There were also several surveys of doctrine, new editions of time-tested works.
Evangelicalism has been more in the public consciousness the past few years than at any time in decades. But we must not let interest in the evangelical movement detract either from the God whom we worship or from the truths about him and his relationships to men. This article surveys books issued last year on the various theological topics, on the individuals and groups whose reflections on these topics have been thought worthy of study, and on the religious rivals to Christian theology. I have included books in the survey that speak on these subjects in a helpful way to various readers; inclusion does not necessarily signify my agreement with the views they advocate.
The most notable systematic theology to appear last year was the first volume of Essentials of Evangelical Theology (Harper & Row) by Donald Bloesch. It discusses God, authority, and salvation; the second and final volume, due out shortly, covers life, ministry, and hope.
Karl Rahner, prominent Roman Catholic theologian, is author of Foundations of Christian Faith (Seabury), a major overview of traditional doctrines in nontraditional language.
Select Lectures in Systematic Theology (Banner of Truth) by John Murray was issued as volume two of his collected writings. The writings come from different times and occasions, but they have been organized so as to cover the traditional categories of systematics. Murray taught theology at Westminster Seminary from 1930 to 1966 and was widely appreciated in the English-speaking world. (Murray’s sixteenth- and seventeenth-century predecessors had their teachings collated in 1861 by Heinrich Heppe, and Baker has reprinted a revised and translated edition entitled Reformed Dogmatics.)
Another addition last year was the sixth and final volume of Dogma (Sheed) by Michael Schmaus, written in a post-Vatican II spirit by a leading German Catholic systematics professor. The last volume treats soteriology and eschatology.
From systematic works intended primarily for college and seminary classrooms we turn now to those aimed at a more general market. Foundations of the Christian Faith (InterVarsity) by James Montgomery Boice is a four-volume series of which the first two have appeared. Boice is a popular pastor and radio preacher well known for his expository ministry and his commitment to biblical inerrancy and Reformed theology. On an even more popular level is the eight-volume Victor Know and Believe Series (Victor) edited by Bruce Shelley of Conservative Baptist Seminary. (The individual volumes of this series are mentioned in their appropriate categories below.) This series is perhaps the best currently available for older youth and adult study groups that want more than a brief overview of doctrine.
There were also several one-volume surveys of doctrine, many of them new editions of time-tested works. Pocket Guide to Christian Beliefs (InterVarsity) by I. Howard Marshall will probably have the broadest acceptance. Our Faith and Fellowship (Gospel Publishing House) by G. Raymond Carlson represents a Pentecostal understanding while The Bible Tells Us So (Banner of Truth) by R. B. Kuiper and An Introduction to Biblical Truths (Baker) by Alexander DeJong represent Reformed theology. The Classic Christian Faith (Augsburg) by Edgar Carlson is a Lutheran approach while The Faith Once Given (Westminster) by George Ricker is a modern Methodist pastor’s presentation. The intermediate student who wants a different and thought-provoking approach can consider The Christian Story: A Narrative Interpretation of Basic Christian Doctrine (Eerdmans) by Gabriel Fackre. If, however, you want something very simple and trustworthy consider Light on the Heavy (Victor) by Jerry Jenkins and Pulpit Words Translated for Pew People (BMH) by Charles Turner.
The following three books are foundational rather than overviews and are for the theological student and those who want to think theologically: The Christian Mind: How Should a Christian Think? (Servant) by Harry Blamires, a Briton in the tradition of C. S. Lewis, The Study of Theology (Fortress) by Gerhard Ebeling, on the interrelations among the disciplines of seminary and university, and The Grammar of Faith (Harper & Row) by Paul Holmer, on the relation between theology and faith: a theme oft-neglected by modern theologians.
Before looking at the many subdivisions of theology and apologetics here are a few books that survey the evangelical movement, particularly its theology. Fundamentalism (Westminster) by James Barr is a scathing and, in many crucial ways, an unfair attack on all evangelicals. Nevertheless, some of his points need thoughtful consideration. In a partial attempt at balance, the same publisher offers The Evangelical Challenge by Morris Inch. It is a helpful overview of the evangelical movement and a needed balance not only to Barr but also to The Worldly Evangelicals (Harper & Row) by Richard Quebedeaux, which has received more media attention. Quebedeaux provocatively (and too readily) categorizes some of the evangelical subgroups and highlights trends.
The proceedings of a blue ribbon conference of evangelical leaders held in Atlanta in late 1977 were issued as Evangelicals Face the Future (William Carey) edited by Donald Hoke. For a comparison with yesteryear, see The Thought of the Evangelical Leaders (Banner of Truth) edited by John Pratt, which gives notes of a major fortnightly London gathering for the period 1798–1814.
Evangelical Roots (Nelson) edited by Kenneth Kantzer is a collection of essays in tribute to the late Wilbur Smith. The essays range widely, as did Smith’s interests, over the Bible, theology, apologetics, and history. Contributors include many prominent evangelical leaders and the essays are of wider reader interest than is customary for tribute volumes.
Robert Webber of Wheaton College is a key figure in a small but vocal group of evangelicals calling for a much greater appreciation of the earlier Christian centuries. Common Roots (Zondervan) presents his outlook, while a book he coedited with Donald Bloesch, The Orthodox Evangelicals (Nelson), presents the papers and responses surrounding “The Chicago Call” issued by a 1977 conference of mostly younger evangelicals who called for increased historical awareness. The call and the issues it raises deserve consideration.
