Book Reviews

Table of Contents
PSYCHOLOGY AS RELIGION: The Cult of Self Worship by Paul C. Vitz. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1977.
THE HUMAN PUZZLE: Psychological Research and Christian Belief by David G. Myers, New York: Harper and Row, 1978, 278 pages (including index), $5.95.
THE ROAD OF SCIENCE AND THE WAYS TO GOD by Stanley L. Jaki, Chicago: The Uiversity of Chicago Press, 1978, vii + 478 pp. $8.95 paper, $21.00 cloth.
CREATION/EVOLUTION Issue 1 quarterly issue, . Frederick Edwords, Editor, 953 Eight Ave., Suite 209, San Diego, CA 92101. Summer 1980. 40 pp. $8.00/annual subscription.
PSYCHOLOGY FROM A CHRISTIAN PERSPEC TIVE by Ronald L. Koteskey, Abingdon, Nashville, 1980, 175 pp., $5.95, Paperback.
THE GIFT OF DREAMS: A CHRISTIAN VIEW by Kathryn Lindskoog, Harper and Row (1079). 202 pages. $7.95
PENTECOSTAL GRACE, by Laurence W. Wood. Wilmore, Kentucky: Francis Asbury Publishing Co., 1980. 276 pp., $8.95.
OUT OF THE SALTSHAKER AND INTO THE WORLD by Rebecca Manley Pippert, Downers Grove, Illinois: inter-Varsity Press, 1979. 188 pages. Paperback. $3.95.

PSYCHOLOGY AS RELIGION: The Cult of Self Worship by Paul C. Vitz. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1977.

In Future of An Illusion, Freud tried to explain religious beliefs as our neurotic attempts to satisfy psychological needs. Ironically these many years later we find a writer with intellectual roots in Freud arguing that modern humanistic psychology has evolved a certain view of man in order to satisfy religious needs. This came about because secular thought has done away with the transcendent Creator God, thereby destroying ultimate meaning. This present world view begins and ends with man, creating a philosophy of life called "selfism" by Vitz.

The title of the book seems to indict the whole of psychology. However Vitz zeroes in upon four major theorists: Fromm, Rogers, Maslow, and Rollo May, as well as encounter groups of various types. His main thrust appears to be against what in therapeutic psychology could be called Humanistic-Experiential-ExistentiaI psychology. The book, especially helpful in critiquing these belief systems, also touches upon beliefs common to the religion of "scientism" in general. Psychologists in the domains of experimental and social psychology also make assumptions or faith commitments about the world but they are not covered in this volume.

The book analyzes selfism by closely inspecting its theory and its goals, which Vitz finds as anti-God and based upon the theory that individuals are purely good. A result of this emphasis upon actualization and innate goodness is the denial of aggression and self-centeredness in ourselves. The "Me" generation wants a psychology that attributes goodness to the individual and destructiveness to society or some "other" who influences the individual. Selfism totally fails to deal with evil and destructiveness in the world and in humanity. Vitz's more classic Freudian though runs through the book, calling upon us to recall the aggressive side of our nature and to come to grips with our inherent problems with socialization. In this regard, the book speaks forcefully and biblically. Vitz uses excellent illustrations and quotations, exposing the religious bases of selfism with clarity.

Author Vitz does a good job connecting the phenomenon of selfism and its social consequences. He suggests that by living only for Ourselves, our society has increased alienation, superficiality, and problems with intimacy. Stimulation is the goal. As we use each other as objects for self gratification, love and intimacy become pain. Risks and vulnerability are assumed to lead inevitably to hurt. We conclude that lovers are fools and commitments are irrational. He challenges the Christian community to fill the emptiness in people's lives with the thoughtful presentation of the Gospel and the living out of Christ's love.

Psychology As Religion is a timely and thought provoking book. I suspect that in my early graduate school days I may have bristled at Vitz's attack on humanistic psychology. I heard a number of simplistic "Christian" responses to the major psychological schools of thought. This book, however, is no simplistic reaction. It speaks convincingly of its thesis: that much of therapeutic psychology has quite literally become a religious system, explaining everything from epistemology to ultimate meaning. It calls upon the proselyte to adopt its creed and take instruction from its priests.

