HISTORY OF THE FREE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF SCOTLAND (1893–1970). Compiled by a Committee Appointed by the Synod of the Free Presbyterian Church. Published by tile Publications Committee, Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland. Printed by J. G. Eccles, Henderson Road, Inverness, Scotland. 427 pages. Reviewed by Rev. Wilbert M. Van Dyk, pastor of the Plymouth Heights Christian Reformed Church, Grand Rapids, Mich.

In addition to those whose history is thus recorded, one of two kinds of people ought to buy this book: 1) those who have all insatiable appetite for church history; 2) those who make a study of other church histories in an attempt to find parallels to their own.

The purpose of the book is to communicate the “holy zeal which animated the 1893” beginnings of the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland. In 1893 what became known as the Free Presbyterian Church separated from the Free Church of Scotland, which had itself separated from the Established Church of Scotland in 1843. The issues in 1893 included the nature and extent of the authority of Scripture, church and state relations, ecumenism, hymnology, and a reaction on the part of the founders of the Free Presbyterian Church against the “innovations” that they felt had been introduced into the Free Church between 1843 and 1893.

In great detail the book records the legal, doctrinal, ethical, moral, and social issues that challenged the Free Presbyterian Church. Although the Church is presented as a defender of orthodoxy, conservatism, traditional values, and anti-ecumenism, it is also presented as a church much concerned about its witness to the world and its testimony to its nation concerning such issues as gambling, divorce, public transportation on Sunday, etc. Two separate chapters detail the history of the Rhodesian mission of the Church.

The book was written by a committee, and that’s the way it reads: without any particular style. Especially helpful to one interested in an overview of the Presbyterian Churches in Scotland is Appendix III. Although the Table of Contents is complete, and the chapters arc subdivided into agreeable sections, the book suffers for lack of an index. But while it lacks in style, it abounds in historical detail and in the obvious appreciation of its authors for the church that they love: the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland.

“WHOSOEVER WILL” by Herman Hoeksema. Reformed Free Publishing Association, Grand Rapids, Michigan (Distributed by Kregel Publications). 1945, pp. 164. $1.95, paperbaek. Reviewed by Rev. Jerome Julien, pastor of the First Christian Reformed Church of Pella, Iowa.

There are no Arminian texts in the Bible. After all, we believe with J. I. Packer, “The only theology the Bible knows is the Reformed Faith.” But though we say we believe this we are often at a loss to know how to interpret and apply some of the so-called Arminian texts. Here is a book written in a warm clear style which ought to help you. This is a recent reprint of an earlier publication by the well-known preacher, Herman Hoeksema. In the Preface. he writes: “As the title of this book may suggest to those that understand, the following pages are intended to set forth the inseparable connection between the certainty that ‘whosoever will may come,’ and the truth of God’s sovereign grace: the former is based on and rooted in the latter.” Texts like Revelation 22:17, Isaiah 55:3, Matthew 11:28 (not 28:11 as it appears on page 35), John 6:44 and Romans 9:20 are dealt with. Not everyone will like this book—at least partially because of the Arminian mood of the day. Nor will everyone agree with the book. I, however, am glad that it has been republished and hope that it may be a blessing to those who read it.

THE TRIPLE KNOWLEDGE: AN EXPOSITION OF THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM, Volume 3, by Herman Hoeksema. Reformed Free Publishing Association, Grand Rapids, Michigan (distributed by Kregel Publications) 1972, pp. x, 052, $8.95. Reviewed by Rev. Jerome Julien, pastor of the First Christian Reformed Church of Pella, Iowa.

At last The Triple Knowledge is complete in its reprint form. Now, again an excellent exposition of the Heidelberg Catechism is available in the English language, and every minister and prospective minister who has or will have the obligation—and a happy one, at that—to instruct the sheep in the teachings of God’s Word as they arc summarized in the Heidelberg must have this volume along with the two previously published.

This particular volume covering Lord’s Days 32 through 52 contains the material formerly published in volumes eight through ten of the ten volume set. Included are discussions on good works, regeneration, the law and each one of the Ten Commandments, prayer and eil.ch of the petitions of the Lord’s Prayer. There are interesting and very practical chapters on the oath, the Sabbath, the power of the state, divorce and remarriage, and “Healing on the Prayer of Faith.”

Of course, as is to be expected, not everyone will agree with all the thoughts in this volume, and some will not like it when the author justifies his position over against the Christian Reformed Church. This, however, should not detract from the value of the book. Though there are those who would be critical of this volume and set, let it be said that they are not seen producing anything which surpasses it.

