Post-Reformation Christianity
THE third volume of this compendious Outline, the first two volumes of which have already been reviewed, takes as its title, " The Rise of the Modern Churches," and traces the history of a divided Christendom from the Reformation to the present day. Indeed, the intention seems to be to conclude the historical part of the survey, for Book III. deals with Christianity and modern democracy, and Book IV. with the story of Christian missions ; the remaining volumes will treat of the outlook for the future, the ideals and aspirations of the Christian Faith, and the prospects of unity. On the present volume it is rather difficult to pass a general verdict. Some of the contributions are very brief ; we cannot but- feel that a certain perfunctoriness broods over others ; indeed, the attempt to summarize the manifold events, policies and tendencies of a complex and disputable period must again and again have half baffled those ideals of impar- tiality and completeness which the writers had in view, and a sense of hurry and lack of freshness are often apparent. We can but congratulate those who undertook a most difficult task on the degree of success attained.
Dr. Oman opens with a really interesting introduction in which, however, at once occurs the remarkable statement, " Not having read the studies which follow, I know neither the road the authors of them have travelled, nor the goal they have reached." We submit that, like most prefaces, this one would have been better written had it followed such a reading. It is strange, for instance, to learn that " the change in the whole outlook and attitude of the Greek Church has had to be omitted," and afterwards to come across three illuminative articles by Professor Gavin, Dr. Wigram, and the Dean of Canterbury, in which the history, doctrines, and present attitude of the Eastern Churches are fully discussed. For the rest, Dr. Oman's summary of the gain of the form of freedom and the substance of freedom as the tangible fruits of a tangled period is excellent. In Book I., " The Reformation and the Churches," too much space is allotted to Calvinism, just as too much space was given to the Albigensian movement in Vol. II. Professor Dearmer holds the balances as fairly as he can in treating of the English Reformation, but he misses the fact that the Marian perse- cution has never passed from popular execration because, for the first time, it was the middle class which suffered, in wholesale fashion, and he omits the significance of the Act of 1571. Mr. Chesterton cannot fail to write spiritedly on Roman Catholicism, if not convincingly, and his article, which disclaims impartiality, shows up the more attractively by its juxtaposition to the laboured historical summary by Professor Mannhardt. The Professor struggles with lists of names, too often ending with, " and many others," which is first cousin to the terrible " &c.," and achieves the feat of naming Loyola, and repeatedly mentioning the labours of the Jesuits, without connecting the two as Founder and Order. Turning to other fields of history, we note that the general trend of the compilation is to stereotype popular beliefs bequeathed by the partisan genius of Victorian writers, and sometimes discredited by recent inquiry. We hear—and see in the illustrations—far too much of the Pilgrim Fathers, and learn nothing of their persecuting feats when left to themselves ; we are made aware of the Covenanters and their sufferings, but not told of their cruelty, intolerance, and disloyalty, and of the repeated efforts of the later Stuarts in the direction of impartial government.
One difficulty in appraising the value of this volume lies in the fact that its information is so scattered. Presbyterianism, Congregationalism, Methodism, and the story of the Baptists all receive two articles apiece, and in some instances the same ground is gone over more than once, and viewed in a different aspect. We come across interesting details, but it would be hard for a student, approaching the subject of the development of the Christian bodies for the first time, to receive other than a confused impression of facts and names. Some of the information is, certainly, of an out-of-the-way
order, as when, in answer to the question, What is a Baptist / we are told of River Brethren, Mennonites, Adventists, Brethren, Winnebrennarians, Disciples. But in the same chapter occurs a. full-page illustration of Bunyan and of his prison ; and we should like to have met with more than a passing mention of his name and immortal classic. The Pilgrim's Progress is one of the world's spiritual treasures. Others, again, of the facts are extremely up to date ; thus, Christian Science, the Student Christian Movement and Adult Schools receive full attention ; there is a sentence about the Life and Liberty Movement, and " the laity of the City of London refuse to have any more of their City Churches pulled down." We turn the pages this way and that, not without much profit, and finally end with the " Story of Christian Missions," four valuable chapters of which are gathered from the pages of the late Canon Charles Robinson, while one on Women's Work in the Mission Field is contributed by Miss G. A. Gollock.
The Bibliography is very unequally done. The number of volumes in a work is mentioned in some cases, not in others . it is, surely, out of all proportion to include the fifty-twc volumes of Calvin's works ; S. R. " Gardner " should rest " Gardiner " ; it is hard to see why only his History of the Great Civil War (in four volumes, by the way) should be noted, and not his History of the Puritan Revolution. There is no mention of Dr. Powicke's recent works on Baxter Green's Short History of the English People is published in one volume, and he is not at his best on the Stuarts. Neither The Pilgrim's Progress, Grace Abounding, nor Dr. Brown's Life of Bunyan appears in the Baptist section. Gairdner's Lollardy and the Reformation is in four, not three volumes.
The illustrations vary greatly in merit of reproduction, and it may be said that the bulk of them, as regards European history, favour the Protestant cause. Great stress is laid on Luther, John Knox, the Pilgrim Fathers, the Massacre of St. Bartholomew, and the Covenanters. There are difficulties in obtaining leave to reproduce, of course, but the emphasis; if unavoidable, remains.
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