BOOK NOTES

 

“VOICES OF CONCERN”

We are pleased to announce that we’ll be sending Out Robert Meyers’ Voices of Concern within a few days of the time you read this. 270 pages; 17 essays from “our folk” in helpful criticism of us; attractive dust jacket; bound in cloth; an exciting challenge; only $3.50. Send us your order at once! To give you but a taste of what you might expect, notice these brief quotes from a few of the essays:

“Words spoken in love can work miraculous changes. The soil is more favorable than many think.”

“The bright young men, sooner or later, begin to wonder what there is to a faith that needs such cloistered protection.”

“Unless we can learn to investigate sympathetically new ideas while withholding ultimate commitment, we shall find ourselves fixated to inadequate positions which make all growth impossible.”

Now that the book is about ready for mailing, you can send your $3.50 check with your order, and we’ll pay postage; or simply send us your order and we’ll bill you later, and you pay the postage.

Our readers would do well to acquaint themselves with the publications of the R. B. Sweet Co. of Austin, Texas. This company is producing some materials that are both sound in doctrine and irenic in attitude. And I might add that some of it issues a real challenge to do the kind of thinking that is all too rare in our Bible classes. Notice these lines from one of Sweet’s books:

If Jesus were today walking the streets of New York, Detroit, Philadelphia, Dallas or Los Angeles, would he look with scorn upon our expensive church buildings in the suburbs which are filled only with those persons who are socially acceptable to us? Would he upbraid us for our failure to preach the gospel in the slums? Would he point his finger of rebuke at some of the religious leaders who spend most of their time trying to build their own reputations instead of helping meet the needs of others?

Perhaps he would point to our legalism with the same words of rebuke that he directed at the scribes and pharisees. Perhaps he would show us how shallow our religion really is, insisting that when we fail to meet the needs of suffering humanity we have not even begun to manifest Christian love.

This quotation is from a 71 page booklet, attractively bound, and entitled “The Twelve,” which is a study of the twelve apostles. It is part of an extended series of little books under the general title The Living Word. Other titles include How to Study the Bible, How We Got Our Bible, Christian Evidences, Major Religious Beliefs, the Parables of Jesus, the Christian Home. And on and on it goes. This is the adult series only. There is a junior and senior series as well for the younger set. From the above quotation it is evident that these people believe that education, self-examination and devotion can well go together. So you might like to order a fistful of these materials as possibilities for your small study groups or in the classes at your congregation. They are 75 cents each, any number, any combination. If you would like examination copies for possible class adoption in your congregation, let me hear from you. They are suitable, of course, for your own study and devotion, and do not necessarily call for a class situation.

By using our Credit Plan it is possible for you to make rather large purchases and pay for them easily, at the rate of only $5.00 a month, or 10% of the balance, whichever is greater. Several of our subscribers are taking advantage of this, and we welcome others of you to do likewise. You can, for instance, purchase now the entire 17-volume set of Barclay’s The Daily Bible Study, which is the most readable and resourceful commentary on the New Testament of our knowledge, for $39.50, and pay for it $5.00 monthly and no carrying charges.

Another important purchase you can make is The Millennial Harbinger Abridged, in two large, brightly bound volumes of over 1200 pages in all, for only $9.95. This is a selection of what is considered best of the many volumes originally edited by Alexander Campbell.

David Edwin Harrell’s new book on Quest for a Christian America: A Special History of the Disciples of Christ is about ready to mail out. For a deeper understanding of our Movement, its early leaders, and its relation to the larger American community, this is the kind of book you should read. $5.95 and it is worth it.

Theological Dictionary of the New Testament by Gerhard Kittel is being republished and is now in its third volume. These volumes run from 1,000 to 1,200 pages each, and are of course the last word in Greek word study. They are for the more scholarly inclined, but any ambitious student can benefit greatly from them. For example, the word kalos (meaning good or excellent) covers 22 pages. The prices vary slightly, but the average price is $20.00 per volume. Remember that one volume of a work like this is worth more than several smaller volumes.

If you enjoy gathering unto yourself various translations of the New Testament scriptures, let me suggest that you add Williams’ A New Translation in Plain English. He translated Rom. 8:1 this way: “There is now therefore no sentence of ‘Guilty’ for those that are in Christ Jesus.” Neatly colored hardback for only $3.25.

The same kind of book, but covering only Paul’s letters, is F. F. Bruce’s The Letters of Paul. This is an expanded paraphrase. Taking Rom. 8:1 again: “Since deliverance is available, then, there is no reason why those who are members of Christ Jesus should go on in a state of ‘penal servitude.’ He expands in such a way as to reveal more clearly what the apostle is saying to us. Is addition there are very helpful accounts on the various episodes of Paul’s life. You’ll be impressed with the information about Tarsus, Paul’s city, and Gamaliel, his teacher; and the apostle’s attitude toward the law, and the problem of circumcision. A substantial volume by an eminent scholar, $4.95.

Still another volume for those interested in translations is Kenneth Wuest’s The New Testament: An Expanded Translation. Rom. 8:1 again: “Therefore, now, there is not even one bit of condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.” This is a paperback and is only $2.95.

Some of you are reading everything that D. Martin Lloyd-Jones writes, and I can’t blame you, for he is saying more than most writers these days. You’ll appreciate this new one on The Plight of Man and the Power of God. His chapters on The Nature of Sin and T he Wrath of God, will make you uneasy, while his last chapter on The Only Solution will lift you to new heights.