   

RELIGION AND THE SOLID SOUTH, Samuel S. Hill and others, Abingdon, 208 pages, paperback, price $2.95. Reviewed by Rev. Elco H. Oostendorp, pastor of the Christian Reformed Church of Reeman, Michigan.

The title is rather pretentious since a book of this size can cover at best only a few aspects of the broad subject, religion and the Solid South. The book gives some information on a few facets of this topic from a sociological and historical viewpoint. The approach of the authors is concerned not so much with what has happened to religion in the South as with the interaction of changes in this part of the country as they were influenced by and have influenced religion. The editor wrote the introduction, and the first and last essays. He is professor of religion at Duke University. The “solid South” is roughly the group of States that seceded from the Union and fought the Civil War.

In a study of the South’s Two Cultures the book points out that religiously Southerners were very conservative. Hence the name “Bible belt” often used about this area. They were also very regional in their culture. The essay, “God and Plantation System,” by Dr. Edgar T. Thompson traces how slavery and the development of a plantation economy shaped the culture and conduct of people in the South and influenced their religion. The South became a land apart, and it is only in comparatively recent years that this distinctiveness is being lost.

“Women, Religion, And Social Change in the South” is a chapter from a book The Southern Lady From Pedestal to Politics by Anne Firor Scott. It has many interesting quotations from diaries and other writings of Southern ladies showing how their religion changed from preoccupation with individual salvation to more active involvement in social and political affairs. This chapter illustrates a process which is going on also in our own circles as reflected in the study being made of the place of women in the church and its offices. The W.C.T.U. became a powerful force among women in the South and opened them to involvement not only fighting abuse of liquor, but also in other social and political matters.

The chapter on “The Structure of a Fundamentalist Christian Belief-System” by Charles Hudson is a very abstract study from the standpoint of anthropology. It tries to show that like many religions Southern fundamentalism involves a tension between belief in divine Sovereignty (fate) and human responsibility. The chapter on “Religious Demography of the South” by Edwin S. Gaustad traces the distribution of the various denominations. It contains some interesting maps contrasting this distribution in 1850 and 1950. As is well known, Methodists and Baptists are far in the majority in the South.

In the concluding chapter the Editor writes about a charter for a Southern theology. He writes from a liberal viewpoint, and a Reformed believer cannot agree with many of his conclusions. On the other hand, the narrowly “spiritual” emphasis on conversion in the revivalistic sense of so much of Southern fundamentalism lacked the vision of a Christian world-and-life view. A church that could tolerate slavery and all the racial abuses and social inequities that characterized so much of the solid South was not meeting its responsibilities.

The book leaves one with the question—a question of vital concern to all conservative Christians—how can we remain true to the orthodox faith of our fathers and do our duty in meeting the challenges of today in a changing society? Although the problems of the “Solid South” are distinctive, they have much in common with those of people everywhere in this time of ferment and leveling of old barriers. As I read some sections in the light of the history of our Christian Reformed Church and people I couldn‘t help making a comparison with what has and is happening to “the Colonie” religiously and socially.

DO AND TELL: ENGAGEMENT EVANGELISM IN THE ’70s by Gabriel Fackre. Published by Wm. 8. Eerdmans Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Mich., 1973, 106 pages. Price $1.45. Reviewed by Dr. Roger S. Greenway, Latin America Secretary, Board of Foreign Missions of the Christian Reformed Church.

“Doing” was the characteristic mark of the ’60s. Christians tended to ignore the fact that the message of the Gospel needs to be told, and contented themselves with various types of social activism—putting an end to the war, struggling against poverty, racism, etc. During the past decade the Church’s mission was generally defined in terms which placed heavy accent on social involvement, with little attention paid to verbal proclamation.

Fuckre’s thesis is that the ‘70s have witnessed a shift in emphaSis from social concern to a highly personal type of religious experience. “Our hypnotism with the secular has kept the treasures buried too long,” he says. “Those prospecting about in cult and occult arc hying to tell us something” (p. 11). What they are saying is that Christianity is more than social programming. It is also a message, a relationship, and a personal encounter. The temptation facing the Church now is to go too far in this other direction and reduce the Christian faith to pious phrases and feelings without the embodiment of the message in relevant action.

The religious fad of the hour is the kind of mysticism and evangelism which wallows in my feelings, my decision, and my salvation, with the result that attention is drawn to me rather than to what God has done in Christ for me. This is dangerous. The subjectivity, the intense absorption of so many with feelings, the interior life, and personal matters, can detract as much from true Christianity as did the pre-occupations of the era of social ferment which has just passed.

