not, as its compilers underscore on p. ix, a substitute for the careful use of a large lexicon and concordance in interpretation. EDGAR KRENTZ PAUL, THE MAN AND THE MYTH: A STUDY IN THE AUTHORSHIP OF GREEK PROSE. By A. Q. Morton and James McLeman. New York: Harper & Row, 1966. 217 pages. Cloth. $7.95. This volume is an apologia for the con-tributions of the analysis of Greek prose by computers as an aid in the determination of authorship. In an earlier volume, Christianity in the Computer Age, the authors argued that the computer had demonstrated that Paul wrote only five of the epistles bearing his name in the New Testament. The present volume is designed to support that position. After a discussion of pseudepigraphy in the New Testament era (with no new contributions), the authors argue that literary (pp. 22-30) and theological analyses (pp. 31 to 37) are not adequate tools to evaluate the authorship of ancient documents. They then turn to discuss the "proper criteria," sentence length, and statistical frequency of the six most common Greek words: the definite article, %Ul, c&,6,;, aE, BV, and dvm. These words normally have little importance for the elegance and literary content of Greek prose but contribute to the organizational structure of the sentence. Their occurrence does not depend on literary conventions, cultural influence, or the death and birth of words in the vocabulary stock of a language. These two tests applied to standard authors (e. g., Herodotus, Plato, Thucydides, the orators, Clement of Rome, Clement of Alexandria, etc.) show that genuine works do vary from spurious ones in these authors. In the Pauline corpus sentence length and the frequency of %UL and aE turn out to be the only useful tests. The other words mentioned above occur too infrequently to be of use (p. 93). On the basis of these tests, Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, and Philemon turn out to be genuine Paul, all the other Pauline epistles are pseudepigraphy. The authors conclude with a plea of some 30 pages for objective historical criticism -apparently identified with their computer method. What shall we say to this? Certainly we must agree that the use of a computer may well be of inestimable aid in New Testament research. But some caveats against the conclusions and method as described in this volume must be registered. The authors seem to be less than consistent in their interpretation of the results. Where the computer supports pseudepigraphy as determined in classical literature via literary and historical criticism, they point to the ratification of the method; where it does not, e. g., in the case of Demosthenes' De Corona and De Falsa Legatione, the authors plead that these two speeches belong to a speci8.l class ("two formal orations," p. 76). But what are "formal orations"? And are they really such? A glance at Albin Lesky's A History of Greek Literature (New York, 1966) reveals no such special class. Both were delivered before lawcourts. Do the political speeches made before the assembly vary? Moreover, to take another example, the authors seem to argue that both the letters attributed to Clemens Romanus are genuine (pp. 72-73). Do they tacitly dismiss all the historical arguments against the authenticity of 2 Clements because of their computer results? Again, why not recognize more positively the results of form-critical work on the Pauline corpus (see the negative comments on A. M. Hunter, p. 114) and exempt from their statistical analysis the hymns, creedal formulations, parenthetical material, liturgical material, etc.? The authors do this when Demosthenes quotes laws in his orations. (P. 60) In short, one must still pronounce a non liquet in spite of the authors' short temper and sarcasm against all who question anything they do. It is also exasperating to read a book where the documentation is so carelessly noted. Footnotes may be a bother, but they do aid the reader. EDGAR KRENTZ BOOK REVmW 281 AN EPISODE IN ANTI-CATHOLICISM: THE AMERICAN PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION. By Donald 1. Kinzer, Seattle, Wash.: University of Washington Press, 1964. ix and 342 pages. Cloth. $6.50. The American Protective Society was founded in 1887 by Henry Francis Bowers at Clinton, Iowa. Within a decade its decline was unmistakable. Between 1893 and 1895 its success was pronounced. As the scholarly Kinzer reminds us, however, we must distinguish between the A.P.A. movement and the lodge or secret society. The "A.P.A. movement" was "a cooperative and voluntary arrangement among the various self-styled 'patriotic orders' for transient political purposes" (p. 248). The movement, heir to a deep-rooted "Protestantism" in American history, was anti-Roman Catholic and created animosities and antagonism. Immigration restriction, elimination of some appropriations for denominational institutions, e. g., in Indian missions, and the extension of state control over charitable activities are some outcomes of the movement. Kinzer has done extensive research as his notes show (pp.261-322). His bibliography is valuable especially because of the list of periodicals and pamphlets it contains. However, only few foreign-language sources are noted; here is a weakness in Kinzer's research. The Scandinavian press, for instance, had its anti-Roman elements; in how far these reflected the A.P.A. movement deserves fuller investigation. There are about a dozen references to Lutherans (none of them listed in the index). The opposition of the Lutherans to the Bennett Law (pp. 65-66) and the alliance of the German Lutherans with the Democrats in Milwaukee (p. 117 ) are items noted. They suggest topics for investigation by others. Among the Roman Catholic bishops in the last 20 years of the 19th century there were feuds because of their conflicting interpretations of the role of the church in public affairs. Leo XIII addressed an encyclical, Longinqua oceani (1895), to the Roman Catholic Church in America in which he noted these and spoke about the apostolic legate to America. Although Kinzer noted Archbishop Francis Satolli's activities, he disregarded the encyclical. Nevertheless Kinzer's study is a valuable in-depth study of one phase of American history. CARL S. MEYER A CONCISE INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY. By William H. Halverson. New York: Random House, 1967. 516 PPM Cloth. $5.75. Theology is reflection on the Word of God. But we also observe how the Christian church inevitably had to reckon with the cultural context of every period during which the Gospel was vigorously and effectively presented to the world. This means that the prevailing thinking of the world must be understood by those who disseminate the Gospel. Next, preaching the Word must include the Gospel answers, formulated with good judgment, good timing, and compassionately, which can be made to the questions or charges raised by those who oppose the Word. Origen's Contra Celsum undoubtedly is the earliest (A. D. 185-254) comprehensive effort of the ancient church to deal with the problem of a Christian apologetic adequate for the times. Origen was a superb teacher, completely at home in classical philosophy, a brilliant Christian thinker who could grapple with the fundamental issues of the ongoing debate without becoming personally or psychologically defensive about it. Unfortunately, Origen leaned so heavily upon his philosophical tools that he became heretical. Aurelius Augustinus (St. Augustinus, died A. D. 430), benefitting from the efforts of his Christian predecessors, offered a far superior synthesis of understanding and presenting the Christian Gospel to the classical age. His work remained normative for Christian reflection ever since, at least in the sense that Christians had to reckon with him directly or indirectly in their activity of thinking about the Gospel in a serious relationship to the claims of secular culture. 282 BOOK REVIEW The Christian teacher of today cannot neglect the apologetic task of his calling. But he does not fulfill this obligation when he addresses himself to problems of the past in the language of the past. Our people need to understand what is going on and what is being claimed now, in this year of our Lord. Prof. Halverson of Augsburg College offers us a contemporary discussion of contemporary philosophical problems, rather than a conventional "history of philosophy," to which many college or seminary students have been superficially exposed. This is most useful and probably constitutes the best feature of the book. The teacher of theology now has a convenient tool to which he can refer the college or seminary student. However, this recommendation should not be read without mention of a serious or fundamental reservation regarding the content of Prof. Halverson's book. Unfortunately, this brief review cannot include detailed Auseinandersetztmgen. If we can be content with a summary statement about the matter, it may be formulated this way: Prof. Halverson disproportionately stresses the "subjectivity" of the believer. This was indeed a temporarily potent aspect of Schleiermacher's effort against the "cultured despisers" of his day. We could agree that existential commitment (subjectivity) is a necessary facet of the Christian stance. However, to discuss "The Language of Human Existence" (chapter 49) without the express distinction between God's activity, whereby a man becomes a Christian, and man's response or new condition, in which he (subjectively) responds as a believer, is surely a fatal concession to a sub-Christian understanding of the doctrine of man as well as the saving activity of God. It is a service neither to the "spirit of the age" nor to the church of Christ to represent Christian reflection on this fundamental problem as indebted to an autonomous decision. To borrow Luther's thought, we act as Christians because God has first acted on us. A Concise Introduction to Philosophy fails adequately to make this necessary distinction between Law and Gospel. The result in the present case is a distortion of the Christian understanding and serious damage to an otherwise superior work. RICHARD KLANN MEMORY AND HOPE. By Dietrich Ritschl. New York: The Macmillan Co., 1967. 