Book Reviews CHURCH IN FELLOWSHIP PULPIT AND ALTAR FELLOWSHIP

AMONG LUTHERANS Edited by Vilmos Vajta Augsburg Publishshying House Minneapolis 1963 279 pages Cloth $595

fHE CHURCH AND THE CONFESSIONS THE ROLE OF THE CONmiddot FESSIONS IN THE LIFE AND DOCTRINE OF THE LUTRERAN CHURCHES Edited by Vilmos Vajta and Hans Weissgerber Forshytress Press Philadelphia 1963 218 pages Cloth $500

Several years ago the Theological Commission of the Lutheran World Federation requested the director of the Federations Department of Theology Vilmos Vajta to produce a number of studies on the Lutheran confessional principle and its implications for church fellowship Supshyported by some of the finest scholars of world Lutheranism Dr Vajta has produced two books on the subject which if read carefully by the pastors and leaders of all Lutheran church bodies should contribute greatly toward a growth of understanding and fellowship among Lutherans throughout the world

In 1911 Theodore Schmauck the last president of the General Council provided for English speaking Lutherans an excellent and extensive (962 pages) study o~ ]he Confessional Principle alt(l the Confess-iOns of the Luthelan ChU1Ch In this volume the nature of the confessional principle its historical development in the Lutheran Chureh and its contemporamiddoty status in the Lutheran Church were thoroughly examined

Although the volumes edited by Dr Vajta do not claim to follow in the footsteps of Dr Schmaucks work they do give evidence of the fact that there continues to be in most parts of Lutheranism a concern to give expression to the validity of the confessions and eonfessional prinshyciple of Lutheranism

Church in Fellowship draws together for the first time a compreshyhensive survey of the ecumenical relationships of the various bodies of Lutheranism and of the various confessional principles which undergird these relationships

Of particular interest for American readers is the f1rst of the four chapters which eontains an historical review of Pulpit and Altar Fellowshyship among Lutherans in America together with an analysis of the curshyrent understanding of fellowship in American Lutheran church bodies Fred Meuser author of one oj the finest studies in American Lutheran church history The Formatmiddotion of the Anwlican L utheran Church has not only succinctly summarized the various confessional principles to be found in American Lu theranislll but has also gathered together almost fifty pages of judiciously selected documents which express the various synod leal positions on this matter including the basic docull)ents on fellowship produced within the Synodical Conference

Dr iVLeuser sums up the diffieult state of affairs confronting intershyLutheran discussions in America today Each synod quite understandshyably has hoped that the others would become more like itself (p 18)

S6 THE S P RINGFIELDER

The form at of an essay followed by foo tnotes and documents is repeated in the succeeding two chapters wMch deal with fellowship in the Lullieran Churches of Germany a nd Scandin avia These two chapters bring oncise an d well documented answers to such questions as (1)

What is the nature of the Lutheran-Reformed alliance within and between man y of t he territorial ehurches of Germany (2) What is the relationshyship between the varlous Scandinavian Lutheran Churches nnd the Churches of Englnnd and Scotlnnd

World Lutheanism is not nlone in its Eearch for a solution to tbe problem of broken fe llowship nt the altar The Faith and Order Comshymission of the World Council of ChUlches has wrestled with the ]Eoblem of IntcrcoIl1Tllunion in l~cent decades In th e fonrtl and fin a l chapter D Vajta sums up the response of confessional Lutheranism to this COllccrll of the eculIleni cal movem ent Tbe Lutheran Church as a church of Jesus ell rbt is ca lled especia ll y today to conf ss this church outside its own walls And if it finds members of the body o f Christ to recognize the u ni ty with them It can do this only by lrcaching the IVorel rightly and administering thc Sacrament of Christs bod) and blood For it is just there nVi ct quanllo vis1lm est deo that the unity 0[ church becomes a reality through participation in tb e g ifts of the Holy Spirit (p 261)

TlIe Church (llI(Z the Confessions examines the nature of the conCesshysional commitmcnt held by the various IlOdies of world Lutheranism Mueh that is discnssed in th e chapters dealing with Lutheran ism in America and Europe is treatcd illlplicitly in C7u1ch in Fellowship Nevershytheless thes() (lhup tcrs by such anthors as Hans Weissgerber Robert Fischer and Eugene Fevolrl bring into more detailed historical perspective the various contemporIry Lutheran confessional positions found in these two continents

or specid importance for twentieth century Lutheranism are the essays on the emerging confessional position or the younger Lutheran churches oC Asia mel Africa Amlar Iumbmtobings detai led analysis of The Confession of Faith of the Hcria Kris ten Batak Protestant should for decades to come provide Lutheran missionaries with insi ght into ho w 0 11 ) Lutheran Church ta(Kled amI solved the problem of IllOshyducing an incl igen011S confession of faith

In tlIis book as in Ch1ni in FcllolfSldp Dr Vajta b as the las t word again framed in an eeumenkal perspective

Th2 chureh of the Lutheran con fess ion on the ba~is of ita experience in etl1lTlcnical di~c lss ion mus t Doint out that the church of Jeous Christ is eerta inly not m~rked by a confessionshyless faith but tha t it can be r ecognized by confessing the apostolic faith w ith all or Christendom on earth As long ns this can be witnessed to in the ecumeni ca l mo vcm ent it is not a unionistic aberration to participate in dis(useion in hieh this truth is not unanimously recognized Quite to the contrary the witness of the confess ion in a divided Christendom is an unavoidable responshysibility (P 187)

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TIIFJ CHURCHS USE OF THE BIBLE PAST AND PRESENT Edited by D E Nlneham SPCK London 1963 174 pages Cloth_ 21s

Its a long jou rney back to the headwaters of biblical interpr etation uut t his little volume keeps OD e In mJd-stream and the trip up the river uf interpretation through the centuries becomes a p leasant one Perhaps too few of us have traveled this road back rece ntly Someone may h obsessed by the Dotion tbat wbat hus been going on in Lutheranism in recent decades is unique to Lutherans and bardly anyone else has intershypreted the Bible before Others j ust as naively may tWnk that others have possessed the Bible and lost it but this can never happen to us Someone may even feel there is no relationship hetween t he tensions of our own t ime in interpretation and what has transpired in the past

All of these notions are luicldy dispelled by even a rapid reading of tbis informative volume consisting or eight lectures by a group ot comshypetent English scholars The series has a ll unusually high degree o f ~olwrence and continuJty so that at tim e one has the impression thp book has a s ingle author

The ftrs t lecture by B3Trett Tile B ible i ll t he New Testament Period hegins with Philos treatnlent of th e Old Testament who he says was irresponsible he reads out o[ his text though ts which he has fi rst imshyplanted in it ills motive however was never conscious fals ification but that of a missionary (p 4) The approach to the origin of t he oIew Testament is that of a mild (orm cri ticism the authority of the Gospel t r adition does not consist in the adequacy of the biographica l materi als which the Gospels conta in but in tbe clarity of th e witness they bear to Jesus Chrlst (P 22) This 19 Illu stra ted by the dubious ques tion Who can distinguish wIlh complete con fidence between a historical statemen t that has led to a theological convidion and one t h)t has grown out of a theological conviction 1 0gt 22)

In the second lecture on the Greek F athers ChadwIck says blstOTY relleats today

In tile seltOnd a nd thi r d centuries the Church was the scene of impassioned deuate about the problem of historical di fficul ties of Scripture The Mosaic autllorship of the Pen ta teuch t he date or the Book ot Daniel the cred ibility ot tbe story ot Jonah the dimeusions Of Noahs Ark the discrepancies among the evangelists in respect of the placing of the cleansing or the Temple-these and many like questiQll s were keenly discussed A disciple of Marclon named Apelles remarked that it the Ark really had been 01 the size stated in Genesis it could only ha ve contained four elephants and their food

lly his allegorIcal method Qr igen was a ble to make Scr ipture contemshyporary more than a remote record of the d istant past (pp 37-38 ) fodelll divines were these second century theologs The counterpar t is easily seen today in Bultmann and similar methods Another revelashyrion from the Wstory of interpretation CODles t rom the patliSlt ic ng when lllen were using al legory as Kelly says in hi s lecture to d isshysolve Bible truth in to thin air and at the same time held presupposimiddot tions about the Bible as an inspired book whi(h pervaded Christendfll ll as a wbole in the patristic age (pp 4149)

58 THE SIRINGFIELDER

The chapter on the Bible in the Middle Ages by Smalley is the usual description of the sad extremes of allegorism which prevailed untll the Reformation Rupps analysis of Reformation exegesis in the next lecture leaves something wanting as to exactness and completeness Rupp says that during this age the Bible was the Great Bomb itself and prais the return to language and grammar in Interpretation

The two most significant lectures are The Bible in the Eighteenth Century by Carpenter and Lampes The Bible Since the Hise of Critical Study an era which he describes as the emancipation of the Word of God from the gravemiddotclothes wound around it by a prio)i dogmatism (P 126 )

The new approach had made it impossible to treat the Bible as a vast collection of proofmiddottexts To expound one part of Scripmiddot ture in the light of another without regard for the differences of outlook and intention between different authors was a dangershyous undertaking

But he adds significantly no doubt the nineteenth-century critics ignored a good deal of the underlying unity binding together the ditIerent writers (p 138)

At the conclusion of his lecture he points up where New Testament interpretation is today in these words

Ought we to go on from that point until we reach agreement with Bultmann that if this is so it does not matter whether the resurshyr ection as an hi~torical event ever happened And if historical judgment is irrelevant in this case should we extend the principle to the whole gospel and give to the alleged history a symbolical value only Or is it not rather the present task of criticism to map out a th11(l lcay where history is respected and where the idolatrous craYing for certainty and infalllbility or a cosy biblishycism OJ the certainty of exist~ntial en cOlm ter which h as no need to look to scriptural document or to the history that lies behind them (p 14lt11 If this is the present position of Interpretation it can go mywhere

or nowhere at all All possibilities are s tatpd in the form of questions And in the final Jesson chapter editor Nineham can only say that the past has no single consistent 01 eiearly formulated doctrine of the Bible Or way of approaching the Bible to hand on to us (p 145) H e point~ out no sure way except to say To whom are we to turn The short a nswer must be that you caunot turn to anyone except yourself (p 160)

At this point the se ries of leetures leaves one ou t on a limb but m uch is to be gained from sueh a perspective of the his tory of interpre tation One clear lesson i~ that the common denominator of contention through the senturies was whether 01 not the Bible should be taken at its race value jnst as it is today We recommend this worl or one similar to it to our readers assuming that the more blind alleys they recognize the more likely they are to follow th e method which leads to Truth Facetiously e do not suggest a fourth way of handling the word of Truth found in a note of Erasmus of a colloquy between one Cannius and Polyphemus in his day

Cannius H ow proves t thou that thou lovest the Gospel Polyphemus There was a certain gray friar which never ceased

to babble and rail against the New Testament of

i

e usual It the lecture gtp says praises

)teenth ~ritical

ord of tn (P

ia

r~ ershy

critics fferent

ament

th rshy

al Ie 11 to

IIei d d

where IUons i the Bible Ioinb short 160) but Irpreshyption

m at ~lilar

gnize ruth d of and

Book RevielVs

Erasmus I laid this New Testament on his pate as hard fLS I could drive and I made three bumps on his head as big as three eggs in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost

Cannius Truly this is as they sa~ to defend the Gospel with the Gospel (p 77)

We dont recommend this method but in some cases it could help

TJorman Pctes cn

HISTORICITY AND THE GOSPELS By H E W TUiner ~I R Mowshybray amp Co London 1963 108 pages Cloth 15s

THE HISTORICAL JESUS By Heinz Zahmt Translated b) J S Bowden Harper amp Row New York 1963 159 pages Cloth $360

Biblical scholas of our day are very nctlvely engaged in looking tor the ties between the Christian message and t he historical JeslIs You a biblical scholar may know that this generalization does not apply to you You IlIay not be engaged in a quest for the historical Jesus because yOU never knew He waE lost or because you believe that you have sucshycessfully found Him Any Individual detachment from the attempt to apply the methods of historical criticism to the witness of the Gospels to Jesus does not detract however from the truth that this Is a m a jor ((lDCern o~ current theological effort Mauy reputable scholara hav written their approach to t he subject every reputable scholar is reading and reacting to such writings

Dr Turner professor at the University of Durham has assembled three essays two ot whIch he had previously delivered as lectures T he first essay presents certa in prominent features of motive and methodologJshy

among the writers of history a listing whi(~h is apparently intended t be helpful to the student or general reader of history The second essay attempts to say tbat the Gospels are not so different from other historical documents that the student ot the Gospels would lay aside his historIcal lCience in order to understalld them It il true that the Evangelists write history with a motive with a concern for personal impact-all th material is related to a particular standpoint This second plane howshyever does not force the h istorian concerned with th e GOiipels to abandon his normal methods ot h istorical assessment Turner uses his tlLird e~say to register his d isapproval of Bultmanns sharp line of connshybetween HUitorie and Ge~chicht e

The Histo7ical J esus is J S Bowdens trallslatiol1 or Heinz ZahrntG fs Begann mit Teslts vo~ Nazar eth (1960) Tho German title is mOl exactly informative oj the assertion which Zahrnt makes The quest is for the historical JeEus not in order to r econstruct a life of JeSull but to establish through the study of this histor ical person the conti nuity between the proclamation made by Jesns and the proclamation made about Jesus And Zahrnt aSserts that the Identity of the earthly resus a url the Exalted Christ Is established in the historical resurrection or Jesus There must never be an end of historical investigation but critical historshyical study has already made clear that postEaster faith is no more than

59

58 THE SIRINGFIELDER

The chapter on the Bible in the Middle Ages by Smalley is the usual description of the sad extremes of allegorism which prevailed untll the Reformation Rupps analysis of Reformation exegesis in the next lecture leaves something wanting as to exactness and completeness Rupp says that during this age the Bible was the Great Bomb itself and prais the return to language and grammar in Interpretation

The two most significant lectures are The Bible in the Eighteenth Century by Carpenter and Lampes The Bible Since the Hise of Critical Study an era which he describes as the emancipation of the Word of God from the gravemiddotclothes wound around it by a prio)i dogmatism (P 126 )

The new approach had made it impossible to treat the Bible as a vast collection of proofmiddottexts To expound one part of Scripmiddot ture in the light of another without regard for the differences of outlook and intention between different authors was a dangershyous undertaking

But he adds significantly no doubt the nineteenth-century critics ignored a good deal of the underlying unity binding together the ditIerent writers (p 138)

At the conclusion of his lecture he points up where New Testament interpretation is today in these words

Ought we to go on from that point until we reach agreement with Bultmann that if this is so it does not matter whether the resurshyr ection as an hi~torical event ever happened And if historical judgment is irrelevant in this case should we extend the principle to the whole gospel and give to the alleged history a symbolical value only Or is it not rather the present task of criticism to map out a th11(l lcay where history is respected and where the idolatrous craYing for certainty and infalllbility or a cosy biblishycism OJ the certainty of exist~ntial en cOlm ter which h as no need to look to scriptural document or to the history that lies behind them (p 14lt11 If this is the present position of Interpretation it can go mywhere

or nowhere at all All possibilities are s tatpd in the form of questions And in the final Jesson chapter editor Nineham can only say that the past has no single consistent 01 eiearly formulated doctrine of the Bible Or way of approaching the Bible to hand on to us (p 145) H e point~ out no sure way except to say To whom are we to turn The short a nswer must be that you caunot turn to anyone except yourself (p 160)

At this point the se ries of leetures leaves one ou t on a limb but m uch is to be gained from sueh a perspective of the his tory of interpre tation One clear lesson i~ that the common denominator of contention through the senturies was whether 01 not the Bible should be taken at its race value jnst as it is today We recommend this worl or one similar to it to our readers assuming that the more blind alleys they recognize the more likely they are to follow th e method which leads to Truth Facetiously e do not suggest a fourth way of handling the word of Truth found in a note of Erasmus of a colloquy between one Cannius and Polyphemus in his day

Cannius H ow proves t thou that thou lovest the Gospel Polyphemus There was a certain gray friar which never ceased

to babble and rail against the New Testament of

i

e usual It the lecture gtp says praises

)teenth ~ritical

ord of tn (P

ia

r~ ershy

critics fferent

ament

th rshy

al Ie 11 to

IIei d d

where IUons i the Bible Ioinb short 160) but Irpreshyption

m at ~lilar

gnize ruth d of and

Book RevielVs

Erasmus I laid this New Testament on his pate as hard fLS I could drive and I made three bumps on his head as big as three eggs in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost

Cannius Truly this is as they sa~ to defend the Gospel with the Gospel (p 77)

We dont recommend this method but in some cases it could help

TJorman Pctes cn

HISTORICITY AND THE GOSPELS By H E W TUiner ~I R Mowshybray amp Co London 1963 108 pages Cloth 15s

THE HISTORICAL JESUS By Heinz Zahmt Translated b) J S Bowden Harper amp Row New York 1963 159 pages Cloth $360

Biblical scholas of our day are very nctlvely engaged in looking tor the ties between the Christian message and t he historical JeslIs You a biblical scholar may know that this generalization does not apply to you You IlIay not be engaged in a quest for the historical Jesus because yOU never knew He waE lost or because you believe that you have sucshycessfully found Him Any Individual detachment from the attempt to apply the methods of historical criticism to the witness of the Gospels to Jesus does not detract however from the truth that this Is a m a jor ((lDCern o~ current theological effort Mauy reputable scholara hav written their approach to t he subject every reputable scholar is reading and reacting to such writings

Dr Turner professor at the University of Durham has assembled three essays two ot whIch he had previously delivered as lectures T he first essay presents certa in prominent features of motive and methodologJshy

among the writers of history a listing whi(~h is apparently intended t be helpful to the student or general reader of history The second essay attempts to say tbat the Gospels are not so different from other historical documents that the student ot the Gospels would lay aside his historIcal lCience in order to understalld them It il true that the Evangelists write history with a motive with a concern for personal impact-all th material is related to a particular standpoint This second plane howshyever does not force the h istorian concerned with th e GOiipels to abandon his normal methods ot h istorical assessment Turner uses his tlLird e~say to register his d isapproval of Bultmanns sharp line of connshybetween HUitorie and Ge~chicht e