To foster our learning from Christians of centuries past, Paulist last year launched three open-ended series of reprints or new editions of classic writings. The Spiritual Masters are small, inexpensive paperbacks such as The Book of the Lover and Beloved by Ramon Lull and Counsels of Light and Love by St. John of the Cross. The Classics of Western Spirituality series includes Jewish, Muslim, and American Indian writings, but the Christian volumes, at least, should be in all theological and many personal libraries. Among books offered last year were The Way to Christ by Lutheran mystic Jacob Boehme and The Life of Moses by Gregory of Nyssa, one of the leading orthodox thinkers of the fourth century.
The Ancient Christian Writers project was launched in 1945 to provide definitive English editions but progress has been sporadic. Now Paulist has selected forty key volumes and rebound them with extensive promotion. Every Bible college, seminary, and major general library should have these writings, and this edition is a convenient way to build up a patristics collection. Sample volumes: Sermons for Christmas and Epiphany and The Problem of Free Choice by Augustine, A Commentary on the Apostles’ Creed by Rufinus, and a two-volume Case Against the Pagans by Arnobius of Sicca. The church fathers belong to the whole body of Christ, not just to any one portion of it. The Protestant Reformers drew appreciatively from them, but their descendants need to be reintroduced. (For these last two series Paulist sells not only through bookstores, but by direct mail offers; write 545 Island Rd., Ramsey, NJ 07446.)
While on this subject we mention Silent Fire (Harper & Row) edited by Walter Holden Capps and Wendy Wright, a convenient brief collection of excerpts spanning the history of Western Christian mysticism, and The Apostolic Fathers (Nelson) edited by Jack Sparks, a new edition of seven of the earliest post-canonical orthodox Christian writings.
GOD Since God is obviously studied in every division of theology, there is little that concentrates just on him. These titles are all in popular style: The Living God (Victor) by Robert Duncan Culver, Behold Your God (Zondervan) by Myrna Alexander, Our Heavenly Father (Logos) by Robert Frost, The Glory of God (Multnomah) by J. Dwight Pentecost, and Your God? (Seabury) by Lèon Joseph Suenens. Two reprints: The Trinity in the Universe (Kregel) by Nathan Wood and The God of the Bible (Nelson) by Robert Lightner.
PROBLEM OF EVIL A major treatment of this perennial question is Affliction (Revell) by Edith Schaeffer. Brief, helpful discussions by two evangelical theologians: Hope for a Despairing World (Baker) by Philip Hughes and The Roots of Evil (Zondervan) by Norman Geisler.
MAN Like God, man as a division of theology is not the subject of many books. Four noteworthy ones, all at the intermediate level, are I Believe in Man (Eerdmans) by George Carey, Christian Anthropology and Ethics (Fortress) by James Childs, Jr., Man: The Image of God (Alba) by Joseph Fichter, and Man: Ruined and Restored (Victor) by Leslie Flynn.
SCRIPTURE Books about the Bible are the subject of other surveys in this issue. The doctrine of Scripture, particularly with reference to the term “inerrancy,” will likely be calling forth a number of books in years to come. Finding weaknesses in a 1977 book, Biblical Authority (Word) edited by Jack Rogers, was The Foundation of Biblical Authority (Zondervan) edited by James Montgomery Boice. Four popular cases for that viewpoint: The Bible: Breathed From God (Victor) by Robert Saucy, God’s Incomparable Word (Victor) by Harold Lindsell, Solid! (Standard) by Jack Cottrell, and The Saviour and the Scriptures (Baker reprint) by Robert Lightner.
CHRIST Although reflection on the person and work of Christ is unavoidable, the Christian must first and always remember that He is the living Lord to be worshiped. A helpful compilation of thoughts from preachers, poets, and even a few theologians is Every Knee Shall Bow (Revell) by Joan Winmill Brown. When God Became Man (Moody) by George Lawlor, Jesus: God, Ghost, or Guru? (Zondervan) by Jon Buell and O. Quentin Hyder, and Jesus Christ: The God-Man (Victor) by Bruce Demarest, are good evangelical introductions to christology. God Incarnate (InterVarsity) by George Carey refutes a much-noted heretical book of 1977.
The range of views in the Roman Catholic Church is shown by three major christologies for advanced students: Jesus Christ, Liberator (Orbis) by Leonardo Boff, The Eternal Son (Our Sunday Visitor) by Louis Bouyer, and Christology at the Crossroads (Orbis) by Jon Sobrino. A radical Protestant stance is offered in A Theology of Encounter (Pennsylvania State University) by Charles Ketcham.
