Kenneth S. Latourette: BEYOND THE RANGES, 161 p. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans (1967), price $3.95
Latourette and the history of Christian missions have become almost identified in American scholarship. For more than fifty years he has stirred up individuals and churches to recognize the impact of the church through its missionary outreach upon the world. For a few years he served as missionary to China, writing among other books his History of Christian Missions in China. For some decades he served as professor of Missions and Oriental History at Yale. Throughout the world he is best known for his seven volume work, The Expansion of Christianity (1937 through 1945) and his five volume work, Christianity in a Revolutionary Age, produced after his retirement.
But who is this man?
In this book Dr. Latourette reviews something of his life. Looking back over the years he acknowledges, “God chose me for His whisper.” Both heredity and environment have shaped him. He mentions “the choices which were made, often with agony and great uncertainty as to the outcome, and something of the results which followed.” But he hides “some of the inner struggles” as either too intimate or else irrelevant to the purpose he has in mind here.
What amazes the reader is the proliferation of detail. Men and women of stature in the cause of Christian missions crowd the pages. Often we regret that they appear only to disappear so quickly. Yet the intended impression is clearly etched on our minds. We see the mighty cause of the Lord. Even when recording difficulties and disappointments, Dr. Latourette inspires the reader with his confidence in the gospel to change the lives of all who believe. In the face of much mission “ennui” which has gripped the churches this already makes the volume worth reading.
Its value lies especially in signalizing the struggle which has developed in the American churches during the lifetime of this missionary scholar. He speaks unabashedly of the evangelical heritage to which he has remained faithful. We are reminded how swiftly concern for spreading the faith withered under the blight liberalism in the twenties. We are introduced to the ecumenical movement in its many forms. We are informed on some of the close relationships sustained between missionaries and men in American diplomatic service. The threads are intricate and variegated, but the cloth which they weave is of one piece—the life of one dedicated to exploring “beyond the ranges” as he opened up perspectives in the story of the church’s expansion throughout the world. For this he will be long remembered.
PETER Y. DE JONG
Edward J. Young: GENESIS 3. The Banner of Truth Trust 1966, 164 pages. $1.00.
This book purports to be a devotional and expository study of Genesis 3. It should satisfy the reader, as it did the reviewer, on both counts.
If this book is a fair sample, Dr. Young is an exegete par excellence. The all-important rule of interpreting Scripture with Scripture is carefully adhered to. What is more, he is profound yet practical, scholarly yet clear, and painstaking yet plain. Reading this book reveals that it is an in-depth study in simple and lucid language.
The author’s faithfulness to the Bible as the Word of God warms the cockles of one’s heart. This being true, it is no surprise that he puts forth ardent and intense effort to determine the precise meaning of the infallible written word and that he seems to be free from the influence of foregone conclusions and unwarranted presuppositions.
The cogent defense of the literal historical view of the early chapters of Genesis and the decisive refutation and repudiation of parabolic, poetic and mythical views are well worth reading. Genesis Three is indeed a crucial chapter in Scripture introducing the promised “seed,” the germination, growing and budding of which are found on the subsequent pages of the Old Testament and the blooming of which is found in the New Testament gospel of the humiliation and exaltation of Christ. If this introduction to the promised “seed” is only a myth, parable or poem, then the Gospel of Christ, which according to Scripture roots in this seed, can be no more than an artificial flower utterly unworthy as a basis of our faith in forgiveness and our hope of heaven.
The devotional aim of the author also hits its mark. This study is a stirring discussion on the Chapter of Scripture which contains not only the account of the fatal fall but also the first note of the Gospel which in the subsequent pages of Scripture becomes louder, clearer and more beautiful until it climaxes in the grand finale of Jesus Christ our “righteousness and sanctification and redemption.” Again without this first note the rest of the rendition can be no more than discordant sounds without a soul-stirring, life-renewing and life-regulating message. The author expatiates on the comfort of this first chord of the Gospel.
Many ethical lessons for practical every-day living can be gleaned from the pages of this book. The degrading and depraving effects of the fall both for the first pair and for all mankind throughout all ages are dealt with, many insights into the subtleties, powers and limitations of Satan are given, and the cause and cure for all man’s problems can be found in this book.
This is not to say that this reviewer agrees with every detail of the book. For example, he is not convinced by the author’s reasons for interpreting “seed of the woman” as meaning primarily all of humanity and “seed of the serpent” as meaning only the devil.
Nevertheless this is a tremendous book on a pivotal chapter of the Bible. The author’s avowed purpose of helping the modern reader to “come to a deeper understanding of what Genesis Three teaches,” has, in this reviewer’s judgment, been admirably accomplished.
