because of the generally trustworthy comments of the authors. Their remarks on the water-spirit baptism in John 3, 6 are weak. On John 6, on the sermon at the synagog at Capernaum, there occurs this remark: "(It should be added that although this discourse has nothing to do with the Sacrament of the Supper, the Sacrament has everything to do with it, as the visible embodiment of these figures, and, to the believing partaker, a real, yea, and the most lively and affecting participation of His flesh and blood, and nourishment thereby of the spiritual and eternal life, here below.)" (p. 140.) To the Reformed this statement is not satisfactory, but neither does the Lutheran see his way clear to endorse it because of the vagueness of the relation still assumed between this discourse of the Lord and the Sacrament of the Supper. In Col. 2, 16 the authors take a stand against the abrogation of the Old Testament Sabbath. (p. 378.) In Rev. 20 a reign of "Christ with His transfigured saints over men in the flesh" is taught, and the term "souls" in v. 5 is misinterpreted. In conclusion, we note that the "Index to the Entire Bible," which is promised in the title of this book, is a sad misnomer. The "Index" is nothing but a running table of contents, the "Index" been omitted?

or has

D.

Personal Evangelism among Students. George Stewart, Jr., and Henry B. Wright. Association Press, 347 Madison Ave., New York. 79 pp., 62X42. $1.00.

This booklet deals with the problem of the student, to whom, in a specific sense, may be applied Henry van Dyke's description of the boy, "our hardest problem and our brightest hope." The authors have in mind, not any special class of students, but all students. They mean to be helpful to these in an evangelical way. Members of college and university faculties will find some facts worth considering and some hints worth heeding in this booklet.

Speaking of academic freedom without supervision, the authors rightly say: "If students are left to themselves, the results are apt to be disastrous in the extreme. To allow men the enjoyment of new privileges with no understanding of their proper use is a hazardous experiment. The student, only recently freed from supervision [of the preparatory school], drinks long and deep of the new freedom, which he is too apt to regard as a right and not a responsibility." While the young men who are attending colleges and universities should not be treated as if they were still boys attending an elementary school, yet the very fact that they are students, who are to be trained by their instructors, demands that they should not be without supervision and guidance. "They yield with the certainty of gravitation to personal influence.' In the hour of liberty heading towards license, there is but one form of guidance which students will accept. But this, if it be genuine, they rarely refuse. It is the contagion of another's personality working through the processes of friendship." "A class of students is essentially what its teachers and leaders are." Instructors and leaders in education should be able to say with Paul, the authors tell us: "Be ye imitators of me, even as I also am of Christ."

66

Many a young man has gone through a college or a university and has, to his own regret in later years, learned comparatively little because he did

not make use of the opportunities which were given him. Therefore it is well to be reminded that "hard, honest, consistent study is essential to the building of the best type of character on our school and college campuses. We fail to accomplish the task of propagating genuine Christianity as long as we justify habitual unfaithfulness in the main business of schools and colleges, namely, preparation for the classroom exercises."

--

Speaking of group consciousness, the authors say: "In contrast to individualism, students possess a gregariousness, a group consciousness, which one must also take into account. The power of tradition" - we speak of it as usus Bad traditions are established "is upon nearly every one. as easily as good ones. In four years, a college generation, a bad tradition can be formed, and in nearly the same length of time a good tradition can become atrophied. One who would understand the life of a given college or school will do well to search into these inarticulate, informal, unconscious influences that exist in the mores. These are the principal governing factors. To sow ideas that take root in a college body and grow into tradition that makes for fairness and decency and justice on the campus, is one of the greatest contributions which one can make to the student life of to-day."

Any school is what its teacher makes of it. "The teacher is ultimately responsible for the final product of a school or college." "Let any one who is placed in a position of spiritual leadership examine himself, for his work will rarely result in anything higher than his own spiritual level.” FRITZ.

