Tradition—For Evangelicals Only
Tradition: Old and New, by F. F. Bruce (Zondervan, 1971, 184 pp., paperback, $2.95), is reviewed by J. Ramsey Michaels, professor of New Testament and early Christian literature, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, South Hamilton, Massachusetts.
Most of what is said in this book has been said before, but it is gratifying to hear it from someone to whom evangelicals will listen. Professor Bruce undertook this study because he had been “increasingly impressed over the years by the prevalence of tradition in churches and religious movements which believed themselves to be free from its influence.” Though he draws illustrations from his own experiences among the Plymouth Brethren, much of what he says is true of evangelicals generally. Few Christians put less emphasis on tradition than they, yet few groups are more influenced by it. All too often “what the Bible teaches” comes to refer to one’s own interpretation (i.e. tradition), while “the traditions of men” becomes a useful label with which to dismiss other points of view. To say this is not to single out anyone for special blame, but only to admit that we all share in the human condition, with its shortcomings.
What is the answer to the problem? Should we cast off our traditions, muster all our historical and exegetical acumen, and find out “what the Bible really teaches”? Or should we acknowledge frankly our indebtedness to tradition and seek to use it positively as a link between biblical times and today, all the while testing it in light of our growing knowledge of Scripture? Though the professional scholar may pursue the first alternative, the Church cannot deny its tradition without denying its own existence in history. Nothing is gained if we affirm the Bible’s historicity at the expense of our own. The evangelical’s task is not to go “back to the Bible,” but to bring the Bible with him into the twentieth century. This cannot be accomplished by historical scholarship alone; tradition too is necessary.
Bruce’s book helps bring these matters into focus by showing that the Bible is itself tradition. Many topics not normally considered under the heading of tradition are discussed here: form criticism (“Tradition and the Gospel,” “The Setting of the Gospel Tradition”), the Nag Hammadi Gospel of Thomas (“Extra-Canonical Tradition”), the use of the Old Testament (“Tradition and Interpretation”), as well as the role of tradition in defining the canon and text of Scripture. Bruce presents a wealth of material; not all of it has direct bearing on the problem with which he began, but almost all of it is interesting and worthwhile. Moreover, it demonstrates the central place of tradition in the Christian faith by reminding us that many things that we call by other names are really aspects of Christian tradition. Some readers will wish that the excellent chapters dealing with tradition in the “traditional” sense (“Tradition in the Early Catholic Church” and “Tradition Today”) were more extensive. Bruce is writing largely for evangelicals, and these are areas in which they need to be better informed.
Professor Bruce calls himself a “biblicist” rather than a traditionalist, but his final appeal is to history. He concludes that Scripture and tradition both must be “tested and validated by historical inquiry as far as such inquiry can take us” and that “where the living voice of the church collides with history, history tends to be victorious in the long run.” This is a very important statement, and one that invites continuing discussion. It is natural for us who study the past to feel that our own discipline is more important than the “living voice of the church,” but it should not be forgotten that the “living voice of the church” is also history. Perhaps the real question is how past and present history are to be related.
Seldom does one find a book with so much of value in so few pages. Besides offering a perspective on tradition, Professor Bruce has allowed us to see a master at work in New Testament criticism and exegesis, Rabbinics and church history. His conservative use of form criticism on page 61 is a gem (though Mark 2:20 has its life-setting in the early Church, verses 18 and 19 “can have no other life-setting than the ministry of Jesus”). And not least in importance are his flashes of humor (for example William Kelly’s judgment that “any unbiased Christian” will affirm the Petrine authorship of Second Peter is called “a good example of the pre-emptive strike in theological controversy”). Minor inconsistencies can be found (for instance, if Paul wrote the Pastoral Epistles, as Bruce seems to assume, why are they dated “towards the end of the New Testament period”?), but they are very rare.
The net effect of this volume is to confirm what we all knew about F. F. Bruce’s preeminence among evangelicals in the biblical field. Everyone interested in Scripture or tradition has reason to be deeply grateful to him.
Timely Analysis In Plain Language
The Church at the End of the Twentieth Century, by Francis A. Schaeffer (Inter-Varsity, 1970, 153 pp., $3.95), is reviewed by John E. Wagner, attorney, Oklahoma City.
God is really at home in the cosmos and has propositionally revealed “true truth” to man in the Bible. This thesis pervades Francis A. Schaeffer’s books, such as Escape From Reason, The God Who Is There, and now The Church at the End of the Twentieth Century, touted as his most significant contribution. In it, he hammers away again in plain language at the central theme unveiled in the prior volumes.