S. M. VOORTMAN
Latourette and the history of Christian missions have become almost identified in American scholarship. For more than fifty years he has stirred up individuals and churches to recognize the impact of the church through its missionary outreach upon the world. For a few years he served as missionary to China, writing among other books his History of Christian Missions in China. For some decades he served as professor of Missions and Oriental History at Yale. Throughout the world he is best known for his seven volume work, The Expansion of Christianity (1937 through 1945) and his five volume work, Christianity in a Revolutionary Age, produced after his retirement.
But who is this man?
In this book Dr. Latourette reviews something of his life. Looking back over the years he acknowledges, “God chose me for His whisper.” Both heredity and environment have shaped him. He mentions “the choices which were made, often with agony and great uncertainty as to the outcome, and something of the results which followed.” But he hides “some of the inner struggles” as either too intimate or else irrelevant to the purpose he has in mind here.
What amazes the reader is the proliferation of detail. Men and women of stature in the cause of Christian missions crowd the pages. Often we regret that they appear only to disappear so quickly. Yet the intended impression is clearly etched on our minds. We see the mighty cause of the Lord. Even when recording difficulties and disappointments, Dr. Latourette inspires the reader with his confidence in the gospel to change the lives of all who believe. In the face of much mission “ennui” which has gripped the churches this already makes the volume worth reading.
Its value lies especially in signalizing the struggle which has developed in the American churches during the lifetime of this missionary scholar. He speaks unabashedly of the evangelical heritage to which he has remained faithful. We are reminded how swiftly concern for spreading the faith withered under the blight liberalism in the twenties. We are introduced to the ecumenical movement in its many forms. We are informed on some of the close relationships sustained between missionaries and men in American diplomatic service. The threads are intricate and variegated, but the cloth which they weave is of one piece—the life of one dedicated to exploring “beyond the ranges” as he opened up perspectives in the story of the church’s expansion throughout the world. For this he will be long remembered.
PETER Y. DE JONG
Edward J. Young: GENESIS 3. The Banner of Truth Trust 1966, 164 pages. $1.00.
This book purports to be a devotional and expository study of Genesis 3. It should satisfy the reader, as it did the reviewer, on both counts.
If this book is a fair sample, Dr. Young is an exegete par excellence. The all-important rule of interpreting Scripture with Scripture is carefully adhered to. What is more, he is profound yet practical, scholarly yet clear, and painstaking yet plain. Reading this book reveals that it is an in-depth study in simple and lucid language.
The author’s faithfulness to the Bible as the Word of God warms the cockles of one’s heart. This being true, it is no surprise that he puts forth ardent and intense effort to determine the precise meaning of the infallible written word and that he seems to be free from the influence of foregone conclusions and unwarranted presuppositions.
The cogent defense of the literal historical view of the early chapters of Genesis and the decisive refutation and repudiation of parabolic, poetic and mythical views are well worth reading. Genesis Three is indeed a crucial chapter in Scripture introducing the promised “seed,” the germination, growing and budding of which are found on the subsequent pages of the Old Testament and the blooming of which is found in the New Testament gospel of the humiliation and exaltation of Christ. If this introduction to the promised “seed” is only a myth, parable or poem, then the Gospel of Christ, which according to Scripture roots in this seed, can be no more than an artificial flower utterly unworthy as a basis of our faith in forgiveness and our hope of heaven.
The devotional aim of the author also hits its mark. This study is a stirring discussion on the Chapter of Scripture which contains not only the account of the fatal fall but also the first note of the Gospel which in the subsequent pages of Scripture becomes louder, clearer and more beautiful until it climaxes in the grand finale of Jesus Christ our “righteousness and sanctification and redemption.” Again without this first note the rest of the rendition can be no more than discordant sounds without a soul-stirring, life-renewing and life-regulating message. The author expatiates on the comfort of this first chord of the Gospel.
Many ethical lessons for practical every-day living can be gleaned from the pages of this book. The degrading and depraving effects of the fall both for the first pair and for all mankind throughout all ages are dealt with, many insights into the subtleties, powers and limitations of Satan are given, and the cause and cure for all man’s problems can be found in this book.
This is not to say that this reviewer agrees with every detail of the book. For example, he is not convinced by the author’s reasons for interpreting “seed of the woman” as meaning primarily all of humanity and “seed of the serpent” as meaning only the devil.
Nevertheless this is a tremendous book on a pivotal chapter of the Bible. The author’s avowed purpose of helping the modern reader to “come to a deeper understanding of what Genesis Three teaches,” has, in this reviewer’s judgment, been admirably accomplished.
S. M. VOORTMAN