For those who know no Greek at all, not even the alphabet, but would like to study the New Testament scriptures from the standpoint of the original language (a neat trick admittedly) will find help in the works of Kenneth Wuest, who has written with this kind of student in mind. Greek New Testament (paper, $1.45), Untranslatable Riches (hardback, $2.25), Golden Nuggets (paper , $1.45), and Bypaths (hardback, $2.25). All of these have the sub-title “From the Greek New Testament for the English Reader.” Once you read his Bypaths on the passage “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” will mean more to you. There are many such eye-openers. You ought to buy all of them, for they do not duplicate each other.

It is almost a sin for our people not to read Christians Only by James DeForest Murch, which is a history of the Restoration Movement; paperback for $2.98. We also have a new supply of paperback editions of The Fool of God and Raccoon John Smith, the Cochran novels. $1.95.

For one who would like to dip into some substantial reading in modern theological thought, and more of us need to, we suggest Creative Minds in Contemporary Theology by Philip Hughes, a British journalist, at $6.95.

It probes the thinking of Barth, Brunner, Bultmann, Cul1mann, Dod, Niebuhr, de Chardin, Tillich and others. It isn’t overly-difficult, but you will have to think.

We heartily recommend Unger’s Bible Handbook, a new publication that has nearly everything about the Bible in it: recent archaeological discoveries, introduction and outline to each book, a history of the formation and preservation of the Bible, etc. It is an encyclopedia of information. A thousand pages for only $4.95.

Why Christians Crack Up by M. H. Nelson, M.D., is a book that more of us ought to read in this age of anxiety. It is both medical and Biblical in its approach to the causes and remedies of nervousness and mental disturbances. Only $2.95.

If you would like a book that would enable you to learn Greek on your own, we suggest Let’s Study Greek by C. B. Hale for $3.50. Along with it you should have Practical Use of the Greek New Testament by Kenneth Wuest for $3.25. You can get much from these books on your own and without a teacher, and the New Testament will mean much more to you once you do.

The Roman church is indeed undergoing some changes, but before one makes this mean too much he should read Roman Catholicism Today by H. M Carson, a 128-page paperback at only $1.50. The chapter on “Ave Maria” will cause you to realize how far apart we are after all. He discusses also the question of tradition, sacraments, priesthood, penance, indulgence, and the Mass. Highly informative and responsibly done.

BACK ISSUES

We can supply all the monthly issues of this journal, which now number twenty-four at only ten cents each. Quarterly issues are not complete, but we can provide 12 of the 20 that were issued at 3 for $1.00. We especially suggest you get the second and third quarters for 1963 which contain two of the finest essays ever composed by Carl Ketcherside: “The Ground of Christian Fellowship” and “Agape: the Foundation of Christian Fellowship.”

We deeply appreciate the gracious response to our plea for additional funds. We now have enough to meet immediate pressures. If only a few of our readers would offer just a little sustained support, a few dollars a month, it would help greatly. Ours is a humble work, so we don’t need much and don’t ask for much. We can do a lot with the widow’s mite, and we are conscious that a donation may indeed be from one who can hardly afford to give. We therefore strive for maximum mileage for every penny. We promise to be good stewards of whatever you send.

One of the most impressive lessons I learned at Harvard was not from books. It was the obvious frugality of the place. The richest university in the world was downright stingy even in little things, even to the point of using library scratch pads on both sides. I decided then that one reason rich people give to Harvard, even when other institutions may need it more, is that Harvard knows how to take care of money. After all, if a man has worked hard for a lifetime for his millions, learning the value of a dollar, he prefers to pass it on to people who will get maximum use of it.

We need your zip code! If we do not have it on your address label, please send it to us. And why not renew when you write? Anytime you renew, we advance your sub, whether it is due or not. You may renew for several years at a time, and this saves all of us trouble.

We also encourage you to send the paper to others at only 50 cents per name in clubs of six.

Remember that this year’s Restoration Review will be issued in book form, a 200-page volume with lovely dust jacket, entitled “Resources of Power.” The cost will be nominal and the number will be limited. Ask us to reserve you a copy. You will be billed when the book is sent to you. This will enable you to pass your current copy around to your friends, and then have fresh, new copies neatly bound for safe keeping.

If you have not done so, you should read Alexander Campbell: The Man and His Mission by Louis Cochran, author of Fool of God, and Leroy Garrett, with a foreword by Perry Gresham. $1.00. A companion monograph is Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Campbell: a Comparative Study of Two Old Virginians. Also $1.00. These are neatly done. Ideal little gifts for anyone interested in the Restoration Movement or in American history. A package of Jefferson booklets were ordered sometime back for professors at University of Virginia, founded by Thomas Jefferson. Those folk ought to be Campbellites!

If you missed reading Robert Meyers’ What Happened in Wichita, you should order one in the next mail. Only ten cents each. We know of no less expensive way to get shocked! Order several and pass them around to some of our people who need to be stirred.

“What Prayer Should Mean To Us” will appear in the next issue as the sixth installment of our series on Resources of Power. This volume 8 of Restoration Review will be issued in a hardback with the title Resources of Power, with attractive dust jacket. Reserve your copy now. And why not send a club of subs? Six names, including your own renewal, for only $3.00. RESTORATION REVIEW, 1201 Windsor Dr., Denton, Texas 76201.