On occasion, I sensed frustration and anger expressed between the lines-the kind of feelings I sometimes have when I see Christians being ridiculed and rejected as "dogmatic" by "open-minded" self-described humanists. Having matriculated through a secular graduate program and work setting, I am thankful to author Vitz for articulating the religious nature of certain psychologies. This book deserves wide reading, having a number of applications as a textbook. Psychology As Religion should be in your hands if you are in the field of psychology.

Reviewed by Dale Simpson, Director of Counseling Services, P.O. Box 48, 501 University Drive, College Station, Texas 77840.

THE HUMAN PUZZLE: Psychological Research and Christian Belief by David G. Myers, New York: Harper and Row, 1978, 278 pages (including index), $5.95.

This is the first volume in a series jointly sponsored by Harper and Row and the Christian Association for Psychological Studies entitled "Christian Perspectives on Counseling and the Behavioral Sciences." The series title is somewhat inappropriate in regard to this initial book in that the volume makes only passing reference to applied psychology. At most, reference is made to church life and Christian education rather than counseling. instead the author directs his attention primarily to basic psychological research and Christian belief.

The book is addressed to two audiences. On the one hand Myers writes for the lay public and undergraduate students who may have interest in the interrelationships among religion and the social/ behavioral sciences. In this endeavor he has attempted to distill research without popularizing or over simplifying it. On the other hand, Myers writes for his colleagues in psychology and theology who, likewise, may be involved in relating the two disciplines. My impression is that he succeeds moderately, but not admirably in his intentions. He reports that a critic who commented after reading one of the chapters suggested that his examples and reports of specific studies were easy to remember while his conclusions and arguments were less memorable. I'm inclined to agree. The material has a "spotty" quality to it. The reader is not always clear as to how Myers is relating the two disciplines or whether the chapters build on one another. The substansive sections often fell like quotations tied together with mundane comments. Yet, the concrete illustrations are intriguing, well chosen, clearly presented and not easy to forget.

There are five sections to the book: Human Nature, Mind and Body, Behavior and Belief; Superstition and
Prayer, and the Mystery of Freedom. These issues are developed in ten chapters in each of which psychological
and perspectives are discussed. This structure ti be more topical than developmental. In fact, Myers admits that most of the material was included in periodic lectures delivered on selected college campuses.

However these stylistic comments do not detract in the least from the basic soundness of the research so aptly utilized by Meyers in building his presentation of the human being perceived  through the eyes of psychology. The author knows the field and is uniquely skilled in organizing conclusions as widely ranging as those pertaining to the effects of behaving on believing, on the one hand, and perceptions of causation in the self and others, on the other hand.

The theology he espouses is well informed by basic Calvanism, considered piety and biblical understanding.
Few can find fault with his firm commitment to a responsible presentation of the Christian faith. It matches the quality of his psychology even if, at times, the relationship of faith to science is unclear. This leads him, on occasion, to present  psychology and theology as completely disparate and to seemingly, make no effort to resolve the differences. This tendency is seen most poignantly in the discussion of superstitious behavior and prayer. It is not
enough to call for a balanced maturity in praying (for example and confession as well as petition). Myers simply leaves undiscussed the devastating impact of the research on the human tendency toward control and percei,6 ed causation even when events are unpredictable and and the question of whether God ever answers prayers. It is not a question of whether these issues can be resolved. Myers gives the impression that he has dealt with them when he has simply left the reader confused.

However, he is to be commended in not avoiding the hard issue of the interrelationship of psychology and theology. He tackles some of the enduring concerns. His introductory chapters on religion and science provide a well considered foundation for any who would undertake seriously the task of integration.

In sum, The Human Puzzle is a complex, noteworthy, if somewhat scattered approach to the burgeoning field of interest in the interrelationships of the Christian faith and the social/behavioral sciences. It raises as many questions as it answers but, in all fairness, it should be said that the author admits that this is so and perceives himself as raising issues more than providing final solutions. Readers will look in vain for the development of a thematic perspective across the chapters of the book but will find within individual sections intriguing reports of research and genuine discussions of theology. In many ways these discussions are seminal and provide the basis for much future dialogue. This volume will take its places as a provocative beginning for what promises to be a very worthwhile collaboration between CAPS and Harper and Row.