The author warns fundamentalists not to be deceived by the new pietism, especially as it appears in youth movements like the “Jesus People.” Says Fackre: “The conventional fundamentalist who courts the young Jesus people may be in for a surprise. While their vocabulary resembles that of a very conservative Christianity, the timing of their appearance on the religious scene, their counter-culture garb and hair style, and sometimes their communal life-style hint that we have to do with something more than a restoration of the ‘old-time religion.’ Some of the identification tags suggest that they are part of the same revolt against the society of their ciders as the self-consciously oriental varieties of religions experience” (p. 89).

The crux of the book, developed in seven chapters centers around this question: Can the church escape from an activist enl (the ’60s) without falling into the type of pietism, the flight from real engagement With human realities, which the Oriental, mystic, and fundamentalist movements seem to be caught in, and develop a truly Biblical style of doing and telling, being and celebrating?

The book is brief, easy to read, and filled with enough well–turned phrases to make the reader glad that he picked it up. While I agree with the author‘s thesis that genuine evangelism involves both doing and telling, and therefore I consider the book a worthwhile contribution to the literature on this subject, I fail to hear in its pages the Gospel ring in terms of repentance from sin and faith in the atoning Lamb of God. Without this note, the “Engagement Evangelism” which Fackre advocates as the way out of the present dilemma, will fail on both principal and practical levels and will keep both streams, the social activist and the pietistic, going in opposite directions.

Dr. B. Wentsel, DE KOENS VAN DE KERK IN EEN HORIZONTALISTISCH TIJDPERK. (The Course of the Church in a Horizontal Era.) J. H. Kok, Kampen, 1972. Price f. 7.90 (100 pp.) Reviewed by Dr. Louis Praamsma (emeritus) of Hamilton, Ontario.

This is an excellent book and I only regret that I did not have the opportunity to read the first volume of Dr. Wentsel’s “The course of the church in a horizontal era.”

Much is offered here in a small compass and this book excels by its terse style, its sharp definitions, its lucid defense of the classic Reformed position which is under attack in the name of a new theology. In six chapters the author shows us the new patterns of thought, each of them followed by his own careful and thorough criticism.

In the first chapter Did God create the world in and for Christ? Dr. Wentsel points to tile fact that in the new theology Christ is called the purpose of creation; and that every man in his own way shares in God’s grace. Influences of Karl Barth, of the new Roman Catholic theology and of evolutionism are duly traced, and after this penetrating analysis of the theological situation the author begins his Scriptural criticism. He shows that Scripture docs not present a Christo-centric conception of creation in the first place, but a theo-centric conception; that creation does not belong to the same category as grace; and that sound theology docs not speak of universal but of special grace.

The title of the second chapter is: Is  the chronological order creation-sin-redemption of fundamental importance?

The new theology rejects that order. It rejects the fact of a state of integrity or sinlessness in the beginning; from the beginning man was sinful. The author quotes from a decision of the Reformed (Gereformeerde) Synod of Sneek (1970) in which the historicity of the fall of man was maintained; but in which it was also stated that a deviation from this doctrine does not mean that the faith-communion between persons who either accept or reject this doctrine has been broken.

He shows that also in this area the influence of Banh is obvious, that the chronological order is dearly the Biblical one, and that the speculative idea that Adam is everyone, conflicts with both the Old and the New Testament.

The third chapter bears the title: Is it possible to speak about anonymous grace and anonymous Christians?

Dr. Wentsel discusses the positions of the well–known Roman Catholic theologian Karl Rahner who has even assumed that there are millions of Christians among the Mohammedans, the Buddhists, the humanists, and the Marxists; of the German theologian D. Solle who coined the slogan: there is a church outside the church; of bishop J. A. T. Robinson who told us that we meet God in our fellowmen; and that of Dr. H. Kuitert in whose opinion there is salvation outside the institutional church, in conscious opposition to the concept of common grace of Dr. A. Kuyper who never identified that common grace with saving grace.

In his criticism Dr. Wentsel states that the new theologians do not make a clear distinction between God’s general and social revelation; neither do they distinguish between a situation of peace as the effect of the work of Christ and the personal salvation through faith in Him.

The next chapter is more or less an appendix to the former one and bears the name: Salvation through the one name. It speaks of the exclusiveness of the claim of Christ: “I am the way and the truth and the life.” And it stresses the necessity of faith and repentance in order to escape the coming judgment. It concludes that for that reason a dialogue on equal terms with representatives of other religions is impossible.

