Book Reviews -- By: Anonymous

Journal: Faith and Mission
Volume: FM 08:2 (Spring 1991)
Article: Book Reviews
Author: Anonymous


Book Reviews

Books By The Faculty

The A. C. Reid Legacy: A Collection of Writings by A.C. Reid, edited by James H. Blackmore, with a Foreword by Thomas K. Heam, President of Wake Forest University. Winston-Salem, NC: The Wake Forest University Press, 1988. XII + 132 pp.

The legacy of A.C. Reid is the challenge to excellence that he provided for many generations of students and others in many walks of life. It is the excellence symbolized in the Wake Forest seal, which places the commitment Pro Humanitate under the Chi Rho, Alpha and Omega who was for him the incarnation of those humane values he espoused and exemplified. It entailed commitment to unrelenting free inquiry in the context of Christian charity. And it was as powerfully embodied in the person as in the many books, essays, and lectures.

It is fortunate, therefore, that Prof. James Blackmore, a devoted friend, has captured much of the spirit of the man in the biographical sketch with which this volume opens. The narrative utilizes family history and anecdotes in a manner that will enable a modest man to be known by many who did not know him, and better known by many who did.

Dr. Reid was a thoughtful student and gifted teacher of philosophy and psychology. The context of his vocation is suggested in the titles of some of the essays in this volume: “Christian Education,” “Is Religious Thought Valid?”, “Confusion and The Christian School,” “Christian Freedom,” “Know Thyself.” All of the essays exhibit a deceptively simple style employing straightforward language. There is none of the pedantry of the scholar advertising her or his expertise, or of the presumption of the preacher proclaiming to a captive audience the preacher’s version of a truth that cannot be captured in pulpit histrionics. Some superficial readers may deem the message to be at times platitudinous. But deeper reflection will reveal that some lasting verities are being clearly communicated—and this is quite an accomplishment! The lasting verities also turn out to be perennially relevant. Here is just one sample, from an address delivered to the Southern Baptist Convention in 1937:

We have appeared to regard Christianity as an Ark of the Covenant which should be approached and followed reverently, but the hand of intelligence must not be placed upon it .... [W]e leave the impression that we must save Christ—save Him rather than let Him save us .... Current religious organizations will not survive on the authority of creeds, dogmas, boasts and feeble programs. Dogmas are like the stones of an empty tomb; complacent mediocrity is repulsive; a feeling of smugness is dangerous .... [O]ur young people desire to be challenged by a great work worthy of humanity at its best; the...

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