SALVATION David Wells has provided a very useful comparison of six approaches in modern theology in The Search for Salvation (InterVarsity). A wider range of views, past and present, is briefly surveyed by Fisher Humphreys in The Death of Christ (Broadman). An introductory overview is provided in Salvation: God’s Amazing Plan (Victor) by Millard Erickson. Other brief statements from evangelicals: God Forgives Sinners (Baker) by W. E. Best, The Biblical Doctrine of Regeneration (InterVarsity) by Helmut Burkhardt, and The Invincible Cross (Word) by Frank Crumpler. The Death of Christ (Williams and Watrous [Box 3182, Irving, TX 75061]) by Norman Douty is a defense of Christ’s death for all men. Two defenders of the view that he died only for the elect, Gordon Clark and Fred Klooster, wrote respectively on Predestination in the Old Testament (Presbyterian and Reformed) and Calvin’s Doctrine of Predestination (Baker). Self-realization and Faith (Lutheran Education Association) by Thomas Droege and Rags to Righteousness (Pacific Press) by Gordon Hyde give, respectively, a sacramental and an Adventist view of salvation. The Centrality of the Resurrection: A Study in Paul’s Soteriology (Baker) by Richard Gaffin, Jr., was originally a doctoral thesis at Westminster Seminary.
Advanced students should know of The Origins of the Christian Doctrine of Sacrifice (Fortress) by Robert Daly, Sacrifice and the Death of Christ (Westminster) by Frances Young, and Suffering, Innocent and Guilty (London: SPCK) by Elizabeth Moberly.
Conversion (Alba) edited by Walter Conn, is a collection of essays from a variety of Catholic and ecumenical Protestant theologians.
THE HOLY SPIRIT This area of doctrine is intertwined with charismatic theology in general and the decision whether to list a title here or with denominational theology is far from clear-cut.
In general, the following titles aim to present what the authors take to be the biblical teaching on the Spirit. None of the authors are considered part of the charismatic movement and hence these books provide ample evidence that noncharismatic Christians are interested in the Spirit also. An easy-to-read, systematic presentation of the biblical data is offered by Billy Graham in The Holy Spirit (Word). The same material is grouped by biblical author rather than by topic in Holy Spirit (Eerdmans) by Michael Ramsey, the former archbishop of Canterbury. Other popular expositions of the biblical data to note are The Holy Spirit and You (BMH) by Bernard Schneider, The Holy Spirit: Common Sense and the Bible (Zondervan) by Eric Fife, Flamed by the Spirit (Brethren Press) by Dale Brown, and Charismata: God’s Gifts for God’s People (Westminster) by John Koenig.
The following titles aim to present biblical teaching on the Spirit. None of the authors are considered charismatic, hence these books show there is also noncharismatic interest in the Spirit.
A major collection of essays by Lutheran scholars surveys the understanding of the Spirit over the centuries: The Holy Spirit in the Life of the Church (Augsburg) edited by Paul Opsahl. A helpful companion to this is a collection of statements about the Spirit by ancient, medieval, and modern authors: Witnesses to the Holy Spirit (Judson) compiled by Warren Lewis.
More specialized but still popularly-aimed studies of the work of the Holy Spirit include Symbols of the Holy Spirit (Tyndale) by C. Gordon Brownville, Culture and Controversy: An Investigation of the Tongues of Pentecost (Dorrance) by R. Clyde McCone, Understanding Spiritual Gifts (Moody) by Robert Thomas, and Dreams: A Way to Listen to God and Discernment: A Study in Ecstasy and Evil (both Paulist), both by Morton Kelsey. McCone is a Wesleyan minister and a professor of anthropology. He marshalls biblical and historical data to contend that the tongues of Pentecost and at Corinth were not languages that the speaker had not learned (as both friend and foe of tongues for today have usually thought), but rather normal speech bearing witness to God.
A technical work, denying the personality of the Holy Spirit, is God as Spirit (Oxford) by G. W. H. Lampe of Cambridge.
THE CHURCH Earl Radmacher, president of Western Conservative Baptist Seminary, offers a trade edition of a major biblical and historical study of the doctrine of the church, What the Church Is All About (Moody). A less formal historical reflection is The Integrity of the Church (Broadman) by E. Glenn Hinson of Southern Baptist Seminary. A brief overview is The Church: God’s People (Victor) by Bruce Shelley.
Two other books in this area also belong in all theological libraries. The authors of This Is the Day: The Biblical Doctrine of the Christian Sunday (Attic Press [Greenwood, SC 29646]), Roger Beckwith and Wilfrid Stott, not only show why the early church rightly conducted its worship on the first day of the week instead of on the Sabbath, but also call for devoting most of Sunday to worship, not just a small part of the day. Infant Baptism and the Covenant of Grace (Eerdmans) by Paul Jewett marshalls exegetical, theological, and historical arguments in favor of believer baptism, while maintaining a covenant theology. Skip it if you don’t want to risk changing your mind.
LAST THINGS In addition to continued interest in general eschatology there has been renewed interest in individual eschatology, fueled by reports of dying and then coming back to tell about it. The Edge of Death (InterVarsity) by Phillip Swihart is a brief but excellent overview of the recent discussion of the medical, pastoral, testimonial, and theological aspects of dying. A good philosophical approach to the question of immortality is Bruce Reichenbach’s, Is Man the Phoenix? (Eerdmans). Persons and Life After Death (Barnes & Noble) is for specialists in philosophy. Why Do I Have to Die? (Regal) by David Hubbard answers the question of the title briefly and biblically. What Are They Saying About Death and Christian Hope? (Paulist) by Monika Hellwig tries to explain modern Catholic thinking on individual eschatology to the layperson.
