p. 15 | BOOK NOTICES

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Mountain View, California · Apr 18, 1906

BOOK NOTICES.

“A Critical Greek and English Concordance of the New Testament,” by Chas. F. Hudson, containing also a Greek-English Lexicon to the New Testament by Thomas S. Green, M.A. Cloth; 716 pages; price not given.

Both the Critical Concordance and the Greek-English Lexicon were prepared under the direction of the late H. L. Hastings, of Boston, Mass. The revision and completion of the Concordance by Ezra Abbot, D.D., LL.D., of Harvard University, an eminent linguistic scholar and critic, should be an assurance to the reader of the excellence and accuracy of the work. The book is adapted to the use of the common people. A knowledge of the Greek is not necessary to the one who would acquire the knowledge of the New Testament that is to be gained from this book. In its renderings of the original words, no pains has been spared to give the best possible, by comparison of the various authentic manuscripts of the New Testament. The book is well arranged for the quick finding of any desired word, and will be a valuable acquisition to the library of any student of the Word.

“The Missionary Idea,” by Mrs. A. E. Ellis. Cloth, 244 pages, price 75 cents. Union College Press, College View, Neb.

No one can read “The Missionary Idea” without feeling his heart drawn out in the interests of the missionary work. From cover to cover the cause in which Christ lived and died, the salvation of those in darkness, is set forth in sweet, pleading sincerity. The first half of the book is a helpful heart-to-heart talk upon the importance of Gospel work and preparation therefor. Then follows Bible studies on missionary topics, stories of special texts, facts and items, missionary biographies, missionary consecration, etc., and an outline of Seventh-day Adventist mission fields, giving the history of our work in the various countries entered. This is a book which we can commend to the prayerful study of every reader of this paper.

“The Boy’s Life of Christ,” by William B. Forbush. Cloth, 318 pages. Funk & Wagnalls, New York City.

There is in this book much that is interesting, and not a little that is not true. The author has essayed to bind together the various incidents in the life of Christ as one would write a biography of men who lived in our own time, and supplies what is lacking by drawing upon his imagination and upon the customs of the people of those times. He has fallen into many manifest errors. In his reference to the story of Jephthah’s daughter, he perpetuates the exploded idea that the daughter of Jephthah was slain, whereas the Word plainly indicates that the sacrifice was nothing more serious than her life-long celibacy. Another error of the author is that the “wise men of the east” were astrologers. God did not reveal through a heathen, idolatrous star-philosophy that greatest event in the world’s history, the birth of Christ. Throughout this book the miracles of our Lord are touched lightly and given a turn to discredit the Biblical record of those events. The author even has the Jewish leaders censuring Christ for “healing people on Sunday.” A more inexcusable blunder could hardly be imagined. Perhaps the idea is to teach the readers that Christ kept Sunday. He even attempts to explain away the reality of the transfiguration scene, putting the moonlight and the snow on the mountain in place of the vivid language of Mark 9: 2-4 and Luke 9: 29-32. We prefer the inspired life of Christ as written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and translated in the lives of His believing followers.

“Proceedings of the American Forest Congress,” held at Washington, D. C., January 2-6, 1905. Cloth, 474 pages. Published for the American Forestry Association by the H. M. Suter Publishing Company, Box 356, Washington, D. C. Price not given.

This is a complete record of the proceedings of the above-named forestry congress, including the speeches given and papers read by the leading delegates to whom specific topics had been assigned. The first address is by President Roosevelt on “The Forest in the Life of a Nation;” the second by Secretary of Agriculture Wilson on “The General Need of Forest Preservation.” The book is divided into seven parts, as follows: Forestry as a National Question; Importance of the Public Forest Lands to Irrigation; The Lumber Industry and the Forests; Importance of the Public Forest Lands to Grazing; Railroads in Relation to the Forest; Importance of the Public Forest Lands to Mining; National and State Forest Policy.