Twenty Thousand Tomorrows T h e y k n e l t together, the one a man, the other a mere frag ment o f life. The man was pastor of the Ridgewood Baptist Church in Joliet, Illinois. The “ fragment” was a drunken wretch who had left the cold of the streets to find haven in the Pacific Garden Mis sion, and found besides, an eter nal haven in the Person of the Son of God. It was a work of grace. But by far the greater work was done in the heart of 23-year- old J. Lloyd Hunter. On bended knee that wintry night in 1913, Hunter was quickened by one all- consuming thought: “ If only this thread of wasted existence had been won to Christ as a boy, not only his soul, but his LIFE would have been saved!” This was the seed planted by God: the seed in the heart of a man that was to bloom into the nation-wide min istry of the Canadian Sunday School Mission. The young pastor harbored no doubts concerning his call. He left the Pacific Garden Mission that night with a burning in his soul that was to carry him to thou sands of children with the Gospel of Light. In 1914, under the American Sunday School Union, he began his journey into the broad expanse of vision that God had given. It was during these years with the ASSU that he con ceived an idea which proved, from the beginning, to be a key molded to fit many hearts — the Bible Memory Contest. Lloyd Hunter was a man of broadening horizons. The “ other wise unreached” had an option on the burden of his soul. The call of the Canadian West, with its rural areas, was irresistible. The embers of the fire already feeding upon his own observa tions were fanned by a candid question from Mrs. William Hol man of Winnipeg — “Why don’t you come to Canada?” The query was well-timed . Cent, on Pag« 37
Brown concludes, “We cannot re main true to the witness o f the New Testament and follow Barth in his Christocentric programme.” A good smattering of what is happening on the more radical cutting edge of today’s theologies is Frontline Theology (John Knox Press, $4.50) ed ited by Dean Peerman. This work is composed of a collection o f essays by con temporary theologians which were originally published in the “ How I am Making My Mind” series of the liberal periodical The Chris tian Century. An introductory es say on “American Protestant The ology Today,” by Martin Marty gives the overall perspective to the diverse views presented in the essays which are so characteristic of the shattered theological scene among those who have left the authority of the Scriptures. For the pastor and serious stu dent of theology, two works have recently come out o f Europe which offer a positive correction of the recent flight from biblical history characterized by the exis tential th eo log ian s o f recent years. Salvation in History (Har per and Row, $6.50) by Oscar Cullman argues strongly against dissolving the historicity of the Scriptures stating that it is the belief that God has acted in his tory for the salvation of His peo ple that distinguishes the Chris tian and the Jewish faiths from all religions. The thesis of Jurgen Moltmann in his The Theology of Hope (Harper and Row, $8.50) also strikes at the heart o f recent European theology. Rather than reducing the eschatology o f the Bible to a present encounter with God as existential theology at tempted to do, Moltmann, as in dicated by the title o f his work, directs the attention of the be liever to the future. The cross and resurrection are decisive for the kingdom of God, but the king dom has not yet arrived. While the believer is called to work and serve in the world, he serves with a vital hope for God’s future in His own time. IH]
ture of man, Strauss discusses the nature or attributes o f God and fifteen of His significant names. Vivid use of illustrations and sig nificant use of quotations along with a wealth of biblical refer ences make this an interesting study on an often difficult sub ject. The Gladness of His Return (Loizeaux, $2.50) by Neil M. Fraser, completes his trilogy on the purpose and prospect of the coming of Christ. Previous titles in the series include The Gran deur of Golgotha and The Glory of His Rising. As in the earlier works, Fraser traces the theme of Christ’s advent in the Old Testa ment and anticipation, largely by means o f typ ica l foreshadow, through the Gospels, the Epistles, climaxing in the book of Revela tion. While personally holding the Pre-tribulational p o s it io n , the work is not polemic but rather exalts the glory of His coming as the hope of all believers. Two further works of interest for evangelicals whose contents are indicated by their titles are: The Holy Spirit: Believer’s Guide (Broadman, $3.50) by the noted Southern Baptist leader Herschel Hobbs, and God and Evil: Studies in the Mystery of Suffering and Pain (Eerdmans, $2.45) by Wil liam Fitch. For those interested in more recent trends, there is a new work by E n g lish evangelical, Colin Brown, on K a r l Barth ( Karl Barth and the Christian, Inter- Varsity, $1.95). Although passé in the minds of the more radical theologians o f our day, the the ology of Barth is very influential in the church and is for this rea son worth studying. Brown’s stat ed aim is to ferret out of Barth’s prodigious theological works the main themes which give unity to the whole. He finds much that is of a positive value in Barth but also a basic p r in c ip le which causes him to deviate from the whole truth o f the Scriptures. Di rected mainly at the universalis- tic tendency of Barth’s thinking, AUGUST. 196«
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