BOOKS RECEIVED (Books received from the publishers for mention and/or review –John Vander Ploeg)

DEATH BEFORE BIRTH by Harold O. J. Brown: 168 pages; Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers; $5.95: “a book which looks at all sides of the abortion problem . . . .”

THE SHAKING OF ADVENTISM by Geoffrey J. Paxton; 172 pages; Baker Book House, Grand Rapids. Mich.; $3.95: “a documented account of the crisis among Adventists over the doctrine of justification by faith.”

A WOMAN’S WORKSHOP ON PROVERBS – Student’s Manual, $1.50; 111 pages: Leader‘s Manual, $1.95: 137 pages; by Diane Bloem; Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Mich. 49506.

NURTURING CHILDREN IN THE LORD (a study guide for teachers on developing a biblical approach to discipline) by Jack Fennema; 162 pages; Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., Phillipsburg, N.J.; $4.95.

COMMENTARY ON REVELATION by Henry Barclay Swete; 338 pages; amillennial approach; “written very aptly for the Greek scholar of today to sharpen skills in exegesis”; Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, Mich. 49501; $12.95.

COMMENTARY ON MARK by Henry Barclay Swede; 433 pages; “. . . Swete’s focus on each verse using the Greek and Latin leaves little unseen; for be reveals his research”; Kregel Publications; $12.95.

THE PIETY OF JOHN CALVIN (An Anthology Illustrative of the Spirituality of the Reformer). Translated and edited by Ford Lewis Battles. Music edited by Stanley Tagg; Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Michigan; 180 pages; $9.95.

THE HOMOSEXUAL CRISIS IN THE MAINLINE CHURCH by Jerry R. Kirk; 191 pages; Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers, New York; $3.95.

EXPLORE THE WORD by Henry M. Morris, III; 340 pages; Creation-Life Publishers, San Diego, California; $5.95.

FANNY CROSBY SPEAKS AGAIN by Fanny Crosby. Edited by Dr. Donald P. Hustad; 120 hymns by Fanny Crosby never before published; Hope Publishing Co., Carol Stream, Ill. 60187; $2.50.

THE ATONEMENT OF CHRIST by Francis Turrettin. Translated by James R. Wilson; 195 pages; Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Mich.; $4.95.

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS, A BETTER EXPLANATION by Clifford Wilson and John Weldon. Publisher’s claim: “The most up-to-date book on UFO’s!” Master Books. A Division of CLP. P.O. BOX 15666, San Diego, California 92115.

EVOLUTION – THE FOSSILS SAY NO! by Duane T. Gish. 186 pages; Creation-Life Publishers, P.O. Box 15666, San Diego, California 92115; $2.95.

CONTEMPORARY WORLD THEOLOGY (a layman‘s guidebook) by Harvie M. Conn; 155 pages; Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., BOX 186, Nutley, N.J. 07110; $2.95.

WOMEN‘S ORDINATION – RIGHT OR WRONG? A series of lectures from the Institute on Women in the Church delivered at Western Theological Seminary, Holland, Mich Order at $1.00 each from Post Office BoK 322, Lansing, Illinois 60438.

STUDIES IN PROVERBS (Laws from Heaven for Life on Earth) by William Arnot; 583 pages; hardcover; Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, Mich. 49501; $10.95.

JESUS AS THEY SAW HIM (New Testament Interpretation of Jesus) by William Barclay; 429 pages; paperback; Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Mich.; $4.95.

APOSTLES TO THE CITY (Biblical Strategies for Urban Missions) by Roger S. Greenway; 96 pages; paperback: Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Mich.; $3.95.

ISAIAH, SCROLL OF A PROPHETIC HERITAGE by William L. Holladay; 270 pages; paperback; Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Mich. $8.95.

THE TRINITY OF THE UNIVERSE by Nathan R. Wood; 220 pages: hardcover; Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49501; $5.95.

AN ALARM TO UNCONVERTED SINNERS by Joseph Alleine; 190 pages; Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Mich.; $2.45.

THE LIFE OF REVEREND DAVID BRAINERD; Chiefly extracted from his diary by Jonathan Edwards; 360 pages; Baker Book House: $3.45.

COUPLES IN THE BIBLE (a Discussion Guide) by Daniel R. Seagren; 162 pages; Baker Book House; $1.25.

