THE TRUE ESTIMATE OF LIFE, G. Campbell Morgan, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1975, 240 pages, $2.95.
"A powerful preacher, a prince among evangelists," says Who Was Who in Church History. You will find nine of his sermons in The True Estimate of Life. Morgan's ability to take a phrase or passage of Scripture and make it live is unsurpassed.
The sermon I like best is built around Paul's affirmation, "To me to live is Christ." Paul's life and ministry, says Morgan, revealed the meaning of Christianity as no other. He takes a Bible phrase and extracts scintillating rays of light from it, like those from a diamond rotating in a beam of light.
Illustrating the meaning of Christian perfection, he writes: "Put a child of six months beside a man of 40. What a difference! They are both perfect, but the man is perfected with the perfection of maturity, while the child is not." Later in the same sermon occurs the logical admonition: "The moment you are doubtful about a certain course of action, your solemn duty is to cease that action." Sound wisdom indeed!
Morgan tells the story of a young woman out of whose life all joy had gone because of a broken friendship—for which she was at least partly responsible. "Praise God!" Morgan replied. "What about?" she asked. "That you know when it went; because if you know when it went, you know how it went," was the answer. He counseled her to write the friend a letter. A year later he met her again. "Have you sent that letter?" he asked. "I wrote it last night," she replied, adding that she had dropped the letter in the mailbox at midnight. "And as that letter went into the box, heaven came back into my heart."
Another aphorism that caught my eye was this: "How eager men are to give up their brother's idols!" Ah, yes.
In his sermon on redeeming the time, Morgan gives an apt illustration of walking circumspectly. He tells of a wall topped with cement—like many in his native England—with sharp shards of glass inserted into the cement to discourage small boys from climbing over it. But, he says, "You have also seen a cat walk along the top of that wall—circumspectly. "
Looking for good sermon material? Don't forget Morgan.
—Raymond F. Cottrell
CHRISTIAN SEARCH FOR BEAUTY, Harold Byron Hannum, Southern Publishing Ass'n., Nashville, Tennessee, 160 pages, $5.95. Ministers are frequently challenged with questions prefaced with the words "What's wrong with ?" Often the questioner may be asking about something in the realm of art a literary production, a painting, or a piece of music. In endeavoring to answer these questions, those of us who are ministers have often wished that we were better informed in the field of aesthetics the science of beauty and taste; knowledge of the fine arts and art criticism. It is particularly in the field of music that many of us have felt this lack in our understanding. Professor Hannum has taught aesthetics at Loma Linda University for years; and, being a musician himself, he has given particular emphasis to the evaluation of various art forms, especially in music. His book is a distillation of years of study, experience, and observation. Christian Search for Beauty is not light reading. But for the person who is seriously seeking to understand the place of the arts especially music in the life of the Christian, it is helpful and stimulating. The following paragraphs illustrate the common sense that characterizes the entire book: "In considering fitness and appropriateness the Christian recognizes differences in music and in audiences. He knows that a concert audience is a gathering of persons with similar tastes but with varied religious beliefs, while a church congregation is a gathering of persons with similar religious beliefs, but who have a wide difference in musical taste. So the church, in choosing music that is fitting, will seek to avoid being too 'conformed to the world' on the one hand, and being too highbrow or above the average taste of the congregation, on the other hand. It is possible but not easy for the church to attain this fine balance between pure aesthetic pleasure and suitable religious use of music and art." —Page 58.
"Some say that they get more spiritual good from listening to music such as a Brahms symphony or a Bach cantata than they do from attending a church service. This is a confusion of values. Granted that music is thrilling and beautiful, our attitude toward worship should always rate higher in spiritual value than an artistic experience. Religion and religious experience should not be confused with the realm of art. Art may supplement religion, and should do so, but not supplant it." —Page 41.
A careful reading of Professor Hannum's book will do more than help the minister answer perplexing questions. It will also broaden his insight into the meaning and importance of beauty, as is well stated in the introduction:
"Have you ever wondered whether there is a right and wrong in music or in art? . . .
"The author hopes to open doors to the Christian whereby he may enter some new fields of enjoyment in the fine arts. Too many deny themselves the legitimate pleasures which the arts afford. If we can open our eyes to see, and sharpen our ears to hear, we will become more aware of the values in the arts waiting to en rich our lives." —Page 14.
Norval F. Pease
