WHAT does it mean to be a Christian? We cannot
answer this question without discovering what it meant to be a Christian in the early centuries. In twelve short studies, Dr. Glover suggests the different ways in which the disciples of the first generations interpreted their relation to their Master. They were at once Christ's slaves and Christ's free-men. They felt themselves to
be kings and priests—a royal priesthood—and soldiers—privates in a growing army. Loyalty to Christ quickened thought and inspired song. It created a new comradeship among men and a new sense of indebtedness to and dependence on God for the gift of the new life. All these themes Dr. Glover illuminates with his sympathetic understanding of the ancient world and with his quick perception of some limitations of modern thought. The little book raises a difficult issue. At each point Dr. Glover stresses the personal relation of the disciple to Jesus Christ. He approves the saying that " the condition of progress in every age is a fresh return to the historical Jesus." He has himself made a notable contribution in helping many to make that return. And yet, as he notes, this return has not set men singing. "No great hymns have been written for a century." What was lacking in the nineteenth century movement, " back to Jesus "? The chapters on The Thinker, The Given Life and The Singer suggest an answer.
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