BOOK REVIEWS
By Donald G. Davis, Ph.D., Chairman, Dept. Social Science, Biola
All recommended books may be obtained from the Biola Book Room, 560 South Hope Street, Los Angeles 17, Calif.
tions answered in personal letters in connection with his network Radio Bible Class. Most of the questions in volve so-called “ problem” passages, and hence the answers often fall within the area of interpretation. In the case of some of these, readers will disagree— for example, with the state ment that through the testimony largely of the two witnesses of Rev elation 11 “ the 144,000 Jews will be converted . during the tribulation period.” Like other books answering Bible questions, this work serves an excel lent purpose. The asking of such questions indicates that the Bible is being read, and not in a perfunctory way. Analytical subject and Scripture indexes insure the book’s usefulness to its owner. 254 pages; cloth; Zon- dervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Mich.; $3.00. This booklet is far more than a brief discussion of the “ know-how” of marriage services. In addition to the proper planning of the ceremony it self thè book discusses the problems and duties of bride, groom, bride’s parents, groom’s parents, minister, best man, maid of honor, bridesmaids, flower girl, ringbearer, chief usher, and other participants. Suggestions are made concerning invitations, music, decorations, flowers, guest lists, and newspaper announcements. A wedding bibliography completes the work. Several copies of this booklet in the hands of key individuals would do much to insure a smooth-running wedding. It would be an appreciated engagement gift. 62 pages; paper; Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Mich., 60c. Book Brevities BUILDING A BRIDGE TO A BETTER WORLD by Paul T . Culbertson. 91 pages; paper; Beacon H ill Press, Kansas City, Mo., $1.00. A carefully worked out analogy of salvation and the Christian life based upon the Golden Gate Bridge. BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT by Roy L. Laurin. 24 pages; paper; American Prophetic League, Inc., Los Angeles, C a lif., 25c. An excellent summary of Scripture teaching on this important sub ject. I CALLED ON MRS. DOE by J . E. Conant. 32 pages; paper; Bedrock Press, Los Angeles, C alif., 35c. A method of soul-winning by personal visitation with the unsaved. Useful for individuals and church efforts. W edd in g E tiquette By Jabez Taylor
I OOl Serm on Illustra tion» and Quotations
The Companion B ib le Compiled by William A. Cooke
Under some fifty or more alpha betized topical headings are gathered anecdotes, quotations, Scripture verses, and poems. While this book is thin ner than the average book of illustra tions, one soon discovers that the material is not a rehash of the more or less familiar but is really sug gestive and usable. 116 pages; cloth; Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Mich., $1.75. The former pastor of Calvary Bap tist Church, New York City, gave the Bob Jones University Lectures on Evangelism for 1952, now published in this volume. The first section treats in four lectures of America, the land of revival, and trader figures drawn from the ministry of Elijah portrays the need of spiritual awaken ing in the land of Jonathan Edwards, Peter Cartwright, Charles G. Finney, and Dwight L. Moody. The second section outlines the national situation which calls for revival in our midst. National repentance must be matched with a spiritually prepared church. The last section presents a design for local church evangelism, and here the author is at his best—he has been a pastor. “ The pastoral evangelist will not, like some so-called professional evangelists, seek to get folk forward on almost any pretence or appeal in order to count heads and to make self-flattering reports in the religious press. The man who has been a pastor knows that often these demonstra tions thrill the congregation for a moment or two but leave a bad after effect. Since many of the high-pres- sured conversions are not genuine, after the big show is over, instead of crowds joining the church people see so few presenting themselves that they begin to doubt the genuineness of evangelism itself.” Practical meth ods are suggested for effective evan gelism in the local church. Preachers and laymen can read this book with great profit 198 pages; cloth; Zon- dervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Mich., $2.50. F lam e io r the A ltar By William Ward Ayer
This work is not to be confused with the large book of the same title usually connected with the name of E. W. Bullinger. The compiler has selected portions of the King James Version from Genesis to Revelation, and these are printed without altera tion—a total of 7,454 verses out of the 31,173 found in the complete ver sion. The format of the book is at tractive, and it conceivably could challenge “ the thousands pf busy men and women who have not found the time to read in its entirety the great est Book ever written.” Mr. Cooke does not maintain that his shortened edition renders the rest of the Bible unnecessary but with it aims to “ whet the appetite of young and old alike for a better knowledge of the Scrip tural truths.” A ll efforts at condensing the Word of God, however, seem doomed to failure. We note some of the mis leading features of the selection. No ellipses indicate omissions; for exam ple, the first paragraph consists of the first verse of the first chapter of Genesis and the first verse of the second chapter. Adam and Eve’s sin is recorded without the serpent’s tempt ing, and from Genesis 3:23 the text skips to the call of Abraham in 12:1. A general avoidance of miracle in favor of literary beauty is noticeable, and the occasionally included notes and comments reflect the higher crit ical approach. The number of Israel ites who followed Moses out of Egypt “may have been 2,000 to 6,000.” The 603,550 armed men mentioned in Numbers 1:46 “ was an error, prob ably a confusion with a later census of the Israelities after they had been settled long in Canaan.” The author of the fourth Gospel, “ though not identified for a certainty, seems to have been, next to Paul, the pro- foundest theologian of the early Christian era.” Portions of the epistles of a high literary character are included, and a dozen or more verses from the last two chapters of Revelation are deemed sufficient for the capstone of the sacred text. God’s Word, even in this condensed form, can be used by the Holy Spirit to bring life to the dead, but how much better to use Holy Writ in com plete form or in portions which are complete in themselves. 496 pages; cloth; John C. Winston Co., Phila delphia, Pa., $3.50. THE KING'S BUSINESS
5 0 3 An sw ers to B ib le Questions By M. R, DcHaon
The Grand Rapids physician-pastor here dips into his file of Bible ques- 20
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