237 pages. Cloth. $5.95. Ritschl submits this volume as an inquiry concerning the presence of Christ. A reviewer refers to it as "an important and original contribution to the new theology." One might also refer to it as a challenge to present hermeneutics. In criticism of the church in the West, Ritschl holds that it has throughout the centuries, beginning with the fifth, been laboring under the burden of the Augustinian heritage and has correspondingly lost the real point of Eastern theology. This diversion from early Christianity he senses in an alleged separation between Christ and the church, Augustine and subsequent Augustinianism, he believes, created and preserved within Western theology a one-sided interest in individualistically understood justification or the personal encounter with God at the expense of a corporate understanding of the church. As a corrective he presents his emphasis on the Christus praesens. Unfortunately his own theology is clouded by his concession to the ancient heresy of modalism (pp. 223 f.). On the positive side mention should be made of his helpful comments on current theology. 1. W. SPITZ, SR. MAN IN ESTRANGEMENT: PAUL TILLlCH AND ERICH FROMM COMPARED. By Guyton B. Hammond. Vanderbilt University Press: Nashville, Tenn., 1965. 194 pp. Cloth. $5.00. Dr. Hammond has diligently examined Paul Tillich and Erich Fromm regarding their understanding of man. Fromm's Marxist understanding of man is set forth quite clearly. It is of interest to the Christian thinker (in this reviewer's opinion) only because the Marxist view ought to be under-BOOK REVIEW 283 stood, not because Erich Fromm deserves the attention of the church. Far more problematic is Hammond's treatment of Tillich's position. Not that the author has misunderstood Paul Tillich, but he appears to believe that Tillich's ontology represents an approach to the solution of "estrangement." This is actually far from being so. Tillich's metaphysics offers no such solution. His recommendation is as "psychological" as Fromm's when we examine Tillich's dictum: Accept yourself because you are accepted. However, this kind of self-acceptance is not grounded on the redemptive monergism of God, who was in Christ. Tillich does not understand salvation in classically Christian terms because he rejects the Christology of the Church (Syst. Theol. II). Hence, self-acceptance in the Tillichian sense is not to be understood "metaphysically," or as being grounded in the historical and transcendent Christus pro nobis, but as a psychological transaction. Tillich's concept of the "new being" is not identical with the teaching of the apostle Paul. To say this immediately eliminates massive elements of possible confusion and directs us to the consideration that the curative values of Tillich's recommendations are most often imagined by his devoted dis-ciples. RICHARD KLANN FWE BOOKS OF MOSES CALLED THE PENTATEUCH. Translated by William Tyndale. A verbatim reprint of the 1530 edition. Edited by J. 1. Mombert. Introduction by F. F. Bruce. Centaur Classics. Carbondale, Ill.: Southern Illinois University Press, 1967. clvi and 635 pages. Cloth. $22.50. In 1884 James Isidor Mombert (1829 to 1913) issued a verbatim reprint of William Tyndale's 1530 edition of the Pentateuch, "compared with Tyndale's Genesis of 1534, and the Pentateuch in the Vulgate, Luther, and Matthew's Bible, with various collations and prolegomena." Mombert also authored English Versions of the Bible, which appeared in three editions (1883, 1890, and 1906). In his introduction to Tyndale's work Mombert gave a biography of Tyndale. Bibliophiles welcomed his bibliographical notice of the copy of Tyndale's 1530 Pentateuch in the Lenox Library, New York. Others appreciated his discussion of the helps used by Tyndale. They are still valuable, as are the meticulous collations Mombert made. In the Centaur Classics published by the Southern Illinois University Press we have the introduction by F. F. Bruce, not a lengthy but a penetrating analysis, added to Mombert's contribution. The value of Tyndale's translation is not simply philological. His translation and the notes he added tell us somewhat of the theological climate of the year 1530; this is true particularly of his prefaces or prologues, "A Prologe in to the £Vfte boke of Moses, called Deuteronomye" begins: This is a boke worthye to be rede in daye and nyghte and neuer to be oute of handes. For it is the most excellent of all the bokes of Moses. It is easye also and light and a very pure gospell that is to wete, a preachinge of fayth and loue: deducinge the loue to God oute of faith, and the loue of mans neyghboure oute of the loue of God. CARL S. MEYER HUGO DISTLER AND HIS CHURCH MUSIC. By Larry Palmer. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1967. 