Book Reviews -- By: Anonymous
Journal: Grace Journal
Volume: GJ 10:2 (Spring 1969)
Article: Book Reviews
Author: Anonymous
GJ 10:2 (Spr 69) p. 43
Book Reviews
The Book of Jonah. By Don W. Hillis. Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, 1967. 71 pp. $1.50, paper.
Few books in the Old Testament have been abused as much as the book of Jonah. In this manual of the Shield Bible Study Outlines, Don Hillis shows that the book was not only relevant in Jonah’s day, but contains a message for the twentieth century too. At the beginning of his work, the author states the contents of the ten chapters, lists commentaries and books for suggested reading, and gives general-detailed outlines of the book of Jonah. He uses the topical approach to the book (“authority, prophecy, prayer, etc.”). Each chapter contains divisions or an outline. However, reference time in this type of approach is lengthier than in expositional work.
Many Scriptures including quotes from Living Prophecies are correlated with the passages in Jonah. At the end of the manual, the complete text of the book of Jonah according to Living Prophecies is included with a corresponding blank column for meditative comments by the reader. Very few footnotes are used and textual credits are almost entirely absent from the book.
Some of the informative features of this work are a chart displaying the historical perspective of the prophet Jonah and six ways that Jonah is unlike Christ. There are discussions on the seven reasons for accepting the book in the canon and the seven miracles of Jonah. Chapter nine is primarily devotional on the spiritual values of Jonah’s book. Since the Shield Series serve as guides for group Bible study, this manual contains appropriate questions at the end of each chapter. The missionary challenge is excellent. On page 47 the author states that he will deal with the problem of “Jonah, Dead or Alive” in a later chapter, but he never does it.
Mr. Hillis is Associate Director of The Evangelical Alliance Mission. His manual should find a place in the libraries of those who want to study the book of Jonah.
James H. Gabhart
Community Church
Tippecanoe, Indiana
Religion and the Schools. By Nicholas Wolterstorff. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, 1966. 46 pp. $.75, paper.
The public school system does not, cannot and should not teach religion. The Christian day schools are teaching academics and true Christianity. These day schools play a vital part in the educational field side by side with the public schools. Parents have a right and a duty to choose the education of their children. And Christian parents should
GJ 10:2 (Spr 69) p. 44
not be obligated to pay for two school systems while they fulfill their God-given responsibilities. With these though...
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