THE TRUTH OF GOD INCARNATE (five prominent theologians join forces to defend the doctrine of Christ’s divinity against reeent attacks. Edited by Michael Green; 144 pages; Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Mich. $2.45.

THE THOUGHT OF THE EVANGELICAL LEADERS – Notes of the Discussions of The Electric Society London during 1798–1814. Newton-Cecil-Scott–Simeon, etc. Edited by John H. Pratt. 535 pages. The Banner of Truth, P. O. 80x 621, Carlisle, Pa. 17013; $10.95.

THE MOON – ITS CREATION, FORM AND SIGNIFICANCE by John C. Whitcomb and Donald B. De Young; 180 pages; BM H Books, P.O. Box 544, Winona Lake, Indiana 46590

HISTORICA.L DIRECTORY OF THE REFORMED CHURCH IN AMERICA – 1628–1978 by Peter N. Vanden Berge; 385 pages; Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 255 Jefferson Ave., S.E., Grand Rapids, Mich. 49502.

EERDMAN‘S FAMILY ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE BIBLE; Organizing Editor –Pat Alexander; 328 page; Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., $15.95.

CALVIN‘S DOCTRINE OF PREDESTINATION (second edition) by Fred H. Klooster; 98 pages; Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Mich. $3.95.

TELEGARBAGE (What You Can Do About Sex and Violence on TV) by Gregg Lewis; Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee; 164 pages; $2.95.

KARL BARTH PREACHING THROUGH THE CHRISTIAN YEAR. Selected by John Mc Tavish and Harold Wells. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. 279 pages: $6.95.

CALVIN ON SCRIPTURE AND DIVINE SOVEREIGNTY by John Murray; Baker Biblical Monograph; 71 pages; Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Mich.; $2.95.

LOVE WITHIN LIMITS (A Realist’s View of I Corinthians 13) by Lewis B. Smedes; 135 pages; Wm. 8. Eerdmans Publishing C0., Grand Rapids, Mich. $3.95.

TRUTHS THAT COUNSEL AND COMFORT (Help and Hope for the Troubled) by Evelyn Lauxtermann. 264 pages. (A Manual for Christian Telephone Crisis Counselors), Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co. $7.95.

CHRISTIANITY AND DEMOCRACY by Norman De Jong; 170 pages; The Craig Press; $4.95.

I AND II THESSALONIANS, by Geoffrey B. Wilson (Banner of Truth Trust, 1975), 12.4 pages. Reviewed by John R. Sittema, Sanborn, Iowa.

The back cover hails this little, inexpensive, commentary on Paul’s letters to Thessalonica as one written by a minister with “a reputation for sound exposition without frills.” With this assessment I heartily concur.

The book is little, but rich. More than just a commentary, it is “A Digest of Reformed Comment.” That is, the author intersperses his own comments with frequent, and often lengthy, quotations from other Reformed scholars. When Wilson cannot say it better than they, he does not try.

Consequently, the book opens one up to the views of Calvin, Hendriksen, Leon Morris, Lenski, F. F. Bruce, etc., on the epistles of Paul.

This little gem can be read profitably by each minister; in fact the 6 volumes in the series by the same author ought to find a home in each pastor‘s library. But, the volume will be particularly helpful for each layman in his individual or group study on the epistles of Paul to Thessalonica. Thoroughly Reformed, it is concise and easy to read. It is not freighted with Greek words, or even transliterations. Yet the exegesis of the author is dearly evident.

Other titles in the series by this author include Romans, I and II Corinthians (2 volumes), Galatians, and Hebrews. If these are as rich as the one on Thessalonians, the series is a treasury for both laymen and pastors alike.

PARSON TO PERSON by Calvin D. Vander Meyden; 69 pages; Vantage Press, 516 West 34th Street, New York, N.Y., 10001; $5.95. Reviewed by John Vander Ploeg.

This little Volume, Parson to Person, because of its style and content, makes for reading without effort. Only 69 pages, its worth, however, is out of all proportion to its brief compass. “A quilt,” according to the author, “is made up of many colors and pieces. The ministry is something like that. It too is made up of many bits and pieces. It is a profession of many dimensions, hues, and colors.”