Popular evangelical overviews of general eschatology are The Future Explored (Victor) by Timothy Weber, The Last Things (Eerdmans) by George Eldon Ladd, Biblical Prophecy for Today (Baker) by J. Barton Payne, Bible Prophecy: Questions and Answers (Herald) by Paul Erb, and The Hereafter: What Jesus Said About It (Revell) by R. Earl Allen.
Two critiques of dispensationalism come from a relatively new publisher, Paideia (Box 1450, St. Catherines, Ontario): Is the Bible a Jigsaw Puzzle? An Evaluation of Hal Lindsey’s Writings by T. Boersma, and Hal Lindsey and Biblical Prophecy by C. Vanderwaal. Meanwhile, interest in the Middle East continues to call forth books reflecting dispensational views such as Arabs, Oil and Energy by Edgar James and Israel’s Destiny by S. Maxwell Coder (both Moody), and The Two Jerusalems in Prophecy (Loizeaux) by David Clifford. Exposition offers a more scholarly book on the subject, To Whom the Land of Palestine Belongs by Christopher Hong.
EVANGELISM One of the key ways to distinguish evangelicals from other Protestants and from most Catholics is by noting their concern for evangelism. Much theological writing takes its starting point from this concern, either to reaffirm it or to redirect it. The books listed in this section are scholarly and not primarily concerned with techniques.
The Battle for World Evangelism (Tyndale) by Arthur Johnston and Quest for Authority (Evangel Publishing House [P.O. Box 28963, Nairobi, Kenya]) by Norvald Yri are both thoroughly documented surveys of the departure of the ecumenical movement in this century from its original interest in missions.
Contemporary Missiology (Eerdmans) by J. Verkuyl of the Free University of Amsterdam is a major survey not only of missionary thought and methods but also of theological developments in Third World countries.
Theology and Mission (Baker), edited by David Hesselgrave, consists of the papers and responses at a consultation in 1976 concerned with several crucial issues facing evangelical missions.
Three shorter books genuinely concerned with mission are by authors who have been more ecumenically active: Five Lanterns at Sundown: Evangelism in a Chastened Mood (Eerdmans) by Alfred Krass, The Open Secret: Sketches for a Missionary Theology (Eerdmans) by Lesslie Newbigin, and Courage, Church! (Orbis) by Walbert Bühlmann.
POPULAR APOLOGETICS Apologetics seeks to relate Christian theology both to other fields of learning and activity and to alternate theologies. This includes answering the challenges posed to Christian faith. More scholarly treatments, along with some popular ones that are narrowly focused, are listed in subsequent categories. Here we list books aimed at the general reader.
Right With God (Moody) by John Blanchard and Live a New Life (Tyndale) by David Watson are for those seriously interested in becoming Christians.
Concerning Scandals (Eerdmans) is a modern translation of a work by John Calvin showing that objections to the gospel and their answers haven’t changed all that much. The following titles are of uneven value, but at least they provide ideas: Faith in the Center Ring (Fortress) by Joan Berry, Why Doesn’t God Do Something? (Bethany Fellowship) by Phoebe Cranor, What Else? (Standard) by Douglas Dickey, How Can We Believe?(Broadman) by Robert Dean, Proofs of Christianity (Gospel Publishing House) by Charles Harris, Counselor, State Your Case! (Accent) by Roger Himes, Understanding Your Faith (Abingdon) by H. Newton Maloney, Letters to Michael (Christian Literature Crusade) by Mara, Does Christianity Make Sense? (Victor) by Mike Phillips, Objections Answered (Regal) by R. C. Sproul, and The Gospel for the Person Who Has Everything (Judson) by William Willimon.
Two books relating Christianity to popular culture are Star Trek: Good News in Modern Images (Sheed) by Betsy Caprio (also on Star Wars and Close Encounters) and Something to Believe In: Is Kurt Vonnegut the Exorcist of Jesus Christ Superstar? (Harper & Row) by Robert Short, who wrote The Gospel According to Peanuts.
Three books for the intermediate student that reflect debates over apologetic methodology are Faith Founded on Fact (Nelson) by John Warwick Montgomery, Christianity Rediscovered (Fides/Claretian) by Vincent Donovan, and Invitation to Faith: Christian Belief Today (Augsburg) by Paul Jersild.
THEOLOGY AND NATURAL SCIENCE There were a number of major books in this crucial area, which, for so many, is the major point of conflict between orthodoxy and modern knowledge. Carl Henry has assembled essays from an outstanding array of evangelical scientists and scholars in Horizons of Science (Harper & Row). Preparatory readings for a World-Council-of-Churches-sponsored conference to be held this July have been gathered by Paul Abrecht and others in Faith, Science, and the Future (WCC [150 route de Ferney, Geneva, Switzerland]). How to Think About Evolution and Other Bible-Science Controversies (InterVarsity) is a helpful introduction by L. Duane Thurman, biology professor at Oral Roberts.
Four major historical monographs: Religious Origins of Modern Science (Eerdmans) by Eugene Klaaren, The Road of Science and the Ways to God (University of Chicago) by Stanley Jaki, Science and Religion in America, 1800–1860 (University of Pennsylvania) by Herbert Hovenkamp, and Science and the Bible in Lutheran Theology (University Press of America) by William Hausmann.