The Vacation Religious Day-School. Teacher's Manual of Principles and Programs. Hazel Straight Stafford. The Abingdon Press, 150 Fifth Ave., New York. 160 pp., 8X52. $1.00; by mail, $1.10. In an editorial note printed in this book we are told that "back of the rapidly increasing popularity of the idea of the daily vacation school of religion are the convictions that First: The Sunday-schools, because of their many limitations, cannot carry the full responsibility for the religious training of the children and youth of America. In addition to their highly important work there will be required a substantial program of week-day religious instruction. Secondly: The responsibility for this week-day religious instruction cannot rest upon the public school boards, but it does rest upon the churches of the community. Thirdly: In view of the constitutional provision for the separation of Church and State and of the guarantee of religious freedom to all, week-day religious instruction must be conducted, necessarily, upon a voluntary basis and without the use of public funds."

Very true. But why have these schools for week-day religious instruction periods only during vacation? It is better, of course, than to be satisfied merely with a Sunday-school. But, after all, can the Church supply the religious needs of the children with the Sunday-school plus the vacation religious day-school? Our Church has long ago answered this question by establishing its parochial schools, in which, besides the usual branches of learning which are taught in the public school, the Christian religion is daily taught throughout the whole school-year. Even Mrs. Stafford says that the vacation religious day-school, for which she has written her book,

"does not claim to be a panacea for all religious ills, neither the last word in religious education."

While we heartily agree both with the editor and with the author of the book that week-day religious instruction is a necessity, we cannot agree with them that the purpose of religious day-schools should be "to instruct the children in fundamental religious values common to all denominations," nor can we agree that "if religious training is to be universal for our country, it must be organized and maintained by all the churches acting together." With such a purpose in view, however, Mrs. Stafford has written her book of principles and programs for a vacation religious day-school. Mrs. Stafford proposes that a religion be taught which will satisfy the members of the various Protestant churches in a community. What kind of religion she has in mind we can learn from such a remark as this: "Care should be taken by the teacher to paint a vivid, attractive picture of Christ, the man hero, which will inspire the class with a new zeal to study His life. Christ as a 'Man of Sorrows' does not appeal to young folk. [Italics our own.] Christ as a ‘Humorist,' 'Story-teller,' 'The Alert,' 'The Observer,' "The Scourger,' makes a tremendous appeal." (p. 126.) We admit that Christ as the "Man of Sorrows" does not appeal to young folk nor to old folk, but the crucified Savior is needed by both young and old, for without Him there can be no salvation. A religion which leaves out Christ, the "Man of Sorrows," leaves out the very heart of the Christian religion and ceases to be the religion which alone can save man from sin, death, and hell. Mrs. Stafford's vacation-school religion is also characterized when, in her "Synthetic Survey of Biblical Material," p. 157, she classifies the story of the creation, of Adam and Eve, of the Garden of Eden, of Cain and Abel, of Noah, the ark, and the Flood as belonging to that period which she calls "the prehistoric period of legendary age."

In the preface Mrs. Stafford tells us that the establishment of an effective religious day-school for children was some years ago "a difficult work since the principle of interdenominational cooperation had not yet been concluded by the churches, and the idea of week-day religious instruction was deemed unnecessary, if not heretical." Now evidently the conditions have changed; the churches are beginning to admit that the children need more religious instruction than has until now been given them in the Sundayschool; but at the same time the sectarian churches have resorted to interdenominational cooperation, because they have become doctrinally indifferent and in not a few instances have cast to the winds, as far as they are concerned, the very fundamentals of Christianity. The latter condition is a very serious one, and we are sorry that an effort to give more religious instruction to the youth of the land, which in itself is laudable, is put into the service of a religion which is headed toward Unitarianism, if it has not already become such. The poor children who are to be brought up in the atmosphere of such a devitalized religion are to be pitied.

Daily lesson outlines are given in the book covering eight years of common school work and three years of high school work. FRITZ.

THEOLOGICAL MONTHLY.

Edited by the Faculty of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Mo. PROF. W. H. T. DAU, Managing Editor, 2637 Winnebago St., St. Louis, Mo.

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