Reviewed by H. Newton Malony, Professor of Psychology, Graduate School of Psychology, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California 91101.

THE ROAD OF SCIENCE AND THE WAYS TO GOD by Stanley L. Jaki, Chicago: The Uiversity of Chicago Press, 1978, vii + 478 pp. $8.95 paper, $21 . 00 cloth.

Although science is traditionally viewed as hostile or at best neutral toward religion, a school of historians has emerged in the last half century which asserts that religious factors were central to the 17th century "break through" in scientific thought. Whitehead, Merton, Raven, Collingwood and, more recently, Hooykas, Klaaren and Jakob are among those who support this view.

In The Road of Science and The Way To God, Stanley L. Jaki, holder of doctorates in physics and theology, expands this perspective through an analysis of the thought of major figures in the lineage of science ranging from the Greek philosophers to Einstein and Kuhn. For Jaki, "the birth of science came only when the seeds of science were planted in a soil which Christian faith in God made receptive to natural theology and to the epistemology implied in it." The transition from the first viable birth to maturity was made "in a perspective which was germane to natural theology and which was instinctively adopted by Newton [who was] chiefly responsible for completing that transition." The philosophical developments of the 18th and 19th centuries, "all hostile to natural theology," are seen as forcing science into its great historical blind alleys." Then, in modern times, Planck and Einstein emerge with an "acceptable" epistemology to lead the scientific community back to the "forward road of science."

The heart of Jaki's thought is found in natural theology- "the ascertaining by the light of reason the existence of God, or in short, the proofs." Consistent with "the proofs" are a realistic epistemology and ontology. Jaki's view of science is singleminded: attacks on the traditional proofs of the existence of God reflected on what is the ultimate in intelligibility and being and, therefore, were attacks on science "whenever their principal presuppositons were rigorously and consistently applied in scientific methodology and historiography."

In seeking to demonstrate a single intellectual direction forming both the road of science and the ways to God, Jaki sets out a difficult course, one that will find little support outside the church and some hesitance within. One is asked not only to view science from "the eye of faith" but with a "thomistic" eye.

Jaki finds his fellow historians wanting for paying attention to details rather than considering the effect of the metaphysical currents of the time on scientific thought. His own effort results in a fascinating, wide-ranging account of the men and the times. He pursues his task with vigor and incisiveness and with a flow of language which is both clear and interesting. The book will be of value to the general reader regardless of his view of Jaki's central position.

In the course of his discussion Jaki neatly dissects a number of scientific "Sacred Cows" both past and present. He is particularly effective in the chapter "The Horns of Complementarity. " In expounding the philosophy of quantum mechanics Niels Bohr concluded that nature was inevitability irrational (in effect renouncing causality). Something of reason could be saved only when discourse was limited to "aspects" of reality (complementarity) thus barring questions about reality and its objective existence. Jaki aptly demonstrates that this view results in the end of philosophy and science.

It appears inevitable that an effort to equate good science with good epistemology and good natural theology would lead to difficulties, especially as one goes further back in the historical record. Specialists in history and philosophy may well challenge particular interpretations and characterizations or indicate omissions harmful to the cause. It is surprising that the critical English period from 1640-1680 is virtually ignored by the author whereas many students of that period provide support for Jaki's thesis. 

Jaki is occasionally forced "to save the appearances" by smoothing over a deficient theology or even atheism (Planck, Einstein) when an agreeable epistemology appears. Good theology has not always resulted in good science. In fact it has been, at times, opposed to science. Jaki may be asking too much of us when he presses the entire history of science to prove his case. The major efforts to establish a relationship in 17th century England have not been received uncritically in spite of the fact that this historical moment appears to have the right ingredients.

Despite clear writing on specific topics the author tends to obscure certain basic themes. Science is never clearly defined; natural theology becomes a collection of abstract terms along with the "proofs." In addition, it would have been helpful to develop a biblical-theological base for the realistic epistemology and ontology essential to his argument.

