November 1927
T h e
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of doctrine (and the rest) will come along in good time, and Indian genius will place its own stamp upon them. Taken as a' whole, the book seems to us to be so orthodox that the Modern ists, if they think the proposition through thoroughly, will find no comfort in it. Unfortunately the author quotes several pas sages from liberalistic authors (Gilkey, McDowell and Wells) without adding that he cannot agree with them in many ways; hit no fault can be found with the quotations themselves.” D r . P. B. F raser Dr. P. B. Fraser, editor of The Biblical Recorder, Fundamentalist organ in New Zealand, says: “Whatever criticism may be offered of this book, we should put in the foreground a tribute of respect for the gifted author. No better words could be selected for this than those I quoted in the review of Dr Hodge, of Princeton, in April issue. Let us repeat it. ‘One can speak at length about the ideas in a book, but it is not possible to speak at length about the Christian expe riences and utter devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ which the
D r . H . C. W addell Dr. H. C. Waddell, leader of the Los Angeles Prayer Union, further says, in an article in Prayer: “I am not writing for the Evangelical Prayer Union in this. Individual conviction is allowed. But I must be just—and while God forbid that support should.be given or any encourage ment to what may be unfaithful to the Gospel of the Son of God, also how cowardly to stifle conscience in silence when a servant of Christ is judged by questionable standards. With all defer ence, I frankly, think that Mr. Trumbull of The Sunday School Times is mistaken. He is measuring according to standards that do not fit the case. The Sunday School Times is not infallible, and neither is Dr. Gray. Perhaps these eminent servants of the Lord have not the faculty to understand Dr. Jones. There is no evidence that they have the faculty of the mystic, nor have they had the training to pass judgment competently upon the min istry of Dr. Jones, much less upon■ the man. For one, as called to prayer in the name of Christ I must suspend judgment for further light. And while I am deeply indebted to The Sunday
School Times and have sincere re gard for its editor—to whose message, ‘The Life That wins,’ my whole soul responds— I must protest that the arraignment of ‘The Christ of the Indian Road’ is wide of the mark as it appears to my vision; and I think, as a .disciple of . Christ, I have the right to so think. Then, while there is profound reverence for Dr. Gray, may it not be that the sphere of thinking and believing in which he has lived may be un equal to fair dealing with the sphere of life and thought in Christ in which' Dr. Jones has been called ? However, humbly, sincerely, earnestly and patiently, I for one must pray on. If ‘The Christ of the Indian Road’ is false I must know, but if true, Christ forbid that I should be destroying what He approves. Let us pray! M r . A rnold P aynter “It has providentially occurred that Mr. Arnold Paynter, son of A. S. Paynter, Founder of The India Christian Mission, has been here in Southern California since March. Mr. Paynter of Ceylon knows Dr. Jones intimately. Mr. Paynter also cites the testimony of Rev..W. H. Greet of Banga lore, so well known for his loyalty to Christ, endorsing in full the great ministry of Dr. Jones, upon whose work there is the manifest blessing of God.”
author everywhere exhibits. This little book fairly breathes the spirit of love and devotion to Christ/ “Indeed, he plainly and repeat edly declares himself as a cordial believer in fundamental truth. The real question is whether Dr. Jones exhibits a sound and power ful apblogetic relatively to the In dian mind. Just how Dr. Jones would present the Bible revela tion to the Western mind—yours and mirfe—he does not have oc casion to say. How he is en deavoring to present it to the In dian mind is the subject of his book. Plainly those best capable of judging the success, in the best sense, of his apologetic, as respects the Indian mind, are those qualified by a sound knowl edge of Bible truth, and a fairly adequate knowledge of the peo ples of India. Exceedingly few of us have this knowledge. “I think it is possible that some of the criticism of Dr. Jones’ book is due to pressing more and other into his telling phrases than they are intended to bear. There are expressions here which, isolated from the context of the whole, might mean rather a drastic and free surrender of Scripture. But, the surrender of Scripture and the logical presentation of it to par ticular minds are different things. It would seem that the logical pre sentation of it to the Indian mind is what Dr. Jones is aiming at.”
Do Christians Today Need Th is Experience?
“A friend of mine was preaching in the bazaar in North India when a Hindu came up to him and said, ‘I want to ask a ques tion, not through criticism, but for infor mation. I have been reading the New Tes tament and am especially struck with the Acts of the Apostles. These men seem to have had a wonderful power and ful ness o f spiritual life. Sir, have you found what they had?’ ” My friend was speech less. Though he was a graduate of a uni versity and was a missionary, he knew in the innermost depths of being that he did not have what the early disciples seemed to have found. He went home, fell on his knees, yielded himself to Christ and found! His life became one of the richest and most beautiful I have ever been privileged to see. When he died a few years ago an Indian minister said: “It is a good thing that he did not die in India, for we would have committed the sin of worshiping his grave.” IH-E. Stanley Jones, in “The Christ of the Indian Road.”
T h e C h r is t ia n S tandard The editor of The Christian Standard says:
P rayer U n io n P aper A paper called “Prayer,” published in California, organ of The Evangelical Prayer Union, referring to articles criticizing the book, says: “The charge of Modernism, together with the garbling of text and almost sneering contempt of Mr. Jones, is beneath more than passing notice. But the critics may not know that E. Stanley Jones is a great Christian, and no ordinary man, within whose grasp the highest office of his church could have been held. But he loved his work for Christ more than honors of even the church and works on devotedly in humble place. “But to be sure, I read the book the second time, line by line and word by word. While Evangelical to the core of my being and with no sympathy for any kind of rationalism, I became fully established in the convic tion that ‘The Christ of the Indian Road’ is a rare and timely message, not only for the work of the Gospel in India, but also in America and England and the whole world , And so upon my own responsibility I make appeal for prayer for Dr. E. Stanley Jones, his missionary work, and his message in ‘The Christ of the Indian Road.’ You can’t Americanize a Hindu, and you must not try to Englishize him to .make him a Christian.”
“Here undoubtedly is the greatest missionary book we have seen in recent years. This experienced missionary among the people of India, after going through his own Gethsemane, has come to a deeply sympathetic appreciation of the Hindu mind that has enabled him to put into understandable terms the stir rings that are going on in the souls of the Hindus in relation to the breakdown of their own religion and the increasing friend liness toward Christ and Christ’s teaching. “Mr. Jones makes it clear that whatever is Western, ag glomerate to the religion founded by Jesus Christ, cannot be imposed upon the Hindus. It must not be. But India needs, and is beginning in a thrillingly amazing way to see that she needs, Jesus Christ above everything else. No mere social service, no mere loaves and fishes, no mere teaching philosophy, but a crucified' and redeeming Christ with all the simplicity of .His original New Testament plan, is what is wanted. T h e U n ited P resbyterian The United Presbyterian, another champion of Funda mentalism, has the following to say: “Still another booby is prominent in our twentieth-century
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