Survey of Theological Literature

The past year saw a steady stream of new theological and historical books, interrupted only by the printing strike that afflicted Britain for several weeks during the summer. Many of these works will meet only a temporary need and may be left aside for the purpose of our survey. Among the rest, there are quite a number of solid merit from different standpoints and in different spheres, though few if any are likely to prove of decisive theological significance. Perhaps our best plan is not to attempt any invidious ranking, but to consider some of the outstanding works according to relevant categories.

We mention first some new contributions in the sphere of ecclesiastical history and doctrine. A new account of the first beginnings of Christian theology has been attempted by J. N. D. Kelly in his Early Christian Doctrines, a book which may prove no less valuable and a little more readable than the Bethune-Baker, so well known to theological students. Professor Latourette has carried a stage further his latest studies in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries with volume II of his Christianity in a Revolutionary Age, and a new and slightly revised edition of Williston Walker’s History of the Christian Church is also welcomed. The quater-centenary of the Scottish Reformation, now in course of celebration, evoked a fresh study of John Knox under the title of The Thundering Scot, by Geddes McGregor, together with an informative new survey due to appear at the end of the year or early in 1960 by the Edinburgh scholar Dr. Gordon Donaldson, The Scottish Reformation. The past year was also one of the many Calvin anniversaries; and while it produced little historical writing of note, attention should be paid to a valuable account of Calvin’s doctrine of the Christian life in a book of this title by Dr. R. Wallace, and also to the American edition of T. H. L. Parker’s earlier work, Calvin’s Doctrine of the Knowledge of God. Dr. Wallace’s book in particular breaks much new ground and helps to give a picture very different from that of popular caricature. The great Anglican evangelical Charles Simeon was born in 1759, and to mark this anniversary a symposium of essays was published titled Charles Simeon 1759–1959.

Turning to works that are more strictly theological, we find an interesting venture undertaken by Westminster Press with its three “cases” for dominant theological trends: The Case for New Reformation Theology, by W. Horden; The Case for Liberal Theology in Perspective, by L. H. de Wolf; and The Case for Orthodox Theology, by E. J. Carnell. Many reviewers have commented that the presentations are far less conflicting than might have been the case a generation or even a decade ago. Whether this is due to closer approximation to the true centre, to the good or bad influence of ecumenism, or simply to a retreat in some measure from clear-cut convictions will be variously assessed by different writers, some of whom will regard it as a hopeful sign and others as dangerous and unhealthy. Dr. Carnell’s book is of particular interest to the evangelical world. Many who might demur at his presentation, either in general or in detail would do well at least to refrain from mere denunciation and to study the author’s basic problems and intentions, give attention to the probing finger which he directs at some aspects of evangelical faith and practice, and work constructively and concertedly toward a restoration to orthodoxy of the theological vitality and power which it has lacked. In this regard the dangers of an ultimate subjectivism are to be particularly avoided, and the authority and power of Holy Scripture brought to new honor both in statement and in practice.

Ecumenism continues to determine a good deal of the orientation and content of modern theology. In addition to his book on Knox, Dr. Geddes McGregor has given us one of the most thought-provoking works in this field with his Corpus Christi. Professor Pittenger’s The Word Incarnate may also be mentioned in the same connection, though it deals with the subject from a different angle and is rooted, of course, in a different tradition. In relation to the Roman Catholic church, the fine work by J. Pelikan, The Riddle of Roman Catholicism, is a fresh attempt to understand Romanism and also to suggest ways of overcoming the rift between it and the rest of Christendom. Perhaps one of the most interesting of all the ecumenical writings is a series of essays, The Ecumenical Era in Church and Society, which deals basically if not always satisfactorily with the interpretation of the mission of the Church. This is a theme to which evangelicalism, with its no mean record of activity of mission, might well make a worthwhile contribution.