The Histo7ical J esus is J S Bowdens trallslatiol1 or Heinz ZahrntG fs Begann mit Teslts vo~ Nazar eth (1960) Tho German title is mOl exactly informative oj the assertion which Zahrnt makes The quest is for the historical JeEus not in order to r econstruct a life of JeSull but to establish through the study of this histor ical person the conti nuity between the proclamation made by Jesns and the proclamation made about Jesus And Zahrnt aSserts that the Identity of the earthly resus a url the Exalted Christ Is established in the historical resurrection or Jesus There must never be an end of historical investigation but critical historshyical study has already made clear that postEaster faith is no more than

59

i

e usual It the lecture gtp says praises

)teenth ~ritical

ord of tn (P

ia

r~ ershy

critics fferent

ament

th rshy

al Ie 11 to

IIei d d

where IUons i the Bible Ioinb short 160) but Irpreshyption

m at ~lilar

gnize ruth d of and

Book RevielVs

Erasmus I laid this New Testament on his pate as hard fLS I could drive and I made three bumps on his head as big as three eggs in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost

Cannius Truly this is as they sa~ to defend the Gospel with the Gospel (p 77)

We dont recommend this method but in some cases it could help

TJorman Pctes cn

HISTORICITY AND THE GOSPELS By H E W TUiner ~I R Mowshybray amp Co London 1963 108 pages Cloth 15s

THE HISTORICAL JESUS By Heinz Zahmt Translated b) J S Bowden Harper amp Row New York 1963 159 pages Cloth $360

Biblical scholas of our day are very nctlvely engaged in looking tor the ties between the Christian message and t he historical JeslIs You a biblical scholar may know that this generalization does not apply to you You IlIay not be engaged in a quest for the historical Jesus because yOU never knew He waE lost or because you believe that you have sucshycessfully found Him Any Individual detachment from the attempt to apply the methods of historical criticism to the witness of the Gospels to Jesus does not detract however from the truth that this Is a m a jor ((lDCern o~ current theological effort Mauy reputable scholara hav written their approach to t he subject every reputable scholar is reading and reacting to such writings

Dr Turner professor at the University of Durham has assembled three essays two ot whIch he had previously delivered as lectures T he first essay presents certa in prominent features of motive and methodologJshy

among the writers of history a listing whi(~h is apparently intended t be helpful to the student or general reader of history The second essay attempts to say tbat the Gospels are not so different from other historical documents that the student ot the Gospels would lay aside his historIcal lCience in order to understalld them It il true that the Evangelists write history with a motive with a concern for personal impact-all th material is related to a particular standpoint This second plane howshyever does not force the h istorian concerned with th e GOiipels to abandon his normal methods ot h istorical assessment Turner uses his tlLird e~say to register his d isapproval of Bultmanns sharp line of connshybetween HUitorie and Ge~chicht e

The Histo7ical J esus is J S Bowdens trallslatiol1 or Heinz ZahrntG fs Begann mit Teslts vo~ Nazar eth (1960) Tho German title is mOl exactly informative oj the assertion which Zahrnt makes The quest is for the historical JeEus not in order to r econstruct a life of JeSull but to establish through the study of this histor ical person the conti nuity between the proclamation made by Jesns and the proclamation made about Jesus And Zahrnt aSserts that the Identity of the earthly resus a url the Exalted Christ Is established in the historical resurrection or Jesus There must never be an end of historical investigation but critical historshyical study has already made clear that postEaster faith is no more than

59

60 THE PRINGFIpound LDEH

the correct understanding of t he pre-East r Jesus that fai th in J esus is grounded in J esus h imseH and not simply in th ker gm of the first (middotommunlty

Zahrnts concern is not so much to share with his readers tbe process y which he himsel f arrived at such a conclusion as ra ther to inform h is

read 1S of th more than a century old ellort through which historIcal research by t heologians with many successes and fail ures along the way ha come to such an Intellectuall y honest con lusion HiB method is to tra e the conflict between dogma and history to the polnt a t which they help each other instead of fi ghting with each other Liberal Theshy()Iogy th e His tory ot Religio ns School DIalectical Theology F rm r itmiddot cis Kerygma Theology a ll become a p rt his story Each group of t heologians devoted W t heir d iscovery makes its own contribution but in t he end ea h is fo und wanting because of failu re to ask the ultimate questions or to be onsistent with ita own pr inci ples I n Zab rnts opinion there was no real arrival at the goal of the who le uest until the present day of Kiisemann Bornkamm E beling Fuchs Oonzelmann (IIl others who hav ucceedcd in gOing beyond Bultmann

T h e H istoric l JCS1ts demands to be read It makes assertions it evaluate reely it maintains nnd supports a poin of view it forces its reader to 5S nt or dis5en Adm ittedly Zahrnt makes ma n statements wh ich seem very st range and the libraryS copy of tbe bool_ ill hortly be marked w ith a whole series of question marks in th margins Bu t Zahrnt say that th new scien ti fic in vestigation of the problem oC the histor ical Jesus is an indispensable th ological necessity and a Ital interest of t he hrlstian fa ith (p 101) Thls writ r is hesitan t to dismiddot redit such n s rUons fo~ Z hrn t has forewarned that a fa ith whlch

insists on be ing main ta1n ed through a whole series of acrifices of t he intellect is not fa Ith at all bu t a series of works ( Pl) 19-23 et 1lassi1~)

Turner s book lIas no urgency a bout it It Is an extended essay about var ous relat d subject matters with oc asional summary statements mnny o( which come lt s urprises because the reader did not suspect that the material w intende to lead to concl sion Perh ps the work is t 0 objecti The a uth s not trong ly enough represented tll er d the reader is llowed to lemain unalected

Ray F Martetl$

LORD OF lHE TEMPL By Ernst L ohmey r Translated hy tewart Todd Oll ver a nd Boyd E dinb urgh an d London 1961 John Kn ox Pr ess R ichmond Virginia 1962 116 pages Cloth 15s $300

TWs book had its beginnings in a serIes or lect ures which the author th n on cli military dnty in Poland delivered at U PllS I and Lun d in 1039 11 this _tudy Lohmeyer a tte pts to determine t il I lationsh 1l between ult a nd Gospzl in the min istry f Jesus as it i8 recorded iJ the Synoptic Gospels [or e speci fi cally Lohmeyer is inter ested in ascermiddot taining wh t attitude wa adop d n the gospel 0 Jesus to the problem po ed by the cult and to the cult ltsel (page 3

Book R eviews

The authors starting point Is the observation that with in a century aIter the time of Jesus temples were desolate and sacrIfi ces were being abandoned Fmther more he notes that

Wherever the Chris tian Gospel has taken root in heart and home In palace and cottage tem ple a ud sacrifice have disappeared from the laud nnd life or t he peoples (page 2)

This desp ite the fact that attacks on temples an d pulling down of altars ele almost unknown in thE ear ly ch urch

Lohmeyer prefaces his inquiry with a bri ef but valuable discussion o[ the Jew ish cult He defines cult as that

ad-directed activi ty wll ich is based on a revelation regul a ted by holy rules and pursued by a society which is an historically existing entity a nd is rooted in such r evelation (page 6)

Cult Is the re-actio of the community to Gods actio it is the communitys response to His preceding word Cult is t hen examined In its relationshyship to history the Torah polit ical images and fi nally to ethics

The heart of Lohmeyers labor Is a careful examination of the g ospels for any aDd all cultic refer ences Marks gospel is t he baSic ltlocument ~lattbew and Luke a re considered Insofar as they m odify the l1arlml1 framew or k Mat thew and l1ark it is found des(ribe Jesus as fiercely opposed to Temple and cult and campaigni ng actively agains t them Luke however scems to represent a more r estrained a ttitude t owa rd cul t 1n his gospel cult is the Godmiddotglven ground out of whi ch the fai flo wer ot I sraels r edemption springs For L uke Jesus rather tban destroying cul t fu liIIs the heritage wh ich lound expression in it (DageS 6759)

The last forty pages ot the book are devoted to considera tion of the cultic basis and the cnlUc aims of Jesus Gospel followed by a shor t di scuss ion of th e Christ ian cult wWch arose [rom the life and work of Jesus

The reader will fin d many values in this study It provirt cs first of all an able introduction to a co mplex and ques t ion-ridden a rea of New TesLament stud y The reader w il l a lso fi nd t hat his u nderstandin g of an orten neglectert dimension of our Lords ministry i s deepened Lobshymeyers exegetical insights and commen ts are often sti mula t ing they rmiddothallenge all ot us to con tinued study of the gospels in deptb

Benno W SaZewski

LROCLAlMINO TIrE PARABLES By Martin B Scbarlemann The Witness ing Chu rch SerIes Edited by W ill iam J Danker Concordia PubUsb ln g House St L ouis 1963 94 pages Paper $175

Dr Schnrleulann s book was orlglnally presented as a ser ies of flve lectur es to t he Parish AdmIn istration Institute at Concordia Seminary St LouIs The original head ing or the lectures was Mining the Messae for the Mission Their pur pose was to a id pastors in arriving a t the real meaning or a t ext of S~ipture specifi ca lly that of parables

The author speaks of the meaning of the word parable and shows how impor tan t a place parables held in the teaehing of Jesus fully onEshy

61

62 THE SPRlNGFIELDLR

over

~us8Ion or the interpretation of parables particularly helpful Noteworthy mucl

are the crJteria set forth by the author to aid one in determining the

third or it being in parabolic form Pastors will find the authors dismiddot

How

point of comparison upon which so much depends The chapter ou the The

klngdom o[ God is without doubt one of the most important iu the book his

In it the author analyzes the concept of the knlgdom of God from Old mint

Testament times to the coming of Jesus who was in a special sense the Serl]

embodiment of the kingdom of God Five parables are analyzed each one of them with special reference stud

the kingdom of God fol the parable shows the kingdom of God in aturl

action The parables treated are The Automatic Action or the Soil I on

The Two Sons The Barren Fig Tree The Unjust Judge The Unjust cuss

Manager Each parable is treated textually exegetically and homiletimiddot caliy Of particular iuterest is the treatment given the Parable of The the

Unjust Manager The authors remarks on this parable are p rtieularlY it Is

illuminating and poiut to the value ot t he mining process which he anal

encourages the pastor to follow The result of this thorough study b y proc Foll(the author is evident in the depth of thought with which the author

tr~ats his subjects In general it may be said that the authors style to is simple straightforward and lucid and his treatment of hIs subject is scholarly In Our opinion the lecture as originally delivered to the In clt

Pastors Institute must have had a profound effect upon their hearers the

Purchase of the book will be justified If nothing else results from vhi

its reading but that pastors will follow the suggestions given for mining give

the text Spiritual enrichment for bot pastor and congregation will inevitaJ)]y result 5U

and are othe

INDEPENDENT BIBLE STUDY A G1TIDE TO PERSONAL STUDY OF

Gemi Dolal

diffie THJ~ SCRIPTURE By Irving L Jensen Moody Press Chicago 1963 1E8 pages Cloth $350 und

whieThis stimulating and informative volume by the chairman or the studBible Department Bryan College repreEents the crystallization of ideas Agaor a number of scholar on the most effective way to study the Engli8h

Bible The readel will find here thE views of Wilbert White Howard theKuist Robert Traina Joseph Getty Campbell Morgan Howard Voss tionEmily Wernel and others as they relate to the inductive method o(

Bible study The term Independent Bible study in the iitle is not used to sugge middott

01 foster al~ independent attitude oj selfmiddotsufficiency or vanity where all MAl outside aill is spurned The core o~ ones study should b an original lirs thand charactel but wherever possible a selective and w ellmiddottimed reference to supplemen tary aids is desirable (P 15) The a uthor is COllvinced that the fruits of Bible study are iargely determined by hoL the Bible is studied Many peoplc fail to engage in personal an d direct who

teuc

in dealing with the various bookS of the Bible with its thousandmiddotplus ever

pages Thl1 author is convinced that many would-be Biblr students arc stan

Bible study because they are ignorant of a sound procedure t o follow

uthors disshy~oteworthy mining the pter 011 th e n the book a from Old I sense the

I reference of God i I the Soil fhe Unjust I homlletishyble of The articularly which he study by

he author lors style subject is 3d to the bearers ults from r mining ltion will

~o lI17

UDY OF Chicago

of t h e or ideal Engl hih Howard d V08S

thod o l

sugges t here all ~ri1ina 7

iII-timeil t hor jl

by h o I direct

follow d-pl U

tit nrmiddot

Book Reviews

overwhelmed by problems like the following Where do I begin How much do I stUdy at a time What does it say What does it mean How can I study efficiently How can I remember what I have studied TheEe can only be adequately answered when the student has committed his life t o Christ completely allows the Holy Spirit to illuminate the mind an d follows a sound and practical method in the study of the Scriptures

Before setting forth the principles of the inductive method of Bible study Dr Jensen acquaints the readers with the different types of litershyature that are found in the Bible There is an excellent section in Chapter I on ways to r ecognire the structural unity of a book followed by a disshycussion of the basic laws of composition employed by Biblical writers

Chapter II presents the teaching of Dr Wilbert bite founder of the Biblical Seminary o[ New York City on the inductive method which it Is claimed is scientific In character The inductive method is basically analytieal in its approach to the literature of the Bible Its order of procedure is (1) Begin with the observable-what do you see (2)

Follow with the interpretative- what does it mean (3) Do not fall to make application-how does it affect you

Chapters III and IV considel the principles of the analytical chart In connection with the dlscusiOlon of chart making Dr Jensen Introduces the place of the book surveyor book method made famous by Wilbert White L W Sweet R A Torrey and James M Gray The author has given a number of examples of how to make charts

Dr Jensen concludes his book with two appendices Appendix I has 8uggestions for a program of studies which employs the methodology and prindples r ecommended in the book For any method of study there are some portions of the Bible which are more difficult to study than others In learning how to construct an analytical chart the more difficult sections of the Bible should be avoided

Appendix II is a reprint of a students crisis experience in method under the great scientist and teacher Professor J ean Agassiz of Harvard which has become a classic on the methodology of original filsthand study The fundamentals set forth in The Student The Fish and Agassiz likewise apply to Bible study

The revi ewer hopes that lllany readers of this journal will purchase the book mastcr its principles and follOW them in the study interp retashytion and application of the Bible the Book of Life

Raymond SlI1bUTI

~AN IN THE NEW TESTAMENT By Werner Georg Kuemmel Transshylated by John J Vincent The Westminster Press Philadelphia 1963 100 pages Cloth $295

What does the New Testame nt have ~o say about Man-the Man to whom the Christian message is addressed No serious preacher or teacher of the Gospel can afford to take this question lightly For behind every proclamation of the Gospel necessarily lies a picture and an undershystanding of the nature of man This book by an eminent New Testament

I

63

Book R eviews

The authors starting point Is the observation that with in a century aIter the time of Jesus temples were desolate and sacrIfi ces were being abandoned Fmther more he notes that

Wherever the Chris tian Gospel has taken root in heart and home In palace and cottage tem ple a ud sacrifice have disappeared from the laud nnd life or t he peoples (page 2)

This desp ite the fact that attacks on temples an d pulling down of altars ele almost unknown in thE ear ly ch urch

Lohmeyer prefaces his inquiry with a bri ef but valuable discussion o[ the Jew ish cult He defines cult as that

ad-directed activi ty wll ich is based on a revelation regul a ted by holy rules and pursued by a society which is an historically existing entity a nd is rooted in such r evelation (page 6)

Cult Is the re-actio of the community to Gods actio it is the communitys response to His preceding word Cult is t hen examined In its relationshyship to history the Torah polit ical images and fi nally to ethics

The heart of Lohmeyers labor Is a careful examination of the g ospels for any aDd all cultic refer ences Marks gospel is t he baSic ltlocument ~lattbew and Luke a re considered Insofar as they m odify the l1arlml1 framew or k Mat thew and l1ark it is found des(ribe Jesus as fiercely opposed to Temple and cult and campaigni ng actively agains t them Luke however scems to represent a more r estrained a ttitude t owa rd cul t 1n his gospel cult is the Godmiddotglven ground out of whi ch the fai flo wer ot I sraels r edemption springs For L uke Jesus rather tban destroying cul t fu liIIs the heritage wh ich lound expression in it (DageS 6759)

The last forty pages ot the book are devoted to considera tion of the cultic basis and the cnlUc aims of Jesus Gospel followed by a shor t di scuss ion of th e Christ ian cult wWch arose [rom the life and work of Jesus

The reader will fin d many values in this study It provirt cs first of all an able introduction to a co mplex and ques t ion-ridden a rea of New TesLament stud y The reader w il l a lso fi nd t hat his u nderstandin g of an orten neglectert dimension of our Lords ministry i s deepened Lobshymeyers exegetical insights and commen ts are often sti mula t ing they rmiddothallenge all ot us to con tinued study of the gospels in deptb

Benno W SaZewski

LROCLAlMINO TIrE PARABLES By Martin B Scbarlemann The Witness ing Chu rch SerIes Edited by W ill iam J Danker Concordia PubUsb ln g House St L ouis 1963 94 pages Paper $175

Dr Schnrleulann s book was orlglnally presented as a ser ies of flve lectur es to t he Parish AdmIn istration Institute at Concordia Seminary St LouIs The original head ing or the lectures was Mining the Messae for the Mission Their pur pose was to a id pastors in arriving a t the real meaning or a t ext of S~ipture specifi ca lly that of parables

The author speaks of the meaning of the word parable and shows how impor tan t a place parables held in the teaehing of Jesus fully onEshy

61

62 THE SPRlNGFIELDLR

over

~us8Ion or the interpretation of parables particularly helpful Noteworthy mucl

are the crJteria set forth by the author to aid one in determining the

third or it being in parabolic form Pastors will find the authors dismiddot

How

point of comparison upon which so much depends The chapter ou the The

klngdom o[ God is without doubt one of the most important iu the book his

In it the author analyzes the concept of the knlgdom of God from Old mint

Testament times to the coming of Jesus who was in a special sense the Serl]

embodiment of the kingdom of God Five parables are analyzed each one of them with special reference stud

the kingdom of God fol the parable shows the kingdom of God in aturl

action The parables treated are The Automatic Action or the Soil I on

The Two Sons The Barren Fig Tree The Unjust Judge The Unjust cuss

Manager Each parable is treated textually exegetically and homiletimiddot caliy Of particular iuterest is the treatment given the Parable of The the