In his fifth chapter Dr. Wentsel writes about Resurrection and Ascension. The new theology asserts that the Bible never gives us the plain facts, but always the interpreted facts; that we find, therefore, discrepancies in the stories of the great facts of salvation; that we even must speak of the legend of the empty tomb; and that the modem view of world and universe cannot be squared with the Biblical stories.

In his criticism the author clearly shows that the Bible speaks of the resurrection of Christ and His ascension as facts which happened in space and time. Doubting or denying the resurrection is such a dangerous enterprise because this fact is a most central point in the revelation of God. The ascension was a fact that happened only once in a visible way, and in the same way Christ will visibly return.

The last chapter bears the title: What is reconciliation? We find in it much material about the meaning of the Biblical term “righteousness” (what docs it mean that we are righteous before God? is it: being declared righteous? or is it: doing the right things?); and about the meaning of the sacrifice of Christ at the cross (did He reconcile sinners with God, or with each other?)

Dr. Wentsel gives a worthwhile criticism of the thesis of Dr. Wiersinga (defended at the Free University in 1971) in which the substitutionary atonement of Christ was denied. Wiersinga stated that Christ’s death was intended to have a shock-effect on us, in order that we should be reconciled with each other. Dr. Wentsel shows that the whole sacrificial idea of the Old Testament is annulled in this way and that the meaning of e.g. Isaiah 53 and II Corinthians 5:21 is completely distorted.

This little book is a nugget in a nutshell.

The only objection I have is that the author is sometimes too mild, or too irenic, in his criticism.

At the end of his discussion of Dr. Wiersinga’s point of view concerning the reconciliation Wentsel states, for instance, that, although Wiersinga denies the juridical (or forensic) aspect of the reconciliation, he still maintains that we find in it an effective victory over sin; and that we cannot say, therefore, that he denies that Christ is the foundation of the reconciliation.

On the previous page Dr.Wentsel has stated that Dr. Wiersinga is guilty of a public and clear heresy (pp. 97, 98). These two statements arc not in complete harmony with each other.

The same is true when the author states that the new doctrine on reconciliation undermines the foundation only half way (slechts ten halve, p. 85). In the opinion of the present reviewer a halfway undermining is wrong terminology: it should be called what it is: an undermining. But these last words are not meant to detract from the value of this book. I would rather advise all who can read he Dutch language to buy it and to enjoy it.

THE MESSAGE OF THE NEW TESTAMENT, F. F. Bruce; pp. 120; $1.95, Eerdmans. Reviewed by Rev. Wilmer R. Witte, pastor of the Western Springs (Ill.) Christian Reformed Church.

In a small Volume such as this, one would think that the message of the New Testament and its subsidiary points as culled from the various books and authors would suffer from brevity. However, the author admirably and effectively presents the message of each book according to his own thematic approach, not necessarily through the use of chronology as a guide. He states this also in the Prologue. Generally, the teaching of each book and author is delineated clearly. Whether the reader will agree with the interpretation is another matter. For example, this reader would prefer to read Matthew as insisting upon and teaching that Jesus Christ is the Messiah-king rather than as the teacher.

Introductory matters are treated cursorily, and conclusions are made about the date and fonnation of a book without giving reasons for arriving at such conclusions. Some of the conclusions are debatable. However, the book will serve a nne purpose of acquainting the reader with an overall view of the message of the New Testament and the messages of each book. For the newcomer to the Bible, this study could provide a quick survey of some of the important teachings of the New Testament. For those who have advanced knowledge of the New Testament, this volume might help organize some themes.

What is most disappointing is the very brief treatment given to the Book of Revelation, the only book of its kind in the New Testament. And the author says all he wishes in five pages.

A HELP TO THE STUDY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT by William E. Biederwulf. Balcer Book House, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Paper. 127 pages, $1.95. Reviewed by Rev. Harlan Vanden Einde. pastor of the Oakdale Park Christian Reformed Church of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

This title by Biederwolf has been chosen as one of a series in Notable Books on Theology, a series of reprints on crucial doctrines of Scripture. Biederwolf was educated for the Presbyterian ministry at Princeton University, Princeton Seminary, and Berlin University. He served as a pastor, an evangelist, served as Dean and President of the Winona Lake School of Theology and the Winona Bible Conference. Today’s renewed interest in the work of the Holy Spirit has prompted the reprint of this title.