187 pages. Cloth. $ 5.75. The revival of evangelical church music in Germany near the beginning of this century was supported and shaped in part by the organist-composer Hugo Distler. Perhaps more than any other individual from this revival movement, Distler has become esteemed by people of the church as well as by the musical world. Concordia Publishing House is to be commended for providing English readers with the first lengthy study of this man and his work. The book consists of a dissertation prepared by author Palmer for the Eastman School of Music, and it contains a short history of Distler's life, a register of his organ and choral works, each with pertinent commentary, a brief review of his influence on other composers, a photo album. a collection of Vesper programs presented by 284 BOOK REVIEW Distler in Lubeck, and a catalog of his works published in German and English. The reader will benefit from Palmer's first-hand experience and conversations with those who knew Distler well: his co-workers, teachers, and friends. Particularly worthwhile are the insights which Frau Waltraut Distler has provided. The reader will also be interested in the measure of judgment reflected in those works which the young composer chose to perform at the Vesper services in Lubeck. By supplying these programs and also in other ways Palmer helps one to appreciate Distler's love of church music and his concern for its place and function within the contemporary church. Finally, Palmer does not leave the reader without reasons for Distler's sudden death, but in the biographical section he adequately (perhaps more than adequately) provides preparation for the tragedy. Obviously the last word on Distler has not been written. Because the Distler Archiv is in the process of gathering significant documents, there will be aspects of his life and work which will need reinterpretation. Though Palmer has begun to find a place for Distler in the 20th-cenmry musical scene, one will want to look for further interpretations of his place in the mainstream of musical history, of his contributions to musical strucmre and vocabulary, and of his influence on the worship life of the church. MARK BANGERT WHAT PRESENT DAY THEOLOGIANS ARE THINKING: By Daniel Day Williams. Harper Chapelbooks, 1967. 227 pages. Paperback. $1.95. This new edition regards the 19605 as a working out and reassessment of the movement of modern theology. It is rewritten to take cognizance of "the 'theological renaissance' with its emphasis on justification by faith, its polemic for the Biblical faith against the synthesis of liberal Christianity, the dominance of such magisterial theological constructions as those of Karl Barth and Paul Tillich ... the relationship of the church to the world, and of the task of theology in an age dominated by scientific technology." It contains chapters on the theological renaissance, the Bible and Christian truth, God and the world, Christian ethics and society, Jesus Christ in history, and faith and the church. ERWIN 1. LUEKER DIE AUFERSTEHUNG JESU CHRISTI (in BEITRAGE ZUR HISTORISCHEN THEOLOGIE, No. 27). By Gerhard Koch. (2., unveranderte Auflage) J. c. B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck) Tiibingen, 1965. 338 pages. Paper. Classical dogmatics and theological exploration of the last hundred years on the problems of historicity and meaning in the Biblical statements concerning the resurrection of Jesus, especially as they relate to faith, are brought under critique in this searching study (first published in 1959) for a meaningful presentation of the apostolic message. Orthodoxy, Koch observes, paved the way for latter-day demythologization by implicit divorce of the resurrection from the ministry and death of Jesus. Examination of the various accounts of the resurrected Lord reveals that the Biblical stress is on the continuity of God's action, beginning with Israel and culminating in the display of His presence, through the Risen Lord, in the worshiping community of the New Testament. Especially Luke lays great stress on the importance of recognizing the risen Christ as the one who was crucified and who, in His resurrected presence, continues God's outreach to man. Neither demythologization, with its accent on anthropology, nor orthodoxy, with its concern for proofs of the resurrection, does justice to the prevailing Biblical witness -God is now with us. To undergird this understanding is the purpose of the proclamation concerning the emptiness of the tomb and of the recital of the Lord's appearances. FREDERICK W. DANKER THE HARVEST OF MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY. By Heiko Oberman. Grand Rapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1967. 495 pages. Paper. $3.95. This is a revision of the Robert Troup Paine Prize-Treatise for the year 1962. The student of church history, particularly of the BOOK REVIEW 285 Reformation and the Counter-Reformation, will welcome this paperback as another scholarly work brought within reach of his financial resources. 