Recommended Reading

Two recent volumes by church scholars deserve attention Gerhard Hasel leads readers through the sometimes perplexing maze of Biblical hermeneutics, while William Johnsson explores Christian baptism.

Monthly book reviews by various authors.

Understanding the Living Word of God

Gerhard F. Hasel, Pacific Press, Mountain View, California, 1980, 256 pages, $7.95.

Ministers who take seriously the task of Biblical interpretation and preaching continually face the challenge of charting a course through the complexities of the Biblical text itself, as well as the sometimes bewildering work of commentators thereon. The advances in Biblical scholar ship over the past century have been nothing short of phenomenal, and the wise minister desires to make use of them. But how? Gerhard Hasel, professor of Old Testament at Andrews University, has provided a convenient orientation both to the method and theory of scriptural exegesis. Up-to-date and informative, Hasel discusses most of the contemporary exegetical theories, critiques them from a conservative theological perspective, and provides actual textual examples of proper exegesis.

Beginning with the current crisis in Biblical authority, Hasel then reviews certain barriers interposing themselves between the modern reader and Scripture: language, customs, chronology. His exegetical method, set forth in the next several chapters, commences with a commitment to an inspired, authentic Bible, and consists of three major steps: (1) determination of the meaning of the writer for his own original hearers/readers; (2) comprehension and exposition of the deeper meaning intended or implicit in the words of the writer; and (3) translation of the content and form of the Bible to people today.

These steps are carried out by concentrating on the Biblical text (textual criticism), small units within the passage (words and phrases), larger units (literary sections), and finally, whole books.

While guiding his reader surefootedly through the maze of the present discussion of Biblical hermeneutics, Hasel incorporates numerous insights of an archeological, theological, and practical nature, enhancing the volume as a working tool for the pastor.—Jerry A. Gladson.

Clean! The Meaning of Christian Baptism

William G. Johnsson, Southern Publishing Association, Nashville, Tennessee, 1980, 96 pages, $4.95, paper.

Every Christian should take time to examine the symbols and ceremonies that have become a part of the expression of his faith. If he fails to do so, the symbols his forebears found rich in meaning will be reduced to mere ritual and thus emptied of their significance.

In Clean! The Meaning of Christian Baptism, Johnsson explores this primary Christian symbol and attempts to show what it can mean for both the religious and nonreligious person today. Johnsson sets baptism in the context of God's offer of cleansing—His answer to a basic emotional and spiritual need felt by people of all times and all religions. While baptism is not magical, the author insists that it is more than "just a symbol." It is an eloquent expression of God's action and our response. And "only by the doing can we enter into the full reality of the truths this symbol conveys."

Clean! The Meaning of Christian Baptism is a fresh, readable study that will take many pastors beyond their current under standing of baptism. Johnsson is presently associate editor of the Adventist Review. —Bradford Brookins.

Home Grown Kids

Raymond and Dorothy Moore, Word, Inc., Waco, Texas 76703, 1981, 252 pages, $9.95.

This is a book for parents who are frustrated by the demand to raise secure, self-reliant children, but are never shown how to do it.

Many ministers don't relate the home and school to evangelism, but it just may be the most important of all, state the authors, for a child's early years determine how he values himself as a person and a child of God. This in turn determines his ability to relate well with others and to accept God's love.

Called by Dr. James Dobson "a key book for families that care," it gives practical suggestions on most problems that parents will face.

This book takes the child from before birth through "the reasoning sevens, eights, and nines." For most families the child's best early school is his own home with his parents as the teachers. Parenting should be a joy, not a daily battle for obedience, the authors assert, and share a lifetime of hints gained from their expertise first as parents, then as teachers, researchers, and counselors to help parents enjoy their children even as they guide them into a well-rounded Christian life.—Penny Wheeler.

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

Paul Brand and Philip Yancy, "Landsman Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49506, 1980, 214 pages, $8.95.

The authors, a Christian surgeon and a free-lance writer, examine the human body and the spiritual body and come up with some fascinating comparisons. They probe deeply into the world of cells, bones, skin, and motion to show that the human body aptly illustrates Paul's declaration that the body of Christ, although composed of many diverse parts, consists of one unified whole.

In short, picturesque chapters, scientific data is explained in understandable language to provide spiritual comparisons and illustrations. Insight into the cellular structure of the body, how our bones serve not to restrict us but to free us, contrasts of the human skeleton versus the exoskeleton of creatures—all help to illustrate the delicate balance between law and grace. —Jerry Lastine


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Monthly book reviews by various authors.

August 1981

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More Articles In This Issue

Rightly handling the Word of Truth

Emphasizing only one aspect of a Biblical truth will result in a distorted picture. Arthur J. Ferch pointedly describes the responsibility of the preacher to present God's Word in a balanced manner that takes into consideration all phases of truth.

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What is sacrifice?

If sacrifice means the giving of things, then a total sacrifice would mean a zero balance. But giving everything we have would place us in the position of having nothing, of being worthless to others.

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The Biblical prophet made a significant impact on his society both by word and deed. Should not God's twentieth-century spokesmen also have a similar impact on their surroundings? A closer look at the prophetic model of ministry provides us with a pattern worth emulating.

Harnessing volunteer evangelists

Standing back and letting lay members stumble through an evangelistic series may be difficult for pastors, but a "hands-on" approach to learning soul winning is the most effective. W. B. Quigley interviewed Brad Thorp, British Columbia Conference evangelist, and found this theory being put to the test there.

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Faced with the quandary of wanting to make a call for campers to surrender their lives to Christ, yet knowing the problems of peer pressure, the author came up with a simple, but effective, solution.

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Because of the pressures brought to bear by competing special-interest groups, the church leader today is tempted to yield to rationalization in arriving at decisions. But the honest administrator or church pastor must have reasons for each position he takes, based on objective evaluation and divine guidance. Then he must courageously go forward.

Concerns of 24 pastors

In March, twenty-four pastors met with church officials in Washington, D.C., to express the concerns of the local pastor. Although they came from different types of churches, their ideas were remarkably similar.

Health-giving doctrine

Personal faith, when put into practice, should produce a life that is characterized in psychological terms as "healthy" and "whole-making." Religious principles and sound mental health go hand in hand.

Elephantine papyri and Daniel 8:14

Was Artaxerxes decree to rebuild Jerusalem given in the year 457 B.C.? Some old papyri, stored in the bottom of a trunk until 1 947, provide helpful information regarding the beginning of the 2300 days/years.

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