Four evangelical reflections: Science, Chance, and Providence (Oxford) by Donald MacKay), Nature and Miracle (Wedge [229 College St., Toronto, Ontario]) by Harry Diemer, The Unity in Creation (Dordt College [Sioux Center, IA 51250]), and Science and Faith (Zondervan) by Arthur Custance. Anyone working in this field should also consult Science as a Human Endeavor (Columbia) by George Kneller.
In recent years most books on science aimed at the average evangelical have argued for a recently created earth as the only view that is both biblical and scientific. Earlier stalwarts (such as Scofield) who allowed for an old earth were said to be making needless compromises. Dan Wonderly is committed to biblical inerrancy but he offers impressive evidence for an old earth in God’s Time-Records in Ancient Sediments (Crystal Press [1909 Proctor St., Flint, MI 48504]). The young earth position is represented by That You Might Believe (Good News) by Henry Morris, Evolution: The Fossils Say No! (Creation-Life) by Duane Gish, Up With Creation! (Creation-Life) edited by Duane Gish and Donald Rohrer, and The Moon: Its Creation, Form, and Significance (BMH) by John Whitcomb and Donald DeYoung.
THEOLOGY AND HISTORY The philosophy of history has always been concerned with questions to which the Bible speaks. Questions raised about historical method are significant because the historicity of biblical events is widely doubted. A good evangelical introduction to the study of the past is History in the Making (InterVarsity) by Roy Swanstrom. Three major monographs: Knowledge and Explanation in History: An Introduction to the Philosophy of History (Cornell) by R. F. Atkinson, Has History Any Meaning? A Critique of Popper’s Philosophy of History (Cornell) by Burleigh Taylor Wilkins, and Pasts and Futures or What Is History For? (Thames and Hudson) by Jean Chesneaux.
THEOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGY For a long while religion was on the defensive against the claims of psychology to have “explained” it. More recently, many psychologists have argued that their insights could be utilized within a Christian framework. This view is found in The Human Puzzle (Harper & Row) by David Myers and Religion and Psychology (Alba) by E. F. O’Doherty. At the same time, the actual practice of psychology has been increasingly criticized by the secular world. People who are professionally treated for psychological illness reportedly do not get better any differently from people who are not so treated. See The Psychological Society (Random) by Martin Gross.
THEOLOGY AND ART Two important studies: Art Needs No Justification (InterVarsity) by H. R. Rookmaaker and Art and the Theological Imagination (Seabury) by John Dixon, Jr.
HISTORICAL THEOLOGY By far the most important book in this area was The Growth of Medieval Theology(A.D. 600–1300) (University of Chicago) by Jaroslav Pelikan, the third of his projected five-volume history of doctrine. The student of religious thought in America will be greatly indebted to the work of Ernest Sandeen and Frederick Hale in compiling American Religion and Philosophy: A Guide to Information Sources (Gale). A helpful survey that focuses on leading theologians is Historical Theology: An Introduction (Eerdmans) by Geoffrey Bromiley. A very good study of a much-maligned movement is Understanding Pietism (Eerdmans) by Dale Brown.
Several relatively short books on nineteenth and twentieth century European thinkers who influenced theology appeared last year. Well-known evangelical scholar Bernard Ramm writes on Sartre, Nietzsche, and five others in The Devil, Seven Wormwoods, and God (Word). Many of the same men are the subjects of Mirrors of Man in Existentialism (Collins) by Nathan Scott, Jr. Three studies that begin with Schleiermacher and trace influences on and from him are A Romantic Triangle (Scholars) by Jack Forstman, A Dubious Heritage (Paulist) by Louis Dupré, and Tradition and the Modern World (University of Chicago) by B. A. Gerrish. Related is Culture-Protestantism: German Liberal Theology at the Turn of the Twentieth Century (Scholars) by George Rupp. Researchers should be familiar with an unannotated list of more than two thousand works, Existentialism and Phenomenology (Whitston) compiled by Leonard Orr.
A much-needed corrective to widespread views on southern religion is provided by E. Brooks Holifield in The Gentleman Theologians: American Theology in Southern Culture, 1795–1860 (Duke).
Freethought in the United States (Greenwood) by Marshall Brown and Gordon Stein is a comprehensive bibliography with helpful introductions. It reminds us that the church has flourished for centuries alongside anti-Christian propaganda.
DENOMINATIONAL THEOLOGY The second of seven proposed volumes of Profiles in Belief (Harper & Row) by the late Arthur Piepkorn is a mammoth compilation of more than 700 pages on the following denominational traditions: Lutherans, Anglicans, Reformed churches, Mennonites, Baptists, most Methodists, Christian Churches and Churches of Christ, Dunkard Brethren, Swedenborgians, and several other small groups. The next two volumes are to treat the remaining Protestants. Both the theological distinctives and the organizational expressions in America of the respective denominational families are presented in detail and with reasonable objectivity. The set belongs in all theological and major public and college libraries.
Anglican theology, if it exists, is the subject of Stephen Sykes’s The Integrity of Anglicanism (Seabury), while an evangelical approach is presented in two noteworthy pamphlets, Across the Divide (Marcham) by R. T. Beckwith, G. E. Duffield, and J. I. Packer and The Evangelical Anglican Identity Problem (Latimer) by J. I. Packer.
E. Y. Mullins’s Axioms of Religion (Broadman), a classic statement of principles especially stressed by Baptists, has been updated by Herschel Hobbs.
