Each year some 32,000 authors in America attempt to crack the book-sales barrier with new volumes in a variety of fields. Chances are relatively remote that a religious book will become a bestseller, as have such recent entries as World Aflame by Billy Graham, The Gospel According to Peanuts by Robert L. Short, and Are You Running With Me, Jesus? by Malcolm Boyd. Yet American publishers, recognizing the growing demand for religious books, are boosting their promotion of them. In the first six months of 1967, reports Publishers’ Weekly, 890 new books and new editions were published in the religious field. Religion ranked fifth in total number of new titles, following sociology and economics (1,714), education (1,483), juveniles (1,131) and science (1,072).
Our preview of new religious books for the fall of 1967 shows an interesting assortment of titles. Readers who thought the “God-is-dead-no-he’s-not” stream of books had subsided may be surprised to find still more books on a deathly theme: Atheism Is Dead by Arthur J. Lelyveld, The Premature Death of Protestantism by Fred Benbeaux, Jr., The Grave of God by Robert Adolfs, and Who Killed God? by Thomas A. Fry, Jr.
Religious writers are learning the value of the provocative title. Particularly intriguing new ones include Grace Is Not a Blue-Eyed Blonde by R. Lofton Hudson, Christ the Tiger by Thomas Howard, For God’s Sake Laugh by Nelvin Vos, Never Trust a God Over 30 edited by Albert Friedlander, I’m Not Mad at God by David Wilkerson, and On Not Leaving It to the Snake by Harvey Cox.
Fall offerings reveal continued preoccupation by religious writers with the ecumenical movement, the relevance of Christianity to modern man, and liturgical renewal. A host of new biblical studies, especially commentaries on New Testament books, show that the upsurge in this vital field is not subsiding. Significant topics that will receive more play than usual this fall include the relation between Christians and Jews and between the Bible and science. In theology, readers may look for more treatises on dialectical and radical theology, several books on the thought of Luther, two analyses of Tillich’s thought, two appraisals of the Pike controversy in the Episcopal Church, and an important volume on developments in Lutheran theology by John Warwick Montgomery.
The following books, arranged under convenient headings, are selected from those scheduled for release by American publishers this fall. They give promise that profitable and exciting reading lies ahead for devotees of religious literature.
AESTHETICS, ARCHITECTURE, MUSIC:ABINGDON will publish A Theological Approach to Art by R. Hazelton. FAITH AND LIFE,The Children’s Hymnary edited by A. Hartzler and J. Gaeddert. FUNK AND WAGNALLS,High Gothic by H. Jantzen. HAWTHORN,Christian Sculpture by V. H. Debidoar. OXFORD,Castles and Churches of the Crusading Kingdom by T. S. R. Boase.
APOLOGETICS, PHILOSOPHY, SCIENCE: From ABINGDON will come The Concept of Willing by J. N. Lapsley and Faith to Act by J. Boozer and W. Beardslee. BAKER,Evolution and the Modern Christian (P) by H. M. Morris. BOBBS-MERRILL,The God I Want by J. Mitchell and The Concrete God by R. James. EERDMANS,The Encounter Between Christianity and Science by R. H. Bube and Christianity and Humanism by Q. Breen. HARPER & ROW, Kingship of God by M. Buber, The Essence of Faith According to Luther by L. Feuerbach, Lectures on the Essence of Religion by L. Feuerbach, and Philosophical Faith and Revelation by K. Jaspers. HAWTHORN,Spiritual Writers in Modern Times by L. Sheppard, Christian Initiation by A. McCormack, and Why I Am a Christian by L. Sheppard. HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON,The Peasant of the Garonne by J. Maritain. LIPPINCOTT,Christ the Tiger by T. Howard. MACMILLAN,A Time To Build by M. Novak. MOODY,The Christian Stake in Science by R.E.D. Clark. NEWMAN,Sartre: The Theology of the Absurd by R. Jolivet. OXFORD,Science and Faith: Towards a Theological Understanding of Nature by E. C. Rust. PRINCETON,Kierkegaard and Radical Discipleship by V. Eller and Divine Science and the Science of God by V. Preller. ST. THOMAS,Heredity: A Study in Science and the Bible by W. J. Tinkle. WORD,A Second Touch by K. Miller and Adamant and Stone-Chips by V. R. Mollenkott.