As Ralph C. Turnbull writes in the Introduction: “Biederwolf’s work is not a technical theological treatise, but rather a guide by a pastor-evangelist who seeks to help the inquirer.” That is borne out by a reading of this book. Biederwolf lakes a careful look at what the Bible has to say about the Holy Spirit, and docs not let subjective experience become his final court of appeal. Each chapter is filled with references to relevant Scripture passages, and the author displays an unequivocal submission to the authority of Scripture.

The twelve chapters deal with the major themes of the Holy Spirit’s Being and work, beginning with the name of the Spirit and concluding with an interesting chapter on the resistance of the Spirit. Included in that last chapter is quite a lengthy consideration of the Unpardonable Sin, in which Biederwolf sets forth the various views on the subject.

This book is indeed a “help” in the study of the Holy Spirit. We can be grateful to Baker Book House for reprinting and making it available to us in paperback form. It ought to be used with profit by anyone interested in a biblical study of the Holy Spirit.

THE WORLD, THE FLESH, AND THE DEVIL, by Harold Lindsell. Canon Press, Washington, D .C. 227 pages. Price $4.95. Reviewed by Rev. Harry G. Arnold, pastor of the First Christian Reformed Church, Lansing, Illinois.

Dr. Harold Lindsell is the editor of Christianity Today. He wields a facile pen and writes with a clear and lucid style. His book, he tells us, “is written primarily for people who believe in God and are committed to Jesus Christ for salvation made possible to them freely because of his death on the Cross” (p. vi). With such people in mind, Dr. Lindsell writes and deals with matters of Christian conduct.

The book covers a gamut of problems which are current in our society. These problems challenge the Christian to provide some answers. Dr. Lindsell has tried to provide biblical answers for the professing Christian who must face life in today‘s world. He covers such subjects as the reality of the devil, the choosing of n life style, murder and capital punishment, war and pacifism, sex and abortion, marriage and divorce, Christian liberty, worldliness, personal and social ethics, the church and the world, and the end of history itself which will culminate in the new heaven and earth.

Generally speaking, Dr. Lindsell comments on every type of problem facing the Christian today. Specifically, he has tried to give answers to “life’s fundamental questions: 1. Who am I? 2. Where did I come from? 3. What am I here for? 4. Where am I going? (p. 4). Dr. Lindsell‘s answers flow out of the basic presuppositions of theology, namely, that God is and that He has revealed Himself in such a way that man call know Him. His answers, in the main, agree with what most of us in the Reformed churches have been taught. His view of Israel and the return of our Lord indicate a premillennial bias. Yet he is fair in presenting the viewpoint of those who hold a different bins.

My judgment is that Dr. Lindsell has given us a very helpful book. It doesn’t necessarily contain a lot that we have not heard before. But it presents the answers with the underpinning of biblical reason and logic. It is a hook that is needed for our day to “lift up the hands that hang down, and the palsied knees; and make straight paths for your feet, that that which is lame be not turned out of the way but rather be healed” (Heb. 12:12, 13). Pastors would do well to encourage the reading of this book by our maturing high school youths, college students, and parents who face today’s world head on.

HET VERWORDINGS–PROCES IN DE GEREFORMEERDE KERKEN II, Dr. P. J. Huyser, Buyten en Schipperheyn; 119 pp. Paperback. Reviewed by Rev. Lambertus Mulder, pastor of the Christian Reformed Church of Lethbridge, Alberta.

Every so often a booklet appears in the Netherlands, making an attempt to give an analysis of the factors which have contributed to the turmoil and confusion in the Reformed churches.

Dr. Huyser belongs to the group of church members which is very concerned about developments that have taken place. He is blunt and outspoken and fires from the hip. In his estimation the process of deterioration began quite some time ago and now has come to full blossom. One might say he is depicting the traditional road toward liberalism and decay. The contributing forces may be different from age to age, the result is inevitably the same: collapse of the faith while the formal structure remains standing.

Huyser maintains that a combination of evil forces has gauged up on his beloved church. They are:

1) Influence of the secular spirit of the time,

2) Neo-Kuyperianism,

3) Philosophy of the existentialists,

4) Desire for power on the part of the enemy.

One does well to consider the case the author is making. The situation does not have to be exactly identical on this continent and the forces of the enemy may not yet have synchronized their clocks, but the potential for that sort of disaster as Huyser describes is surely present.

A good knowledge of the Dutch language as well as some understanding of the contemporary scene in Europe will he necessary to get the full benefit of this paperback.