That he surveys the broad horizons of philosophy, history, sociology, and theology, to say nothing of politics, art, music, literature, and films, from the mountaintop of reformation orthodoxy is Schaeffer’s unique gift to the contemporary scene. That he analyzes all this in non-technical language—or at least explains his vocabulary—is his genius.
His latest book speaks more directly to the life of the Church than the first two. Schaeffer opts for a visible and doctrinally pure Church, which he distinguishes from the classic concept of the invisible Church, but he does not tell us where it is to be found. Perhaps it isn’t to be found at all—not even in fundamentally conservative bodies, since they are not as full-orbed in love and holiness as Schaeffer’s vision projects. Unless I am blind to the American scene, the pure Church of which he speaks is a dead ringer for the invisible Church of traditional reformation theology.
His central theme, that God is really present in the cosmos in the way that the Bible says he is, is propounded with intellectual vigor against all comers, sophisticates, scientists, and simple seekers alike. We are in a dying culture, says Schaeffer, that has lost its absolutes: ontological, epistemological, and ethical. This is true because twentieth-century man, who is the victim of Renaissance humanism, no longer posits his epistemology and ethics within the reliable framework of biblical revelation, where “true truth” is made possible. Having cut himself loose from his revelatory base in quest for truth and meaning, man has explored numerous blind alleys and finally has surrendered to irrational despair. The drug culture, the youth revolution, modern art and movies, the New Left, pornography, and ultimately suicide—all these are symptoms of an irrational leap into the void. But the leap is futile, since it is amoral and bears no epistemological content.
In this desperate predicament, Schaeffer says, society will turn either to an establishment elite (whom he likens to Plato’s philosopher-kings) or to a revolutionary left-wing elite, both of whom spell oppression for man, unless biblical, reformation absolutes can be wedged back under the foundations of society and the Church.
How is this to be done? By a doctrinally pure minority involving themselves with holiness and love in the affairs of men. Christians are to do this with humanists and other concerned persons, as the situation demands, but always as ad hoc co-belligerents and never as allies, lest truth be compromised by the alliance. Although Schaeffer does not tell us whether doctrinally orthodox Christians should join with the theologically heterodox to work to solve specific human problems, I gather from his previous volumes that he would not approve.
Moreover, true biblical Christians should beware lest they wander down the seductive path to the idolatrous Moloch of modern theology, where they are sure to be devoured by preachers and theologians who mouth connotation-words—that is, God-words—without orthodox content.
The author chides evangelicals for falling into this trap by calling men to existential commitment to Jesus Christ without giving them authoritative, definitive content from the Bible to explain what they are doing. I question this criticism, since repentance, conversion, and commitment often are initially existential, with intellectual and rational content from the Bible coming afterward. Nevertheless, his criticism is valid if there are those who call men to commitment to a contentless banner called “Christ” with no meaning except the “experience of faith” itself.
Real Christians, he says, should act out their belief with love for the brethren in the pure Church, as well as to the neighbor outside it. His elaboration of this in an appendix called “The Mark of the Christian,” published previously as an independent essay, is a chapter that tempers what some may consider to be a hyper-orthodoxy. His scriptural exegesis of this subject is exciting, filled with the presence of the Word and Holy Spirit, and balances his insistence on theological purity.
Some of the book is elementary Protestant ecclesiology and brings to mind the Declaration and Address of Alexander Campbell when he launched his “restoration movement” in the nineteenth century. Campbell, you will recall, said that the true Church of Christ should return to the primitive New Testament pattern, and should in essentials have unity, but in non-essentials, liberty. Schaeffer calls this “freedom within form,” form being the scriptural essentials for a pure orthodoxy in the Church.
Dr. Schaeffer impresses and enlightens me. Undoubtedly, he is at his best in intellectual circles, but he nevertheless writes well and clearly for readers not technically skilled in the subjects he covers. The book is by no means a profound theological treatise, but rather an analysis of the times and a message to the churches. His historico-philosophical overview will educate thoughtful evangelicals and help them put their biblical faith in intellectual perspective. Moreover, he does not hesitate to touch the flat spots in evangelical life. He is as hard on dead orthodoxy as he is apostate liberalism.
He chastises certain evangelicals for their complacency, brittleness, and unloving rejection of long-haired youth, vomiting drunks, and dark-skinned people. And he thumps hard for an excited and humanly involved Church—excited because it knows the propositionally revealed truth of God and involved because of the indwelling dynamis of the love of Christ. I buy his answer and believe in the vision of the Church that he expounds.