1. W. SPITZ THE TWO KINGDOMS: ECCLESIOLOGY IN CAROLINGIAN POLITICAL THOUGHT. By Karl Frederick Morrison. Princeton, N. J.: Princeton University Press, 1964. xvi and 297 pages. Cloth. $6.00. The recurring problem of church-state relationships has many of its origins in the fourth-century Theodosian settlement. It was not clear whether Christianity, accepted as the Roman state religion, should be governed by Roman precedents or whether the church should retain its independence and integrity. In this book Morrison, assistant professor at Harvard University, points Out that the claims of the civil and eo' . . I institutions remaIi,ed largely une until the Synod of Touzy in 871, when imperial and ecclesiastical positions were both undergirded with articulate theories and legal precedents. Charles the Bald vigorously defended the king's rights in all temporalities, whether held in frankalmoin or not. Hincmar of Laon with equal vigor supported the church's rights in purely secular affairs. Hincmar of Rheims proposed to break the impasse by offering the dualist theory of separation, in addition to supporting a conciliarist solution for the church's internal problems of authority. Rome's jurisdiction, he argued, was strictly appellate, and its exercise was limited by the councils of bishops. Hincmar's enthusiastic support of conciliarism often seems to be ignored by students of the later movement in the 14th century. According to Morrison, the archbishop of Rheims offers us the most sophisticated commentaries on law and authority extant from the ninth century. By comparison with later medieval thought, ninth-century doctrines were tentative and partial. In this book the author has collected a mass of documentation on a topic from a period that has been largely ignored by modern historians. His efforts have produced an impressive contribution to medieval studies in ecclesiology. CARL A. VOLZ THE VIETNAM WAR: CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVES. Edited by Michael P. Hamilton. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1967. 140 pages. Cloth, $3.50; paper, $1.65. Hamilton is a canon at the Protestant Episcopal Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul, Washington' where, it is said, people of different persuasions are asked to present their views on crucial subjects. The present volume is a collection of sermons on Vietnam, preached by various divines in the spring of 1967. The spectrum of opinions offered here runs all the way from Martin Luther King and William Sloane Coffin, Jr., to George R. Davis, whose theme is that of Saint Augustine: "War is always evil, but sometimes it is necessary in order to prevent a greater evil." Two general observations need to be made regarding this book. It illustrates the parochialism of the Protestant Episcopal Church. No one of any significant theological com~ petence seems to have been invited to share in this series. Although the Cathedral Foundation was created by an Act of Congress in 1893 as "a house of prayer for all people," the activities there rarely include representation from the Law-Gospel tradition of Lutheranism. That is one of the failings of the present volume. In fact, here is the second general observation that needs to be made about this work. Anyone interested in reading Blake, King, and Coffin at their confused best should get this book. Royalties go to the International Committee of the Red Cross, a Swiss organization that has provided medical supplies to both North and South Vietnam. MARTIN H. SCHARLEMANN SENSEI. By Russell T. Hitt. New York: Harper & Row, 1965. 240 pages. Cloth. $3.95. Irish Christians have been great m1SS10naries ever since the days of Columba. Sensei is the story of Irene Webster-Smith. Born into an aristocratic Irish family, she stands in the tradition of the gay, witty, and profoundly dedicated Christians who have gone forth 286 BOOK REVIEW from the Emerald Isle to other isles and continents. Won to Christ in her youth, she offered her services to the Japan Evangelistic Band. The girl from a good home entered a world of blatant vice in the tortured little streets of Tokyo. She concentrated on rescuing girl babies marked for a life of prostitution. Later she worked among Japanese university students. The most dramatic story of her career took place after W orId War II, when she ministered to the doomed Japanese war criminals, winning many of them to faith in Christ before they were hanged at Sugamo prison. This reviewer had the privilege of knowing Sensei (Japanese for "teacher") personally. He can vouch that this is a faithful story that captures the unique, gay, indomitable missionary spirit with which Irene Webster-Smith has been endowed. DANKER A SHORT LIFE OF LUTHER. By Allan W. Townsend. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1967. ivand 76 pages. Paper. $1.25. Townsend has written a readable biog-raphy of Luther, based on secondary authorities and limited almost exclusively to Luther's career befor 1530. It is nicely illustrated. High school students, for instance, will enjoy this capsule. CARL S. MEYER SITUATION ETHICS: THE NEW MORALITY. By Joseph Fletcher. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1967. 