MESSAGE OF ISRAEL
By proft,SOT J-E- bleFadyea
Them has lately been a marked revival of interest hr the spiritual aspect of Old Testament literature and a new appreci- ation of Rs enduring value. Hence Professor J. E. McFadyen's Message of Israel (James Clarke and Co., 7s. 6d.) should find many grateful readers. Few Looks addressed to the general public are more full of human interest wedded to sound scholarship. Dr. McFadyen's manifest love and under- standing of Old Testament religion and his intimate knowledge of the Scriptures give peculiar charm and freshness to these studies. Of special importance is the chapter on Brotherhood with its demonstration of the profoundly humanitarian temper of Hebrew legislation, its emphasis on mercy towards the poor, unfortunate and weak. In the ancient quarrel between the priestly and prophetic reading of religion the Professor, while making a valiant attempt to hold the scales level, leans definitely to the prophetic side. His outlook is that of a lofty Protestantism, keenly appreciative of the ethical aspect of theism, but less sensitive to- those devotional values which Jewish sacrificial worship was designed to ex-press, and keep in the foreground of faith.
Previous page
