RECORDS OF THE SCOTTISH CHURCH HISTORY SOCIETY :
THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN SCOTLAND, by Rev. W. J. Couper, M.A.
This is the second volume of the Records of the Scottish Church History Society. It contains a brief history of each of the Reformed Presbyterian congregations until the union in 1876 with the Free Church. There are also interesting biographical sketches given of the ministers of the Reformed Presbyterian Church from the Rev. John Macmillan down to 1876, with brief notices of probationers and students. Among some of the outstanding names may be mentioned the brothers
Symington, J. H. Thomson, Dr Easton, and the South Sea missionaries, Dr Inglis, Dr John G. Paton, and Joseph Copeland. The Reformed Presbyterians had their own difficulties to begin with as far as ministerial supply was concerned, and when at length the Rev. John Macmillan became their minister, their troubles did not end. The volume tells the story under the two-fold division of congregations and ministers, and enters into matters of detail that could not be dealt with by Hutchison in his “History of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in Scotland.” The Union of 1876, with its very questionable “quoad civilia” Synod, or, as it was more appropriately termed, the “L. S. D. Synod,” which met once a year as a matter of form without transacting any ecclesiastical business, in order that it might take over and hold the property of the uniting congregations for the Free Church, can scarcely be thought of by right-thinking men as one of the glories of union movements in Scotland, and it has often been a question with us how the Free Church of 1876 ever countenanced such an arrangement. These Churches were designated “Martyr” Churches, and were handed over with legal right to the United Free Church by the Church Act of 1905. Mr Couper has done for the Reformed Presbyterian Church what Dr Hew Scott did for the Church of Scotland; MacKelvie and Small for the United Presbyterian; Ewing for the Free Church, and Scott for the Original Secession Church.
THE DOCTRINES OF MODERNISM: ITS BELIEFS AND MIS-BELIEFS WEIGHED AND ANALYSED, by Leander S. Keyser, D.D., Prof. of Systematic Theology in Hamma Divinity School, Springfield, Ohio, U.S.A. Chicago: Bible Institute Colportage Association, 826 North La Salle Street. Paper covers. Price 40 cents.
Dr Keyser has done excellent work in issuing this booklet to the public. It contains four papers—”A Modernist’s View of the Bible (Harry E. Fosdick)”; “A Translation of the Old Testament (James Moffatt)”; “The Faith of Modernism (Shailer Mathews)”; and “Modernism and Evangelical Christianity,” in which he exposes the betrayal by Modernist writers of the faith once delivered to the saints. Dr Keyser is a loyal Believer in the Bible as the Word of God, and his criticisms are those of a well-equipped theologian and learned scholar. His method is to treat his opponents with fairness, but this does not make his criticisms any the less trenchant and telling when he attacks their
positions. The paper on Dr Moffatt’s new translation of the Old Testament is a thorough piece of work, and we purpose giving in a future issue extracts from it, so that our readers may know what a dishonour has been done to the Old Testament Scriptures by this greatly belauded so-called translation.
FOUNDATION TRUTHS OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH. London: Sovereign Grace Union, 98 Camberwell Grove, S.E. 5. Price 1s. Paper covers.
This little book consists of a series of papers read at the Annual Conference of the Sovereign Grace Union. All the papers, as was to be expected, are sound and scriptural on the great doctrines they deal with, viz.:—The absolute sufficiency of Scripture, the Trinity, God’s Sovereignty, the Person of Christ, the Personality of the Holy Ghost, the Fall of Man, Unconditional Election, Particular Redemption, Effectual Calling, Justification, Final Preservation, etc. Some of the papers are excellent, but all are worth reading. The booklet is well printed and got up, and does credit to the publishers.
SCRIPTURE TEXT ALMANACS.—Messrs Pickering and Inglis, Bothwell Street, Glasgow, have issued, as in former years, their series of Scripture Text Almanacs at prices ranging from one penny to one and sixpence each. They are very tastefully got up, and the prices are very reasonable.