In the end, good theology, good epistemology and good science stand together, Until that point, science appears destined to move ahead indifferent to theology and philosophy, unconsciously feeding upon the methaphysical traditions of the past.

For those whose theology does not hold that man through "his intellect and will can stretch across the universe to God" there remains a richness of relationship wherein theistic presuppositions provide a base for doing science. While Jaki may not convert many readers to his position, this analysis of the men of science and their times adds further support to the notion that metaphysics precedes action even though the metaphysics is unconscously borrowed.

Reviewed by John W. Haas, Jr., Department of Chemistry Gordon College, Wenham, Massachusetts 01984.

CREATION/EVOLUTION Issue 1 quarterly issue, . Frederick Edwords, Editor, 953 Eight Ave., Suite 209, San Diago, CA 92101. Summer 1980. 40 pp. $8.00/annual subscription

Thvaites critically reviews, Biology: A Search For Order In Complexity by Moore and Slusher. Despite "the oft stated purpose of the book-the exploration of alternative 'models'_.the book misses the mark as to what science is all about because "co-editor Moore unequivocally states (in the preface) that 'true science' consists of presentine the raw data 'as it is,' " which is "a direct contradiction of their aforementioned purpose ... .. The real aim of
the book seems to be the making of slanderous attacks on evolution and evolutionists." For example, population
genetics is incomprehensibly dispatched in slightly over one page in pseudoscientific double-talk. Thwaites feels "that the authors, because they fully understand the extreme frailty of their model, have chosen to discredit evolution rather than make any case for creation." "in addition to muddling the facts, the authors make serious errors," Thwaites argues. "The director of curriculum development at the Institute for Creation Research has publicly stated that this book is an embarrassment to many creationists because of the large number of errors it contains." Thwaites lists several flaws in reasoning in the section, "Difficulties With the Geologic Timetable." "First, there is no known way of assigning a complexity index to any organism." "Next, it is obvious that the strata could be ordered correctly even if the index fossils showed no apparent complexity gradient at all. " One assumption needed would be that a fossil confined to one type of stratum "enjoyed wide distribution during one period of time." Only one more assumption needed is "that most deposits are found right-side up." Thwaites concludes "that creationist claims of circular reasoning" (allegedly used by evolutionists in the case of index fossils) "are possibly pure subterfuge, or they may indicate an incredible lack of common sense."

In one of the two comprehensive lead articles, Fred Edwords presents the case for "Why Creationism Should Not Be Taught As Science" on the basis of legal objections, which he calls "an air-tight case." Fred Edwords has also "lectured and debated widely on the creation/evolution issue, has designed a two-model slide show on the subject, and is Administrator of the American Humanist Association." He explores the history of the legal conflict. "Even though the legislative track record of creationists was poor (they never won a constitutional battle), they had an impressive long-term success in convincing teachers and publishers to soft-pedal evolution," until the reawakening in science education in the 1960's. Previous unsuccessful tactics of creationists were antiscience, efforts to ban evolution, and purely religious invective. "Their new tactic is to declare creationism scientific," and acceptable to science curricula and textbooks by hiding the fact that the Bible is the source. However, Edwords contends that "creationists have been rather clumsy in sticking to their new tactic of secularizing creationism by avoiding a clear exposition of their own model and in concentrating their attack on evolution or on any science of origins which doesn't give creationism equal time as an alternative scientific view or an excluded religion." Edwords presents the legal case against creationism.

Those on both sides who have really looked into the matter can see hopeless flaws in the legal case for creationism. Right off the bat is starts out with a basic contradiction. First the creationists try to define science so narrowly that it leaves out evolution. This renders evolution a religion, right along with creation. Then they try to so broadly define science curriculum that it allows both 'religions' to be taught in a scientific context. Putting it another way, creationists demand equal time for creation on religious grounds, so they can get it into schools, and then demand equal time on science grounds, so they can get science instructors to teach it! ... The banning of evolution on religious grounds has the unenviable legal status of being totally unconstitutional.

