Christian Church" in which the Bishop arrives at the conclusion that the Church should cease the constant repetition of the ten commandments at the beginning of the service of Holy Communion, that they should occasionally be recited with the Christian interpretation, and that the interpretation in the Catechism should be so modified as to express more adequately the true principle of the equal worth of every soul in God's sight.

The last chapter contains some very much needed warnings against having anything to do with the attempts to seek consolation about the dead from converse, real or imaginary, with the spirits of the dead. He objects to this mainly on three grounds: that we find our best consolation by putting our whole trust in Christ as the revealer of God and the spiritual world; that the attempts to hold intercourse with the dead lead to a morbid and excessive preoccupation with the dead and upset the sane balance of the spiritual life; and that Spiritualism is certain to develop a new sort of religion which will be quite out of harmony with the teachings of the Church and the New Testament.

This little book ought to be widely read in this country. The Bishop of Oxford is a true watchman on the walls of Zion. There is no religious teacher living who has more highly developed the power of stating important truths in a well-weighed, accurate, and concise manner, that leaves no room for misunderstanding.

The Lord's Coming and the World's End. By W. J. L. Sheppard, M.A. New York: The Macmillan Company. 1918.

This little book supplies an excellent antidote to the many rash and unscholarly books that have recently appeared on this subject. To mention no others there is a little book called Jesus Is Coming by W. E. B., which has been sent broadcast free of charge to the clergy, and no doubt to many of the laity. It has been translated into twenty-five languages and has reached a total issue of 386,000 copies. In this little book by Fr. Sheppard we are treated to a most sane and reverent exegesis of the portions of Scriptures that have been so distorted and misapplied by the modern Protestant interpreters who have gone mad on eschatological questions. On such matters as the rapture of the saints, the great tribulation, and the millenium, we cordially recommend Fr. Sheppard's treatment as the most scriptural and helpful.

There are two valuable appendices on the principles of the book of Revelation and a synopsis of the book. We commend this book most

unreservedly to the clergy for use in teaching and their own personal study; and also to the more intelligent Bible students among the laity.

The Priestly Vocation. By the Rt. Rev. Bernard Ward, F.R., Hist.S., Bishop of Brentwood. New York: Longmans, Green & Co. 1918.

$1.75.

The purpose of this book is to present certain well known ideals and principles of action relating to the Christian ministry, and apply them to the state of things actually existing among the secular Roman Catholic clergy of England. After some preliminary remarks on the priestly vocation the writer treats of poverty, chastity, obedience, the religious exercises of the priest, his priestly work, and his recreations. There are also chapters on the annual holiday, the periodical retreat, and the priest in sickness and in death.

In spite of some few references to local conditions in England and a number of matters which apply exclusively to the Roman Catholic priesthood, this book will provide very stimulating reading for any of our clergy in this country. They will discover that the blemishes and shortcomings of the secular clergy under Roman obedience are very much the same as those which are to be found in the clergy of the Anglican communion. It is sometimes encouraging and gratifying to learn that we have not a monopoly of men who are a disgrace to the Christian ministry. It is also most salutary discipline for us to contemplate the high ideals of the priesthood which are set forth by those in authority in the Papal obedience, and it ought to put some of us to shame.

This little book is particularly helpful in pointing out how the priest may best perform his religious exercises, such as saying mass, engaging in mental prayer, and the reciting of the divine office. It also contains some exceedingly helpful advice as to the relations of a priest with women. It is interesting in this connection to note that the real reason set forth for the celibacy of the clergy is not that it sets them free from encumbrances and enables them to go where they are sent on short notice, nor that it makes it possible for them to live on a much smaller salary. The real reason is indicated in the following sentences on page 37: "The essence of celibacy is that when we seek sympathy and counsel in our troubles and trials, or our work, and in all the affairs of life, we turn not to human sympathisers, but to those whom we know by faithto our Lord in the Tabernacle, to His mother, to our patron saints, to our guardian angel, etc. The sympathy we get differs from that which is to be obtained in the world in the first place in the absence of the

feeling of sense, which is the first and easiest remedy and that which we should look for as the natural accompaniment of sympathy in the world. This does not mean that it is less real: on the contrary, it is far more real and more powerful. If a priest is sent any great trouble or anxiety, and instead of seeking human consolation and guidance, goes straight into his Church, to pour out his soul in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, or before the altars or statues of our Lady or the Saints, he will come forth strengthened in spirit, and having received the gift of counsel in a far higher degree than would ever have been the case had he had recourse to the solace and company of a wife or family or relations. And this counsel and strength will increase in degree in proportion as he has banished from his life the ordinary sensible consolations to be obtained from human sympathy."

Your Soul's Salvation. Instructions on Personal Holiness. By Rev. Edward F. Garesché, S.J. New York: Benziger Brothers. 1918. pp. 156. $0.75.