The largest Catholic publisher in the country, Paulist, has titles ranging over a wide theological spectrum. Prominent on their list are books of constructive charismatic theology, naturally reflecting Catholic perspectives to a greater or lesser degree. From last year’s offerings see Experiencing God by Donald Gelpi, A Charismatic Theology by Heribert Mühlen, Remove the Heart of Stone by Donal Dorr, The Charismatic Renewal and Ecumenism by Kilian McDonnell, and This Promise Is for You by David Parry. Also of particular interest to Catholic charismatics is Pope Paul and the Spirit (Ave Maria) by Edward O’Connor.
Two very important books address charismatic theology within the broader context of evangelical theology. Fire in the Fireplace (InterVarsity) by Charles Hummel is thorough and, to a large degree, sympathetic. The Charismatics: A Doctrinal Perspective (Zondervan) by John MacArthur, Jr. is critical but polite. An Evaluation of Claims to the Charismatic Gifts (Baker) by Douglas Judish, a Lutheran, is primarily exegetical. A Charismatic Truce (Nelson) by David Shibley is a short appeal for ending hostilities.
Note that most of the books in the section on the Holy Spirit touch more or less closely on charismatic theology as well.
Books by Catholic theologians are scattered throughout this survey. A few titles that relate specifically to Catholicism as a system are mentioned here. The most important, Toward Vatican III: The Work That Needs to be Done (Seabury) edited by David Tracy, consists of papers from a variety of approaches presented at a conference sponsored by Notre Dame. Vatican Encounter: Conversations With Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (Sheed) by Jose Hanu reflects the views of the best-known archconservative. What Are They Saying About Dogma? (Paulist) by William Reiser is a short, sympathetic look at the changing attitudes deplored by Lefebvre. Searching for Truth (Collins) is by Peter Kelly, who remains a Catholic despite his leaving the priesthood over doctrinal disagreements. Everything You Wanted to Know About the Catholic Church But Were Too Pious to Ask (Thomas More) is by Andrew Greeley, a prolific writer who is unlikely to leave the priesthood in spite of his endless disagreements with officialdom. Greeley is amusing, exasperating, and sometimes insightful.
The Unification Church of Sun Myung Moon still receives disproportionately large attention. Scholarly symposia to note: Science, Sin, and Scholarship (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) edited by Irving Louis Horowitz, Exploring Unification Theology (Rose of Sharon [GPO Box 2432, New York, NY 10001]) edited by M. Darrol Bryant and Susan Hodges, and A Time for Consideration (Edwin Mellen Press [225 West 34th St., Suite 918, New York, NY 10001]) edited by M. Darrol Bryant and Herbert Richardson. Also see Rev. Sun Myung Moon (University Press of America) by Chong Sun Kim.
PARTICULAR THINKERS Access to Church Dogmatics, the multi-volume set by Karl Barth, is facilitated by the appearance of an Index Volume (T. & T. Clark [38 George St., Edinburgh 2, Scotland]) with Scripture, name, and subject indexes. The same volume includes almost 300 pages of excerpts from the Dogmatics arranged according to the Sundays of the church year. A different but comparable selection is offered in Preaching Through the Christian Year (Eerdmans). In both cases preachers who do not follow the church year can still benefit from the material.
Of the many scholarly monographs on major religious figures, here are some of particular interest: Anselm and Talking About God (Oxford) by G. R. Evans, Knowing God: Religious Knowledge in the Theology of John Baillie (University Press of America) by William Tuck, Karl Barth’s Theology of Mission (InterVarsity) by Waldron Scott, Becoming and Being: The Doctrine of God in Charles Hartshorne and Karl Barth (Oxford) by Colin Gunton, Edward John Carnell: Defenderof the Faith (University Press of America) by John Sims, God as Dynamic Actuality: A Preliminary Study of the Process Theologies of John B. Cobb, Jr. and Schubert M. Ogden (University Press of America) by James Caraway, The Religious Thoughts of Samuel Taylor Coleridge (Barnes & Noble) by David Pym, A Key to Dooyeweerd (Presbyterian and Reformed) by Samuel Wolfe, Religion on Trial: Mircea Eliade and His Critics (Temple University) by Guilford Dudley III, The Christology of Hegel (Scholars) by James Yerkes, The Mystical Element in Heidegger’s Thought (Ohio University) by John Caputo, Hume’s Philosophy of Religion (Barnes & Noble) by J. C. A. Gaskin, Science, Metaphysics, and the Chance of Salvation: An Interpretation of the Thought of William James (Scholars) by N. S. Levinson, Images of Salvation in the Fiction of C. S. Lewis (Harold Shaw) by Clyde Kilby, The Taste for the Other: The Social and Ethical Thought of C. S. Lewis (Eerdmans) by Gilbert Meilaender, History, Method, and Theology (Scholars), on Lonergan and Dilthey, by Matthew Lamb, Availability: Gabriel Marcel and the Phenomenology of Human Openness (Scholars) by Joe McCown, Merton’s Palace of Nowhere (Ave Maria) by James Finley, Thomas Merton: Prophet in the Belly of a Paradox (Paulist) edited by Gerald Twomey, H. Richard Niebuhr (Word) by Lonnie Kliever, Anders Nygren (Word) by Thor Hall, Ritschl: A Reappraisal (Collins) by James Richmond, and Schleiermacher the Theologian (Fortress) by Robert Williams.