After discussing a released time plan and admitting to its weakness, Edwords backs down when he states, "Probably the best solution would be to set aside one science class (for conscientious objectors) wherein origins would not be discussed at all (which is what most creationists really want). Such a plan would effectively remove all 'offense' and 'burden on free exercise,' while still leaving the rest of the students free to learn a complete science." This compromises his position in view of his statements that, "Students cannot be adequately prepared for scientific careers if they are left in the dark about"... evolution as the great unifying principle of science. "And if it is 'balanced' with a non-scientific theory (creationism), then they will get an inaccurate picture of science and be misled into believing there is a significant split of opinion among scientists on the issue, when there is not."

In his conclusion, Edwords states, "It's not the business of the legislature to determine what is and is not science. This task belongs to the scientific community." Creationists "have made little effort to work through the scientific community, to participate in the peer review of the journals, to do more than just token field research." if evolution is a religion, creationists will have to prove that "using scientific means, submitting their arguments to peer review, and actually showing that evolution is untestable and non-scientific in nature." Finally, Edwords calls for scientists to inform the public of the facts.

The public never fully accepted evolution. We can study the creationist arguments to learn where evolution is being misunderstood or feared. We can then tell the public why scientist accept evolution, instead of telling them merely that they do. We can improve the public relations of science in general, and thereby bring it back into respect. Respect for science in America is waning. The popularity of both creationism and mysticism are symptomatic of it.

In a future issue Fred Edwords will explore the Educational Issues in Part 2 of his article.

In the second feature article Christopher Gregory Weber points out "The Fatal Flaws of Flood Geology." He is a computer programmer and amateur geologist who has followed the creation/evolution controversy for seven years. After summarizing the flood geology model, Weber shows its inability to explain desert deposits, fossil forests, facts about the heterogeneity and uneven distribution of sediments and sedimentary rocks in the earth's crust, the bouyancy of granite slabs of continental crusts on the earth's viscous mantle, the growth of coral reefs with their heterogeneous structures, ocean terraces containing fossilbearing marine conglomerates, the slow formation of shales and evaporites, and fossil species which are extinct. In presenting geological evidence alongside details of the evidence presented by flood geologists, Weber argues that creationists play fast and loose with the facts. He admits that his initial article "covered a small sample of the many types of geological evidence that flood geology cannot easily explain." He is persuaded "that flood geology is totally erroneous." In spite of attacks on orthodox geology by flood geologists, they "misunderstand the nature of sedimentary facies, and there is plenty of physical evidence having nothing to do with fossils that the Lewis Overthrust is genuine. Creationists often quote their sources badly out of context, sources that prove thrust faulting is very real.'9 "But it will have to be the task of a future article to investigate these and other alleged difficulties in detail." Weber concludes, "For now, it is sufficient to say there are fatal flaws in the creationist flood geology model, flaws that render it inadequate to scientifically support the Flood or tell us anything about the age of the earth."

In addition to those already mentioned, other articles for future issues of CreationlEvolution include: "Are scientific creation and evolution testable theories? Are they both religious theories?" "Have creationists abused the second law of thermodynamics?" "Dating methods: Is the universe really only 10,000 years old?" "Are transitional forms really found in the fossil record?" "Is evolution statistically possible?" "Are there really human footprints found in dinosaur strata? Did man and dinosaur walk the earth together?" "Did life evolve by random processes or was it uniquely designed? What does the evidence show?" Anyone interested in these questions will enjoy future issues of this journal, and anyone interested in this ongoing controversy should not miss out on stimulating reading from this new perspective.

Reviewed by Jerry D. Albert, Research Biochemist, Mercy Hospital Medical Research Facility, San Diego, CA 92103.

PSYCHOLOGY FROM A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE by Ronald L. Koteskey, Abingdon, Nashville, 1980, 175 pp., $5.95, Paperback.

This book contains a discussion of the main areas of psychology reinterpreted from a Christian perspective. The author believes that the various systems of psychology, when placed within a Christian perspective, are complementary rather than conflicting. According to Koteskey, psychology is fragmented and can be integrated only by placing its schools of thought into a Christian world view.