Unjust Manager The authors remarks on this parable are p rtieularlY it Is

illuminating and poiut to the value ot t he mining process which he anal

encourages the pastor to follow The result of this thorough study b y proc Foll(the author is evident in the depth of thought with which the author

tr~ats his subjects In general it may be said that the authors style to is simple straightforward and lucid and his treatment of hIs subject is scholarly In Our opinion the lecture as originally delivered to the In clt

Pastors Institute must have had a profound effect upon their hearers the

Purchase of the book will be justified If nothing else results from vhi

its reading but that pastors will follow the suggestions given for mining give

the text Spiritual enrichment for bot pastor and congregation will inevitaJ)]y result 5U

and are othe

INDEPENDENT BIBLE STUDY A G1TIDE TO PERSONAL STUDY OF

Gemi Dolal

diffie THJ~ SCRIPTURE By Irving L Jensen Moody Press Chicago 1963 1E8 pages Cloth $350 und

whieThis stimulating and informative volume by the chairman or the studBible Department Bryan College repreEents the crystallization of ideas Agaor a number of scholar on the most effective way to study the Engli8h

Bible The readel will find here thE views of Wilbert White Howard theKuist Robert Traina Joseph Getty Campbell Morgan Howard Voss tionEmily Wernel and others as they relate to the inductive method o(

Bible study The term Independent Bible study in the iitle is not used to sugge middott

01 foster al~ independent attitude oj selfmiddotsufficiency or vanity where all MAl outside aill is spurned The core o~ ones study should b an original lirs thand charactel but wherever possible a selective and w ellmiddottimed reference to supplemen tary aids is desirable (P 15) The a uthor is COllvinced that the fruits of Bible study are iargely determined by hoL the Bible is studied Many peoplc fail to engage in personal an d direct who

teuc

in dealing with the various bookS of the Bible with its thousandmiddotplus ever

pages Thl1 author is convinced that many would-be Biblr students arc stan

Bible study because they are ignorant of a sound procedure t o follow

uthors disshy~oteworthy mining the pter 011 th e n the book a from Old I sense the

I reference of God i I the Soil fhe Unjust I homlletishyble of The articularly which he study by

he author lors style subject is 3d to the bearers ults from r mining ltion will

~o lI17

UDY OF Chicago

of t h e or ideal Engl hih Howard d V08S

thod o l

sugges t here all ~ri1ina 7

iII-timeil t hor jl

by h o I direct

follow d-pl U

tit nrmiddot

Book Reviews

overwhelmed by problems like the following Where do I begin How much do I stUdy at a time What does it say What does it mean How can I study efficiently How can I remember what I have studied TheEe can only be adequately answered when the student has committed his life t o Christ completely allows the Holy Spirit to illuminate the mind an d follows a sound and practical method in the study of the Scriptures

Before setting forth the principles of the inductive method of Bible study Dr Jensen acquaints the readers with the different types of litershyature that are found in the Bible There is an excellent section in Chapter I on ways to r ecognire the structural unity of a book followed by a disshycussion of the basic laws of composition employed by Biblical writers

Chapter II presents the teaching of Dr Wilbert bite founder of the Biblical Seminary o[ New York City on the inductive method which it Is claimed is scientific In character The inductive method is basically analytieal in its approach to the literature of the Bible Its order of procedure is (1) Begin with the observable-what do you see (2)

Follow with the interpretative- what does it mean (3) Do not fall to make application-how does it affect you

Chapters III and IV considel the principles of the analytical chart In connection with the dlscusiOlon of chart making Dr Jensen Introduces the place of the book surveyor book method made famous by Wilbert White L W Sweet R A Torrey and James M Gray The author has given a number of examples of how to make charts

Dr Jensen concludes his book with two appendices Appendix I has 8uggestions for a program of studies which employs the methodology and prindples r ecommended in the book For any method of study there are some portions of the Bible which are more difficult to study than others In learning how to construct an analytical chart the more difficult sections of the Bible should be avoided

Appendix II is a reprint of a students crisis experience in method under the great scientist and teacher Professor J ean Agassiz of Harvard which has become a classic on the methodology of original filsthand study The fundamentals set forth in The Student The Fish and Agassiz likewise apply to Bible study

The revi ewer hopes that lllany readers of this journal will purchase the book mastcr its principles and follOW them in the study interp retashytion and application of the Bible the Book of Life

Raymond SlI1bUTI

~AN IN THE NEW TESTAMENT By Werner Georg Kuemmel Transshylated by John J Vincent The Westminster Press Philadelphia 1963 100 pages Cloth $295

What does the New Testame nt have ~o say about Man-the Man to whom the Christian message is addressed No serious preacher or teacher of the Gospel can afford to take this question lightly For behind every proclamation of the Gospel necessarily lies a picture and an undershystanding of the nature of man This book by an eminent New Testament

I

63

62 THE SPRlNGFIELDLR

over

~us8Ion or the interpretation of parables particularly helpful Noteworthy mucl

are the crJteria set forth by the author to aid one in determining the

third or it being in parabolic form Pastors will find the authors dismiddot

How

point of comparison upon which so much depends The chapter ou the The

klngdom o[ God is without doubt one of the most important iu the book his

In it the author analyzes the concept of the knlgdom of God from Old mint

Testament times to the coming of Jesus who was in a special sense the Serl]

embodiment of the kingdom of God Five parables are analyzed each one of them with special reference stud

the kingdom of God fol the parable shows the kingdom of God in aturl

action The parables treated are The Automatic Action or the Soil I on

The Two Sons The Barren Fig Tree The Unjust Judge The Unjust cuss

Manager Each parable is treated textually exegetically and homiletimiddot caliy Of particular iuterest is the treatment given the Parable of The the

Unjust Manager The authors remarks on this parable are p rtieularlY it Is

illuminating and poiut to the value ot t he mining process which he anal

encourages the pastor to follow The result of this thorough study b y proc Foll(the author is evident in the depth of thought with which the author

tr~ats his subjects In general it may be said that the authors style to is simple straightforward and lucid and his treatment of hIs subject is scholarly In Our opinion the lecture as originally delivered to the In clt

Pastors Institute must have had a profound effect upon their hearers the

Purchase of the book will be justified If nothing else results from vhi

its reading but that pastors will follow the suggestions given for mining give

the text Spiritual enrichment for bot pastor and congregation will inevitaJ)]y result 5U

and are othe

INDEPENDENT BIBLE STUDY A G1TIDE TO PERSONAL STUDY OF

Gemi Dolal

diffie THJ~ SCRIPTURE By Irving L Jensen Moody Press Chicago 1963 1E8 pages Cloth $350 und

whieThis stimulating and informative volume by the chairman or the studBible Department Bryan College repreEents the crystallization of ideas Agaor a number of scholar on the most effective way to study the Engli8h

Bible The readel will find here thE views of Wilbert White Howard theKuist Robert Traina Joseph Getty Campbell Morgan Howard Voss tionEmily Wernel and others as they relate to the inductive method o(

Bible study The term Independent Bible study in the iitle is not used to sugge middott

01 foster al~ independent attitude oj selfmiddotsufficiency or vanity where all MAl outside aill is spurned The core o~ ones study should b an original lirs thand charactel but wherever possible a selective and w ellmiddottimed reference to supplemen tary aids is desirable (P 15) The a uthor is COllvinced that the fruits of Bible study are iargely determined by hoL the Bible is studied Many peoplc fail to engage in personal an d direct who

teuc

in dealing with the various bookS of the Bible with its thousandmiddotplus ever

pages Thl1 author is convinced that many would-be Biblr students arc stan

Bible study because they are ignorant of a sound procedure t o follow

uthors disshy~oteworthy mining the pter 011 th e n the book a from Old I sense the

I reference of God i I the Soil fhe Unjust I homlletishyble of The articularly which he study by

he author lors style subject is 3d to the bearers ults from r mining ltion will

~o lI17

UDY OF Chicago

of t h e or ideal Engl hih Howard d V08S

thod o l

sugges t here all ~ri1ina 7

iII-timeil t hor jl

by h o I direct

follow d-pl U

tit nrmiddot

Book Reviews

overwhelmed by problems like the following Where do I begin How much do I stUdy at a time What does it say What does it mean How can I study efficiently How can I remember what I have studied TheEe can only be adequately answered when the student has committed his life t o Christ completely allows the Holy Spirit to illuminate the mind an d follows a sound and practical method in the study of the Scriptures

Before setting forth the principles of the inductive method of Bible study Dr Jensen acquaints the readers with the different types of litershyature that are found in the Bible There is an excellent section in Chapter I on ways to r ecognire the structural unity of a book followed by a disshycussion of the basic laws of composition employed by Biblical writers

Chapter II presents the teaching of Dr Wilbert bite founder of the Biblical Seminary o[ New York City on the inductive method which it Is claimed is scientific In character The inductive method is basically analytieal in its approach to the literature of the Bible Its order of procedure is (1) Begin with the observable-what do you see (2)

Follow with the interpretative- what does it mean (3) Do not fall to make application-how does it affect you

Chapters III and IV considel the principles of the analytical chart In connection with the dlscusiOlon of chart making Dr Jensen Introduces the place of the book surveyor book method made famous by Wilbert White L W Sweet R A Torrey and James M Gray The author has given a number of examples of how to make charts

Dr Jensen concludes his book with two appendices Appendix I has 8uggestions for a program of studies which employs the methodology and prindples r ecommended in the book For any method of study there are some portions of the Bible which are more difficult to study than others In learning how to construct an analytical chart the more difficult sections of the Bible should be avoided

Appendix II is a reprint of a students crisis experience in method under the great scientist and teacher Professor J ean Agassiz of Harvard which has become a classic on the methodology of original filsthand study The fundamentals set forth in The Student The Fish and Agassiz likewise apply to Bible study

The revi ewer hopes that lllany readers of this journal will purchase the book mastcr its principles and follOW them in the study interp retashytion and application of the Bible the Book of Life

Raymond SlI1bUTI

~AN IN THE NEW TESTAMENT By Werner Georg Kuemmel Transshylated by John J Vincent The Westminster Press Philadelphia 1963 100 pages Cloth $295

What does the New Testame nt have ~o say about Man-the Man to whom the Christian message is addressed No serious preacher or teacher of the Gospel can afford to take this question lightly For behind every proclamation of the Gospel necessarily lies a picture and an undershystanding of the nature of man This book by an eminent New Testament

I

63

uthors disshy~oteworthy mining the pter 011 th e n the book a from Old I sense the

I reference of God i I the Soil fhe Unjust I homlletishyble of The articularly which he study by

he author lors style subject is 3d to the bearers ults from r mining ltion will

~o lI17

UDY OF Chicago

of t h e or ideal Engl hih Howard d V08S

thod o l

sugges t here all ~ri1ina 7

iII-timeil t hor jl

by h o I direct

follow d-pl U

tit nrmiddot

Book Reviews

overwhelmed by problems like the following Where do I begin How much do I stUdy at a time What does it say What does it mean How can I study efficiently How can I remember what I have studied TheEe can only be adequately answered when the student has committed his life t o Christ completely allows the Holy Spirit to illuminate the mind an d follows a sound and practical method in the study of the Scriptures

Before setting forth the principles of the inductive method of Bible study Dr Jensen acquaints the readers with the different types of litershyature that are found in the Bible There is an excellent section in Chapter I on ways to r ecognire the structural unity of a book followed by a disshycussion of the basic laws of composition employed by Biblical writers

Chapter II presents the teaching of Dr Wilbert bite founder of the Biblical Seminary o[ New York City on the inductive method which it Is claimed is scientific In character The inductive method is basically analytieal in its approach to the literature of the Bible Its order of procedure is (1) Begin with the observable-what do you see (2)

Follow with the interpretative- what does it mean (3) Do not fall to make application-how does it affect you

Chapters III and IV considel the principles of the analytical chart In connection with the dlscusiOlon of chart making Dr Jensen Introduces the place of the book surveyor book method made famous by Wilbert White L W Sweet R A Torrey and James M Gray The author has given a number of examples of how to make charts

Dr Jensen concludes his book with two appendices Appendix I has 8uggestions for a program of studies which employs the methodology and prindples r ecommended in the book For any method of study there are some portions of the Bible which are more difficult to study than others In learning how to construct an analytical chart the more difficult sections of the Bible should be avoided

Appendix II is a reprint of a students crisis experience in method under the great scientist and teacher Professor J ean Agassiz of Harvard which has become a classic on the methodology of original filsthand study The fundamentals set forth in The Student The Fish and Agassiz likewise apply to Bible study

The revi ewer hopes that lllany readers of this journal will purchase the book mastcr its principles and follOW them in the study interp retashytion and application of the Bible the Book of Life

Raymond SlI1bUTI

~AN IN THE NEW TESTAMENT By Werner Georg Kuemmel Transshylated by John J Vincent The Westminster Press Philadelphia 1963 100 pages Cloth $295

What does the New Testame nt have ~o say about Man-the Man to whom the Christian message is addressed No serious preacher or teacher of the Gospel can afford to take this question lightly For behind every proclamation of the Gospel necessarily lies a picture and an undershystanding of the nature of man This book by an eminent New Testament

I

63

64

schola r at th e Un iversity or MarbuIg attempts to d pict IlIun as the ell Testament seel him In the light of the man th ings sa id and writt en abont man today-man eem ingly never tires of t alking about h imselfshyIl is refr eshin g (a nd sobering ) to read what the No Testament saYf about him

This work which 01 glnuIly app sred in erman in 1948 was e tenmiddot sive] r vis cJ fo r th is translation The study itsel[ is divi ded Into [our major sectio After the author tates t he problem he gives a descripmiddot ti n or man a he is viewed by J U In the S nopti kerygma by Paul In the Joha nnin e theology a nd fin a lly In t he other wTi tings r the )Tew

e tament J esu seeraquo man as (1I1 ctlve p lson stan cI in g oYer aga t God but

(a ling to ultl Il h ta r WhiC)l is the service or COfI Therefore JesuR ca me preaching Tep ntance (me anoia) t t Is that ma n should tu rll Id from t he wrong 18Y and embar upon t he way whi h is the will o[ G OII Man is utterly dep ndent upon God because be Is create by HIn1 and h ile he is th e crown creati n tWs enha nces not hI 81)ecial va lue be ore God 111t ra ther hi s great obligation to Him

But man does not ful fi ll thi obligatIon He does not do the will of d in fact he sets hi ll1R) in oP llosition t God He does thIs hen

he ithdra ws frQIJl God commandments by chrmging them to su i ll immiddot elf He does t h is w h sll like the cr ibes a fl(l PhariEees he overlooks his lavo posi tion and clt im speci 1 r cOgnit on fr m od by reason o[ hi

achi evement He does t his when he reCu es to recoe-niz Oods care ano vlll not Sllbm it himself to It Jesus accoTll in cr to the author sees man a s cL hlst ri cal he ing IJ ght lw t w n ) is cr eation in tit llal and his jud gment in th e fu t ure

Pauls pieture u man is essentially the sa llle us that 0 J esu H ol middot ever it 18 form ed on the ba is of his ow n uuique experiences l1s ing ncepts that h e brought with him from h is own background Paul sees mall t rapped by the kos7llo ~ standing dist inr-t (rom God t in tJl~

grea t antithes is or gar and Imelm~a

John emphlmiddotZ the fac t th a t IDan not onl~( l h in the wor ld but a lso th a t h e is of th e w r Id f n h aws tha t II is 0 the world b mililife tlng t he Pl sions of th e flesh To be [ tll world cor r esponds to bein g n ot of Goil a cbaracteristlc expre sion of John

he sinfulness o f m a nkind is om thing that i clear Illy to th~

eyel of fa ith T he picture o[ m n held by Jesus Paul and John Is n~

that is understandable nl from n Christian point of vlev It Is n

picture work rl out on the baSis 0 th exPerience o[ Gods salva ion in r hrist Thus the p ictUlC of ma n in th e ew Testa ment is on th a t is ontlitio ll ed by Chr istia n fa ith and therefore cauDot b eX1)ectocI to o mll1cnd itlolf to a llonIJh ris tian world

T he rest of the New Testament agrees with th iB picture with two au tabl exeeptions These a r e passages in Acts 1727-29 and II Peter 14 Concern ing- the fo rmer the luthor ates that It cannot b brought lI to barmony with the view or man as presented in t h rest or the ew Testament The la tter he ees as a de nite xllression 0 th HelJen istic view of man This is not astonishing tor both tpxts In the ir ontexts

~ew

len Irshy

ay

tenshyour ri pshyl ui few

ut mamp Lrn rill lIy inl

of en mshyLi s is d III

is

tVmiddot

ig il t

It i s

l

e

Hook Review

and th eir wbole theological bearing belong only to the fringe of the New Testament Since these t eJt ts appear as strange within the New Testament picture of man the author concludes that they a re to be attributed to the intrusion ot Helleni stic ideas Outside of these two IxceptiollS wwever the New Testament presents a uni fled picture of man and h Is nature

The page of this book provide the student of Srripturc with a dear lJ ut sober picture of man T he study is well written and easy to follow

question mlgll t be r ailed about the authorR concept of fringes of the New Testament anr about r emarks regardin g tbe interpretation of unclear JJa~Rages ( IJ 14 ) bu t in lpite o[ the occasional question marJlt the s tudy is valuable and deser ves the careful c(lnsideratioll of eyery proclalmer of the- Good News of God in Christ

krlelh Dllt~

TIME lOR ETERNtTY By George W Hoyer a nd Justus P Kretzmnnn Con cordia Publishing H onse S t Louis 1963 353 pages Cl oth $595

oDscientious llreachers aspiro to skill with word~ J B Phillips bas pointed out t hat the preacher needs to say the right words shaped cunn ingly to pass mens defenses and to explode silently within their minds Tn 7 ime _ bull For Eternitll is a volume of sermons which display speech melody the rllytbm of carefully formed phr ases and th e onom ashytopoeia of words Yet mere skill with words is n ever substituted for prfaching the word

