Christianity To-day and To-morrow THE title of this review is
the sub-title of the fifth and last volume of this considerable, varied, and, on the whole, suc- cessful synopsis. It implies at once an enormous field of survey, and an admixture of theorizing and . of practical experience from the many contributors, which it is extremely hard, with a desire for justice and for a sense of proportion, to summarize succinctly. For we are faced by a series of actual summaries, many from expert pens ; sometimes, it is true, we are disappointed, since writing by request and within limits, though one of the accomplishments of the age, is not without its cramping effect ; more often we are impressed and deeply interested.
The names of some of the contributors whose services the Editors have secured are a guarantee at once of first-rate work. Thus, Mrs. Swan treats of Family Life, Miss Bondfield of Woman's Place in the Christian World of To-day, Dr. Crichton Miller of the Modem Child, Canon Peter Green of City Life, Mr. Ramsay MacDonald of the Labour Move.. ment, Bishop Brent of Christian Statesmanship, Mr. Philip Kerr of the British Commonwealth, DT. Claude Montefiore of the Jewish View of Christendom, Dr. Orchard of the Nature of the Church, Miss Maude Hoyden of Women and the Churches, Sir Francis Younghusband of a Christian's Criticism of the Churches. We have given this list purposely as an incentive to the student, for, with one or two exceptions, it is impossible to analyse the thought and pains which in each case make their articles worthy of their authors.
One or two contributions by less well-known writers deserve reviews to themselves. We can only mention them here : Mrs. Sturge-Gretton's "Country Life," every line of which is alive with knowledge, deserves detailed attention on the part of any reader, as also does Mr. Watson's and Mr. King's Business Ethics," and Mr. James McDonald's article on "The United States and Christian Statesmanship."
Dr. Montefiores "Jewish View of Christendom" is followed by a "Mohammedan View" and a "Hindu View," each worthy of study. It was perhaps something of an experiment to entrust "The Nature and Function of the Church" to an eclectic theologian such as Dr. Orchard : his essay is interest- ing, but some will feel that its recognition of Roman Catholic claims, and the " minimizing " interpretation of their pro- nouncements, errs somewhat on the side of hopefulness. The articles on the status-of women, in the field of Labour by Miss Bondfield, in the ministry of the Churches by Miss Hoyden, are excellent in their general fairness of outlook and tone. Miss Hoyden, however, without committing herself to a definite statement, evidently glances towards a full admission of women to office in the " Catholic " churches. "The ques- tion of the priesthood, however," she adds, "still remains."
There is, of course, a vast amount of valuable matter in this volume on which we have been unable to touch. The illus- trations vary in worth : "The Black Country," "Coal and Iron," "Steel Works," "The Potteries," and "A Mining Centre" neutralize one another by a general likeness of murky atmosphere, smoking chimneys and machinery. They teach little where they might teach much. The coloured plates are of rather poor quality. In fact, the illustrations have always been the weak point in an enterprise of great scope and worth. It remains to be said that there is a Biblio- graphy ; and an Index to the whole work fills eighty-one closely printed columns.
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