And that’s what Parson ta Person is all about. The writer is Rev. Calvin D. Vander Meyden, pastor of the CRC of Jamestown, Michigan. Previous pastorates at Monsey, New York, and at Flanders Valley, New Jersey, have obviously contributed much to enrich the writer‘s pastoral experience that he relates in a delightful and sprightly style. Never “preachy,” Vander Meyden’s pastoral vignettes alternate between the joys and the sorrows, the heights and the depths, as again and again they leave the reader with one capsule-sermon after another, and right on target.

For today‘s parson to speak meaningfully to today’s person (young or old) is an art that is so hard to come by while also so sorely needed. Parson to Person reminds one of the “apples of gold in pictures of silver” (Prov. 25:11). May this book, his first, certainly not prove 10 be Pastor Vander Meyden‘s last. 

Ours is it generation surfeited with a diet of bad books that arc sinking readers ever deeper into the mire of all that is bad. How desperately we and our young people today need books that will help us on the way to heaven! Learned tomes are always needed for study and instruction. However, if our woefully illiterate generation is not to perish for a lack of knowledge, wholesome and light reading, such as Parson to Person affords, is also truly essential.

COMMENTARY ON ROMANS by F. L. Godet. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications. 1977. 531 pp. $12.95 Reviewed by Rev. Henry Vanden Heuvel.

Kregel Publications of Grand Rapids llas done a good service to lhe English reader in reprinting some of the commentaries first published over u century ago. Among these reprints is this commentary on Romans by F. L. Godet. Professor Godet who died in 1900 spent all of his 88 years in the French speaking area of Switzerland. He was professor of Biblical exegesis in the seminary of the National Swiss Church. His commentaries are familiar to ministers of the gospel today.

Godet’s treatment of the great epistle to the Romans is generally good. He is a good scholar, and his insight into the thought of Paul is very helpful. However, the theology that Godet espouses is not always the theology of the apostle Paul. Indeed, some of his interpretations are much closer to the Arminian interpretation of God’s saving work, an interpretation condemned by the great Synod of Dort. It would be helpful here to point out the tendency in Godet’s thought which must be watched in this commentary. This Arminian tendency is especially brought out in his treatment of the passages dealing with election and predestination in Romans 8–11. Commenting on Romans 8:29, “For whom he foreknew, them he also predestinated,” Godet says that the “foreknowledge” of God here referred to by Paul means that God knew beforehand who would respond in faith to the command of the gospel. And knowing that fact, God then responded in predestination.

What helps the Reformed reader is the Appendix written by T. W. Chambers in which this man attacks the interpretations presented in the commentary by Professor Godet. This Appendix appeared first in the English edition in 1883, and is now included in the reprint by Kregel’s.

Godet’s interpretation of Romans 7 is also out of harmony with most Reformed scholars. He claims that Paul writes this chapter from his experience as an unbeliever “whose conscience, awakened by the law, has entered sincerely, with fear and trembling, but still in his own strength, into the desperate struggle against evil.”

These two examples from the Commentary on Romans should make the reader cautious. This is not to say that Godet is not an able commentator on the whole. Most of the work is fine. But unfortunately. the crucial passages which teach the distinctiveness of the Gospel are often given an unreformed interpretation.

ADVENTURES IN TRAINING THE MINISTRY: A HONDURAN CASE STUDY IN THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION BY EXTENSION by Kenneth B. Mulholland. Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1976. 219 pp. Reviewed by Dr. Roger S. Greenway.

Theological Education by Extension (TEE) has been caned the most significant development in theological education in the twentieth century. North American pastors and church leaders should not pass by this book on the assumption that it has nothing to say to their needs and situation. TEE is new and while it is largely based in the Third World countries today, it will very likely make an impact on ministerial training in North America tomorrow. No Christian leader should be uninformed about TEE, and for missionaries and mission executives a thorough acquaintance with the movement is indispensable.

Kenneth Mulholland has given us a fascinating and highly readable account of his own experience in developing a TEE program to fit the needs of the Evangelical and Reformed Church of Honduras. The book‘s nineteen chapters are divided into four sections, the first of which deals with the Latin American context and the factors which converge on theological education in that part of the world today.