256 pages. Paper. $1.95. MORAL RESPONSIBILITY: SITUATION ETHICS AT WORK. By Joseph Fletcher. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1967. 256 pages. Paper. $1.95. Fletcher, professor at the Episcopal seminary at Cambridge, Mass., has had an amazing success with his books on situational ethics. He exhibits flashes of understanding that reveal his debt to sober theological thinking, while his interpretations of what he sees resemble the attempt of the man who seeks to interpret the setting sun by the formula that light and heat are the same thing. Fletcher says, "Love and justice are the same thing." Can the "situation" be reified? Is the "situation" "innocent" by definition? Does the "situation" provide norms for judgment or evaluation? To ask such questions of Fletcher is to unveil his appallingly disastrous failure to make a proper and sound distinction between Law and Gospel. His opposition to "pietistic legalism" appears in the guise of an opportunistic and relativistic (that is, subjective) "concerned theology." It pretends to be "radical" theology, but the quality of the radicalism of its representatives appears to be a combination of propagandistic verbiage and well-publicized gestures of protest. But there is only one truly radical theology, and that is radical orthodoxy. It is orthodoxy in the ancient, classical sense of the term -the "orthodox faith" d~scribed in the compi- __ _____ 3CUS. It is the orthodoxy of radical men like St. Paul and Luther that unveils the root of Christian truth also for proper ethical insight. It is not the Schwarmerei of Joseph Fletcher. RICHARD KLANN SPIRITUAL DEPRESSION, ITS CAUSES AND CURE. By D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1965. 300 pages. Cloth. $3.95. FAITH ON TRIAL: STUDIES IN PSALM 73. By D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Grand Rapids, Mich.: W m. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1965. Cloth. 124 pages. $2.95. Wilbur M. Smith calls Lloyd-Jones "the greatest expositor of the Word of God in any pulpit in the English world today." He is a successor of G. Campbell Morgan at Westminster Chapel in London. The 11 sermons of the second book are expository in the classical method, on consecutive texts. The 21 sermons of the first volume, except for the introductory sermon on Psalm 42, suspend from New Testament texts. The American preacher in an atmosphere of psychological analysis and permissive therapy will be astonished at the frankly prescriptive BOOK REVIEW 287 and hortatory method. One can almost envision the Briton sitting in his study with a client who is in a stupor of grief or discouragement, attempting to break through with simple and urgent suggestion. What rescues this method from banality is the explicit and reiterated affirmation of the atonement with which the prescription is linked. The pastor who is bleeding with and for the mass of his people who are succumbing to anxiety will here find some new insights into texts, fresh tacks of verbalization, but above all a consuming and exemplary effort to cause burdened minds to discover a clear vision of the merciful God and the atoning Christ. RICHARD R. CAEMMERER A SURVEY OF CHRISTIAN ETHICS. By Edward Leroy Long, Jr. New York: Oxford University Press, 1967. 342 pages. Cloth. $6.50. This is ey of the field from the perspectives of mainstream liberal theology. Long offers excellent discussions on the "varieties of ethical discourse," "the formulation of the ethical norm," "the implementation of ethical discourse," and "analysis and evaluation." The reader will need to bring a considerable background of reading in the field in order to enjoy this book, and if he does, it is probable that he will argue with Long all the way to the end of the book. Long has given us an "inside" survey that may remind the reader of John Gunther's surveys of lands and continents and elicit similar satisfactions. RICHARD KLANN DIE T AUFE ALS BEGRVNDUNG DES CHRISTLlCHEN LEBENS. By Karl Barth. Zurich: EVZ-Vedag, 1967. 247 pages. Cloth. Sw. Fr. 30.00. This impressive volume -Barth calls it Fragment -is a portion of Dogmatik IV / 4. In 1943 Barth's treatise on the church's doctrine of Baptism appeared and met with surprise and consternation. Since its appearance a quarter of a century has passed. So has the surprise, but not the consternation. If Barth has changed his mind at all with regard to Baptism, it is in the direction of an even more adamant opposition to infant Baptism. Barth needs no introduction to the theological reader, nor does his dogmatics. Perhaps the question should be raised, in view of Barth's challenge of the validity of infant Baptism, why he does not insist on the rebaptism of adults who were baptized as in-fants. L. W. SPITZ TERTULLlAN'S HOMILY ON BAPTISM. Translated and edited by Ernest Evans. London: SPCK, 1964. xl and 122 pages. Cloth. 