ARCHAEOLOGY:BAKER will offer Jerusalem Through the Ages (P) by C. F. Pfeiffer. MCGRAW-HILL,The River Jordan (revised edition) by N. Glueck.
BIBLE COMMENTARIES AND DICTIONARIES:BEACON HILL PRESS (of Kansas City) will issue Beacon Bible Commentary, III, by M. Chapman, W. T. Purkiser, E. Wolf, and A. F. Harper. CAMBRIDGE,The Letters of Paul to the Ephesians, to the Colossians and to Philemon by G. H. P. Thompson, The Letters of Paul to the Philippians and to the Thessalonians by K. Graystone, and A Letter to Hebrews by J. H. Davies. EERDMANS,Book of Isaiah, II, by E. Young. INTER-VARSITY,Genesis (“Tyndale Old Testament Commentary”) by F. D. Kidner. JOHN KNOX,Introduction to the Bible by K. J. Foreman et al., John by F. V. Filson, and Acts of the Apostles by A. C. Winn. JUDSON,Hebrews by L. O. Bristol. MOODY,James, Faith in Action (P) by G. C. Luck and Jude, the Acts of the Apostates (P) by S. M. Coder. REVELL,The Dictionary of Religious Terms by D. T. Kauffman. ZONDERVAN,The New Compact Bible Dictionary edited by A. Bryant.
BIBLICAL STUDIES, GENERAL:BAKER will present How to Search the Scriptures by L. M. Perry and R. D. Culver and Baker’s Pictorial Introduction to the Bible by W. S. Deal. BROADMAN,The Bible: God’s Word to Man (P) by S. A. Cartledge. JUDSON,God’s Word in Today’s World (P) by S. de Dietrich. MOODY,The Wycliffe Historical Geography of Bible Lands by C. F. Pfeiffer and H. F. Vos and Exploring the Scriptures by J. Phillips. REGAL,The Israeli/ Arab Conflict and the Bible (P) by W. Smith. WORLD,The Bible Through the Ages by Frank, Swain, and Canby.
BIBLICAL STUDIES, OLD TESTAMENT:AUGSBURG will print Handbook to the Old Testament by C. Westermann. EERDMANS,Job: Our Contemporary (P) by H. H. Kent. HARPER & Row, When the Gods Are Silent, by K. H. Miskotte. JUDSON,The Beginnings of Our Religion by E. M. Baxter. OXFORD,The Hebrew Kingdoms by E. W. Heaton and The Jews from Alexander to Herod by D. S. Russell. UNITED CHURCH PRESS,Come Sweet Death by B. D. Napier.
BIBLICAL STUDIES, NEW TESTAMENT:ABINGDON will come out with The Character of Christ by H. Bosley and From Religion to Grace (P) by J. Crosby. BAKER,Studies in the Life of Christ: The Middle Period by R. C. Foster. BROADMAN,Luke’s Witness to Jesus (P) by H. E. Turlington and Can I Believe in Miracles? (P) by R. L. Murray. CAMBRIDGE,Carmen Christi: Philippians ii, 5–11 by R. P. Martin and The Divine Apostle: The Interpretation of St. Paul’s Epistles in the Early Church by M. F. Wiles. EERDMANS,The Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament by W. S. LaSor. JOHN KNOX,No Idle Tale by J. F. Jansen and The Old and New Man (P) by R. Bultmann. LIPPINCOTT,Jesus in Our Time by J. McLeman. PAULIST,Jesus Is Lord: Paul’s Life in Christ (P) by J. Blenkinsopp and The Risen Christ in the Fathers of the Church by T. P. Collins. REGAL,The Man Jesus by K. N. Taylor. UNITED CHURCH PRESS,Jesus, Persons, and the Kingdom of God by R. G. Gruenler (published jointly with Bethany Press). WORD,A Functioning Faith by B. Simmons. WORLD,The Holy Spirit in the Acts of the Apostles by J. H. E. Hull and Jesus: Man and Master by M. C. Morrison. ZONDERVAN,The New Testament from Twenty-six Translations edited by C. Vaughan and The Women of the Bible by H. Lockyer.
