350
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
October, 1933
(¿^ur cJ^iieraiure mm WH A T TO PU R CH A S E AT B I O L A B O O K R O OM
Men Without God B y W illiam A. C orey
The author, with a broad education and a brilliant journalistic career to his credit, knows whereof he speaks when he at tempts discussion of men without God, for he was himself for years steeped in athe ism. His book is a remarkable recital o f personal experiences with atheists, writ ten after his own deliverance through faith in Jesus Christ. He describes inci dents concisely, and adds to the interest and authenticity by giving the names of the persons and places involved. Californians especially should be attracted to the book, as its setting is largely there. One can not read it without being solemnized by the realization o f the terrible wreckage that is inevitably the outcome—in some form or other—of lives that have persisted in re bellion against God and in rejection of His grace. Yet it is, in the most satisfying sense, a hopeful volume, for it demon strates how the power of God can work even in the most tragic situations, to the humbling and ennobling of those who trust in Him. “Mr. Corey is a trophy of re deeming grace, and the story o f his recla mation is a spiritual document of authentic and constructive value.” It appeared orig inally in the Sunday School Times. 160 pages. Fleming H. Revell Co. Cloth. Price $1.50. Personality and the Fact of Christ B y H arold P aul S loan As a reply to the current mechanistic world views, Dr. Sloan offers a Christian philosophy which is both scriptural and reasonable. It is based on a study of the inner universe of consciousness, which re volves aroTmd the interrelationship o f the personality o f man and the supreme Per sonality, God. The discussion of this re lationship involves all of the cardinal doc trines o f Christianity. Dr. Sloan interprets these by the personality of Christ as re vealed in the Gospels. His attitude to ward sin, His self-consciousness, the wit ness of His miracles, His unique relation ship to the Father, and the social effects of His life are adduced as evidences o f His essential deity and saviourhood. Perhaps the best feature of this book is- its sane balance of the spiritual and intel lectual approach to truth. Although Dr. Sloan insists on ordered thinking, a scien tific examination o f the inner world of personality, he emphasizes equally the ne cessity o f pursuing truth with the moral w ill; nor does he, in any part of his argu ment, lapse into a sterile intellectualism. This book is an excellent interpretation of historic Christianity, and a forceful apolo getic. 261 pages. Cokesbury Press. Cloth. Price $1.50. Pastors who are looking for something new to present to children will be greatly interested in this volume which contains thirty-seven sermons based on some experi ments in the field of chemistry. A few of these experiments would require little prep aration, while others undoubtedly would take much practice and some previous knowledge of the simple fundamental chemical processes. Each sermon is pre faced by a black-and-white drawing as well as a list of apparatus needed. The wealth of material found in this volume, both Biblical and illustrative, should be welcome to all who endeavor to present the gospel to junior congregations. 156 pages. Fleming H. Revell Co. Cloth. Price $1.50. Animated Junior Sermons B y W. C larence W right
The Finality of Jesus Christ B y R obert E. S peer
daism, the revelation, is part of Chris tianity; Judaism, the system, as held by the scribes and Pharisees, is an entirely differ ent matter. The leadership of the church o f the first century repudiated the attitude and action o f Judaism of their day; but they preached the gospel from the Jewish scriptures, worshiped God in the Jewish temple, and carried on their missionary campaign from the Jewish synagogue. Failure to make the distinction between Ju daism as a revelation and Judaism in its formalistic development is a grave error. We wonder what Dr. Speer’s view of the Old Testament can be if he carries his contention to its logical conclusion. The book is thoroughly documented, and in the exactitude of its quotations and ref erences will commend itself to scholarly readers. It is a veritable anthology of quotations on the subj ect discussed, and it offers a widely representative bibliography on the different views of modern missions. However, while its main argument is co gent and its procedure sound, its afore mentioned ambiguities weaken its forceful ness, and its very exhaustiveness will weary the average reader. 