Among varied themes to which evangelicalism might contribute forcefully are the theology of the Holy Spirit, theological understanding of the sex relationship, and the relationship between theology and culture. There has been a revival of interest in the doctrine of the Spirit, Dr. Hendry and Dr. E. H. Palmer both having given us interesting studies in this field. During 1959, A. B. Come’s Human Spirit and Holy Spirit carried the discussion a stage further, though nothing was added to a positively biblical exposition. So far as the man-woman relationship is concerned, Dr. D. Sherwin Bailey has made this an object of special study, and particular attention should be paid to his The Man-Woman Relationship in Christian Thought. Both theologically and practically this is a matter of greater importance than is often realized, and the evangelical world today seems to be particularly at fault in neglecting it, except perhaps from specific angles that may seem the most urgent but not necessarily the most basic. Cultural problems have occasionally been tackled by theology, but only too often they are abandoned to the kind of twilight world in which Professor Tillich is such a master. It is thus no surprise that he should have given us a series of essays on The Theology of Culture, and that in his honor a number of eminent writers should have contributed to the Festschrift entitled Religion and Culture. It is debatable how far Tillich ever gives us theology in the strict sense, or strictly Christian sense, but his work does at least indicate problems often neglected, and therefore invites a constructive theological answer in biblical and evangelical terms.

The continuing writings of Karl Barth demand a short section of their own, partly because in the original and translation they are so vast, partly because they are so strongly individual in relation to our usual classifications, and partly because they may well prove to have the most lasting effect for good or for evil, or both. Among the translations, Barth’s Short Commentary on Romans is interesting as a return to the epistle with which he has consistently wrestled; however, it is of no great intrinsic significance. More important perhaps is his Protestant Theology, a slightly abridged version of his survey of leading thinkers and theologians who contributed to the rise of Liberalism or Neo-Protestantism in the later eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In this work we are brought face to face with the interpretation of recent dogmatic history which underlies his own understanding of the modern situation and negatively, therefore, his attempts at a genuinely Protestant and apostolic reconstruction. Finally, we have additions to the Church Dogmatics, both in English translation and in the German. In English, volume III, 1, makes available Barth’s thinking on creation with its discussion of the genre of the creation stories, its theological interpretation of these stories, and its assessment of optimism and pessimism in the light of God’s approval of his work. In German, vol. IV, 3, which became so large that it had to be published in two parts, concludes the discussion of the theology of reconciliation, and is of interest because of its fresh treatment of words and lights outside Scripture, its attempted presentation in broader terms of the prophetic office of Christ through the Holy Spirit in the revelation of reconciliation, and for its serious grappling with the problems of vocation and mission. Readers of Dr. Berkouwer’s Triumph of Grace will be interested to know that a full excursus is devoted to an amicable but serious and forceful answer to Berkouwer’s basic criticism.

Finally, a word must be said about some of the reprints that may finally prove to be of more lasting value than the original works. From the last century come two great books on the Atonement, the fine statement by Denney in his Christian Doctrine of Reconciliation, and the thoughtful and reverent, if less satisfactory, treatment by McLeod Campbell—The Nature of the Atonement. New volumes have been added to the excellent series of Luther translations by Concordia in which some of the expositions of John and writings on the Word and sacraments are given. Calvin’s Tracts and Treatises in three volumes really belonged to 1958, though they may have eluded the attention of some readers and should be consulted for the valuable material that we always expect from Calvin. Last, reference may be made to a voice from Scotland, for, in addition to his independent work and to a new and useful edition of various Reformation creeds, Professor T. F. Torrance has edited the illuminating sermons of the Scottish Reformer Robert Bruce on The Mystery of the Lord’s Suffer. This introduces both a little-known author and some valuable creative thinking on a very relevant topic in contemporary discussion.

Jacob J. Vellenga served on the National Board of Administration of the United Presbyterian Church from 1948–54. Since 1958 he has served the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. as Associate Executive. He holds the A.B. degree from Monmouth College, the B.D. from Pittsburgh-Xenia Seminary, Th.D. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and D.D. from Monmouth College, Illinois.

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