BIOGRAPHY:EERDMANS will bring out We Spoke for God by J. C. Reid and Bishop Pike: Ham, Heretic or Hero (P) by F. Morris. HAWTHORN,God and Myself by H. Graef. MOODY,More Oceans to Cross by F. Johnston, Walk in My Woods by M. Epp, Mover of Men and Mountains (P) by R. G. LeTourneau, and Pelendo: God’s Prophet in the Congo (P) by A. E. Anderson. PAULIST,Martin Luther (P) by J. M. Todd. REVELL,No Time for Losing by F. Tarkenton. SCRIBNER’S,Jonathan Edwards and the Visibility of God by J. Carse. WORD,Born to Climb by D. Hillis and Living the Great Adventure by R. Engquist. ZONDERVAN,Moody (P) by J. C. Pollock.
CHURCH HISTORY:ABINGDON will publish Pioneers of the Younger Churches by J. Seamands. AUGSBURG,Martin Luther: The Reformation Years (P) edited by R. E. A. Lee. BOBBS-MERRILL,The Churches of the Nineteenth Century by J. L. Altholz. HERALD,Lost Fatherland by J. B. Toews. JOHN KNOX,Luther as Seen by Catholics (P) by R. Stauffer and The Canadian Experience of Church Union (P) by J. W. Grant. MACMILLAN,The Voluntary Church: American Religious Life Seen Through the Eyes of European Visitors (1740–1865) edited by M. B. Powell. MOODY,Who Was Who in Church History by E. S. Moyer. OXFORD,Mitre and Sceptre (P) by C. Bridenbaugh. PRINCETON,The Christian Socialist Revival (1877–1914) by P. d’A. Jones. REGNERY,The Historical Road of Anglicanism by C. E. Simcox. SEABURY,Church and State in Confrontation by H. Stroup.
DEVOTIONAL: From ABINGDON will come God in My Day by G. Asquith. AUGSBURG,The Magnificat: Luther’s Commentary (P) and Readings in Luther for Laymen, edited and compiled by C. S. Anderson. BAKER,When the Rain Falls: Comfort for Troubled Hearts by H. H. Hobbs and Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progess, Facsimile Edition. BETHANY FELLOWSHIP,I’m Not Mad at God by D. Wilkerson. BROADMAN,God So Loved, He Gave by R. L. Middleton. EERDMANS,A Varied Harvest by F. E. Gaebelein. HARPER & ROW, In the Hands of God by W. Barclay. MOODY,Salt in My Kitchen (P) by J. W. Lockerbie and Devotional Talks from Familiar Things (P) by V. Whitman. REGAL,How to Be a Christian Without Being Religious (P) by F. Ridenour and It Didn’t Just Happen by E. Barrett. REVELL,I Walk a Joyful Road by C. Lane and Daily Readings from W. E. Sangster.ZONDERVAN,Make Love Your Aim by E. Price and Meditation Moments for Women by M. Stamm.
DRAMA, FICTION, POETRY:ABINGDON will put out How the Littlest Cherub was Late for Christmas by M. C. Johnston. BROADMAN,The Crosses at Zarin by J. B. Mosley. HAWTHORN,Mansions of the Spirit edited by G. A. Panichas. HERALD,Pilgrim Aflame by M. S. Augsburger. MOODY,Rivers Among the Rocks by E. M. Clarkson. SEABURY,Religious Dimensions in Literature (P) edited by L. A. Belford. UNITED CHURCH PRESS,Best Church Plays (P) by A. Johnson. WORD,The Word Not Bound by J. Killinger.
