THE JOY OF DISCOVERY IN BIBLE STUDY
Olettd Wald, Augsberg Publishing House, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1975, 96 pages, $2.50, paper.
THE JOY OF TEACHING DISCOVERY BIBLE STUDY
Oletta Wald, Augsberg Publishing House, 96 pages, $2.95, paper.
These companion books introduce the reader to the steps to follow in an inductive study of the Bible a process the author prefers to call discovery Bible study—and how to teach that method of personal Bible study to others. Far too many are merely accepting the diet of Scripture served up to them by others, when they could be feeding themselves and finding joy in doing so. These inexpensive books can help you to do just that.
Russell Holt
CELEBRATION OF DISCIPLINE
Richard J. Foster, San Francisco, Harper & Row, 1978, $7.95.
Foster, pastor of the Newberg, Oregon, Friends church, is not an anachronism. His book is not a call to medieval monasticism but to an adventure in spiritual growth in the midst of normal daily activities. It is an answer to the threat modern Western man sees in the fall of his gods of materialism.
The book's structure consists of three balanced parts dealing with inward, Outward, and corporate (church body) discipline. Each of these is covered in four subdivisions.
The chapter on fasting illustrates Foster's treatment of inward discipline. The author is aware that fasting can have beneficial physical effects, but his goal is neither physical nor political (i.e., hunger strikes). "Biblical fasting always centers on spiritual purposes," he writes. In addition, a chapter in this section giving suggestions for study habits can be extremely helpful to clergy.
Two sentences summarize his treatment of simplicity in the section on outward discipline: "Because we lack a divine center our need for security has led us into an insane attachment to things. We must clearly understand that the lust for affluence in contemporary society is psychotic."
Chapter 12 is useful for any church. Here Foster calls for a careful balance of the Spirit's guidance tempered with corporate discernment. It is not in democratic planning, he says, but in a loving community that this is found. Joy and freedom will be the outworking of God's grace in the disciplined life.
Lester Bennett
FOR BETTER, FOR WORSE—A PREMARITAL CHECKLIST
John M. Drescher, Beacon Hill Press, Kansas City, Missouri, 1979, 32 pages, $1.00.
This booklet is designed to assist those seriously contemplating marriage to think through key areas of concern that have much to do with happiness following marriage. It consists of 61 topics for discussion everything from friends, family, and career goals to money, sex, and religion. It may not be possible to fully understand what marriage involves prior to marriage itself, but couples who honestly cover the items included here ought to have few unwanted surprises.
The checklist can serve equally well as a couple's own self-evaluation instrument, as material for a pastor or counselor to use in his work with about-to-be-marrieds, or as the basis for group premarriage counseling sessions.
Russell Holt
ISLAM RECONSIDERED
Kenneth Oster, Exposition Press, Hicksville, N.Y., 1979, 131 pages, $7.50.
From age to age books have appeared that might be said to be called forth by the times. Islam Reconsidered, by Dr. Kenneth Oster, is a book for the times.
We are living today during a great rejuvenation of Islam. Thirteen centuries ago the world was shaken by its birth, and history changed in great areas of Western civilization. Islam has had periods when immense religious energy was displayed. It is an aggressive faith, as is the civilization that goes with it. Yet, in spite of a growing awareness of Islam among people of the West who find themselves more and more dependent on oil controlled by Islamic nations, many have only a general understanding of the barest outline of its history.
Oster's book is brief, but every page is packed with important material. The author has spent a great deal of his life in an Islamic environment. He is well acquainted with the languages of Islam. With strong historic understanding he describes the world before Islam, especially the pre-Islamic Middle East. For all Bible believers, and especially for ministers and Bible students, he has a very valuable section on prophetic-historic detail. The roots of modern Islam are clearly exhibited, and the section on Moslem theology and the five articles of Islamic faith is very important, as is also the explanation of the crucial difficulties between Moslems and Christians.
The appendix covers three especially significant areas: first, ethnological table of nations; second, chronology of events; third, a table of Mohammed's genealogy—followed by an excellent bibliography and index. A series of maps show the spread of Islam, its greatest extent, its reduction somewhat for about a thousand years, and now its modern movement to push out on all sides.
Every minister and gospel worker should own this book, study it carefully, and really master its contents. It has appeared just when it is needed.
H. M. S. Richards