386 pages. Fleming H. Revell Co. Cloth. Price $3.00. In this new book o f seventy-two pages the author has, in his unique manner, pre pared a Bible study course on the most vital truths of Christianity. The method of study is that followed in other courses by Mr. Brooks, which are offered by the Correspondence School o f the Bible Insti tute of Los Angeles. Questions are asked, scripture references are given in which the answer may be found, and space is provided for the student to record his findings. In the writing of such answers, the truth is doubly impressed upon the mind of the student. The subjects dealt with in the fourteen lessons o f this course are: Requisites of Bible Study, Inspiration o f the Scriptures, Bible Doctrine o f God, Bible Teaching Concerning Jesus Christ—His Preexist ence, His Incarnation, His Humanity, His Atoning Death, His Resurrection, His As cension and High Priestly Work, His Sec ond Advent—Bible Teaching Concerning the Holy Spirit, Bible Teaching Concern ing the Devil, Fundamental Principles of the Gospel, and Vital Truths o f the Faith. These studies on the rudimentary truths o f the Christian faith will prove most profitable in group study among new con verts. Arrangements have been made by the author with the Bible Institute of Los An geles, on the Pacific Coast, arid with the Practical Bible Training School, on thé Atlantic Coast, to issue certificates to those desiring this course, who wish to have their work corrected, and who thus ob tain a passing grade. A fee of $1.00, in ad dition to the cost o f the book, is charged by either school to which the student may forward his lessons. The price o f the book alone is 50 cents. 72 pages. Paper. Keith L. Brooks, 2003 Addison Way, Los Angeles, Calif. The Practical Bible Training Course B y K eith L. B rooks
“ Christianity . . , ” says Dr. Speer in his introduction to this book, “is not a re ligion. It is not a human search for God or quest for truth. It is the supernatural self-revelation of God Himself, opening all truth to the faith and obedience of man. .. It is incommensurable and alone, like Christ, who is the First and Last of it and o f all things, the Only One.” In five lectures on this theme, Dr. Speer enters a courteous but vigorous and direct protest against the current attitude that Christianity is simply one religion among many others, similar to them in historical origins, theological system, and ethical concepts, and differing from them in de gree rather than in kind. He demonstrates clearly that the primitive church maintain ed the absolute deity and lordship o f Jesus Christ; that it utterly refused to concede that the ethnic and cult religions o f its day were on the same plane with itself. He maintains that such has been the attitude of the historic church through suc ceeding centuries, and that this attitude is both tenable and necessary today. It is tenable because other religions, according to the testimony of those converted from them to Christ, and according to the unwill ing admissions of many of their adherents, “are not the equivalents o f Christianity . . . . , and they offer no substitute for Christ.” It is necessary, because a Chris tianity which merges with other faiths in one great eclectic religion loses thereby its power and its distinctive characteristics. By such a procedure, it would soon cease to exist. This theme is treated exhaustively in a manner .generally satisfactory to an evan gelical Christian. There seems to be little doubt as to Dr. Speer’s stand on the fun damental beliefs of the gospel. There are, however, one or two ambiguities. For one thing, it is difficult to ascertain whether by his frequent use of quotations from other writers he intends to endorse the sen timents which they express, or whether he intends to use them as examples o f inad vertent concessions to his viewpoint. Indis criminate references to Harnack, T. R. Glover, H. S. Coffin, S. Angus, and many others of undoubted scholastic ability, but of definitely modernistic theology, make one wonder just to what extent Dr. Speer agrees with their views. Since his lectures were intended for theological students, he may be assuming that his hearers or read ers would be able to recognize the sources, and to evaluate them correctly. If, how ever, he intends his work for the laity, a more careful explanation of his attitude and a clearer introduction to some of the quotations and references would be highly desirable. Again, his references to Judaism are un satisfactory. He makes very little allow- • ance for any connection between Christian ity and Judaism, and seems to class the lat ter with the non-Christian religions. That such might in effect be its status today, we might concede; but, like Christianity, it differed from all other religions in being a divine revelation, and was the prophetic background from which Christ came. Ju
Made with FlippingBook Online newsletter