EVANGELICAL THEOLOGY, Lectures on Doctrine by A. A. Hodge, The Banner of Truth Trust, 448 pages, £7.95.
Prefaced by a 33-page biography, this well-produced hardback contains 19 lectures on various doctrines of the Bible. It begins with the doctrine of God and closes with the doctrines of heaven and hell. It does not deal with all the doctrines which one would expect to be covered in a volume of systematic theology, for the lectures which make up this volume formed a series delivered to a general audience in 1886, the year of the author’s death.
As one would expect from a Professor of Theology in the nineteenth-century Princeton Seminary these lectures form, on the whole, an able presentation of the areas of doctrine which Hodge has chosen to deal with. However, for an all-round, and warmer, presentation of Christian doctrine for the general reader I am happier to recommend the same writer’s exposition of The Confession of Faith. One reason for the extra warmth of the latter book is that it makes much more use of the actual Scriptures.
In Evangelical Theology there are a number of points on which care is required. It is quite amazing for a Presbyterian minister — as Hodge was — to claim that no form of Church Government is prescribed in the Bible. He is also weak on the spiritual effects of false doctrine, Arminianism for example. In his discussion of those who were baptised as children coming to the Lord’s Table one misses a clear statement that they should first be converted. Nor should one be happy with his acceptance of “long geologic ages” in the history of the world, or his acceptance of the type of text of the Bible which is used in modern versions. On another matter of detail, Hodge makes an impressively passionate attack on the omission of religion in schools; it reveals a healthier attitude to the relationship between Church and State than is common in American writers.
K. D. M.
THE NEW AGE CULT by Walter Martin, Bethany House Publishers, 144 pages.
Martin was a well-known authority and writer on the various cults which have become so plentiful in this twentieth century. He died in 1989 shortly after this book was written.
The new age is the so-called Aquarian Age, which New Agers believe is now dawning, bringing with it a period of enlightenment and peace.
Many of its roots are to be found in Hinduism with its belief in the return of individuals to the world in further incarnations to work off the bad deeds of previous lifetimes. The movement is also strong on the inherent divinity of man, because of its acceptance of Pantheism — the idea that there is no personal God, but that God is the sum total of everything that exists. Other roots are in the occult. Martin outlines some of the false and blasphemous doctrines of the movement and gives Scriptural answers (though one could wish that the AV was used).
It is not easy to get a clear picture of the movement; for one thing there is considerable variation in belief and emphasis. But this is the type of thought that lies behind the Greenpeace movement, the Green Party and much more. Unquestionably there is a duty before God to take a responsible attitude to His Creation, but we have to consider the philosophy which lies behind these organisations. In a generation which has cast off the whole concept of religion as a revelation from God, our society is in danger of being overwhelmed by such dangerous movements as the New Age. Martin’s book, a large-format paperback, is a useful introduction to the subject.
K.D.M.