Essays In Sympathy
The Theology of Altizer: Critique and Response, edited by John B. Cobb, Jr. (Westminster, 1970, 269 pp., $7.50), is reviewed by Glenn R. Wittig, reference librarian, Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, New Jersey.
The popularized “death of God” fad of the late sixties is past, but its leading provocateur—Thomas J. J. Altizer—is very much alive. And the position established in his newest book, The Descent into Hell, is far more radical than that found in The Gospel of Christian Atheism.
God-is-dead theology never was taken seriously by very many scholars; yet it is the framework of this compendium that Altizer can and should be viewed as a constructive theologian. He has, it should be admitted, raised important issues for Christians that demand serious attention. In attempting to center the reader’s attention on Altizer’s affirmations, rather than his negations, the editor has assembled a collection of sympathetically critical essays. Some are original to this work, but most have been published previously and thus do not always take into account Altizer’s latest position.
The introduction is superb in its summarization and analysis and can be considered the most valuable part of the book. The criticisms are generally solid, insightful, meritorious essays that often point out similarities as well as differences with other thought systems. The essays by Runyon and Beardslee, especially, are fulcrum pieces, and fortunately are the first to appear. They confront—and find wanting—such crucial aspects of Altizer’s thought as his style of doing theology and his understanding of reality, time, history, the Incarnation, and eschatology.
King’s essay—“Zen and the Death of God”—approaches Altizer from the ground of the history of religions and, contrary to his supposed rejection of Buddhism, finds Altizer’s radical immanentalism fully Buddhistic. (That conclusion was established well before the appearance of Descent.)
Altizer’s “Response,” as both a strength and weakness of this book, evokes a different feeling. Its absence would have deprived the collection of its “dialogue”; yet its presence is dispiriting. While Altizer acknowledges having learned from his critics, he remains essentially determined to maintain his extreme position at all costs.
The satire in the appendix is in poor taste for this work; and the bibliography of Altizer’s writings is incomplete.
Cobb’s book is valuable, yet certain assumptions and omissions detract from its effectiveness. For one, its organization around confessional alignments negates the importance of issues. Secondly, some crucial issues—for example, Altizer’s supposedly biblical hermeneutic, his ethical indirection, his nihilistic “wager,” and the relation of his thinking to the idea of revolution are not treated.
Working For Survival
The Future of the Christian, by D. Elton Trueblood (Harper & Row, 1971, 102 pp., $2.95), is reviewed by Cheryl A. Forbes, editorial assistant, CHRISTIANITY TODAY.
While many people predict the death of the institutional church, Elton Trueblood offers hope that it will survive. He presents the church as necessarily institutional and therefore organized, and as vital for meeting today’s spiritual needs. But to overcome pessimism and failure, he says, the churches must recognize the ministering potential of four groups within their membership. The “rebirth of the church” will not come through innovations in the forms of worship—a refreshing idea—but only through a centering of activities in the idea of ministry. In using laymen, women, retired persons, and youth, the church will begin once again to fulfill the role Christ intended it to have.
After briefly explaining the potential of each of these groups, Trueblood concentrates on youth. This is the group most necessary for implementing new evangelical strategies. It is time for the churches to use young people to do things for others, Trueblood says, rather than always doing things for young people. They need to channel the restlessness of youth into productivity for Christ and his church. Trueblood quotes one young woman as saying, “As a young person and a follower of the Way, I often feel almost forsaken by the older Christians in any attempt to witness to my peers. I am excited and willing to act.”
What Trueblood calls the “new evangelicalism” involves understanding and using Christ’s own methods to proclaim his message. Mobility and two-by-two witnessing are the keys. A response to Christ’s claims means “a response of the whole person” to a person.
The future of the church depends on how evangelistic “evangelicals” become. Trueblood realizes that to survive, the church must be completely Christ-centered. There is no room and no time for anything less. Quoting Cardinal Newman, Trueblood says of the Church of Christ: “She pauses in her course, and almost suspends her functions; she rises again, and she is herself once more.”
Getting Acquainted With Scholars
Contemporary Old Testament Theologians, by Robert B. Laurin (Judson, 1970, 223 pp., $8.95), is reviewed by Lester J. Kuyper, professor of Old Testament, Western Theological Seminary, Holland, Michigan.