Part II gives an overview of the history of TEE, and part III tells the story of extension education as it was developed in the Evangelical and Reformed Churches of Honduras. For those who are vitally involved in mission work, this section is perhaps the most interesting for the problems which arose in relationship to the Synod of the national church have many parallels in other parts of the world.

The last section of the book deals with some of the basic questions relating to TEE: whether it promotes church growth; what can be done to provide pre-theological education for those who have little or no previous schooling; problems of accreditation; the role of the teacher and the use of programmed textbooks, an(l the relationship and relative importance of residence and extension education.

There is an urgent need in the TEE movement for solid Reformed textbooks and other programmed materials, in a variety of languages and at various academic levels. I hope that Mulholland’s book stimulates interest in Reformed circles to support and give leadership to this dynamic new movement.

DICTIONARY HANDBOOK TO HYMNS FOR THE LIVING CHURCH by Donald P. Hustad; 364 pages; Hope Publishing Co., Carol Stream, III. 60187; $12.95. Reviewed by John Vander Ploeg.

Authentic background material about the writing of familiar hymns may enrich the appreciation and the singing of them at the church services or at song fests. The following excerpt from Hustad‘s Dictionary-Handbook on the hymn, “When Peace Like a River Attendeth My Way,” illustrates the point:

“These words were written by Horatio C. Spafford following the loss of four daughters in an accident at sea. The family was scheduled to travel to Europe in November, 1873. Being delayed by last minute business developments, Spafford sent his wife and the girls on ahead. In mid-ocean their ship, the French liner Ville du Havre, collided with an English sailing ship and foundered. Mrs. Spafford only was saved and cabled her husband, ‘Saved alone.’ Spafford started immediately for Europe and, while on the high seas near the scene of the tragedy, wrote this hymn.”

Dr. Donald P. Hustad, author of this dictionary-handbook, formerly director of the Sacred Music Department at Moody Bible Institute and organist for Billy Graham Crusades, now serves as a professor of church music and organ at the School of Church Music, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky. He has been active in the compiling and editing of various hymnals and was also one of the consultants for the Armed Force Service Book (1974). Obviously Hustad is knowledgeable in hymnology and qualified for what he has undertaken in this Dictionary-Handbook as Senior Editor of Hope Publishing Company.

Included in this volume are background information on 591 hymns and their tunes; a dictionary of authors and composers alphabetically arranged; a helpful bibliography; a serviceable index; and also the History of Hope Publishing Company and its Divisions and Affiliates.

“A hymnal handbook,” says Hustad, “achieves its best destiny when it is used by ministers and church musicians to help make this happen. It is for them and their ministry that this book is presented.”

   

WILLIAM JAY – An autobiography, First published in 1854. In 1974 published by Banner of Truth Trust, Box 652, Carlisle, Pa. 17013; 586 pages, $7.95. Reviewed by Rev. John Kruis, pastor of the Sussex CRC.

William Jay (1769–1853) lived and labored in the golden age of the Puritans. He began preaching already at the age of sixteen and preached until shortly before his death at the ripe age of eighty-four By the age of nineteen he was already preaching in London’s largest non-comformist churches.

William Jay is another inspiring example of what the Lord can and does accomplish by His power and grace through much hard work. He was born and reared of very humble, poor parents. It was only through h:ml and long hours of work, with God’s blessing, that he received his education and realized the ambition to be a minister of the gospel. After attaining that goal he was always intent upon being a better preacher.

Mr. Jay stood solidly in the Puritan tradition. However, he was quite independent in his thinking and did not want to be bound by creeds.

Jay was evidently a man with many talents and was recognized by his contemporaries as one of the giants of his day. People from many nations, including prominent church leaders, sought opportunity to be blessed through his preaching. His writings, some of which are included in this book, also received wide acceptance.

This book is not, strictly speaking, only an autobiography. Part III, pages 263 to page 475, contains “Reminiscences of Distinguished Contemporaries.” However, it is interesting and profitable to read such from the pen of one who was a contemporary of such notables us John Newton, William Wilberforce, and John Wesley. This book has one serious Haw. A disproportionate amount of space is taken up by both Mr. Jay himself and the editors in relating activities and quoting letters in which Mr. Jay received high honors from his contemporaries.