Based on tbe Eisenach Epistle Lessons in the ReYised Standard Version these 68 sermons coYer the en tire ch urch year They wer e preached at the 2400-member Lutheran Church of t he Atonement Florismiddot sant lIHssouri by Justus P Kletzlllann pastor or the congregation and George W H oyer professor of Homiletics at Concordia Seminary St Louis Dotll men have sought out what God had to say in the words of each text to tpecille people living at a spccific time The description of origin al sIn as a suhtracting (pp 6-7) the declaring of the Gospel as tho establishing by God of fr iendship and fellowship (p 12) the preachshying of the Law as t shifting 01 blame (P 75) the reference to Baptism (p 93) the meaning of scorn in the Christians life (P 95) the ways in which Christian lov e can be expressGd (p 314)-these are all instances of the Word of judgment and the Word of grace being brought to bear penetratingly upon peoples lives Th ls reviewer appreciated t he freshyquent references to Baptism in these sermons as well as the r elating of he sermon to the Introit and Collect tor the day

reatlve use of imagination is evident in many of the sermons Take [or example th e sermon ti tled Increasingly Religious for the 6th Sunday after Trinity Look too at the themes of the sermons Here are a few The Way of Merey with Mispry Thats the Spirit Count God In Journey to Mount Zion God Speaks Sharply A New Way for a New Day The play on words in some of t he major diYisions is not only interesting Iut bea utiful In the sermon for the 5th Sunday after Epiphany nnder

65

66 THE $PRINGFIELDER

the theme SOllie Changes Made we tlnd I Thereve Been Some Changes Made and II Therell De Some Changes Made In the sermon for Invocavit we have the theme He Was As We and then 1 Remember it in Despondency and n Remember it in Complacency And for the 1st Sunday after Easter the theme is We Shall Live Also under which are the major divisions 1 Ours is a Living Hope and II Ours is Hopefnl Living Individual sentences r eveal the same quality Or does your faith limp instead of leap because you complain about His very gifts (P 207) Tho Christian credits God with the formation of man and mnst equally credit God with the reformation or man (p 220)

An outstanding feature of these sermons is their smooth and natural use of illustrations The conclusion of the sermon for the 2nd Snnday in Advent and the sermon for the Sunday after Christmas furnish examples of fine illustrations illustrations which really illuminate and which indicate that the authors spoke with a will to be understood

How well any sermon is understood is difficult for a preacher-and reviewer-to assess with accuracy Communication through a number of the sermons in In [ime For Eternity may well have been hampered by poor paragraph transitions fmd by a lack of clear major divisions The development of the major points was not always easily followed by this reviewer Some or the sermons seemed scattered lacking a definite aim for the connection between important thoughts in a sermon and the stated central thought was not always clear (see pp 13f l2L 54f 70f) Occasional clumsy sentences and jumbled paragraphs also contributed to prevent meaning from getting through (see last paragraph in the sermon for the 2nd Sunday after Trinity)

The uneven quality of the sermons in this volume reflects til preaching done in most congregations in the span of a year Very fc preachers are able to soar up with the wings of an eagle every Sundy Yet every sermon in In Time For Eternity points the Law and the Gospel to the real needs of people What is more they set forth the Word with a refreshing naturalness and a loving concern for people ThiR

11

p

reviewer is convinced that thf saints at Florissant were edified )l

(JCthard A lto

HALFORD LUCCOCK TREASURY By Robert E Luccoclc Abingdon Press Nashville 1963 446 pages Cloth $600

The HaHcrd Luccock Treasury Is a sons grateful tribute to his father who for forty yealS served as author preacher columnist comshymentator and who was recognized as the dean of American homileticians

This work contains selections from Luccocks more than 27 booles more than 600 letters of Simeon Stylites of TIte Christian CcntmlI fame 1000 Springboanls for Hermons and other published articles

Of particular interest is the section devoted to Luccocks view of th reJgious value of creative literature Maintaining that organized religion can neglect the literature of its time only to Its peril Luccock contends that current literature serves the Church and the preacher in three ways

Book Reviews

1) it discloses the implicit religion of the day 2) it shows the needs lolds sun spots hopes and despairs of the age n It holds out to orgRni~ed religion the sacrament of disturbance (p 192)

one urgent need of Christian education is that of getting people to be shocked at the right things the big things which are truly shockIng the violations of human dlgnitv (p 193)

By a vIcious unwholesome preoccupation with the wholesome the Churchs message can strike the hearer as being Irrelevant because it appears to be out of touch wIth r eal life

A second arresting section of this book contains excerpts from Luccocks card file of sermon ideas A firm believer in making a seed bed in which sermon ideas can mature Luccock had a large garden of springboards for sermons Here is a sample

A sign in a hardware store window in Grand Central T erminal New York read Not everything displayed in this window is in stocl So wita many of our Christian profession-often in the w indow but not al ways in stock (p 394)

Luecoek has left us much his Insistence that in preaching the Word be made relevant his ability to formulate sermon themes that are proshyvocative without being grotesque the spirit of joy and quiet humor that is the hallmarli of his writing This and much more is in this volume

Henry EgJoZd

PEN-ULTIMATES Comment on the Folk Religions of America By AIartin E ~Iarty and Dean G P eerman Holt Rinehart and Winston Xew York Chicago San Francis CO 1963 110 pages Cloth $295

As 11 kind of benign ecclesiastical Schimpjlexicon there probably was no equal to the Simeon Stylites column which graced of yore the last page of The Chl jslian Century It was the fruit of the subtle facile pen wielded by the late Halford E Luccock who for sheer sparkle of writing had few peers

The writers of the Peu-ultimate column now occupying the Censhyturys lust page iVIarty and Peerman have carrIed on in spritely fashion sliarp wiUy and with amazing awareness of current affairs especially as these evinee theological nuances and with fresh twentieth-eentury jargoll to maten the events a nd trends often succeeding to demolishshyat least by pen-the easy-going pishposh that passes for religion in our day amI to wither with devastating satire the familiar and often false American set of values that go along with such religiosity The old darity and aptness ot Simeon however is 1I0t always there supplanted h) the not-always-so-c1ear mystique which characterizes theological thinkshying in our day

One could justiliably question whether columns of this kind pricking at specific and often unrelated problems and with no intent for continuity should be gathered together under one cover The punch and pertinency ruay no longer he there But then this is not true of all the entries

67

68 T H pound SJIl) Gmiddot L L D Ilt

some still have til il charm and for anyone ho desires to have the P nmiddotultirnates [the Jast f w years in hand fo rm t his is it

B F Kluy

A PRIVAT E AND PUBLIC FAITH By William Stringfcilow W illiam B Eerdmans Publishing Company Grand RaPids Ii hlgan 1)62 93 pages Cloth $300

The Epi COllllJlan a ttorne bull Willlam Stringfellow has demonstrated Quite clearly that he perc ives ke nly the problem whi ch confront the

basElchurch in tills decalle He r ites 8 S one h o not oul y has obs l ed but oC Ialso has experienced per onally t he emptiness th sllallown s and the

selfmiddotserving real ities of what he himse has called American r elig iosity n w I1 is R ello-ion today according to String llow has to do only with r eilgio TheIt has loo often alma t nothing to do with the Chrit1an gospel as set Stuforth in the sacred Scriptures

A few br ief quotations will h el p to s nggest Str ingfello w illlp r rm l chu an d s tyle which lncid ntally tend to en OUlnge a cant pu t it down K ik attitude in the rea der

Pr otestantism in the jt - bat is I ft of it-has become n makeshybelieve havcn where the individual is ex ted he re lcligion is meant to confirm ancl appease his desi res a nd ambitions where the individual controls his own destin y where th only limits on a man a I) said to be t hose na tive to h is own men tality volition haith competit ive sp irit and luck where those that get ahead deserve it and where God I eager to help ose who help themmiddot sel ves Th clergy have be ome hUed spo esmen for religion among men They have bMn inv ited to decorate public W but restrained from int I enlng Ignificulltly In It They have been l legated to the litera l peripher y- he invocations and the benedictlons-ot secular affa ir The clergy have become the fa e of the Church ill the world they have become a super ficia l symbolic eel monial lalty Candida tes fo r seminary admiss ion in P rotest nt ism ha ve been invited Into a comm unity of tUdents a Dd scholars examinshyIng tbo history of r eligion Or they have beeu recruited as tho e vho ould devote some tim bull perhaps t heir wor kingmiddotlives to

inquiry Into the religlou s ilunUon Or the ha been Induced to thin k 0 the ordained ministry as a profession and specialty lIIe social work or m~d i cl ne or law They a re eXlleltted only though sometimes necessarily to h ve an a udemic interest In th Chr istian fa ith And ther ha been much emphasis u pon the amenities of the profess ion o( the min istry tha t i s cl rgy salaries and pensions and household a ll owances nd long vacashytions and social status nnd th e li1w

Stringfellows s or tconling is the s me whi b beset middot so man y modern ommentatoJs H is a calamity h o J r wi th ques t ion Imlore he bas almost none or the answ~r L that not disturb The foul chapters in 93 pages ar well wor th the time of nny student or theolo wh o is intershyested In understanding ontemporary church llloblems a nd wbo desires to carryon a li fe related ministry

P attl ~ Efb)ccht

Ie

d

t

ti

Booh ReFiew

THE SUPREME COURT AND PRAYER IN THE P UBLIC SCHOOL By J Marcell us K ik Presbyteria n and R eformed Publishing Company P hiladelphia 1963 40 pages Paperback 75c

wisely is the way some (Christian Century ) viewed the Supreme Courts early summer decis ions (Pennsylvania and Maryland cases) on BIble r eading in public schools while others (Ch1isfmiddotj

anitll Today) a rgued that we can expect athelstlc i orces to utilize the Supreme Court decision to further the caU BC of irrel igion

J Marcellus Kik erstwhile aSRociatc editor of Ch1ist(111Uy Todall wrote bis book before the J une 17 1963 deCisions but his argument based on the ruling of June 25 1962 aglinst t he New York State Boar of Regents 22-word prayer would undoubtedly rema in th e same that a new wave of secularism has been spawner by the Supreme Courts action His monograph Is part of the Intemational L iJJrary of Philosophy and Th8010gJ for wllicn he serves as editor of the Bibllcal and Theological Studies

No establishment or religion or breach or the wall of separation of church and state conlU be shown to have exis ted in the New York ca ~(

K1k con tends and for this r eason it is his cons idered opinion that th justices of the highest cour t arc to be faul ted for wh at he terms submiddot jectivisnl lllld accommodation to the preva iling climate of sophisticated opinion indeed a fallure to preserve the intent and s pirit of Constitumiddot tional gUlrantees H is cOlicerns ure set in helpfu l h istorical perspecth and Should serve to stimulate any r eader to asl himself whether 10

li ttle public reaction was generated by t he most r ecent Court deciIli olls because therc was general agreement an d acquiescence on the part or the public or whether the question of r eligion in the public schools-or anywhele else for that m atter- is a dead iSSue n~rwa an d lim s symptoshymatic of prevai ling reli gious apathy

Tbe a t titude of the hIgh court as reflected by tlle New York decisIon though conceived and framed in friendl y spirit now m ight eentunll y leud to absolute enthronement or secularism in our public schools KU [ears Needless t o say there is no r eason fo r Americans naively to assume that a bene11cent s tate will everlastingly r emain so without due exercise of vigilllllce on the part of the citizenry mindful always of the truism expressed by E m il Brun ner and confirmed by history that the state is epoundseu tially organ ized selfi shness

As a short bandy source book on the pros and cons of til e r el igious question vis-A-vis our schools Kiks effor ts should provide ready refermiddot ence Perhaps the authors solution to the knotty problem t ha t the parents I ud no t the Supreme Court should determ ine the measure of religion nllowed in the public SChool is an over-s implification but this should not detract [rom his otherwise scholar ly achievement It is also natural to expect that his views are couched in tr aditional Reformed theological thinking on the church-sta te issue

Oue quibble on K lks usc of historical material seems justified- ilipound reference to President Madison s views on legislation affecting religion Kik cites ouly the earlier favorable views of Madison without noting thp fact that lIladison Jater modified his thillkiu cOIlidcrably on the

6

~ew

len Irshy

ay

tenshyour ri pshyl ui few

ut mamp Lrn rill lIy inl

of en mshyLi s is d III

is

tVmiddot

ig il t

It i s

l

e

Hook Review

and th eir wbole theological bearing belong only to the fringe of the New Testament Since these t eJt ts appear as strange within the New Testament picture of man the author concludes that they a re to be attributed to the intrusion ot Helleni stic ideas Outside of these two IxceptiollS wwever the New Testament presents a uni fled picture of man and h Is nature

The page of this book provide the student of Srripturc with a dear lJ ut sober picture of man T he study is well written and easy to follow

question mlgll t be r ailed about the authorR concept of fringes of the New Testament anr about r emarks regardin g tbe interpretation of unclear JJa~Rages ( IJ 14 ) bu t in lpite o[ the occasional question marJlt the s tudy is valuable and deser ves the careful c(lnsideratioll of eyery proclalmer of the- Good News of God in Christ

krlelh Dllt~

TIME lOR ETERNtTY By George W Hoyer a nd Justus P Kretzmnnn Con cordia Publishing H onse S t Louis 1963 353 pages Cl oth $595

oDscientious llreachers aspiro to skill with word~ J B Phillips bas pointed out t hat the preacher needs to say the right words shaped cunn ingly to pass mens defenses and to explode silently within their minds Tn 7 ime _ bull For Eternitll is a volume of sermons which display speech melody the rllytbm of carefully formed phr ases and th e onom ashytopoeia of words Yet mere skill with words is n ever substituted for prfaching the word

Based on tbe Eisenach Epistle Lessons in the ReYised Standard Version these 68 sermons coYer the en tire ch urch year They wer e preached at the 2400-member Lutheran Church of t he Atonement Florismiddot sant lIHssouri by Justus P Kletzlllann pastor or the congregation and George W H oyer professor of Homiletics at Concordia Seminary St Louis Dotll men have sought out what God had to say in the words of each text to tpecille people living at a spccific time The description of origin al sIn as a suhtracting (pp 6-7) the declaring of the Gospel as tho establishing by God of fr iendship and fellowship (p 12) the preachshying of the Law as t shifting 01 blame (P 75) the reference to Baptism (p 93) the meaning of scorn in the Christians life (P 95) the ways in which Christian lov e can be expressGd (p 314)-these are all instances of the Word of judgment and the Word of grace being brought to bear penetratingly upon peoples lives Th ls reviewer appreciated t he freshyquent references to Baptism in these sermons as well as the r elating of he sermon to the Introit and Collect tor the day

reatlve use of imagination is evident in many of the sermons Take [or example th e sermon ti tled Increasingly Religious for the 6th Sunday after Trinity Look too at the themes of the sermons Here are a few The Way of Merey with Mispry Thats the Spirit Count God In Journey to Mount Zion God Speaks Sharply A New Way for a New Day The play on words in some of t he major diYisions is not only interesting Iut bea utiful In the sermon for the 5th Sunday after Epiphany nnder

65

66 THE $PRINGFIELDER

the theme SOllie Changes Made we tlnd I Thereve Been Some Changes Made and II Therell De Some Changes Made In the sermon for Invocavit we have the theme He Was As We and then 1 Remember it in Despondency and n Remember it in Complacency And for the 1st Sunday after Easter the theme is We Shall Live Also under which are the major divisions 1 Ours is a Living Hope and II Ours is Hopefnl Living Individual sentences r eveal the same quality Or does your faith limp instead of leap because you complain about His very gifts (P 207) Tho Christian credits God with the formation of man and mnst equally credit God with the reformation or man (p 220)

An outstanding feature of these sermons is their smooth and natural use of illustrations The conclusion of the sermon for the 2nd Snnday in Advent and the sermon for the Sunday after Christmas furnish examples of fine illustrations illustrations which really illuminate and which indicate that the authors spoke with a will to be understood

How well any sermon is understood is difficult for a preacher-and reviewer-to assess with accuracy Communication through a number of the sermons in In [ime For Eternity may well have been hampered by poor paragraph transitions fmd by a lack of clear major divisions The development of the major points was not always easily followed by this reviewer Some or the sermons seemed scattered lacking a definite aim for the connection between important thoughts in a sermon and the stated central thought was not always clear (see pp 13f l2L 54f 70f) Occasional clumsy sentences and jumbled paragraphs also contributed to prevent meaning from getting through (see last paragraph in the sermon for the 2nd Sunday after Trinity)

The uneven quality of the sermons in this volume reflects til preaching done in most congregations in the span of a year Very fc preachers are able to soar up with the wings of an eagle every Sundy Yet every sermon in In Time For Eternity points the Law and the Gospel to the real needs of people What is more they set forth the Word with a refreshing naturalness and a loving concern for people ThiR

11

p

reviewer is convinced that thf saints at Florissant were edified )l

(JCthard A lto

HALFORD LUCCOCK TREASURY By Robert E Luccoclc Abingdon Press Nashville 1963 446 pages Cloth $600

The HaHcrd Luccock Treasury Is a sons grateful tribute to his father who for forty yealS served as author preacher columnist comshymentator and who was recognized as the dean of American homileticians

This work contains selections from Luccocks more than 27 booles more than 600 letters of Simeon Stylites of TIte Christian CcntmlI fame 1000 Springboanls for Hermons and other published articles

Of particular interest is the section devoted to Luccocks view of th reJgious value of creative literature Maintaining that organized religion can neglect the literature of its time only to Its peril Luccock contends that current literature serves the Church and the preacher in three ways

Book Reviews

1) it discloses the implicit religion of the day 2) it shows the needs lolds sun spots hopes and despairs of the age n It holds out to orgRni~ed religion the sacrament of disturbance (p 192)

one urgent need of Christian education is that of getting people to be shocked at the right things the big things which are truly shockIng the violations of human dlgnitv (p 193)

By a vIcious unwholesome preoccupation with the wholesome the Churchs message can strike the hearer as being Irrelevant because it appears to be out of touch wIth r eal life

A second arresting section of this book contains excerpts from Luccocks card file of sermon ideas A firm believer in making a seed bed in which sermon ideas can mature Luccock had a large garden of springboards for sermons Here is a sample

A sign in a hardware store window in Grand Central T erminal New York read Not everything displayed in this window is in stocl So wita many of our Christian profession-often in the w indow but not al ways in stock (p 394)

Luecoek has left us much his Insistence that in preaching the Word be made relevant his ability to formulate sermon themes that are proshyvocative without being grotesque the spirit of joy and quiet humor that is the hallmarli of his writing This and much more is in this volume