Systematic Theology Today (University Press of America) by Thor Hall briefly reports on the activities of more than 500 practicing theologians in North America.
PHILOSOPHICAL THEOLOGY The following titles will be of interest to advanced students of religion and theology. These books share a common concern for questions that are central to Christianity and they tend to be speculative rather than expository in character. Often they provide more help by the questions they raise than by the answers they proffer. The Religious Imagination and the Sense of God (Oxford) by John Bowker, The Fragile Universe (Barnes & Noble) by T. Patrick Burke, Continuum (Marek) by Robert Casselman, Theology of the Christian Word (Paulist) by Frederick Crowe, A Reason to Hope (Collins) by David Edwards, Subjectivity and Religious Belief (Eerdmans) by C. Stephen Evans, The Lure of God: A Biblical Background for Process Theism (Fortress) by Lewis Ford, Religious Reason (Oxford) by Ronald Green, Dynamic Transcendence (Fortress) by Paul Hanson, The Center of Christianity (Harper & Row) by John Hick, God Beyond Knowledge (Barnes & Noble) by H. A. Hodges, Christian Hope (Seabury) and The Humility of God (Westminster) both by John Macquarrie, Analogy and Talking About God (University Press of America) by John Morreall, Thinking About Religion (Prentice-Hall) by Richard Purtill, The Bursting of New Wineskins (Pickwick) by Carl Raschke, Stories of God (Thomas More) by John Shea, The Dynamics of Religion (Harper & Row) by Peter Slater, Talking of God (Paulist) by Terrence Tilley, Commitment to Care (Devin-Adair) by Dean Turner, God and Utopia (Seabury) by Gabriel Vahanian, and The Remaking of Christian Doctrine (Westminster) by Maurice Wiles.
A survey of five distinct approaches (including process, existential, and phenomenological theology) is Stanley Sutphin’s Options in Contemporary Theology (University Press of America).
If you want to catch up on what you missed in this area before last year, start with the newly published Philosophy of Religion: An Annotated Bibliography of Twentieth-century Writings in English (Garland) by William Wainwright. This excellent guide should be in all theological and major college libraries.
COLLECTED ESSAYS AND SERMONS The following collections of writings by single authors represent a variety of confessional stances. Most of them are examples of the less formal writings of the respective authors and they treat a wide range of subjects. Men and Affairs (Westminster) by William Barclay (a collection of book reviews), Adventure of Faith (Mission Messenger [139 Signal Hill Dr., St. Louis, MO 63121]) by W. Carl Ketcherside, Signposts for the Future (Doubleday) by Hans Küng, Newman Against the Liberals (Arlington) by John Henry Newman, Letters of A. W. Pink (Banner of Truth), The Philosophy of Paul Ricoeur (Beacon), by Paul Ricoeur, The True Christian (Baker) by J. C. Ryle, Ernst Troeltsch: Writings on Theology and Religion (John Knox), Basic Christianity (Friends United Press) and A Philosopher’s Way (Broadman) both by D. Elton Trueblood, and The God of Hope (Presbyterian and Reformed) by Cornelius Van Til.
There were also four collections of essays by many authors that were too wide-ranging to be classified. At the Edge of Hope (Seabury), edited by Howard Butt, grows out of the North American Congress of the Laity in Los Angeles, February 1978. Process and Relationship (Religious Education Press), edited by Iris Cully and Kendig Cully, is a festschrift for Randolph Crump Miller. Theology Confronts a Changing World (Twenty-Third Publications), edited by Thomas McFadden, has essays by ten Catholic scholars. The Necessity of Systematic Theology (University Press of America) is edited by John Jefferson Davis of Gordon-Conwell Seminary as a supplementary text.
WORLD RELIGIONS A helpful annotated list of some 2,000 books, classified by religion, is provided in The Religious Life of Man: Guide to Basic Literature (Scarecrow) by Leszek Karpinski. The scope is the same in the essay-style A Reader’s Guide to the Great Religions: Second Edition (Free Press) edited by Charles Adams, issued in 1977.
Two survey texts that look at various widespread features of religions are Introduction to the Study of Religion (Harper & Row) edited by T. William Hall and Introducing Religion: From Inside and Outside (Prentice-Hall) by Robert Ellwood. (For the latter, the same publisher and author have a companion of Readings on Religion.)
In the wake of the Jonestown horror, it is timely to have the major collection of scholarly essays, Understanding the New Religions (Seabury) edited by Jacob Needleman and George Baker. A briefer focus on the attractions of three groups is The Cults Are Coming! (Abingdon) by Lowell Streiker. Unfortunately, evangelicals have too often limited their study of the cults to a statement of official teachings and how they differ from orthodoxy, neglecting the complex sociological, psychological, and economic factors.
Six other books that look at one or more aspects shared among world religions: Christian Faith in a Religious Plural World (Orbis) edited by Donald Dawe and John Carman, Two Sacred Worlds (Abingdon) by Larry Shinn, Religion in Planetary Perspective (Abingdon) by William Mountcastle, Jr., Mysticism and Philosophical Analysis (Oxford) edited by Steven Katz, The Inner Eye of Love: Mysticism and Religion (Harper & Row) by William Johnston, and The Intra-Religious Dialogue (Paulist) by R. Panikkar.
