Journal: Grace Journal
Volume: GJ 12:3 (Fall 1971)
Article: Book Reviews
Author: Anonymous

GJ 12:3 (Fall 71) p. 34

Book Reviews

General Introduction to the Study of Holy Scriptures. By Charles Augustus Briggs. Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, reprint 1970, $8.95, 688 pp.

Baker Book House has reprinted General Introduction to the Study of Holy Scripture as a volume in its Limited Editions Library. This book was written before the turn of the century by the great liberal scholar Charles Augustus Briggs who is still known by seminary students for his contributions to the Hebrew lexicon commonly referred to as BDB. Briggs was tried and acquitted of heresy by the Presbytery of New York and later became a priest in the Protestant Episcopal Church. He taught for many years at Union Theological Seminary in New York.

This book represents the old liberal rationalism which preceded the theological mysticism of neo-orthodoxy. As such it is a classic of that tradition of scholarship. Briggs accepted the Higher Critical evaluation of the Scriptures and was repulsed by the doctrine of the inerrancy of the Bible. He believed in the authority of an errant Bible. Higher Criticism was the means by which one could understand the Scriptures and make it intellectually acceptable. Briggs had a strong attachment to the Church and wanted to reform it in connection with what he considered to be the facts as uncovered by the thinkers of his day. There is no question of his deep sincerity and equally profound hurt at being rejected by those who disagreed with him.

The reviewer would recommend this book to evangelical students, not only as an exercise in recent past history of Christian scholarship, but as a revealing look into the heart of a man. This volume as an introduction to the Bible is far out of date. The Higher Criticism that Briggs defended is largely repudiated by the brute facts of recent discovery. However, many of the questions with which he struggled are still dogging those who have difficulty with the Scripture. Perhaps reading Briggs’ book will help the student to see the error of newer systems of interpretation while at the same time coming to grips with the Christian’s responsibility to love those whose views are unacceptable.

Dwight E. Acomb
Fresno, California

GJ 12:3 (Fall 71) p. 35

What about Horoscopes? By Joseph Bayly. David C. Cook Publishing Company, Elgin, Illinois, 1970. 950 paper, 95 pp.

This latest work by a thought-provoking author is timely, courageous and honest.

Its timeliness is explained by the fact that many in the western world seem entranced with astrology. The proportions are astonishing with 1,200 newspapers featuring regular columns on astrology and many people in the local churches reading them regularly w...