LITERARY NOTICES | AdventAI

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jul 30, 1902

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 28, No. 31.

LITERARY NOTICES.

“A VACATION WITH NATURE.” By Frank De Witt Talmage. Ornamental cover, 12mo., cloth; price $1.00 net, postage 9 cents. Funk & Wagnalls Co., New York and London.

The author of this little book of sixteen chapters, fragrant of field and wood, is the son of the well-known T. De Witt Talmage, who so recently passed away. The young man, now thirty-four years of age, is an ardent student of nature, and has inherited a good stock of his father’s word-painting ability. In this book he has taken the common things of nature, such as the autumnal leaf, the wild flowers, the mighty hills, the protecting eagle, etc., from which to press home important lessons in spiritual life.

“DOROTHY VERNON OF HADDON HALL.” By Charles Major. Illustrated by Howard Chandler Christy. The Macmillan Co. 12mo., $1.50.

The work is a novel, well written we suppose, “with a historical basis,” which, like that of all historical novels, is the merest excuse for the dissipation of novel-reading, the curse of the age.

“THE BIBLE DEFENDED; PEARSON ANSWERED: THE ALPHA AND OMEGA.” By L. W. De Laurence. Frederick J. Drake & Co., Chicago.

This work was called out by Professor Pearson’s attack on the Bible, or rather Professor Pearson’s attack on the Bible gave opportunity to present to a larger class perhaps the occult philosophy of the Orient. The book contains many concise, beautiful statements of great general truth. Apart from this it is no defense of the Bible. In fact it is the effort to introduce under that guise a conglomeration of Buddhism, Brahminism, Mohammedanism, Catholicism, Spiritualism, and we know not how many more. If the Bible is true, these are not. Christianity is more than a part; it is the whole. Christ represented the whole. All fullness dwelt in Him. Teach the Bible; it is its own best defender.

“ADDRESSES ON PROPHECY.” Watchword and Truth, Box 5326, Boston, Mass.

This work, bound both in cloth and paper, contains 158 pages of closely printed matter pertaining to prophecy. It is composed of addresses given at the International Prophetic Conference, held in Clarendon Street Baptist Church, Boston, Dec. 10–15, 1901. There are eighteen different addresses, covering a large field. “The Inspiration and Use of the Sacred Scriptures,” by A. C. Dixon, D.D.; “Redemption, Past, Present and Future,” by E. Y. Mullins, D.D.; “The Conversion of the Israel and the Conversion of the World,” by W. G. Moorehead, D.D.; “The Two Advents of the Lord and their Literal Fulfilment,” by Sholto D. Douglass, M.A.; “Missions in Relation to Prophecy,” by A. T. Pierson, D.D.; “The Eschatology of Jesus,” by Robert Cameron, editor Watchword and Truth, are the titles of some of the sermons contained in the book. The conference would have benefited, if it had opened its forum to Adventists; but it set for itself a standard which it called “evangelical,” and excluded all who were not in harmony with the self-constituted standard. We fear that many of these speakers would have suffered at the hands of some other “evangelical” body. We can hardly look for consistency in these addresses, and if we did, we would not find it. And we look in vain for the voicing of God’s great threefold message for this age, given in Revelation 14. When those who profess to believe in the Word and Christ’s soon coming will take into consideration the related truths of His coming, the closing work of His priesthood on account of sin, the restoration demanded in His church, and the connection between righteousness and life, the prophetic Word will mean much more and be much clearer. Still we are glad of the conference; and there were many good things said.

“SANFORDISM; an Exposure of the claims, Methods, Predictions, and Threats of Rev. F. W. Sanford, the ‘Apostle’ of Shiloh, Maine.” By E. P. Woodard. Safeguard Publishing Co., Portland, Maine.

We presume that the most, at least, of what Mr. Woodard says of the Sanford delusion is true. It would be a good thing if Mr. Sanford and Mr. Dowie could meet and settle their claims to Elijahship between themselves. But we do not know as these delusions, bad as they are, are worse than the no-lawism taught by Mr. Woodard and the church of which he is a member. One of the most fatal delusions that can come to a soul is that God’s eternal law is not binding, and that the example of Jesus Christ is naught.

“SUNDAY IN HISTORY; THE TRUE REST-DAY, OR THE DEVELOPMENT OF ITS RIVAL IN HISTORY.” By C. H. Edwards. Price 50 cents. Pacific Press Publishing Co., Oakland, Cal., New York, Kansas City.

The sixteen chapters of this work set forth by the testimony of men largely favorable to Sunday observance, give the true history of the Sabbath and the Sunday. “The Rest Day,” “Does the New Testament Teach Sunday Observance?” “The Fathers,” “Who Changed the Day?” “Sunday in the Reformation,” “Sunday Legislation,” are typical chapter-headings of the scope of the work. Between 200 and 300 authors are quoted. The book is a compendium, a thesaurus on the Sunday question.

We have received from Rand, McNally & Co., Chicago and New York, No. 1 of Vol. 18, Geographical Series. The price of this issue is $1.00. It has 72 pages of such nicely-colored maps as only Rand and McNally can make, including practically the whole world, with statistics of area, population, cities, etc., printed at the sides of the maps.