IT‘S GOOD TO KNOW by Dave Balsiger; 233 pp., Juice $5.95 ill hard cover, $2.95 in soft cover; publisher Mott Media, 342 Main St, Milford, Mich. 48042. Reviewed by Rev. Frank De Jong, pastor emeritus of San Jose CRC, San Jose, California.

If you have seen the latest two Billy Graham films “Time To Run” and “Isn‘t It Good To Know” you have seen the main character of this book act in person before you—Randy Bullock, the leading actor of these films. In “Isn’t it Good To Know” Randy Bullock tells the story of his life to the writer of his biography, Dave Balsiger.

The Introduction to this book is written by Dr. Don Williams, professor at Claremont College, Claremont, California. He writes, “Randy pulled no punches in writing a hard, real account of his personal odyssey. Here is a struggle and search for II father’s love, for meaning in the context of sex, drugs, and revolution. Here is crime and hustling on the streets of New York. Here is rivalry with a talented brother who marries Karen—Randy’s fiancee. Here is divine intervention and a story of emerging Christian community. . . Be prepared to be jolted, entranced and lifted as he tells his story:

That briefly summarizes what is written in this book. It is the tale account of a young man who was, through the preaching of the Word of God, turned from darkness to light, and from the power of satan unto God. I can highly recommend it for reading, especially for young people so that they may have some understanding of what it means to be enslaved by the soul-destroying poison of dope and drugs. At the same time, this story is once more a marvelous demonstration of God’s saving grace, showing again how the gospel is indeed “the power of God unto salvation for all who believe.”

A HISTORY OF THE CHURCHES IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA, by Robert T. Handy, Oxford University Press, New York, 1976. 471 pp. $19.95. Reviewed by Rev. Jerome M. Julien, pastor of the First CRC of Pella, Iowa.

The first of a projected twenty volume Oxford History of the Christian Church, this volume covers the history of religion on the North American continent. Giving proportionate space to Canada and the United States, the Protestant churches and the Church of Rome, this book gives an overall view of religion here with a special emphasis on the social issues which have made an impact on the Church. The cults are discussed briefly, too. One helpful feature of the volume is the abundant reference to other writings on the specific subjects mentioned only in passing and the helpful bibliography of some 22 pages.

One gets the feeling that the author is definitely ecumenically-oriented. Also. the render will become uncomfortable with Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses classed with legitimate Protestant denominations.

In laying out the broad strokes of the history of religion in America the author has done a commendable job, though the reader may disagree with his interpretation of the facts.

The further volumes of this set are to be anticipated. Whether they will outstrip Latourette in value remains to be seen.

PREUS OF MISSOURI AND THE GREAT LUTHERAN CIVIL WAR by James E. Adams; 242 pages; Harper & Row, Publishers, $10. Reviewed by John Vander Ploeg.

However dull and tedious some biographies may prove themselves 10 be, not so here as James E . Adams, career newspaper reporter, gives his well-documented account of the life and labors of Dr. Jacob A. O. Preus so closely tit.-d 11]1 with the recent developments in the LC-MS (Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod).

Dr. Jacob Aall Ottesen Preus commonly known as Jack Preus), presided of the 2.8 million number LC–MS since 1969 is portrayed by Adams at full length and as an unusually dynamic and intriguing personality, which comports with my own impression after a brief encounter with and also a further observation of him a few years ago at a theological convocation held at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. According to Jack Preus is a “complicated, scrappy, brilliant church executive with a strong, potentially destructive stubbornness.” He and his scholarly brother Robert arc sons of a two-term governor of Minnesota, Jake Preus. Commendatory but also critical, Adams portrays Jack as an unusually astute administrator but also us “a church politician.” One wonders whether a biographer like-minded with the blurb on the jacket of the book, Jack Preus in his “battle for the Bible”—which Adams definitely is not—might not have found it possible to present Preus in a more favorable light.