Contemporary Old Testament Theologians reviews the works of seven Old Testament scholars: Walther Eichrodt, Gerhard von Rad, Otto Procksch, Theodorus C. Vriezen, Edmond Jacob. George A. F. Knight, and Paul van Imschoot. Since Procksch and van Imschoot are dead, selection of George E. Wright and William F. Albright, to name only two possibilities, might better have served the “Contemporary” of the title. Besides, American scholars would be recognized!
Walther Eichrodt’s extensive works are reviewed by Norman K. Gottwald (American Baptist Seminary of the West). Eichrodt, emeritus professor of the University of Basel, has long been known for his scholarly and conservative writings on the Old Testament and Gottwald gives him an accurate and careful appraisal. Even though I have used Eichrodt with much appreciation, and have found his exposition of the “Covenant” theme and his emphasis on historical reality congenial to my understanding of the Old Testament, I agree with Gottwald when he finds in Eichrodt a lack of precision—employing the covenant in too embracing a fashion, or too readily declaring that a theology of the Old Testament must be historical because God acted in history. Gottwald’s critique becomes more severe in the last pages of his article, and he calls into question the presuppositions of the Swiss scholar. Presuppositions, however, are inherent in any interpretation of the Old Testament, and therefore expose to attack any scholar who interprets the Scripture.
It is at this very point of presupposition that G. Henton Davies (Regent’s Park College, Oxford) makes his critique of Gerhard von Rad. In contrast to Eichrodt’s emphasis on historical reality, von Rad has dim views of the historicity of the patriarchal narratives and of the Exodus. Davies has a great appreciation for the insights of von Rad, yet calls into question his Credo Motifs—or rather, von Rad’s use of the content of the Credos. Davies both attacks von Rad for a lack of historical sensitivity and praises him for perceptive insights. Although he takes up von Rad’s “Relationship between the Old Testament and the New Testament” and in outline presents his position, elaboration on this point by comparison and contrast with other scholars would have been a welcome addition to this good essay.
The chapter on Otto Procksch by John N. Schofield makes available to English readers materials that are in German. The survey gives adequate coverage with little critical evaluation.
Ronald E. Clements (Cambridge University) writes the rather brief chapter on Th. C. Vriezen, Utrecht University, Netherlands. He accurately places Vriezen among those who hold to the revelation of God in the Old Testament coming in the course of history, and correctly observes that Vriezen relates the understanding of the Old Testament to the revelation of God in Jesus Christ.
Edmund Jacob of the University of Strasbourg is reviewed by Robert B. Laurin (American Baptist Seminary of the West), the editor of this volume. George A. F. Knight, formerly at McCormick Seminary and now at Pacific Theological College, Suva, Fiji, is presented by John I. Durham (Southeastern Baptist Seminary). The last essay, by David A. Hubbard (Fuller Seminary), is on Paul von Imschoot, Ghent, Belgium.
This book invites the interested reader to become acquainted with and enjoy the work of great scholars who present the Old Testament as a living Word from God for our times.
Drama Of Left And Right
Protestant Power and the Coming Revolution, by Will Oursler (Doubleday, 1971, 203 pp., $5.95), is reviewed by David E. Kucharsky, managing editor, CHRISTIANITY TODAY.
If American churches are soon to engage in a second act of the fundamentalist-modernist drama, this is the book that could lift the curtain. And Oursler implies that in this act the struggle could even involve bloodshed.
Oursler brings to popular attention the influence of today’s radicals on Protestant denominational leadership. He accurately describes major confrontations of recent years that the average man in the pew has heard little or nothing about. Whether churchgoers will, upon learning of these perversions, rise in indignation to “throw the bums out” is the next big question.
Oursler’s approach is simple and detached. He is not a polemicist for the right or left, and he tends to ascribe good intentions to both sides. Yet he warns that a showdown seems imminent and could entail considerable violence.
The author chose not to dig very deeply, and the underlying theological issues get little exposure. Perhaps he was taking pains to keep the more obvious facts in reach. Thus we have a volume that is more timely than historical, and deserves to be acquired for church libraries promptly.
Newly Published
Encounter With Books: A Guide to Christian Reading, edited by Harish D. Merchant (Inter-Varsity, 1971, 262 pp., paperback, $3.50). Outstanding. Nearly seventy persons have presented annotations of books in their fields for the general reader and student. Some 1,600 books are covered in seven categories: Bible, doctrine, witness, life, ethics, apologetics, and the arts. Excellent guide for building personal, congregational, and school libraries.
Organizing to Beat the Devil, by Charles W. Ferguson (Doubleday, 1971, 466 pp., $7.95). A popularly written and highly selective account of the main body of Methodists in America. Avoids theology.