Henry EgJoZd

PEN-ULTIMATES Comment on the Folk Religions of America By AIartin E ~Iarty and Dean G P eerman Holt Rinehart and Winston Xew York Chicago San Francis CO 1963 110 pages Cloth $295

As 11 kind of benign ecclesiastical Schimpjlexicon there probably was no equal to the Simeon Stylites column which graced of yore the last page of The Chl jslian Century It was the fruit of the subtle facile pen wielded by the late Halford E Luccock who for sheer sparkle of writing had few peers

The writers of the Peu-ultimate column now occupying the Censhyturys lust page iVIarty and Peerman have carrIed on in spritely fashion sliarp wiUy and with amazing awareness of current affairs especially as these evinee theological nuances and with fresh twentieth-eentury jargoll to maten the events a nd trends often succeeding to demolishshyat least by pen-the easy-going pishposh that passes for religion in our day amI to wither with devastating satire the familiar and often false American set of values that go along with such religiosity The old darity and aptness ot Simeon however is 1I0t always there supplanted h) the not-always-so-c1ear mystique which characterizes theological thinkshying in our day

One could justiliably question whether columns of this kind pricking at specific and often unrelated problems and with no intent for continuity should be gathered together under one cover The punch and pertinency ruay no longer he there But then this is not true of all the entries

67

68 T H pound SJIl) Gmiddot L L D Ilt

some still have til il charm and for anyone ho desires to have the P nmiddotultirnates [the Jast f w years in hand fo rm t his is it

B F Kluy

A PRIVAT E AND PUBLIC FAITH By William Stringfcilow W illiam B Eerdmans Publishing Company Grand RaPids Ii hlgan 1)62 93 pages Cloth $300

The Epi COllllJlan a ttorne bull Willlam Stringfellow has demonstrated Quite clearly that he perc ives ke nly the problem whi ch confront the

basElchurch in tills decalle He r ites 8 S one h o not oul y has obs l ed but oC Ialso has experienced per onally t he emptiness th sllallown s and the

selfmiddotserving real ities of what he himse has called American r elig iosity n w I1 is R ello-ion today according to String llow has to do only with r eilgio TheIt has loo often alma t nothing to do with the Chrit1an gospel as set Stuforth in the sacred Scriptures

A few br ief quotations will h el p to s nggest Str ingfello w illlp r rm l chu an d s tyle which lncid ntally tend to en OUlnge a cant pu t it down K ik attitude in the rea der

Pr otestantism in the jt - bat is I ft of it-has become n makeshybelieve havcn where the individual is ex ted he re lcligion is meant to confirm ancl appease his desi res a nd ambitions where the individual controls his own destin y where th only limits on a man a I) said to be t hose na tive to h is own men tality volition haith competit ive sp irit and luck where those that get ahead deserve it and where God I eager to help ose who help themmiddot sel ves Th clergy have be ome hUed spo esmen for religion among men They have bMn inv ited to decorate public W but restrained from int I enlng Ignificulltly In It They have been l legated to the litera l peripher y- he invocations and the benedictlons-ot secular affa ir The clergy have become the fa e of the Church ill the world they have become a super ficia l symbolic eel monial lalty Candida tes fo r seminary admiss ion in P rotest nt ism ha ve been invited Into a comm unity of tUdents a Dd scholars examinshyIng tbo history of r eligion Or they have beeu recruited as tho e vho ould devote some tim bull perhaps t heir wor kingmiddotlives to

inquiry Into the religlou s ilunUon Or the ha been Induced to thin k 0 the ordained ministry as a profession and specialty lIIe social work or m~d i cl ne or law They a re eXlleltted only though sometimes necessarily to h ve an a udemic interest In th Chr istian fa ith And ther ha been much emphasis u pon the amenities of the profess ion o( the min istry tha t i s cl rgy salaries and pensions and household a ll owances nd long vacashytions and social status nnd th e li1w

Stringfellows s or tconling is the s me whi b beset middot so man y modern ommentatoJs H is a calamity h o J r wi th ques t ion Imlore he bas almost none or the answ~r L that not disturb The foul chapters in 93 pages ar well wor th the time of nny student or theolo wh o is intershyested In understanding ontemporary church llloblems a nd wbo desires to carryon a li fe related ministry

P attl ~ Efb)ccht

Ie

d

t

ti

Booh ReFiew

THE SUPREME COURT AND PRAYER IN THE P UBLIC SCHOOL By J Marcell us K ik Presbyteria n and R eformed Publishing Company P hiladelphia 1963 40 pages Paperback 75c

wisely is the way some (Christian Century ) viewed the Supreme Courts early summer decis ions (Pennsylvania and Maryland cases) on BIble r eading in public schools while others (Ch1isfmiddotj

anitll Today) a rgued that we can expect athelstlc i orces to utilize the Supreme Court decision to further the caU BC of irrel igion

J Marcellus Kik erstwhile aSRociatc editor of Ch1ist(111Uy Todall wrote bis book before the J une 17 1963 deCisions but his argument based on the ruling of June 25 1962 aglinst t he New York State Boar of Regents 22-word prayer would undoubtedly rema in th e same that a new wave of secularism has been spawner by the Supreme Courts action His monograph Is part of the Intemational L iJJrary of Philosophy and Th8010gJ for wllicn he serves as editor of the Bibllcal and Theological Studies

No establishment or religion or breach or the wall of separation of church and state conlU be shown to have exis ted in the New York ca ~(

K1k con tends and for this r eason it is his cons idered opinion that th justices of the highest cour t arc to be faul ted for wh at he terms submiddot jectivisnl lllld accommodation to the preva iling climate of sophisticated opinion indeed a fallure to preserve the intent and s pirit of Constitumiddot tional gUlrantees H is cOlicerns ure set in helpfu l h istorical perspecth and Should serve to stimulate any r eader to asl himself whether 10

li ttle public reaction was generated by t he most r ecent Court deciIli olls because therc was general agreement an d acquiescence on the part or the public or whether the question of r eligion in the public schools-or anywhele else for that m atter- is a dead iSSue n~rwa an d lim s symptoshymatic of prevai ling reli gious apathy

Tbe a t titude of the hIgh court as reflected by tlle New York decisIon though conceived and framed in friendl y spirit now m ight eentunll y leud to absolute enthronement or secularism in our public schools KU [ears Needless t o say there is no r eason fo r Americans naively to assume that a bene11cent s tate will everlastingly r emain so without due exercise of vigilllllce on the part of the citizenry mindful always of the truism expressed by E m il Brun ner and confirmed by history that the state is epoundseu tially organ ized selfi shness

As a short bandy source book on the pros and cons of til e r el igious question vis-A-vis our schools Kiks effor ts should provide ready refermiddot ence Perhaps the authors solution to the knotty problem t ha t the parents I ud no t the Supreme Court should determ ine the measure of religion nllowed in the public SChool is an over-s implification but this should not detract [rom his otherwise scholar ly achievement It is also natural to expect that his views are couched in tr aditional Reformed theological thinking on the church-sta te issue

Oue quibble on K lks usc of historical material seems justified- ilipound reference to President Madison s views on legislation affecting religion Kik cites ouly the earlier favorable views of Madison without noting thp fact that lIladison Jater modified his thillkiu cOIlidcrably on the

6

66 THE $PRINGFIELDER

the theme SOllie Changes Made we tlnd I Thereve Been Some Changes Made and II Therell De Some Changes Made In the sermon for Invocavit we have the theme He Was As We and then 1 Remember it in Despondency and n Remember it in Complacency And for the 1st Sunday after Easter the theme is We Shall Live Also under which are the major divisions 1 Ours is a Living Hope and II Ours is Hopefnl Living Individual sentences r eveal the same quality Or does your faith limp instead of leap because you complain about His very gifts (P 207) Tho Christian credits God with the formation of man and mnst equally credit God with the reformation or man (p 220)

An outstanding feature of these sermons is their smooth and natural use of illustrations The conclusion of the sermon for the 2nd Snnday in Advent and the sermon for the Sunday after Christmas furnish examples of fine illustrations illustrations which really illuminate and which indicate that the authors spoke with a will to be understood

How well any sermon is understood is difficult for a preacher-and reviewer-to assess with accuracy Communication through a number of the sermons in In [ime For Eternity may well have been hampered by poor paragraph transitions fmd by a lack of clear major divisions The development of the major points was not always easily followed by this reviewer Some or the sermons seemed scattered lacking a definite aim for the connection between important thoughts in a sermon and the stated central thought was not always clear (see pp 13f l2L 54f 70f) Occasional clumsy sentences and jumbled paragraphs also contributed to prevent meaning from getting through (see last paragraph in the sermon for the 2nd Sunday after Trinity)

The uneven quality of the sermons in this volume reflects til preaching done in most congregations in the span of a year Very fc preachers are able to soar up with the wings of an eagle every Sundy Yet every sermon in In Time For Eternity points the Law and the Gospel to the real needs of people What is more they set forth the Word with a refreshing naturalness and a loving concern for people ThiR

11

p

reviewer is convinced that thf saints at Florissant were edified )l

(JCthard A lto

HALFORD LUCCOCK TREASURY By Robert E Luccoclc Abingdon Press Nashville 1963 446 pages Cloth $600

The HaHcrd Luccock Treasury Is a sons grateful tribute to his father who for forty yealS served as author preacher columnist comshymentator and who was recognized as the dean of American homileticians

This work contains selections from Luccocks more than 27 booles more than 600 letters of Simeon Stylites of TIte Christian CcntmlI fame 1000 Springboanls for Hermons and other published articles

Of particular interest is the section devoted to Luccocks view of th reJgious value of creative literature Maintaining that organized religion can neglect the literature of its time only to Its peril Luccock contends that current literature serves the Church and the preacher in three ways

Book Reviews

1) it discloses the implicit religion of the day 2) it shows the needs lolds sun spots hopes and despairs of the age n It holds out to orgRni~ed religion the sacrament of disturbance (p 192)

one urgent need of Christian education is that of getting people to be shocked at the right things the big things which are truly shockIng the violations of human dlgnitv (p 193)

By a vIcious unwholesome preoccupation with the wholesome the Churchs message can strike the hearer as being Irrelevant because it appears to be out of touch wIth r eal life

A second arresting section of this book contains excerpts from Luccocks card file of sermon ideas A firm believer in making a seed bed in which sermon ideas can mature Luccock had a large garden of springboards for sermons Here is a sample

A sign in a hardware store window in Grand Central T erminal New York read Not everything displayed in this window is in stocl So wita many of our Christian profession-often in the w indow but not al ways in stock (p 394)

Luecoek has left us much his Insistence that in preaching the Word be made relevant his ability to formulate sermon themes that are proshyvocative without being grotesque the spirit of joy and quiet humor that is the hallmarli of his writing This and much more is in this volume

Henry EgJoZd

PEN-ULTIMATES Comment on the Folk Religions of America By AIartin E ~Iarty and Dean G P eerman Holt Rinehart and Winston Xew York Chicago San Francis CO 1963 110 pages Cloth $295

As 11 kind of benign ecclesiastical Schimpjlexicon there probably was no equal to the Simeon Stylites column which graced of yore the last page of The Chl jslian Century It was the fruit of the subtle facile pen wielded by the late Halford E Luccock who for sheer sparkle of writing had few peers

The writers of the Peu-ultimate column now occupying the Censhyturys lust page iVIarty and Peerman have carrIed on in spritely fashion sliarp wiUy and with amazing awareness of current affairs especially as these evinee theological nuances and with fresh twentieth-eentury jargoll to maten the events a nd trends often succeeding to demolishshyat least by pen-the easy-going pishposh that passes for religion in our day amI to wither with devastating satire the familiar and often false American set of values that go along with such religiosity The old darity and aptness ot Simeon however is 1I0t always there supplanted h) the not-always-so-c1ear mystique which characterizes theological thinkshying in our day

One could justiliably question whether columns of this kind pricking at specific and often unrelated problems and with no intent for continuity should be gathered together under one cover The punch and pertinency ruay no longer he there But then this is not true of all the entries

67

68 T H pound SJIl) Gmiddot L L D Ilt

some still have til il charm and for anyone ho desires to have the P nmiddotultirnates [the Jast f w years in hand fo rm t his is it

B F Kluy

A PRIVAT E AND PUBLIC FAITH By William Stringfcilow W illiam B Eerdmans Publishing Company Grand RaPids Ii hlgan 1)62 93 pages Cloth $300

The Epi COllllJlan a ttorne bull Willlam Stringfellow has demonstrated Quite clearly that he perc ives ke nly the problem whi ch confront the

basElchurch in tills decalle He r ites 8 S one h o not oul y has obs l ed but oC Ialso has experienced per onally t he emptiness th sllallown s and the

selfmiddotserving real ities of what he himse has called American r elig iosity n w I1 is R ello-ion today according to String llow has to do only with r eilgio TheIt has loo often alma t nothing to do with the Chrit1an gospel as set Stuforth in the sacred Scriptures

A few br ief quotations will h el p to s nggest Str ingfello w illlp r rm l chu an d s tyle which lncid ntally tend to en OUlnge a cant pu t it down K ik attitude in the rea der

Pr otestantism in the jt - bat is I ft of it-has become n makeshybelieve havcn where the individual is ex ted he re lcligion is meant to confirm ancl appease his desi res a nd ambitions where the individual controls his own destin y where th only limits on a man a I) said to be t hose na tive to h is own men tality volition haith competit ive sp irit and luck where those that get ahead deserve it and where God I eager to help ose who help themmiddot sel ves Th clergy have be ome hUed spo esmen for religion among men They have bMn inv ited to decorate public W but restrained from int I enlng Ignificulltly In It They have been l legated to the litera l peripher y- he invocations and the benedictlons-ot secular affa ir The clergy have become the fa e of the Church ill the world they have become a super ficia l symbolic eel monial lalty Candida tes fo r seminary admiss ion in P rotest nt ism ha ve been invited Into a comm unity of tUdents a Dd scholars examinshyIng tbo history of r eligion Or they have beeu recruited as tho e vho ould devote some tim bull perhaps t heir wor kingmiddotlives to

inquiry Into the religlou s ilunUon Or the ha been Induced to thin k 0 the ordained ministry as a profession and specialty lIIe social work or m~d i cl ne or law They a re eXlleltted only though sometimes necessarily to h ve an a udemic interest In th Chr istian fa ith And ther ha been much emphasis u pon the amenities of the profess ion o( the min istry tha t i s cl rgy salaries and pensions and household a ll owances nd long vacashytions and social status nnd th e li1w

Stringfellows s or tconling is the s me whi b beset middot so man y modern ommentatoJs H is a calamity h o J r wi th ques t ion Imlore he bas almost none or the answ~r L that not disturb The foul chapters in 93 pages ar well wor th the time of nny student or theolo wh o is intershyested In understanding ontemporary church llloblems a nd wbo desires to carryon a li fe related ministry

P attl ~ Efb)ccht

Ie

d

t

ti

Booh ReFiew

THE SUPREME COURT AND PRAYER IN THE P UBLIC SCHOOL By J Marcell us K ik Presbyteria n and R eformed Publishing Company P hiladelphia 1963 40 pages Paperback 75c

wisely is the way some (Christian Century ) viewed the Supreme Courts early summer decis ions (Pennsylvania and Maryland cases) on BIble r eading in public schools while others (Ch1isfmiddotj

anitll Today) a rgued that we can expect athelstlc i orces to utilize the Supreme Court decision to further the caU BC of irrel igion

J Marcellus Kik erstwhile aSRociatc editor of Ch1ist(111Uy Todall wrote bis book before the J une 17 1963 deCisions but his argument based on the ruling of June 25 1962 aglinst t he New York State Boar of Regents 22-word prayer would undoubtedly rema in th e same that a new wave of secularism has been spawner by the Supreme Courts action His monograph Is part of the Intemational L iJJrary of Philosophy and Th8010gJ for wllicn he serves as editor of the Bibllcal and Theological Studies

No establishment or religion or breach or the wall of separation of church and state conlU be shown to have exis ted in the New York ca ~(

K1k con tends and for this r eason it is his cons idered opinion that th justices of the highest cour t arc to be faul ted for wh at he terms submiddot jectivisnl lllld accommodation to the preva iling climate of sophisticated opinion indeed a fallure to preserve the intent and s pirit of Constitumiddot tional gUlrantees H is cOlicerns ure set in helpfu l h istorical perspecth and Should serve to stimulate any r eader to asl himself whether 10

li ttle public reaction was generated by t he most r ecent Court deciIli olls because therc was general agreement an d acquiescence on the part or the public or whether the question of r eligion in the public schools-or anywhele else for that m atter- is a dead iSSue n~rwa an d lim s symptoshymatic of prevai ling reli gious apathy

Tbe a t titude of the hIgh court as reflected by tlle New York decisIon though conceived and framed in friendl y spirit now m ight eentunll y leud to absolute enthronement or secularism in our public schools KU [ears Needless t o say there is no r eason fo r Americans naively to assume that a bene11cent s tate will everlastingly r emain so without due exercise of vigilllllce on the part of the citizenry mindful always of the truism expressed by E m il Brun ner and confirmed by history that the state is epoundseu tially organ ized selfi shness

As a short bandy source book on the pros and cons of til e r el igious question vis-A-vis our schools Kiks effor ts should provide ready refermiddot ence Perhaps the authors solution to the knotty problem t ha t the parents I ud no t the Supreme Court should determ ine the measure of religion nllowed in the public SChool is an over-s implification but this should not detract [rom his otherwise scholar ly achievement It is also natural to expect that his views are couched in tr aditional Reformed theological thinking on the church-sta te issue

Oue quibble on K lks usc of historical material seems justified- ilipound reference to President Madison s views on legislation affecting religion Kik cites ouly the earlier favorable views of Madison without noting thp fact that lIladison Jater modified his thillkiu cOIlidcrably on the

6

Book Reviews

1) it discloses the implicit religion of the day 2) it shows the needs lolds sun spots hopes and despairs of the age n It holds out to orgRni~ed religion the sacrament of disturbance (p 192)

one urgent need of Christian education is that of getting people to be shocked at the right things the big things which are truly shockIng the violations of human dlgnitv (p 193)