Notwithstanding Admns’ obvious sympathy for the so-called “moderates” and their “new hermeneutics” they advocated at Concordia Seminary, he does try hard to give Preus his due and he also clearly discerns and depicts what the bitter infighting of Missouri was all about. As a religion editor and writes for the St. Louis Post—Dispatch, Adams was close enough to the scene of the battle to know and to report that which was going on. Unfortunately, he cannot tell the story without having his own predilections come through. Notwithstanding his apparent waffling and contradictory behavior at times, Jack Preus fought like a tiger for the authority and inerrancy of the Bible, and he was used of the Lord to do something unprecedented in modern church history: the conservatives gained control of Concordia Seminary and the liberals who were a large majority of the faculty and students had no choice left except to shape-up or to ship-out—and ship-out they did in large numbers so that Concordia must have looked as if it might not survive. The agonizing comeback Concordia has made since the purge is a thrilling account of what the Lord can do.

At such a time as this in the CRC, as we are engaged in our own “battle for the Bible,” the discerning reader may find it well worth his while and ten dollars well spent to get a close-up view of Missouri’s conflict as portrayed by a writer—wrong as he maybe in his sympathies—of unusual ability, one who tells the story in a style that holds the reader‘s interest from start to finish.

DEVOTIONALS FOR TEACHERS by Nelle A. Vander Ark Published by Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Mich., 1975; 80 pages; $3,50. Reviewed by John W. Borst.

This little book could only have been written by a teacher. The fifty little briefs have such Captivating titles as: Classroom Climate: Know Their Names, Get Rid of Negative Attitudes, Discipline—Deal Gently, or again, Discipline Get Tough.

With a Scripture passage heading each chapter, the devotionals show teaching insights into a host of relationships, that have been sensitized by the unique relationships that are enjoyed by a teacher and her pupils.

The human reactions are so open and genuine that the reader cannot help but relate to the experiences presented. The Christian life has its stress. There are problems, moments of sorrow, broken relationship,  mistaken judgments. But the healing power of God’s Word is always there, to buoy up the spirit and to give a new and beautiful impetus to day-by-day living.

The chapter entitled, “Teaching is a Two-Way Street” reminds us of the fact that teachers learn from their pupils. The author repeatedly emphasizes that her life has been enriched by what she has gained from others.

This book is meant for reflection. It stimulates the reader to appreciate the little and less apparent relationships in life; those which we so easily overlook, hut which when recognized, give a depth dimension to life itself that will have lasting rewards. Recommended for parents, too!

FRESH WIND OF THE SPIRIT, by Kenneth Cain Kingdom, Abingdon Press, Nashville, Tenn. $2.95, 128 pp., 1975. Reviewed by Rev. Wilmer R. Witte.

In the preface, the author states that he has “tried to tread the middle way between heavy theology and light devotional thoughts.” He has succeeded. This is not a technical book on the theology of the Holy Spirit. Practical ways are provided in which the believer can become more conscious of and directed by the Holy Spirit in his life. The contents do not form a repetition of charismatic literature that is flooding the religious book market. He warns against extremes of subjectivism and objectivism regarding the work of the Holy Spirit. On p. 105, “As important as the Holy Spirit is, we ought not to center our attention upon him. To do so is to open ourselves to a highly subjective kind of religious experience and to miss the point of his ministry.”

In a few of the early chapters there appears to be confusion as to relation of regeneration to conversion (p. 33), and the order of salvation is not that which you find in Reformed theology (pp. 28–35).

If the reader is looking for help in his spiritual growth and joy, he will find it in this book. Fresh Wind of the Spirit could use some fresh air to clear away the smog of thought relative to the order of salvation.

THE CHILD‘S STORY BIBLE by Catherine F. Vos, revised by Marianne Radius, William B. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1977. 430+ xx pp., paper, $9.95. Reviewed by Rev. Jerome M. Julien, pastor of the First CRC, Pella, Iowa.

This book has been around for a long time. Children who first heard stories from it are now reading from it to their children . . . and they should, too.

The original book, so long a favorite, has been revised by the author‘s daughter by updating the language and by incorporating many archaeological discoveries. In addition, illustrations by Betty Beeby were added. Whether they tire additions will depend on the taste of the user. If the more modern form of illustration is appreciated the book will be well received. On the whole, however, the book is an attractively printed volume.

Parents will find this to be a helpful book in the home aspect of covenant training. Children from 3 to 13, according to the jacket, will benefit from the volume. One caution: this book should never be allowed to take the place of the Bible in that training.