ECUMENICS, INTER-FAITH DIALOGUE:ABINGDON will offer Who Speaks for the Church? (P) by P. Ramsey. BAKER,The Ecumenical Mirage by C. S. Lowell. BOBBS-MERRILL,The Religious Imagination by R. Rubenstein. HAWTHORN,A Reporter Looks at American Catholicism by B. McGurn. LIPPINCOTT,We Jews and You Christians by S. Sandmel. MACMILLAN,Conflict and Consensus: Religious Freedom and the Second Vatican Council by R. J. Regan. NEWMAN,The Jews, Views and Counterviews: A Dialogue by J. Danielou and A. Chouraqui. OXFORD,The Second Vatican Council (P) edited by B. C. Pawley and Our Dialogue with Rome (P) by G. B. Caird. PAULIST,Ecumenical Theology No. 2 (P) by G. Baum, A Practical Guide to Ecumenism (P) by J. B. Sheerin, and The Second Living Room Dialogues: The Church in the World (P) by W. B. Greenspun and Mrs. T. Wedell. SCRIBNER’S,Elder and Younger Brothers: The Encounter of Jews and Christians by A. R. Eckardt. SEABURY,The Dialogue of Christians and Jews (P) by P. Schneider. UNITED CHURCH PRESS,The Church Swept Out (P) by R. W. Weltge. WORLD,The Vatican Council and the Jews by A. Gilbert.
ETHICAL, SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, AND CULTURAL STUDIES:ABINGDON will come out with Glossolalia (P) by F. Stagg, E. G. Hinson, and W. E. Oates, My Job and My Faith by F. Wentz, A Christian and His Money by J. Crawford, and The New Eve by K. Nyberg. AUGSBURG,Whatever You Do (P) by J. Burtness. BAKER,Creative Questions on Christian Living by R. Heynen. BETHANY PRESS,Storm Over Ethics by J. C. Bennett et al. (published jointly with United Church Press). COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY,The Middle-Class Negro in the White Man’s World by E. Ginzberg. EERDMANS,The Vietnam War: Christian Perspectives edited by M. Hamilton and Christian Letters to a Post-Christian Era (P) by D. Sayers, edited by R. Jellema. HARPER & Row, Toward an American Theology by H. W. Richardson. HAWTHORN,Parents on Trial by D. R. Wilkerson. HOLT, RINEHART & WINSTON,A Catalogue of Sins by W. F. May. INTER-VARSITY,We Want to Live (P) by R. Grossley. JOHN KNOX,The Modern Vision of Death (P) edited by N. A. Scott, Jr., and Sunday Night at the Movies (P) by G. G. Jones. JUDSON,Keys in Our Hands by H. Wallace. NELSON,Youth Considers Doubt and Frustration (P) by P. Holmer. PAULIST,The Kingdom of Downtown: Finding Teenagers in Their Music (P) by L. M. Savary. REGAL,How to Succeed in Family Living (P) by C. M. Narramore. SEABURY,Issei and Nisei: The Internment Years by D. Kitagawa. UNITED CHURCH PRESS,The Paradox of Guilt (P) by M. France. UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO,Belief and Disbelief in American Literature by H.M. Jones. WORD,Resources for Christian Social Concerns by W. Pinson, Jr., and Sing a New Song, Man by B. Pannell. WORLD,Religion that Works by J. Bruere.
LITURGY, WORSHIP:BETHANY PRESS will present The Place of the Sacraments in Worship by J. D. Joyce. BROADMAN,Christian Worship: Its Theology and Practice by F. M. Segler. JOHN KNOX,Presbyterian Worship in America by J. Melton and Let Us Worship God by J. F. Jansen. NEWMAN,A Living Liturgy by P. Chapel. PRENTICE-HALL,The Protestant Faith (P) by G. W. Forell. WORLD,A Sourcebook for Christian Worship edited by P. S. Mc-Elroy. JUDSON,The Christian Calendar in the Free Churches (P) by N. H. Maring.