This little book is quite accurately described by its subtitle, and very good instructions on personal holiness they are which Father Garesché gives us. He has a rare gift of treating modern problems from a Catholic point of view. In the chapter called Because You Are a Catholic he says: "Because you are a Catholic-what? Should you be more timid, more apologetic, than the any-religion man or the no-religion man? Of course not. You have heard God speak and you know. They haven't and they speculate and wonder. Is it any nobler or more independent to speculate and wonder than to know? Not a trace, then, in your thoughts or actions, of weak timidity or silly apologizing. What should be the attitude of a Catholic man or woman? A nice, careful, and modest balance between pride on the one side and timidity upon the other. You should have the gentle confidence, the courteous kindness, the balance and poise and precision of those who know." Father Garesché's writing has many of the qualities which he enumerates. He is confident but kind; he has balance and poise and precision. Would there were more like him! If our presses and our pulpits were concerned less with the views of individual writers and preachers and more with the Gospel of Christ, stated accurately, clearly, and boldly, in tongue understood of the people, the Church might be a greater power in the world than it is to-day. The world would be none the worse for such treatment. It might even be grateful, as we are grateful for Father Garesché's book.

W. P. McC.

The religious Teaching of the Old Testament. By Albert C. Knudson. The Abingdon Press, New York. 1918. p. 416. $2.50 net.

It is a sign of better things to come to see an author breaking away from the fashion, which has held Old Testament scholars of the past twenty years in its thrall, of treating Old Testament religion as if it were an excavated mound, counting and tabulating every stone flake and potsherd, and never getting any further toward an understanding of the genius of the Hebrew religion. The fashion has been to tabulate ideas and ceremonies, without attempting any estimation of their value and use. Professor Knudson has preferred to take an older man, like A. B. Davidson, as his guide, and has produced a really interesting book on Old Testament religion. But in order not to be accused of overlooking the chronological aspect of his subject, he opens his work with an outline of the historical development of Israel's religion. Then he divides his subject into two great parts: God and Angels, Man and Redemption.

In studying the personality, unity, spirituality, power, holiness, righteousness, and love of God, the author shows how the idea back of any given word developed from century to century. For example, the content of kodesh, holiness, in early Israel contained no moral meaning, but was entirely ceremonial. It was only comparatively later, when moral distinction began to be made, that kodesh connoted moral holiness. Although, it should be noted that Knudson finds evidence for moral distinctions at an earlier period in Israel than most modern students of the Old Testament.

Knudson is even more interesting in his treatment of Man and Redemption. He traces the Messianic hope and the place of the individual in Israel far back into the pre-prophetic period, finding their germs in the teaching of Moses. This will be disputed by many. That the germs of Messianism may be traced back to the time of the early Kingdom may be admitted, but the desire for an ideal kingdom and king in the future. could hardly arise before the established king and kingdom began to prove not altogether satisfactory. As to individualism, that can always be found in isolated cases at all periods of cultural development, but the habit of thinking in terms of the individual, and his interests and rights, will with great difficulty be traced earlier than Jeremiah and Ezekiel.

The doctrine of sin, forgiveness, atonement, and the problem of evil are all treated in a fresh and stimulating way. Here will be found some evidences of the real fascination of Old Testament study. The author's study of the future life of Israel follows more closely the beaten path. As with others, he has not succeeded in elucidating the conflicting opinions

in the Old Testament of the future abode of the righteous and wicked. Professor Knudson, holding that an idea may have arisen prior to its earliest expression in literature, has assumed an early date for many Old Testament religious ideas. But the premise being uncertain, the deduction is not reliable. The best that can be done in tracing any ancient religion is to hold close to contemporary literature. Beyond that is the realm of conjecture.

In treating his subject topically, and in endeavoring to relate Old Testament religious ideas to modern thought, giving generous leeway to controverted questions, Knudson has produced a book which should be read by every lover of the Bible, and especially by those, who, because of neglected perusal of the Old Testament, are becoming more and more impatient with the earthly casket in which the divine message is preserved. SAMUEL A. B. MERCER.

The Religion of Israel. By George A. Barton. New York: The Macmillan Company. 1918. pp. 283. $2.00.

Here is a book on the Religion of Israel written for college undergraduates. The author, in his thoroughly scholarly way lays his foundation by describing in detail the Semitic background of the Old Testament religion. No one could have accomplished this part of his task with greater ease and thoroughness than Dr. Barton, for he is a recognized expert in Semitic origins. His foundation is then made doubly firm by a chapter on the value of the early narratives of the Bible, giving his readers an idea of what we know, or rather what we do not know, of Israel before the Exodus. The next chapter completes the foundation work, and the origin of the Hebrew nation is discussed. Then comes the work on the superstructure. With more ease than consistency, as the reader will later learn, the author depicts the work and character of Moses-Moses the great law-giver, the empire-builder of Israel, the messenger of Jehovah. But further on the author practically denies him all credit as Israel's great law-giver. The following chapter on the pre-prophetic period in Canaan, the prophets of the eighth century, and on Deuteronomy and Jeremiah are not as well constructed. The author, however, atones for this relapse by his masterful treatment of the religion of the exilic period and of legalism. His treatment of the question of sacrifice in the time of Amos leaves much to be desired, for his understanding of the prophet's attitude towards sacrifice and ritual are much too literal, showing a lack of religious insight. He goes to the other extreme in his interpretation of Malachi who, he thinks, makes all blessings depend upon the fulfilment