By a vIcious unwholesome preoccupation with the wholesome the Churchs message can strike the hearer as being Irrelevant because it appears to be out of touch wIth r eal life

A second arresting section of this book contains excerpts from Luccocks card file of sermon ideas A firm believer in making a seed bed in which sermon ideas can mature Luccock had a large garden of springboards for sermons Here is a sample

A sign in a hardware store window in Grand Central T erminal New York read Not everything displayed in this window is in stocl So wita many of our Christian profession-often in the w indow but not al ways in stock (p 394)

Luecoek has left us much his Insistence that in preaching the Word be made relevant his ability to formulate sermon themes that are proshyvocative without being grotesque the spirit of joy and quiet humor that is the hallmarli of his writing This and much more is in this volume

Henry EgJoZd

PEN-ULTIMATES Comment on the Folk Religions of America By AIartin E ~Iarty and Dean G P eerman Holt Rinehart and Winston Xew York Chicago San Francis CO 1963 110 pages Cloth $295

As 11 kind of benign ecclesiastical Schimpjlexicon there probably was no equal to the Simeon Stylites column which graced of yore the last page of The Chl jslian Century It was the fruit of the subtle facile pen wielded by the late Halford E Luccock who for sheer sparkle of writing had few peers

The writers of the Peu-ultimate column now occupying the Censhyturys lust page iVIarty and Peerman have carrIed on in spritely fashion sliarp wiUy and with amazing awareness of current affairs especially as these evinee theological nuances and with fresh twentieth-eentury jargoll to maten the events a nd trends often succeeding to demolishshyat least by pen-the easy-going pishposh that passes for religion in our day amI to wither with devastating satire the familiar and often false American set of values that go along with such religiosity The old darity and aptness ot Simeon however is 1I0t always there supplanted h) the not-always-so-c1ear mystique which characterizes theological thinkshying in our day

One could justiliably question whether columns of this kind pricking at specific and often unrelated problems and with no intent for continuity should be gathered together under one cover The punch and pertinency ruay no longer he there But then this is not true of all the entries

67

68 T H pound SJIl) Gmiddot L L D Ilt

some still have til il charm and for anyone ho desires to have the P nmiddotultirnates [the Jast f w years in hand fo rm t his is it

B F Kluy

A PRIVAT E AND PUBLIC FAITH By William Stringfcilow W illiam B Eerdmans Publishing Company Grand RaPids Ii hlgan 1)62 93 pages Cloth $300

The Epi COllllJlan a ttorne bull Willlam Stringfellow has demonstrated Quite clearly that he perc ives ke nly the problem whi ch confront the

basElchurch in tills decalle He r ites 8 S one h o not oul y has obs l ed but oC Ialso has experienced per onally t he emptiness th sllallown s and the

selfmiddotserving real ities of what he himse has called American r elig iosity n w I1 is R ello-ion today according to String llow has to do only with r eilgio TheIt has loo often alma t nothing to do with the Chrit1an gospel as set Stuforth in the sacred Scriptures

A few br ief quotations will h el p to s nggest Str ingfello w illlp r rm l chu an d s tyle which lncid ntally tend to en OUlnge a cant pu t it down K ik attitude in the rea der

Pr otestantism in the jt - bat is I ft of it-has become n makeshybelieve havcn where the individual is ex ted he re lcligion is meant to confirm ancl appease his desi res a nd ambitions where the individual controls his own destin y where th only limits on a man a I) said to be t hose na tive to h is own men tality volition haith competit ive sp irit and luck where those that get ahead deserve it and where God I eager to help ose who help themmiddot sel ves Th clergy have be ome hUed spo esmen for religion among men They have bMn inv ited to decorate public W but restrained from int I enlng Ignificulltly In It They have been l legated to the litera l peripher y- he invocations and the benedictlons-ot secular affa ir The clergy have become the fa e of the Church ill the world they have become a super ficia l symbolic eel monial lalty Candida tes fo r seminary admiss ion in P rotest nt ism ha ve been invited Into a comm unity of tUdents a Dd scholars examinshyIng tbo history of r eligion Or they have beeu recruited as tho e vho ould devote some tim bull perhaps t heir wor kingmiddotlives to

inquiry Into the religlou s ilunUon Or the ha been Induced to thin k 0 the ordained ministry as a profession and specialty lIIe social work or m~d i cl ne or law They a re eXlleltted only though sometimes necessarily to h ve an a udemic interest In th Chr istian fa ith And ther ha been much emphasis u pon the amenities of the profess ion o( the min istry tha t i s cl rgy salaries and pensions and household a ll owances nd long vacashytions and social status nnd th e li1w

Stringfellows s or tconling is the s me whi b beset middot so man y modern ommentatoJs H is a calamity h o J r wi th ques t ion Imlore he bas almost none or the answ~r L that not disturb The foul chapters in 93 pages ar well wor th the time of nny student or theolo wh o is intershyested In understanding ontemporary church llloblems a nd wbo desires to carryon a li fe related ministry

P attl ~ Efb)ccht

Ie

d

t

ti

Booh ReFiew

THE SUPREME COURT AND PRAYER IN THE P UBLIC SCHOOL By J Marcell us K ik Presbyteria n and R eformed Publishing Company P hiladelphia 1963 40 pages Paperback 75c

wisely is the way some (Christian Century ) viewed the Supreme Courts early summer decis ions (Pennsylvania and Maryland cases) on BIble r eading in public schools while others (Ch1isfmiddotj

anitll Today) a rgued that we can expect athelstlc i orces to utilize the Supreme Court decision to further the caU BC of irrel igion

J Marcellus Kik erstwhile aSRociatc editor of Ch1ist(111Uy Todall wrote bis book before the J une 17 1963 deCisions but his argument based on the ruling of June 25 1962 aglinst t he New York State Boar of Regents 22-word prayer would undoubtedly rema in th e same that a new wave of secularism has been spawner by the Supreme Courts action His monograph Is part of the Intemational L iJJrary of Philosophy and Th8010gJ for wllicn he serves as editor of the Bibllcal and Theological Studies

No establishment or religion or breach or the wall of separation of church and state conlU be shown to have exis ted in the New York ca ~(

K1k con tends and for this r eason it is his cons idered opinion that th justices of the highest cour t arc to be faul ted for wh at he terms submiddot jectivisnl lllld accommodation to the preva iling climate of sophisticated opinion indeed a fallure to preserve the intent and s pirit of Constitumiddot tional gUlrantees H is cOlicerns ure set in helpfu l h istorical perspecth and Should serve to stimulate any r eader to asl himself whether 10

li ttle public reaction was generated by t he most r ecent Court deciIli olls because therc was general agreement an d acquiescence on the part or the public or whether the question of r eligion in the public schools-or anywhele else for that m atter- is a dead iSSue n~rwa an d lim s symptoshymatic of prevai ling reli gious apathy

Tbe a t titude of the hIgh court as reflected by tlle New York decisIon though conceived and framed in friendl y spirit now m ight eentunll y leud to absolute enthronement or secularism in our public schools KU [ears Needless t o say there is no r eason fo r Americans naively to assume that a bene11cent s tate will everlastingly r emain so without due exercise of vigilllllce on the part of the citizenry mindful always of the truism expressed by E m il Brun ner and confirmed by history that the state is epoundseu tially organ ized selfi shness

As a short bandy source book on the pros and cons of til e r el igious question vis-A-vis our schools Kiks effor ts should provide ready refermiddot ence Perhaps the authors solution to the knotty problem t ha t the parents I ud no t the Supreme Court should determ ine the measure of religion nllowed in the public SChool is an over-s implification but this should not detract [rom his otherwise scholar ly achievement It is also natural to expect that his views are couched in tr aditional Reformed theological thinking on the church-sta te issue

Oue quibble on K lks usc of historical material seems justified- ilipound reference to President Madison s views on legislation affecting religion Kik cites ouly the earlier favorable views of Madison without noting thp fact that lIladison Jater modified his thillkiu cOIlidcrably on the

6

68 T H pound SJIl) Gmiddot L L D Ilt

some still have til il charm and for anyone ho desires to have the P nmiddotultirnates [the Jast f w years in hand fo rm t his is it

B F Kluy

A PRIVAT E AND PUBLIC FAITH By William Stringfcilow W illiam B Eerdmans Publishing Company Grand RaPids Ii hlgan 1)62 93 pages Cloth $300

The Epi COllllJlan a ttorne bull Willlam Stringfellow has demonstrated Quite clearly that he perc ives ke nly the problem whi ch confront the

basElchurch in tills decalle He r ites 8 S one h o not oul y has obs l ed but oC Ialso has experienced per onally t he emptiness th sllallown s and the

selfmiddotserving real ities of what he himse has called American r elig iosity n w I1 is R ello-ion today according to String llow has to do only with r eilgio TheIt has loo often alma t nothing to do with the Chrit1an gospel as set Stuforth in the sacred Scriptures

A few br ief quotations will h el p to s nggest Str ingfello w illlp r rm l chu an d s tyle which lncid ntally tend to en OUlnge a cant pu t it down K ik attitude in the rea der

Pr otestantism in the jt - bat is I ft of it-has become n makeshybelieve havcn where the individual is ex ted he re lcligion is meant to confirm ancl appease his desi res a nd ambitions where the individual controls his own destin y where th only limits on a man a I) said to be t hose na tive to h is own men tality volition haith competit ive sp irit and luck where those that get ahead deserve it and where God I eager to help ose who help themmiddot sel ves Th clergy have be ome hUed spo esmen for religion among men They have bMn inv ited to decorate public W but restrained from int I enlng Ignificulltly In It They have been l legated to the litera l peripher y- he invocations and the benedictlons-ot secular affa ir The clergy have become the fa e of the Church ill the world they have become a super ficia l symbolic eel monial lalty Candida tes fo r seminary admiss ion in P rotest nt ism ha ve been invited Into a comm unity of tUdents a Dd scholars examinshyIng tbo history of r eligion Or they have beeu recruited as tho e vho ould devote some tim bull perhaps t heir wor kingmiddotlives to

inquiry Into the religlou s ilunUon Or the ha been Induced to thin k 0 the ordained ministry as a profession and specialty lIIe social work or m~d i cl ne or law They a re eXlleltted only though sometimes necessarily to h ve an a udemic interest In th Chr istian fa ith And ther ha been much emphasis u pon the amenities of the profess ion o( the min istry tha t i s cl rgy salaries and pensions and household a ll owances nd long vacashytions and social status nnd th e li1w

Stringfellows s or tconling is the s me whi b beset middot so man y modern ommentatoJs H is a calamity h o J r wi th ques t ion Imlore he bas almost none or the answ~r L that not disturb The foul chapters in 93 pages ar well wor th the time of nny student or theolo wh o is intershyested In understanding ontemporary church llloblems a nd wbo desires to carryon a li fe related ministry

P attl ~ Efb)ccht

Ie

d

t

ti

Booh ReFiew

THE SUPREME COURT AND PRAYER IN THE P UBLIC SCHOOL By J Marcell us K ik Presbyteria n and R eformed Publishing Company P hiladelphia 1963 40 pages Paperback 75c

wisely is the way some (Christian Century ) viewed the Supreme Courts early summer decis ions (Pennsylvania and Maryland cases) on BIble r eading in public schools while others (Ch1isfmiddotj

anitll Today) a rgued that we can expect athelstlc i orces to utilize the Supreme Court decision to further the caU BC of irrel igion

J Marcellus Kik erstwhile aSRociatc editor of Ch1ist(111Uy Todall wrote bis book before the J une 17 1963 deCisions but his argument based on the ruling of June 25 1962 aglinst t he New York State Boar of Regents 22-word prayer would undoubtedly rema in th e same that a new wave of secularism has been spawner by the Supreme Courts action His monograph Is part of the Intemational L iJJrary of Philosophy and Th8010gJ for wllicn he serves as editor of the Bibllcal and Theological Studies

No establishment or religion or breach or the wall of separation of church and state conlU be shown to have exis ted in the New York ca ~(

K1k con tends and for this r eason it is his cons idered opinion that th justices of the highest cour t arc to be faul ted for wh at he terms submiddot jectivisnl lllld accommodation to the preva iling climate of sophisticated opinion indeed a fallure to preserve the intent and s pirit of Constitumiddot tional gUlrantees H is cOlicerns ure set in helpfu l h istorical perspecth and Should serve to stimulate any r eader to asl himself whether 10

li ttle public reaction was generated by t he most r ecent Court deciIli olls because therc was general agreement an d acquiescence on the part or the public or whether the question of r eligion in the public schools-or anywhele else for that m atter- is a dead iSSue n~rwa an d lim s symptoshymatic of prevai ling reli gious apathy

Tbe a t titude of the hIgh court as reflected by tlle New York decisIon though conceived and framed in friendl y spirit now m ight eentunll y leud to absolute enthronement or secularism in our public schools KU [ears Needless t o say there is no r eason fo r Americans naively to assume that a bene11cent s tate will everlastingly r emain so without due exercise of vigilllllce on the part of the citizenry mindful always of the truism expressed by E m il Brun ner and confirmed by history that the state is epoundseu tially organ ized selfi shness

As a short bandy source book on the pros and cons of til e r el igious question vis-A-vis our schools Kiks effor ts should provide ready refermiddot ence Perhaps the authors solution to the knotty problem t ha t the parents I ud no t the Supreme Court should determ ine the measure of religion nllowed in the public SChool is an over-s implification but this should not detract [rom his otherwise scholar ly achievement It is also natural to expect that his views are couched in tr aditional Reformed theological thinking on the church-sta te issue

Oue quibble on K lks usc of historical material seems justified- ilipound reference to President Madison s views on legislation affecting religion Kik cites ouly the earlier favorable views of Madison without noting thp fact that lIladison Jater modified his thillkiu cOIlidcrably on the

6

Ie

d

t

ti

Booh ReFiew

THE SUPREME COURT AND PRAYER IN THE P UBLIC SCHOOL By J Marcell us K ik Presbyteria n and R eformed Publishing Company P hiladelphia 1963 40 pages Paperback 75c

wisely is the way some (Christian Century ) viewed the Supreme Courts early summer decis ions (Pennsylvania and Maryland cases) on BIble r eading in public schools while others (Ch1isfmiddotj

anitll Today) a rgued that we can expect athelstlc i orces to utilize the Supreme Court decision to further the caU BC of irrel igion

J Marcellus Kik erstwhile aSRociatc editor of Ch1ist(111Uy Todall wrote bis book before the J une 17 1963 deCisions but his argument based on the ruling of June 25 1962 aglinst t he New York State Boar of Regents 22-word prayer would undoubtedly rema in th e same that a new wave of secularism has been spawner by the Supreme Courts action His monograph Is part of the Intemational L iJJrary of Philosophy and Th8010gJ for wllicn he serves as editor of the Bibllcal and Theological Studies

No establishment or religion or breach or the wall of separation of church and state conlU be shown to have exis ted in the New York ca ~(

K1k con tends and for this r eason it is his cons idered opinion that th justices of the highest cour t arc to be faul ted for wh at he terms submiddot jectivisnl lllld accommodation to the preva iling climate of sophisticated opinion indeed a fallure to preserve the intent and s pirit of Constitumiddot tional gUlrantees H is cOlicerns ure set in helpfu l h istorical perspecth and Should serve to stimulate any r eader to asl himself whether 10

li ttle public reaction was generated by t he most r ecent Court deciIli olls because therc was general agreement an d acquiescence on the part or the public or whether the question of r eligion in the public schools-or anywhele else for that m atter- is a dead iSSue n~rwa an d lim s symptoshymatic of prevai ling reli gious apathy

Tbe a t titude of the hIgh court as reflected by tlle New York decisIon though conceived and framed in friendl y spirit now m ight eentunll y leud to absolute enthronement or secularism in our public schools KU [ears Needless t o say there is no r eason fo r Americans naively to assume that a bene11cent s tate will everlastingly r emain so without due exercise of vigilllllce on the part of the citizenry mindful always of the truism expressed by E m il Brun ner and confirmed by history that the state is epoundseu tially organ ized selfi shness

As a short bandy source book on the pros and cons of til e r el igious question vis-A-vis our schools Kiks effor ts should provide ready refermiddot ence Perhaps the authors solution to the knotty problem t ha t the parents I ud no t the Supreme Court should determ ine the measure of religion nllowed in the public SChool is an over-s implification but this should not detract [rom his otherwise scholar ly achievement It is also natural to expect that his views are couched in tr aditional Reformed theological thinking on the church-sta te issue

Oue quibble on K lks usc of historical material seems justified- ilipound reference to President Madison s views on legislation affecting religion Kik cites ouly the earlier favorable views of Madison without noting thp fact that lIladison Jater modified his thillkiu cOIlidcrably on the

6

70 TUE SPRINGFlELDER

very same issue question Ing the validity of expending governmental tunds for the aid and sponsorship of religion in any way even governmiddot mental and military chaplaJncles Thus the foes of religion in the publie schools could easily muster all kinds of ammunition from Madisons Detached Uemoranda toupport their position If they so chose

E F Kluy

RELIGION AND THE SCHOOLS THE GREAT CONTROVERSY By Paul Blanshard Beacon Press Doston 1963 265 pages Cloth Ii $495 bmiddot

T here is usually more than passing inter t when an author who is r

primarily not a theologian says something a bou t an area that is primarily theological That interEst is heightened when the discussion revolves t about such a delicate and hotly contested tssue as Church a nd State P We sbould lik( to alby aU fears at the outset as regards the possibility tl of PaUl Blanshards fumbling the handoft for his adept handling of the if falt1or involved present the reader with a penetrating stuely of the tI lton1l1ct between r Iigion and education that i~ both timely and o cholar ly tI

The author a nationally acclaimed authority 0 11 ChurchmiddotState Issues a

adds t his yolume to a growIng list of treatises such as American FTeedom ana Catholic Poucr God and M an in W aShingt on and Investigatin[J City Go-velrlment These are cited to indlcate his continuing Interest in an area which has been given many yealS or thought by Paul Blanshard

The Grcat Contiov ersil addresses itself to the problem of education in its comtitutional fram work as this involves both public and parochial educational processes In stralghtmiddotforward thoroughly documented and unbiased terms tbe author presents the many and varied Issues inVOlved And this latter factor is not asy conSidering the technical and emotional aspects of the continuing debate we are witnessing these days