MISSIONS, EVANGELISM, CHURCH OUTREACH:ABINGDON will bring out As Close as the Telephone (P) by A. Walker. AUGSBURG,To the End of the Earth by R. A. Syrdal. BETHANY FELLOWSHIP,A Wall of Fire (P) by M. Monsen. CAMBRIDGE,British Baptist Missionaries in India, 1793–1837: The History of Serampore and Its Missions by E. D. Potts. EERDMANS,Winning a Hearing by H. Law and God’s Impatience in Liberia (P) by J. C. Wold. JOHN KNOX,Buddhism and the Claims of Christ (P) by D. T. Niles. MOODY,Highlights of Christian Missions by H. R. Cook, Revolution in Evangelism (P) by W. D. Roberts, and Land Beyond the Nile (P) by M. Forsberg. NELSON,Encyclopedia of Modern Christian Missions edited by B. L. Goddard. PAULIST,The Laity: The People of God (P) by J. M. Todd. REGNERY,The Convent in the Modern World (P) by M. O’Keefe. REVELL,Creative Christian Living by W. W. Wiersbe. SCRIBNER’S,Conversion to the World by H. J. Schultz. WORD,Showdown in the City by K. Chafin, The Integrity of Church Membership by R. Bow, and Big Day at Da Me by B. Pierce.
PASTORAL THEOLOGY (PREACHING, COUNSELING, CHURCH ADMINISTRATION): From ABINGDON will come The Cooperative Parish in Nonmetropolitan Areas by M. T. Judy. AUGSBURG,The Renewal of Liturgical Preaching by G. M. Bass. BAKER,Glory of the Ministry (P) by A. T. Robertson. BETHANY FELLOWSHIP,Divorce and Remarriage by G. Duty. BETHANY PRESS,In Christ’s Place by R. E. Osborn. EERDMANS,Count It All Joy by W. Stringfellow. HERALD,Learning to Work Together (P) by A. Roth. JOHN KNOX,To Resist or To Surrender? (P) by P. Tournier and To Understand Each Other by P. Tournier. KREGEL,Christian Reformed Church Government by H. Spaan. LIPPINCOTT,Fidelity and Infidelity by L. J. Saul. MOODY,Toward the Senior Years (P) by M. Parsons and Straight from the Shoulder (P) by M. Johnson. NEWMAN,Christian Presence in the Neighborhood by P. Talec. PAULIST,Man in Search of God (P) by J. J. Kavanaugh and From the Housetops: A Pastor Speaks to Adults (P) by E. Stevens. PRENTICE-HALL,Enthusiasm Makes the Difference by N. V. Peale. SCRIBNER’S,The Church in the Way by J. E. Dittes and Insearch: Psychology and Religion by J. Hillman. SEABURY,Partners in Preaching: Clergy and Laity in Dialogue by R. L. Howe. WORD,The Awesome Power of the Listening Ear by J. W. Drakeford and A Quest for Reformation in Preaching by H. C. Brown, Jr.
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION:ABINGDON will issue On Becoming Human (P) by R. Snyder and Being There for Others (P) by T. McEachern. BAKER,Blueprint for a Successful Sunday School (P) by L. H. Raney et al.BETHANY PRESS,A Design for Teaching-Learning: The work of the Cooperative Curriculum Project.BROADMAN,Creative Teaching in the Church School by P. W. Sapp. EERDMANS,The Doctrines of the Christian Religion by W. W. Stevens. JOHN KNOX,Where Faith Begins by C. E. Nelson. JUDSON,The Youth Years by W. H. R. Willkens and Bible Stories to Tell by E. Whitehouse. MCGRAW-HILL,Never Trust a God Over Thirty: New Styles in Campus Ministry edited by A. Friedlander. MOODY,Youth and the Church edited by R. G. Irving and R. B. Zuck. SEABURY,Ministry for Tomorrow by N. M. Pusey. STANDARD,Toward Christian Maturity (P) by S. Southard.