ASIAN RELIGIONS Useful additions to the reference shelf are Eastern Definitions (Doubleday) by Edward Rice, on key terms from Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and smaller Asian-based religions, and Harper’s Dictionary of Hinduism (Harper & Row) by Margaret and James Stutley, which is probably the most accurate and exhaustive work of its kind.
Books relating Christianity to one of the Asian religions include Dialogue: The Key to Understanding Other Religions (Westminster) by Donald Swearer (using Theravada Buddhism as an example), Two Masters, One Message (Abingdon) by Roy Amore (comparing Buddha and Christ), The Pantheism of Alan Watts (InterVarsity) by David Clark (on a thinker who tried but realized he could not integrate Christianity and Buddhism), Confucianism and Christianity (Kodansha) by Julia Ching, The Koran in the Light of Christ (Franciscan Herald) by Giulio Basetti-Sani, and Invasion From the East (Augsburg) by Howard Wilson (rather welcoming the “invasion”).
JUDAISM Every year the number of books on Judaism is enormous, especially in proportion to the Jewish population. Here are some titles with particular emphasis on Jewish-Christian relations. The most important is Evangelicals and Jews in Conversation on Scripture, Theology, and History (Baker) edited by Marc Tanenbaum, Marvin Wilson, and A. James Rudin. A brief but valuable evangelical approach is provided by Richard DeRidder in God Has Not Rejected His People (Baker). Both biblical and contemporary issues are addressed in The Lord’s Prayer and Jewish Liturgy (Seabury) edited by Jakob Petuchowski and Michael Brooke and Jesus the Jew (John Knox) by Markus Barth. A historical overview is presented by Charlotte Klein in Anti-Judaism in Christian Theology (Fortress). (Less studied is anti-Christianism in Jewish thought, but see the testimony of Ken Levitt, whose family was violently opposed to his conversion from Judaism to Christianity, in Kidnapped for My Faith [Bible Voice].) The Holocaust Years: Society on Trial (Bantam) is an excellent collection of readings edited by Roselle Chartock and Jack Spencer. See also The Jewish Return Into History: Reflections in the Age of Auschwitz and a New Jerusalem (Schocken) by Emil Fackenheim and A Theology of Auschwitz (John Knox) by Ulrich Simon. For Christians who want simple overviews of Judaism by and for Jews, see Living Jewish (Everest) by Michael Asheri and The Modern Meaning of Judaism (Collins) by Roland Gittelsohn, representing Orthodox and Reformed outlooks, respectively.
OCCULTISM It is significant that in this presumably secular and scientific age there should be increased interest in the occult and various paranormal phenomena, some benign, much decidedly dangerous. (Parallel resurgences have occurred before as in the so-called Enlightenment.) In approaching this subject Christian leaders face a dilemma: to debunk the occult is to side with antisupernaturalists and to be ill-prepared to minister to believers enticed into or unduly afraid of some form of occultic activity; to publicize it could give people ideas they might not otherwise have had. So the following books are mentioned with more than the usual cautionary warnings. Research libraries should have Psychic and Religious Phenomena Limited (Greenwood), a bibliographical index to thousands of psychic experiences, compiled by Clyde King. Major theological and general libraries need the two-volume Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology (Gale) edited by Leslie Shepard. Although much of the material is based on earlier works, there has been a conscientious attempt to update and fill in gaps. Especially noteworthy is the intention to issue periodical supplements from the same editor and publisher called Occultism Update, the first of which has already appeared. The set has more than 5,000 entries on persons, groups, happenings, writings, and so forth. Mysteries (Putnam) by Colin Wilson is a major, sympathetic overview of the field in narrative form. Shorter overviews by evangelicals opposing occultism are Wizards That Peep (Northwestern) by Siegbert Becker and Satan’s Devices (Kregel) by Kurt Koch. More restricted evangelical warnings in a style that can reach those who have been attracted by non-Christian sensationalism are ESP or HSP? (Melodyland) by Ralph Wilkerson and War of the Chariots (versus von Däniken) and Close Encounters: A Better Explanation (re the movie), both published by Creation-Life and written by Clifford Wilson (joined by John Weldon for the second).
In the wake of the Jim Jones Guyana horror and the deplorable John Todd phenomenon, we need serious study of the attractions of such movements. Although the names of the group and its members are changed, sociologist William Sims Bainbridge says that his book, Satan’s Power: A Deviant Psychotherapy Cult (University of California) is true. More general scholarly theories about the paranormal that are worth considering are The ESP Experience: A Psychiatric Validation (Basic) by Jan Ehrenwald and The Wayward Gate: Science and the Supernatural (Beacon) by Philip Slater.
Solomon Nigosian too sympathetically describes Occultism in the Old Testament (Dorrance). The Stars and the Bible (Exposition) by Clyde Ferguson and 12 Signs, 12 Sons: Astrology in the Bible by David Womack (Harper & Row) are the latest of a long series of committed Christian attempts to baptize astrology. A brief evangelical refutation is Run Your Life by the Stars? (Victor) edited by William Petersen. A thorough, humanistic refutation that deserves to be widely known is Astrology Disproved (Prometheus) by Lawrence Jerome.
G. Douglas Young is founder and president of the Institute of Holy Land Studies in Jerusalem. He has lived there since 1963.