The volume mov s rather forcefully through several stages ot legal

fl b tl

and denominational vIewpoints en route to its climactic final chapter ent1t1ed Truth and Con eq uences At this junctur e Paul Blanshard marmiddot tl

shals his forces to the support of complete separation of Church and P

State in education indicating that the judgments rendered by State and t

F ederal Courts have been properly sensitive reasonably adequate and c

practically efficient Whil this conclusion might have been sHspected a ll along especially in consideration of the alignment of data in the text it o

should be pointed out tha t the facts assembled hold more than merely ordlnary Interest for the conservative theologian A sampling should su1llce

It is 1I0t within the purpose of this book to analyze In detail the shades of rightness and wrongness In the literalist and liberal posi tions concerning th Bible (The preceding pages touch the area oC inerrancy and a uthenticity and ot the problems inshyvolved as modern theologians conceive it) But it is impossible to avoid the conclusion that the cleavage between these two positions Is so fun damental that it Is bound to

I

rernmental ~n govern the publie Madisons

hose

Klug

RSY B) s Cloth

)r who is primarily

revolves nd State rssibility ng of the y of the nely and

te Issues Freedom istigattng

Interest anshard

iducatlon gtarochial ted and nvolved motional

of legal chapter rd marmiddot ch and ate and te and cted all text it merely should

~he lral Ithe inmiddot

age to

Book Reviews

lead to hitter controversy as long as the Bible is used in public schools In the Puritan communities of Massachusetts in the seventeenth century The Book was accepted as literally accurate in all particulars largely bccause sound textual criticism had not yet been developed Today the great majority of biblical scholars Protestant Catholic and Jewish whatever they may think of the vaUdity of certain passages in the Bible accept the analytical hismiddot torlcal methods of Bible study which began to blossom in the middle of the nineteenth century and which have completely transformed the view of the Bible as a static and errorless work (P 190)

This provocative passage presented by as Impartial an observer as m ight be found still holds a mirror before modern theology and the image It retlects is startlingly clear

The reviewer would recommend this yolume if (or no other reason than that it draws together vital areas that touch the lives of each paator and each parishioner and at a time when clear thinking sound theology and level headed approach are of such dire necessity The implicit warning issued by Paul Blanshard Is that we have not yet seen the end of the great dilemma nor have we fully grasped the significance or the events occurring before our eyes It seems appropriate to a dd that a recognition of the problems and an acquaintance with the facts 1s an apt starting point And for this purpose R eligion anrimiddot the Schools Th~ (hmiddotcaI aomiddotntr(1)er~v is admirably suited

W S Wil bert

THE OTHER AMERICA By Michael Harrington The MacmUilln Company New York 1962 191 pages Cloth $350

By the other America the author means the 24 of our population who have demonstrably substandard incomes (Less than $2500 for 11

family of four per year) He is concerned not only with the slum derelict but also with the industrial rejects the agricultural workers the aged the minorities the Appalachian hillbillies and the impoverished farmerK

Chapters On these subcultures nre more than descriptive One of the important aspects or this book is an analysis of the invisibility of poerty the reasons why educated and concerned Americans overlook the enormous culture of want and desperation in a country of u npreshycedented wealth Worse than a lack of iucome according to the author is the pessimism hopelessness defeatism and despair which plague the other America That mental Illness is rarely found among the poor the pOor are lazy and just dont care about getting ahead poverty is primarily nonmiddotwhite and rural and similar myths are exploded

The reader might not agree with the remedy suggested-- more Federal aid-but he will not doubt the authors Sincere concern for these people While the approach of the book is sociological the clergy of the Lutheran church who think and plan almost exclusively in middle class terms would benefit especially from the reading of this book No serious minded Lutheran can read the book without asking why our church which h as one of the greatest contributions to make towarl alleviating the despair

71

7 llIE SpnrNGFIELDR1l

and pessimism tha t grips this segment of our society seems to have so little concern for reach ing into this culture of poverty which constitutes one fourth of onr population

Arthur 11 Grat

TWENTIETH-CENlURY RELIGIOUS THOUGHT THE FRONT IERS OF PHILOSOP HY AN D THEOLOGY 1900-1960 By John MacQuarrie Harper a nd R ow Ni w York and E vanston 1963 415 pages Cloth $500

R cently comin g to Union Theological Seminary in Ne w York as plOre sor of S tematic theology Scotsman MacQuarrie has w on a repumiddot atlon in the British I sles and i n Amer ica as a ummarizer of theomiddot

logical and philosophicll think ing H is courses a t Union on Christology and on Bultmannian T heology as well as the course whlch con~tltutes lhe basis of this volume substantiate this accla[m

Dr MacQuarrie has a way of presenting in clear and direct mann r the m ost difficult a nd c nt r overslnl theoloical Issu es Like his lectures th is book is easy to fo llOW even though it reveals thorough scholarship and personal mastery f contemporary philosophical and theological thought

While the Quthor s appron middoth Is valuable for people wishing t o acqua int th mselves In a general way with contemvorary religious thought It tend s to oversimpliy crucial Lues by a cursor y nd somewhat cavalier tr atment Jeltaill highly influential men are given equal space with men of some what lesser in fluence Bart h and He idegger e g receive what amounts to equ 1 consideration

Certain g roupings of men und movements may be questioned as for example the separatlou oJ the existentialists from the philosoph ers of personal bein g T he lat ter are discussed in cha pter 12 a nd t he former in chapter 22 Tit intervening chapter deal with other movements contemporary r ealism R oman Catholic Theology Logical Empiricism the Theology of the Word This separa tion tends to obscure the developshyment from the philosophies of personal lJe ing to existentialism Of course any arrangemen t might be considered a rbitrary and th is criticism may nnd valid disagreemen t especially since Dr MacQuarrie does describe the personal being philosophers as precursors or e sten tialism

Of a more sign ificant n ature t he author in comparing men and mov m ents frequen tly makes oblique and genera lizing references to a certain philosopher or theologian which would seem to do injustice to him A man is summarl1y referred to In a ay which could lead to misun derstandin g

The author h imself reCognizes the difficulty of his method when he says in his introduction It must a lways remain something of a n immiddot per tinence to attempt t o summarize in a few paragraphs complex ideas for the proper expression of which their authors requlred several VOlshyumes

tll au fI

a D lu th 1pound he

l

l to have 80 I eonstitutes

E (ira

RONTIERS facQuarr le

Igelt Cloth

w York as Ion a r epumiddot ir of th eoshyCbristoIOg) constitutes

ect man ncr is lectures sC)lOlars hi theological

to acquaint hought it at cavalier pace wi t g reccive

led as tor oPh ers of Ibe former

ov~ne~ ts

~P~~clso~ lor course ICism may ~ deseri

Imen ann nces to a I t tJUS Ice 0

d lead to

when he Df an imshyllex ideas veral vol middot

~Baoh Reviews I gt

Nonetheless the book is extremely valuable as a reference work ami Cor the reader who wan ts to acquire a quick a nd compreh ensive overview ot current th eological thtnkin~ The Selected BibliOjrraphy Is excellent

B F K UrzWCfl

IJltRSONAL PRAYERS By A K Hamilton A R l1owbmy and Commiddot pa ny Ltd London 1963 x and 116 page~ Cloth 8s 6d

This book is described as u monthly scheme [ot men and women It is not a book which teaches us how to pray but inteu ds to help one (0 pr ay lt is written in the beUet that prayer i s fundamen tal to t h li fe of the Christian in the belief that our own prayers will only prove Ratisfytng and meaningful when they illel ude all the main kinds o r Christian prayer nnd based OIJ tile conY iction thut tor the VRit

major ity of people prayer ougbt to begin in the mind and that words are only m(aJlt to fllm u p or to express ideas whi ch have previously been rellected on

Th e boolt Is dIvided iuto fo ur parts eacll of whIch Is useable 10)

one week In scope the seri es themes cover lhc whole of Christian thought from God on H igh to The Christian L Ue In each of these ectiollB ilie author provides the user willi much varied malerial in()u cJmiddot ing ma terial to ponder wIth a set prayer at the end to collect ones thougl1ts Ancient prayels of the Church and some ot the autbor own prayers make up the contents

This prayer scheme will be helpful to Illuny peO]lle anI will help to provi ne the foundation for a vital prayer li fe

Daniel Brackoli

GO) AND MAN IN MUSI C B y Carl H alter Concordia Publishing House St Louis 1963 79 pages Paperback $125

This booklet Is wrilt en in the belief that the reach Ot music fo r the ultimate realIsm and fina l d iscoveries is In fact t he effort to find and to kIlow GOd 1Vlth this in mind Halter b as wr itten a book for ~ nyone who is interested in music and it~ re lati on to man and to Cod

The chapters are interestingly divided Inlo Music iUd Three Peop] pound Iusic and Th ree Powers Music and Three Persons and Where God and M Ull Meet Througbout all or these chuvters H al ter shoWS hLs grt1al Imowlcdge of Illuse itself lind his ubilUy to malte it un c1 erstlilldabJe t o the ordina ry reader More impOl tcnt than thi s it i t hi~ ltlldersta lld ing or the r elationsh ip or m usk and theology whi ch makes tliis a lruuu hle book and worthy of being r ead by pastors a nd laymen or OUI chllr(h

To th is review(gtrs kllowledgp this is tl le th ird bookllt which Concordia has published by Carl Halter The othel two hookleLI of a more llractical nature have met w ith wide SUCCNS in our ci rcles agt t hi book no doubt a]IO will

Daniel B I f)kfJ1J 1J

I

rernmental ~n govern the publie Madisons

hose

Klug

RSY B) s Cloth

)r who is primarily

revolves nd State rssibility ng of the y of the nely and

te Issues Freedom istigattng

Interest anshard

iducatlon gtarochial ted and nvolved motional

of legal chapter rd marmiddot ch and ate and te and cted all text it merely should

~he lral Ithe inmiddot

age to

Book Reviews

lead to hitter controversy as long as the Bible is used in public schools In the Puritan communities of Massachusetts in the seventeenth century The Book was accepted as literally accurate in all particulars largely bccause sound textual criticism had not yet been developed Today the great majority of biblical scholars Protestant Catholic and Jewish whatever they may think of the vaUdity of certain passages in the Bible accept the analytical hismiddot torlcal methods of Bible study which began to blossom in the middle of the nineteenth century and which have completely transformed the view of the Bible as a static and errorless work (P 190)

This provocative passage presented by as Impartial an observer as m ight be found still holds a mirror before modern theology and the image It retlects is startlingly clear

The reviewer would recommend this yolume if (or no other reason than that it draws together vital areas that touch the lives of each paator and each parishioner and at a time when clear thinking sound theology and level headed approach are of such dire necessity The implicit warning issued by Paul Blanshard Is that we have not yet seen the end of the great dilemma nor have we fully grasped the significance or the events occurring before our eyes It seems appropriate to a dd that a recognition of the problems and an acquaintance with the facts 1s an apt starting point And for this purpose R eligion anrimiddot the Schools Th~ (hmiddotcaI aomiddotntr(1)er~v is admirably suited

W S Wil bert

THE OTHER AMERICA By Michael Harrington The MacmUilln Company New York 1962 191 pages Cloth $350

By the other America the author means the 24 of our population who have demonstrably substandard incomes (Less than $2500 for 11

family of four per year) He is concerned not only with the slum derelict but also with the industrial rejects the agricultural workers the aged the minorities the Appalachian hillbillies and the impoverished farmerK

Chapters On these subcultures nre more than descriptive One of the important aspects or this book is an analysis of the invisibility of poerty the reasons why educated and concerned Americans overlook the enormous culture of want and desperation in a country of u npreshycedented wealth Worse than a lack of iucome according to the author is the pessimism hopelessness defeatism and despair which plague the other America That mental Illness is rarely found among the poor the pOor are lazy and just dont care about getting ahead poverty is primarily nonmiddotwhite and rural and similar myths are exploded

The reader might not agree with the remedy suggested-- more Federal aid-but he will not doubt the authors Sincere concern for these people While the approach of the book is sociological the clergy of the Lutheran church who think and plan almost exclusively in middle class terms would benefit especially from the reading of this book No serious minded Lutheran can read the book without asking why our church which h as one of the greatest contributions to make towarl alleviating the despair

71

7 llIE SpnrNGFIELDR1l

and pessimism tha t grips this segment of our society seems to have so little concern for reach ing into this culture of poverty which constitutes one fourth of onr population

Arthur 11 Grat

TWENTIETH-CENlURY RELIGIOUS THOUGHT THE FRONT IERS OF PHILOSOP HY AN D THEOLOGY 1900-1960 By John MacQuarrie Harper a nd R ow Ni w York and E vanston 1963 415 pages Cloth $500

R cently comin g to Union Theological Seminary in Ne w York as plOre sor of S tematic theology Scotsman MacQuarrie has w on a repumiddot atlon in the British I sles and i n Amer ica as a ummarizer of theomiddot

logical and philosophicll think ing H is courses a t Union on Christology and on Bultmannian T heology as well as the course whlch con~tltutes lhe basis of this volume substantiate this accla[m

Dr MacQuarrie has a way of presenting in clear and direct mann r the m ost difficult a nd c nt r overslnl theoloical Issu es Like his lectures th is book is easy to fo llOW even though it reveals thorough scholarship and personal mastery f contemporary philosophical and theological thought

While the Quthor s appron middoth Is valuable for people wishing t o acqua int th mselves In a general way with contemvorary religious thought It tend s to oversimpliy crucial Lues by a cursor y nd somewhat cavalier tr atment Jeltaill highly influential men are given equal space with men of some what lesser in fluence Bart h and He idegger e g receive what amounts to equ 1 consideration

Certain g roupings of men und movements may be questioned as for example the separatlou oJ the existentialists from the philosoph ers of personal bein g T he lat ter are discussed in cha pter 12 a nd t he former in chapter 22 Tit intervening chapter deal with other movements contemporary r ealism R oman Catholic Theology Logical Empiricism the Theology of the Word This separa tion tends to obscure the developshyment from the philosophies of personal lJe ing to existentialism Of course any arrangemen t might be considered a rbitrary and th is criticism may nnd valid disagreemen t especially since Dr MacQuarrie does describe the personal being philosophers as precursors or e sten tialism

Of a more sign ificant n ature t he author in comparing men and mov m ents frequen tly makes oblique and genera lizing references to a certain philosopher or theologian which would seem to do injustice to him A man is summarl1y referred to In a ay which could lead to misun derstandin g

The author h imself reCognizes the difficulty of his method when he says in his introduction It must a lways remain something of a n immiddot per tinence to attempt t o summarize in a few paragraphs complex ideas for the proper expression of which their authors requlred several VOlshyumes

tll au fI

a D lu th 1pound he

l

l to have 80 I eonstitutes

E (ira

RONTIERS facQuarr le

Igelt Cloth

w York as Ion a r epumiddot ir of th eoshyCbristoIOg) constitutes

ect man ncr is lectures sC)lOlars hi theological

to acquaint hought it at cavalier pace wi t g reccive

led as tor oPh ers of Ibe former

ov~ne~ ts

~P~~clso~ lor course ICism may ~ deseri

Imen ann nces to a I t tJUS Ice 0

d lead to

when he Df an imshyllex ideas veral vol middot

~Baoh Reviews I gt

Nonetheless the book is extremely valuable as a reference work ami Cor the reader who wan ts to acquire a quick a nd compreh ensive overview ot current th eological thtnkin~ The Selected BibliOjrraphy Is excellent

B F K UrzWCfl

IJltRSONAL PRAYERS By A K Hamilton A R l1owbmy and Commiddot pa ny Ltd London 1963 x and 116 page~ Cloth 8s 6d

This book is described as u monthly scheme [ot men and women It is not a book which teaches us how to pray but inteu ds to help one (0 pr ay lt is written in the beUet that prayer i s fundamen tal to t h li fe of the Christian in the belief that our own prayers will only prove Ratisfytng and meaningful when they illel ude all the main kinds o r Christian prayer nnd based OIJ tile conY iction thut tor the VRit

major ity of people prayer ougbt to begin in the mind and that words are only m(aJlt to fllm u p or to express ideas whi ch have previously been rellected on

Th e boolt Is dIvided iuto fo ur parts eacll of whIch Is useable 10)

one week In scope the seri es themes cover lhc whole of Christian thought from God on H igh to The Christian L Ue In each of these ectiollB ilie author provides the user willi much varied malerial in()u cJmiddot ing ma terial to ponder wIth a set prayer at the end to collect ones thougl1ts Ancient prayels of the Church and some ot the autbor own prayers make up the contents

This prayer scheme will be helpful to Illuny peO]lle anI will help to provi ne the foundation for a vital prayer li fe

Daniel Brackoli

GO) AND MAN IN MUSI C B y Carl H alter Concordia Publishing House St Louis 1963 79 pages Paperback $125

This booklet Is wrilt en in the belief that the reach Ot music fo r the ultimate realIsm and fina l d iscoveries is In fact t he effort to find and to kIlow GOd 1Vlth this in mind Halter b as wr itten a book for ~ nyone who is interested in music and it~ re lati on to man and to Cod

The chapters are interestingly divided Inlo Music iUd Three Peop] pound Iusic and Th ree Powers Music and Three Persons and Where God and M Ull Meet Througbout all or these chuvters H al ter shoWS hLs grt1al Imowlcdge of Illuse itself lind his ubilUy to malte it un c1 erstlilldabJe t o the ordina ry reader More impOl tcnt than thi s it i t hi~ ltlldersta lld ing or the r elationsh ip or m usk and theology whi ch makes tliis a lruuu hle book and worthy of being r ead by pastors a nd laymen or OUI chllr(h

To th is review(gtrs kllowledgp this is tl le th ird bookllt which Concordia has published by Carl Halter The othel two hookleLI of a more llractical nature have met w ith wide SUCCNS in our ci rcles agt t hi book no doubt a]IO will

Daniel B I f)kfJ1J 1J

7 llIE SpnrNGFIELDR1l

and pessimism tha t grips this segment of our society seems to have so little concern for reach ing into this culture of poverty which constitutes one fourth of onr population

Arthur 11 Grat

TWENTIETH-CENlURY RELIGIOUS THOUGHT THE FRONT IERS OF PHILOSOP HY AN D THEOLOGY 1900-1960 By John MacQuarrie Harper a nd R ow Ni w York and E vanston 1963 415 pages Cloth $500