35/-. The discussion of the theology and practice of Baptism remains a lively and fruitful issue in the church. Evans' edition of TertuIlian's treatise on Baptism should be helpful for those who wish to study the mind of the church with reference to Baptisru. The book contains an introduction, with a clear and precise a . eology of Baptism, followed by ;:he text in Latin and English and 64 pages of notes dealing chiefly with problems of textual reconstruction. A pastoral conference would find that a careful reading of this book provides stimulating information (for example, on the meaning of anointing), wise guidance (the theology of Baptism has not changed much since the days of Tertullian, says Evans) , and salutary mental discipline. HERBERT T. MAYER THEOLOGlE DER EV ANGELlSATION. By Hans-Lutz Poetsch. Bremen: Verlag Stelten & Co., 1967. 167 pages. Cloth. DM 14.40. The author directs a serious question to the church with respect to its responsibility in proclaiming the Gospel. More precisely, he reminds the Lutheran Church of its responsibility in view of what the Lutheran Confessions have to say about the task of evangelization. The author goes beyond a theoretical discussion of this task by giving some very practical suggestions regarding its performance. Noteworthy also are some of his cautions to beware of faulty methods in evangelizing. The American reader, used to 288 BOOK REVIEW revival meetings, radio and television preaching, and other methods of reaching the public will be curious to discover what this European writer has to say about such a serious matter of mutual concern. 1. W. SPITZ THE THEOLOGY OF ST. JOHN. By Joseph Crehan. New York: Sheed and Ward, 1965. 160 pages. Cloth. $3.50. The three adjectives that best describe this book are reverent, stimulating, and disappointing. It is reverent in its evident respect for traditional positions, for example, the Johannine authorship of the Fourth Gospel and the Apocalypse and the authenticity of John 21, and in the author's desire to support the "primitive" witness and theology of John against those who -like Bultmann, who is not named -want to interpret it out of the philosophy of Heidegger. The voh _ in its often novel and surprisif'~ idea~, for example, that Apoc. 14:6 is a reference to the canonization of the four gospels and that Andronicus and Junius in Rom. 16:7 are Andrew and John. At times the author makes good use of Qumran and the fathers. Thus, although the 24 little chapters awaken the reader to the depth and variety in Johannine thought, one must express disappointment. The chapters stand next to each other like beads on a string, interrelated only by position. Johannine theology is not presented, if by theology one implies a system of thought with a basic integrating principle. The chapter on the cleansing of the temple leads, mirabile dictu, via liturgical passages in the Apocalypse to a discussion of the bodily assumption of the Virgin. One can scarcely believe that this is serious exegesis, and one wonders if Father Crehan may not solemnly be poking fun at exegetical foppery elsewhere. But when the chapter on "The Sign of the Woman" seriously discusses the Virgin as the woman of Apocalypse 12 without reference to any of the alternatives proposed by critical historical exegesis, one realizes that he actually is taking this seriously. Page 43 contains the worst typographical blooper in many a year, where the two figures who lead the forces of light and darkness are identified as "Metatron and A. N. Other." EDGAR KRENTZ JOHN THE FEARLESS. By Richard Vaughan. New York: Barnes and Noble, 1966. xiv and 320 pages. Cloth. $7.50. One of the most neglected studies in late medieval history is the emergence of Burgundy to a position of eminence equal to that of the most powerful European states. This is the first full-length study of John the Fearless, second duke of Burgundy, in any language. Although it is not strictly a biography, it centers on the development of Burgundy during John's ducal reign (1404 to 19) and examines some of the many personal enigmas associated with him. Of necessity the author narrates his account against the background of the 100-year war, describing with understanding and clarity the chaotic political conditions obtaining in Western Europe. The author has thoroughly researched his chosen field, including numerous financial accounts of John, his day-to-day political appointments, and his correspondence. He includes a 16-page select bibliography. CARL VOLZ HOW TO STUDY HISTORY. By Norman F. Cantor and Richard 1. Schneider. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1967. Paper. 274 pages. $2.50. This volume is designed for the freshman college student who can perhaps be wooed to dedicate himself professionally to the study of history. The authors have produced an excellent and exciting description of the historian's task and problems. The first essay, "A Commitment to Excellence," and the concluding essay, "Historiography and the Philosophy of History," are gems of lucid writing. If you want to know what the shouting is all about today in the crucial area of the nature and the meaning of history, this volume provides a fine orientation. HERBERT T. MAYER