The author recommends that psychologists and Christians drop their defenses. The dichotomy between the two is artificial and should be eliminated. Christianity is the umbrella which can bring unity to the various aspects of psychology and even provoke previously unasked questions. Ultimately, a Christian psychology seeks to better understand God and his creation thereby enabling humans be become more like God.

Five popular systems in American psychology are discussed (structuralism, functionalism, psychoanalysis, Gestalt psychology, and behaviorism) with their contribution to Christianity highlighted. A scheme from Francis Schaeffer is used in showing a relationship between God and the various orders of God's creation. This paradigm states that humans are finite, created beings who are similar to animals and God in some ways while different from them in other ways. In keeping with this scheme, adjustment is defined as being like God while maladjustment is being unlike God. Although the model chosen by Koteskey is simple and obvious, he deserves a great deal of credit for illustrating it in the areas of psychology.

Written for those who want to develop a Christian perspective on psychology, Koteskey cautions that his is not a finished system. He asks for positive alternatives, not criticism. General psychology students, who are the primary targets of this book, will not benefit from much of it. It is over their heads. For the psychology major, the book will provide a challenge at synthesis while for the professional, it will provide fresh insight into an old discussion.

Seven of the eleven chapters have been published before in journals. The author is professor of psychology at Asbury College.

Reviewed by Richard Ruble, Department of Psychology, John Brown University, Siloam Springs, Arkansas 72761.

THE GIFT OF DREAMS: A CHRISTIAN VIEW by Kathryn Lindskoog, Harper and Row (1079). 202 pages. $7.95

Perhaps the most superstitious ground an evangelical Christian walks on is that belonging to the world of dreams. Dismissing a valuable asset, Christians tend to either over-mysticize or completely secularize their dream life. The Gift of Dreams has thrown a bright (and funny) light on the scary, never-mentioned-because-you-might-be- entertaining-demons, world of the night life.

The book reveals both an intense interest by Lindskoog (who has dutifully recorded her own dreams for the past 25 years), and a comprehensive overview of every major dream expert from Freud to Progoff. As Kirkus Reviews stated though, "In the end, it is Lindskoog's personality warm, bright, witty, slightly scatterbrained . . . that structures the book and makes it go."

Lindskoog succeeds very well in addressing her book to Christians who have never regarded their dream life as a gift to enjoy and use as a tool for personal growth, as well as to those who are well versed in the subject. It is an adventure to explore, without trepidation, the mysteries of our own humanity. Lindskoog's view of dreaming will set a precedent for more books, as she boldly and with a great sense of humor, challenges the Newtonian world view and dares cum gratia to meld the "irrational" aspects of life (dreams, precognition, etc.), with the rigors of a detailed study of all the available data on dreams. While her book is not exhaustive, it is certainly not boring.

A common objection to the book is the way she flits from dream to dream (including those of C.S. Lewis, Hitler, Dag Hammarskjold, as well as her own), and from author to author (Aristotle, Thomas Merton, the Talmud), but the content is rich enough, the humor wry enough, to keep one thirsting for more.

Again to quote Kirkus Reviews, "(the book is) Quirky, lively, absorbing."

Reviewed by Elizabeth Waggoner, Board Member, Coordinatorfor Orange Cty; Evangelical Womens Caucus, (Southwest Chapter), 26691 Las Ondas Mission Viejo, California 92692

PENTECOSTAL GRACE, by Laurence W. Wood. Wilmore, Kentucky: Francis Asbury Publishing Co., 1980. 276 pp., $8.95.

Laurence W. Wood teaches systematic theology at Asbury Seminary and has recently served as President of the Wesleyan Theological Society. Knowing the author's professional affiliations should provide a hint as to what to expect in his book if the title is not all that revealing.

This is not another discussion of the charismatic gifts of the Spirit, which many immediately associate with any mention of Pentecost. For Wood, Pentecost has a more fundamental theological significance. This is apparent from the thesis of the book, which is "that the Wesleyan doctrine of Christian perfection can be best understood in the light of the Exodus-Conquest, Resurrection-Pentecost events of salvation history" (p. 13).