SERMONS:BAKER will put out Journey To Calvary by B. Smith, Once Upon a Tree by C. Miller, Witness to the Resurrection by E. Parson, and Seven Words from the Cross (P) by R. G. Turnbull. BEACON HILL PRESS (of Kansas City), God Still Speaks in the Space Age by J. R. Smith. BIBLICAL RESEARCH PRESS,Sermons of William S. Banowsky (“Great Preachers of Today”). HARPER & ROW, Call for God by K. Barth. REVELL,Who Killed God? by T. A. Fry, Jr., and More Sermons I Should Like to Have Preached by I. Macpherson. STANDARD,1010 Illustrations, Poems and Quotes by G. B. Wheeler. WORD, …And Thy Neighbor by S. Shoemaker.
THEOLOGY:ABINGDON will print Paul Tillich: Retrospect and Future (P), a symposium with introduction by T. A. Kantonen. AUGSBURG,Contemporary Forms of Faith by P. R. Sponheim. BAKER,Creeds of Christendom, I and II, by P. Schaff, Crisis in Lutheran Theology (P) by J. W. Montgomery, and Christian Faith in Focus (P) by G. Spykman. BETHANY FELLOWSHIP,Speaking in Tongues by L. Christenson. BETHANY PRESS,Jesus, Persons, and the Kingdom of God by R. G. Gruenler and A Man and His Religion by G. C. Jones. BOBBS-MERRILL,Theology in America edited by S. E. Ahlstrom and Radical Theology Reader edited by T. Oyletree. EERDMANS,Covenant and Community by W. Klassen. HARPER & ROW, The Theology of Hope by J. Moltmann, A Question of Conscience by C. Davis, The Bishop Pike Affair by W. String-fellow and A. Towne, and If This Be Heresy by J. A. Pike. JOHN KNOX,The Beginnings of Dialectic Theology, I, edited by J. M. Robinson and Fifty Key Words in Theology (P) by F. G. Healey. KREGEL,God’s Program for the Ages (P) by F. A. P. Tatford. LIPPINCOTT,The Premature Death of Protestantism by F. Denbeaux, Tillich: A Theological Portrait by D. H. Hopper, and A Theology of Things by C. Bonifazi. MACMILLAN,Memory and Hope: An Inquiry Concerning the Presence of Christ by D. Ritschl and On Not Leaving It to the Snake by H. Cox. NEWMAN,God Is a New Language by D. S. Moore and Toward A Christian Ethic: A Renewal in Moral Theology by W. H. Van der Marck. REINER,Inspired Principles of Prophetic Interpretation by J. Wilmot. SCRIBNER’S,Two Studies in the Theology of Bonhoeffer by J. Moltmann and J. Weissbach and The Glory of Man by D. E. Jenkins. SEABURY,Sex and Christian Freedom: An Enquiry by L. Hodgson, Jesus Our Contemporary by G. Ainger, Introduction to Theology (P) by M. H. Micks, No Cross, No Crown: A Study of the Atonement (P) by W. J. Wolf, and The Presence of the Kingdom (P) by J. Ellul. SHEED AND WARD,Prayer as a Political Problem by J. Daniélou, Belief Today by K. Rahner, and Revelation and Theology by E. Schillebeeckx. UNITED CHURCH PRESS,The Living God and the Modern World (P) by P. Hamilton. WORD,Grace Is Not a Blue-eyed Blond by R. L. Hudson. WORLD,Atheism Is Dead by A. J. Lelyveld and A Handbook of Christian Theologians (P) edited by M. E. Marty and D. G. Peerman. YALE,Theology: The Presence of the Word by W. J. Ong and Fate, Logic, and Time by S. M. Cahn.
ROBERT L. CLEATH