R cently comin g to Union Theological Seminary in Ne w York as plOre sor of S tematic theology Scotsman MacQuarrie has w on a repumiddot atlon in the British I sles and i n Amer ica as a ummarizer of theomiddot

logical and philosophicll think ing H is courses a t Union on Christology and on Bultmannian T heology as well as the course whlch con~tltutes lhe basis of this volume substantiate this accla[m

Dr MacQuarrie has a way of presenting in clear and direct mann r the m ost difficult a nd c nt r overslnl theoloical Issu es Like his lectures th is book is easy to fo llOW even though it reveals thorough scholarship and personal mastery f contemporary philosophical and theological thought

While the Quthor s appron middoth Is valuable for people wishing t o acqua int th mselves In a general way with contemvorary religious thought It tend s to oversimpliy crucial Lues by a cursor y nd somewhat cavalier tr atment Jeltaill highly influential men are given equal space with men of some what lesser in fluence Bart h and He idegger e g receive what amounts to equ 1 consideration

Certain g roupings of men und movements may be questioned as for example the separatlou oJ the existentialists from the philosoph ers of personal bein g T he lat ter are discussed in cha pter 12 a nd t he former in chapter 22 Tit intervening chapter deal with other movements contemporary r ealism R oman Catholic Theology Logical Empiricism the Theology of the Word This separa tion tends to obscure the developshyment from the philosophies of personal lJe ing to existentialism Of course any arrangemen t might be considered a rbitrary and th is criticism may nnd valid disagreemen t especially since Dr MacQuarrie does describe the personal being philosophers as precursors or e sten tialism

Of a more sign ificant n ature t he author in comparing men and mov m ents frequen tly makes oblique and genera lizing references to a certain philosopher or theologian which would seem to do injustice to him A man is summarl1y referred to In a ay which could lead to misun derstandin g

The author h imself reCognizes the difficulty of his method when he says in his introduction It must a lways remain something of a n immiddot per tinence to attempt t o summarize in a few paragraphs complex ideas for the proper expression of which their authors requlred several VOlshyumes

tll au fI

a D lu th 1pound he

l

l to have 80 I eonstitutes

E (ira

RONTIERS facQuarr le

Igelt Cloth

w York as Ion a r epumiddot ir of th eoshyCbristoIOg) constitutes

ect man ncr is lectures sC)lOlars hi theological

to acquaint hought it at cavalier pace wi t g reccive

led as tor oPh ers of Ibe former

ov~ne~ ts

~P~~clso~ lor course ICism may ~ deseri

Imen ann nces to a I t tJUS Ice 0

d lead to

when he Df an imshyllex ideas veral vol middot

~Baoh Reviews I gt

Nonetheless the book is extremely valuable as a reference work ami Cor the reader who wan ts to acquire a quick a nd compreh ensive overview ot current th eological thtnkin~ The Selected BibliOjrraphy Is excellent

B F K UrzWCfl

IJltRSONAL PRAYERS By A K Hamilton A R l1owbmy and Commiddot pa ny Ltd London 1963 x and 116 page~ Cloth 8s 6d

This book is described as u monthly scheme [ot men and women It is not a book which teaches us how to pray but inteu ds to help one (0 pr ay lt is written in the beUet that prayer i s fundamen tal to t h li fe of the Christian in the belief that our own prayers will only prove Ratisfytng and meaningful when they illel ude all the main kinds o r Christian prayer nnd based OIJ tile conY iction thut tor the VRit

major ity of people prayer ougbt to begin in the mind and that words are only m(aJlt to fllm u p or to express ideas whi ch have previously been rellected on

Th e boolt Is dIvided iuto fo ur parts eacll of whIch Is useable 10)

one week In scope the seri es themes cover lhc whole of Christian thought from God on H igh to The Christian L Ue In each of these ectiollB ilie author provides the user willi much varied malerial in()u cJmiddot ing ma terial to ponder wIth a set prayer at the end to collect ones thougl1ts Ancient prayels of the Church and some ot the autbor own prayers make up the contents

This prayer scheme will be helpful to Illuny peO]lle anI will help to provi ne the foundation for a vital prayer li fe

Daniel Brackoli

GO) AND MAN IN MUSI C B y Carl H alter Concordia Publishing House St Louis 1963 79 pages Paperback $125

This booklet Is wrilt en in the belief that the reach Ot music fo r the ultimate realIsm and fina l d iscoveries is In fact t he effort to find and to kIlow GOd 1Vlth this in mind Halter b as wr itten a book for ~ nyone who is interested in music and it~ re lati on to man and to Cod

The chapters are interestingly divided Inlo Music iUd Three Peop] pound Iusic and Th ree Powers Music and Three Persons and Where God and M Ull Meet Througbout all or these chuvters H al ter shoWS hLs grt1al Imowlcdge of Illuse itself lind his ubilUy to malte it un c1 erstlilldabJe t o the ordina ry reader More impOl tcnt than thi s it i t hi~ ltlldersta lld ing or the r elationsh ip or m usk and theology whi ch makes tliis a lruuu hle book and worthy of being r ead by pastors a nd laymen or OUI chllr(h

To th is review(gtrs kllowledgp this is tl le th ird bookllt which Concordia has published by Carl Halter The othel two hookleLI of a more llractical nature have met w ith wide SUCCNS in our ci rcles agt t hi book no doubt a]IO will

Daniel B I f)kfJ1J 1J

l

l to have 80 I eonstitutes

E (ira

RONTIERS facQuarr le

Igelt Cloth

w York as Ion a r epumiddot ir of th eoshyCbristoIOg) constitutes

ect man ncr is lectures sC)lOlars hi theological

to acquaint hought it at cavalier pace wi t g reccive

led as tor oPh ers of Ibe former

ov~ne~ ts

~P~~clso~ lor course ICism may ~ deseri

Imen ann nces to a I t tJUS Ice 0

d lead to

when he Df an imshyllex ideas veral vol middot

~Baoh Reviews I gt

Nonetheless the book is extremely valuable as a reference work ami Cor the reader who wan ts to acquire a quick a nd compreh ensive overview ot current th eological thtnkin~ The Selected BibliOjrraphy Is excellent

B F K UrzWCfl

IJltRSONAL PRAYERS By A K Hamilton A R l1owbmy and Commiddot pa ny Ltd London 1963 x and 116 page~ Cloth 8s 6d

This book is described as u monthly scheme [ot men and women It is not a book which teaches us how to pray but inteu ds to help one (0 pr ay lt is written in the beUet that prayer i s fundamen tal to t h li fe of the Christian in the belief that our own prayers will only prove Ratisfytng and meaningful when they illel ude all the main kinds o r Christian prayer nnd based OIJ tile conY iction thut tor the VRit

major ity of people prayer ougbt to begin in the mind and that words are only m(aJlt to fllm u p or to express ideas whi ch have previously been rellected on

Th e boolt Is dIvided iuto fo ur parts eacll of whIch Is useable 10)

one week In scope the seri es themes cover lhc whole of Christian thought from God on H igh to The Christian L Ue In each of these ectiollB ilie author provides the user willi much varied malerial in()u cJmiddot ing ma terial to ponder wIth a set prayer at the end to collect ones thougl1ts Ancient prayels of the Church and some ot the autbor own prayers make up the contents

This prayer scheme will be helpful to Illuny peO]lle anI will help to provi ne the foundation for a vital prayer li fe

Daniel Brackoli

GO) AND MAN IN MUSI C B y Carl H alter Concordia Publishing House St Louis 1963 79 pages Paperback $125

This booklet Is wrilt en in the belief that the reach Ot music fo r the ultimate realIsm and fina l d iscoveries is In fact t he effort to find and to kIlow GOd 1Vlth this in mind Halter b as wr itten a book for ~ nyone who is interested in music and it~ re lati on to man and to Cod

The chapters are interestingly divided Inlo Music iUd Three Peop] pound Iusic and Th ree Powers Music and Three Persons and Where God and M Ull Meet Througbout all or these chuvters H al ter shoWS hLs grt1al Imowlcdge of Illuse itself lind his ubilUy to malte it un c1 erstlilldabJe t o the ordina ry reader More impOl tcnt than thi s it i t hi~ ltlldersta lld ing or the r elationsh ip or m usk and theology whi ch makes tliis a lruuu hle book and worthy of being r ead by pastors a nd laymen or OUI chllr(h

To th is review(gtrs kllowledgp this is tl le th ird bookllt which Concordia has published by Carl Halter The othel two hookleLI of a more llractical nature have met w ith wide SUCCNS in our ci rcles agt t hi book no doubt a]IO will

Daniel B I f)kfJ1J 1J

l

74 T HE PRINGFmLDlR

---shy---shy-shy-----------shy---shy---shy----------shyPLANNING A CHRISTIAN WEDDING B Paul M Krause Concordia

PuiJlish ing House St LOuis 1963 20 pages P perback 60c

This booklet s loother in the series of guides available for the Christian weddlng service it cover n early a ll items necessary for a proper ser Ice from a brief Jist of r ecommended wedding mustc to guest lists and check ista or pr eparations

A particularly str ong point of this manual is Its recommendation (or a J)rinted order or w r abip to truly make the ser vice one of congremiddot gationu partlcipa ion Examples of print d or rs are given It is to b regretted that the form of the ord r orten Ie e sometWo to be desired liturgica lly an d tha t the music listed In the order Is not of the tiame high cali ber as the mu Ic listed in another part of the booklet

Throu bout the booklet the author emphasizes that t he w dding service is an t ot worsh p and God Is the focal point 0 the servlce This is as It should be For thi r eason It se ms to t h is reviewer that some of the statem nts in regard to poSitioning of attendants (po 16) are out of keeping with t he desir d character of the servIce and tend to emphaslz man rath r tha GorL

ThIs hoo middot Iet can be of help to th couple as t hey prepare for th ir eddlng seni e We ar e in need of publicat ions BU h as tWs which w1l1 empha ize the liturgical character of the wedding service in all its aspects an even of pubIJcations which will Indicate proper pro edure and form for nuptial eucharis ts It i hopcd that Concordia will continue to publi h books on this and other forgotten service of the Cburch

Daniel Brockopp

GUILT I SM ANrNG AND SIGNIFI A CE By John G McKenzie Abingdon Press ashv l11e 196 192 pages Cloth $326

GUILT WHERE ELlOION AND P SYCf OLOGY MEET By David Belgu m Prentice-HaU nglewood CUftB N J 1963 ix and 148 pages Cloth $525

These two books compen ent ach other nicely McB n21 who appearB w read in theology for an em rltu 80clal science a nd psyshychology professor (Paton College Nottin ham England) is wri ting for an audtenc much larger than j u t h ologlanB Balgum a Nor thwestern L u theran Seminary llro[eBsor (Minneapolis) a dr sses specifically the pastor In this result of his experiences wh ile on a r esearch rello ship at Galesburg State ( lIiools) Hospital under the direction ot Dr Hobnrt Mowrer of t he Uni ersltmiddot ot Illinois

lcKenzie off rs a rath r thorough study or the legal ethical and religious tactors In the use of th concept or gull Belgum revie w thc current practices employed by llas tors in dealing wi th t h pro lam of guilt 1Od suggests a means of making the confessional functional

B th men are justifi bly concerned lly th e fact that some pastors ie ld entirely to secular psychotherapy In hantlling and con derin g the

probiems ot ser iOUSly gulltmiddotridden pari hloners Clergymen espe ially should be Ille to r ecognize the distinction between subjective or u nrealmiddot

laUc g

Ilellly of nn 1

or an ad his so

jUUgnl

aB orlg crJptur

and of l lt

[or the

the essen 1s relet v

At ot leaeling t e t co Ilh GOd

I

IKrause Concordia aperback 600

~ available for the fB necessary for a wedding musIc to

ts recommendation vice one of oongreshyra given It 18 to

s something to be [order Is not of the ~t the book let tbat the wedding

middotint of Ule service this reviewer that ttenliants (p 15)

) sen-Ice and tend

f prepare fo r their Il ch BS this which ~ servi ce in all its ~ proper procedur irdla will coutlnue r of the Church

~niel BrOc7opp

rohn G McKenzie ~ $325 ~EET By David 1963 ix and 148

McKenzIe who science and psymiddot

~ ) is wri ting t or Q a Northwestern s spe()ifically the ~ellrch poundellow8111p on of Dr Hobnrt

egal ethical and gum r eviews the

I tbe problem of un ctionaL

~a t some paetors I considering gymen espeCially ective or unreal-

Book Reviews 75

Istic guilt on the one hand and objective or realistic guilt on the other Both authors moreover asser t In no uncertain terms that psychology has no means or technique to diSsipat e feelings connected wit h objective guilt and that the answer lies alone in the New Testament r edemvUon and forgiveness

In considering tb e origin of guilt feelings McKenzie employs qualishyfiedly the F reudian concepts of supershyego and egomiddotideal IlS indications of an infantile or negative conscience He suggests t hat (levelopment of an adult or positive conscience is necessary for true maturity Despite th is somewhlt elaborate elllanatlon we still need in th is reviewer judgment a thorough-going study of conscience and its develo-pmen t which is more solidly based on Scripture

The tHscerning readfr ean readlly recognize th e several poInts such as original sin and total depravity at which McIenzle Is at issue with Scrlptnre Howevor hi s di scnssion of r elig iously healthy gu ilt feolings and of egocentrleJty as the principle character izing the sinfu l na ture of the s inner wh ich must be forgiven more tban sins is very stimulating

Belgums monograph Is easily read and also very thought-provoldlt tor the pastor who Is willing to face the possibili ty of hypocrisy and guilt hidden in feelings underneath the facade of h is own pose as well as that of membe1s or hIs parish

e eflecUvely males the point that insight and under standing of ones problems as advocated by secular psychotherapists are just n ot

ough for a pounduU solution T his is bei ng r erognzed In secular cirCles as Belgum documents with one relcrlnce and as evidenced more r ecently uy one such psychotherapist NIcholas Hobbs in tho AmlrcM~ P8y C7101ogist

(Noember 1962) To treat the problem of guilt the pastoral use of the Office of the

Keys must be t ruly functionul Belgum believes He has diagrammed the essent ial elements of the con fessional in a circniar fashion whiel is relatively simple to follow remember and use

At one point in the circle repen tance and confession are shown as leading to humility and consequent r estoration to personal integr ity Xext confession and amendment of ones li fe bring about reconciliati on with God an d man together with restoration to th e community To malte the circle complete amendment and repentance gi ve a new lease Oil Ufe wbich is the validaUon of the fUn ctional confessional and a restoration to ones vocation as a Christian

Put these two 1ItUo boolta together with Paul Meehls chapter on valid an d dlsllIaced guilt in the Concordia Semin ary (St Louis ) symshyposium volum e on What Then 1$ Man and you have a reaSonably comshyprehensIve picture v hich can help any paetor ill his concern for the handling of gull t feeli ngs in evidence among his parishioners

A Z1 en NutIIIIJ

• Untitled

I

IKrause Concordia aperback 600

~ available for the fB necessary for a wedding musIc to

ts recommendation vice one of oongreshyra given It 18 to

s something to be [order Is not of the ~t the book let tbat the wedding

middotint of Ule service this reviewer that ttenliants (p 15)

) sen-Ice and tend

f prepare fo r their Il ch BS this which ~ servi ce in all its ~ proper procedur irdla will coutlnue r of the Church

~niel BrOc7opp

rohn G McKenzie ~ $325 ~EET By David 1963 ix and 148

McKenzIe who science and psymiddot

~ ) is wri ting t or Q a Northwestern s spe()ifically the ~ellrch poundellow8111p on of Dr Hobnrt

egal ethical and gum r eviews the

I tbe problem of un ctionaL

~a t some paetors I considering gymen espeCially ective or unreal-

Book Reviews 75

Istic guilt on the one hand and objective or realistic guilt on the other Both authors moreover asser t In no uncertain terms that psychology has no means or technique to diSsipat e feelings connected wit h objective guilt and that the answer lies alone in the New Testament r edemvUon and forgiveness

In considering tb e origin of guilt feelings McKenzie employs qualishyfiedly the F reudian concepts of supershyego and egomiddotideal IlS indications of an infantile or negative conscience He suggests t hat (levelopment of an adult or positive conscience is necessary for true maturity Despite th is somewhlt elaborate elllanatlon we still need in th is reviewer judgment a thorough-going study of conscience and its develo-pmen t which is more solidly based on Scripture

The tHscerning readfr ean readlly recognize th e several poInts such as original sin and total depravity at which McIenzle Is at issue with Scrlptnre Howevor hi s di scnssion of r elig iously healthy gu ilt feolings and of egocentrleJty as the principle character izing the sinfu l na ture of the s inner wh ich must be forgiven more tban sins is very stimulating

Belgums monograph Is easily read and also very thought-provoldlt tor the pastor who Is willing to face the possibili ty of hypocrisy and guilt hidden in feelings underneath the facade of h is own pose as well as that of membe1s or hIs parish

e eflecUvely males the point that insight and under standing of ones problems as advocated by secular psychotherapists are just n ot

ough for a pounduU solution T his is bei ng r erognzed In secular cirCles as Belgum documents with one relcrlnce and as evidenced more r ecently uy one such psychotherapist NIcholas Hobbs in tho AmlrcM~ P8y C7101ogist

(Noember 1962) To treat the problem of guilt the pastoral use of the Office of the

Keys must be t ruly functionul Belgum believes He has diagrammed the essent ial elements of the con fessional in a circniar fashion whiel is relatively simple to follow remember and use

At one point in the circle repen tance and confession are shown as leading to humility and consequent r estoration to personal integr ity Xext confession and amendment of ones li fe bring about reconciliati on with God an d man together with restoration to th e community To malte the circle complete amendment and repentance gi ve a new lease Oil Ufe wbich is the validaUon of the fUn ctional confessional and a restoration to ones vocation as a Christian

Put these two 1ItUo boolta together with Paul Meehls chapter on valid an d dlsllIaced guilt in the Concordia Semin ary (St Louis ) symshyposium volum e on What Then 1$ Man and you have a reaSonably comshyprehensIve picture v hich can help any paetor ill his concern for the handling of gull t feeli ngs in evidence among his parishioners

A Z1 en NutIIIIJ

• Untitled