Such an understanding of Pentecost rules out any tendency to interpret it as an isolated event. Old Testament background is obviously important since Pentecost is seen as the New Covenant fulfillment of the conquest. Just as the Exodus prefigured the resurrection of Jesus, so the conquest of Canaan prefigured the spiritual reality to come at Pentecost. Moreover, Resurrection-Pentecost, like Exodus-Conquest, are two stages of a larger whole, and are to be understood in that relation.

Thus, a considerable amount of stage-setting must be done if the deeper significance of Pentecost is to be appreciated. Wood sets the stage by painstaking exegesis of key passages in both Testaments. His argument here is impressive for its breadth. He builds his case by drawing on the works of Old and New Testament scholars and theologians of several persuasions, including Jewish.

While this book is sure to be welcomed by those in the Wesleyan tradition, it deserves attention from the wider Christian community as well. Chapter Seven, for instance, is devoted to pointing out the "remarkable similarity" between the Roman Catholic and Anglican doctrine of confirmation, and the Wesleyan doctrine of Christian perfection. Wood also addresses the Reformed view of baptism in the Spirit. The writings of Karl Barth and James Dunn on this subject receive detailed treatment, and large areas of agreement are indicated as well as points of difference.

Journal ASA readers will perhaps be most interested in the chapter entitled "Space-Time and a Trinitarian Concept of Grace." Here is an admirable example of maintaining the Creation/ Redemption tension, recently discussed by Richard Bube in Journal ASA (March, 1980). Wood shows why it is necessary to have a proper understanding of creation ex nihilo in order to comprehend the nature of grace. He also stresses the importance of grasping the biblical view of time, which is a synthesis of the circular view and the linear view. This illuminates not only the history of God's self-revelation, but also the sequence of grace in the lives of individual believers. These insights are particularly brought to bear on the Wesleyan position, and some of the popular misconceptions of it.

All in all, Pentecostal Grace can be enthusiastically recommended to anyone who seeks a fuller biblical-theological understanding of the Christian life. My only complaint is that several printing errors got by unnoticed, to mar this otherwise outstanding book.

Reviewed by Jerry L. Walls, STM Candidate, Yale Divinity School, New Haven, Connecticut.

Yet another book on Evangelism? Inter-Varsity staff worker, Rebecca Manley Pippert, has written a challenging book on the subject, which is a sore one with both Christians and non-Christians. This book is no simple quoting of Matt. 28:18-20, Acts 1:8, etc., followed by exhortations to get out there and do it. Nor is it a collection of simple formulas along with snappy answers to agnostic questions. Instead the author challenges the reader to see evangelism as a way of life (the subtitle of the book).

Pippert introduces the book with a couple of marvelous stories about her own early experiences trying to do Evangelism. Her point is simply this: the only people more uptight about Evangelism than non-Christians, are the Christians trying to do it. There has to be a better way and she offers a potent suggestion. The next five chapters focus on the life of Jesus in the context of seeing Him as both the message and the messenger. The author gives a clear picture both of Jesus as Lord and Jesus as Evangelist. While her contention is that we should model our own efforts after those of Christ, Pippert has not forgotten that Jesus was perfect and we are not. The next two chapters talk about God's enabling us to overcome our shortcomings (personal shyness, and inability to see beyond externalities, etc.). In the next three chapters she goes on to discuss the simple mechanics of talking with another person. Her treatment of various styles of conversation seems designed to make the reader a fisher rather than a hunter of men.

The final chapter explores the witness of Christian community. The discussion of Bible Studies is effective, but the role the local church ought to play, while not minimized, is inadequately developed. Two appendices have been included: the first is a concise outline of the Christian message together with the Scripture references associated with each point; the second is an excellent annotated bibliography.

Rebecca Manley Pippert has a simple, anecdotal style of writing which she uses to present her thesis that: "Evangelism involves taking people seriously, getting across to their island of concerns and needs, and then sharing Christ as Lord in the context of our natural living situations". Her book is not only worth reading, it is worth taking to heart.

Reviewed by Robert H. Seevers, Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109.