Paul, by Gunther Bornkamm (Harper & Row, 1971, 259 pp., $7.50). A fine study of Paul’s life and theology by a leading German scholar. It is limited, however, by the author’s belief that six of Paul’s letters were by others.
The Theology of Karl Barth, by Hans Urs von Balthasar (Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1971, 323 pp., $8.95). A leading Swiss Catholic theologian offers one of the best books on his fellow countryman. First published in German twenty years ago.
The Jesus Bag, by William H. Grier and Price M. Cobbs (McGraw-Hill, 1971, 295 pp., $6.95). Two black psychiatrists use case studies to illustrate a non-religious, black-formed basis for a new American morality. More than 100 pages of unannotated bibliography.
The Minister and His Work, edited by Michael R. Weed (Sweet, 1971, 192 pp., $3.95). Fifty brief articles, each on a different aspect of full-time ministry, originally appearing in the Christian Chronicle. The suggestions are practical and basic. However, the seeming simplicity should elicit self-examination rather than scorn. We all know that “listening is important,” but do we listen?
The Street People (Judson, 1971, 64 pp., paperback, $1.50). A collection of some of the best articles, drawings, and photos from Right On, an underground newspaper published by evangelical street Christians in Berkeley. One way to get plugged into the scene.
The Gospel of John, by Rudolf Bultmann (Westminster, 1971, 744 pp., $15). Advanced students who aren’t happy with the author as theologian are nevertheless able to appreciate his exegetical contributions. This translation has long been awaited.
The Faithful Sayings in the Pastoral Letters, by George W. Knight III (Presbyterian and Reformed, 1971, 162 pp., paperback, $3.50). A technical study by a professor at Covenant Seminary of First Timothy 1:15; 3:1; 4:8; Titus 3:4–7; Second Timothy 2:11.
Modern Christian Thought: From the Enlightenment to Vatican II, by James C. Livingston (Macmillan, 1971, 523 pp., $9.95). Intended to be neither comprehensive nor concerned with confessional or systematic developments. The author focuses rather on the encounter of selected Christian thinkers with modern philosophy, science, and biblical criticism. Evangelicals will find it helpful within its limitations but will have to look elsewhere for accounts of their own thinkers’ interactions with modern thought.
Laity Mobilized, by Neil Braun (Eerdmans, 1971, 224 pp., paperback, $3.95). A missionary to Japan uses illustrations from that country and others as a basis for insisting on involving all Christians, not just clergy, in evangelism.
Hope and Planning, by Jurgen Moltmann (Harper & Row, 1971, 228 pp., $6.50). Eight essays written 1960–68 by the author of Theology of Hope. Includes “The Revelation of God and the Question of Truth,” “God and Resurrection,” “Towards an Understanding of the Church in Modern Society.”
Religion in the Age of Aquarius, by John Charles Cooper (Westminster, 1971, 175 pp., paperback, $2.45). A quickie sightseeing tour for beginners through the world of the occult from sex-ism to Satanism, but with mostly shallow and a-Christian interpretations of what it all means.
Successful Church Libraries, by Elmer L. Towns and Cyril J. Barber (Baker, 1971, 103 pp., paperback, $1.95). Every congregation should have a well-used library. Particularly on the mechanics, this book will help achieve that goal. However, the book recommendations do not reflect the diversity of evangelical belief.
Liberation and Reconciliation: A Black Theology, by J. Deotis Roberts (Westminster, 1971, 205 pp., paperback, $3.50). Brief reflections of a black theologian who is problack rather than anti-white.
The Pentecostal Movement in the Catholic Church, by Edward D. O’Connor (Ave Maria, 1971, 301 pp., paperback, $1.95). A theology professor at Notre Dame who helped to fuel the growing charismatic movement among Catholics documents its beginnings and spread, probes dangers, assesses it theologically. Scholarly, definitive, timely.
Learning Through Encounter, by Robert Arthur Dow (Judson, 1971, 174 pp., paperback, $3.50). “We all live in tension between two levels of experience: pain and pleasure.” The problem is how to use this tension for creativity and education (individuals and teachers). The author relies heavily on diagrams throughout his insight-filled discussion.
New Testament Theology: The Proclamation of Jesus, by Joachim Jeremias (Scribner, 1971, 330 pp., $10). A well-known German scholar presents a systematic study of the teaching of the first three Gospels. Sees many legendary elements, but can still be of considerable help to those with more confidence in the evangelists’ accuracy.
