A Few Books I Would Like to See Written 2 - Glenn Conjurske

A Few Books I Would Like to See Written

by Glenn Conjurske

Of the making of books there is no end, and there is surely no end of the making of unprofitable books. Meanwhile, many of those books which ought to be written are never written at all. Men write the easy books, which may be written without any depth of thought, or study, or understanding, or experience, but they pass by those which would require real depth and learning, such as are only to be acquired by wide reading, deep study, extensive observation, long experience, and much meditation. It has long been my desire to write a few books of this sort, but I fear that most of these dreams will never come to pass, as time and life are too short, money is too short, and I am too busy.

I will at least suggest a few titles, and it may be that these will at any rate suggest some profitable lines of study.

The Decline and Fall of Methodism. Methodism was the most vigorous and spiritual movement ever to exist among English Christians, and perhaps in the world. A President of the United States once said that if America ever became corrupt, it would be the Methodists’ fault, for Methodism had more influence than all the other churches combined. Methodism fell, along with other denominations, to modernism, but it did not fall by modernism. Modernism has no manner of influence with the spiritual, and those who fall to modernism only prove that they were fallen already. Methodism fell by worldliness, and worldliness came in through the failure of discipline—-that is, by the failure to enforce its own standards—-coupled with a very defective doctrinal understanding of what the world is. Methodism fell, in other words, by means of the very same state of things which now prevails in Fundamentalism. An illustration of all of this from the history of Methodism might prove most profitable today for those who have ears to hear. The qualifications for writing such a book are two: an understanding of the issues, and an intimate acquaintance with Methodism. The latter would require the reading of some scores of Methodist biographies and histories. I have done much of this, and made many notes on my reading, but it scarcely appears that I shall ever have time to complete the work and write the book.

The Arminianism of C. H. Spurgeon. Spurgeon, as is well known, was a Calvinist, but he was a very inconsistent one. He was often accused of Arminianism by more consistent Calvinists. The fact is, he was Calvinistic in his head, and Arminian in his heart, and when he had occasion to do so, he could preach Arminianism as well as any. A compilation of his statements in this vein, along with the statements of others about him, would be a great boon to the church. Such a book might be as one-sided in content as Iain Murray’s The Forgotten Spurgeon, but it would tell the other side of the story, and might be titled The Unknown Spurgeon. But who has time to read everything by and about Spurgeon? And in this day, who knows the difference between Calvinism and Arminianism?

Primeval Heathen Traditions. When civilization and Christianity invaded the territory of uncivilized paganism, mostly in the nineteenth century, many of the pagans were found to possess traditions of the creation and fall of man, or of the flood. So remarkable are many of these traditions for their preservation of primeval truth that we can only suppose they must have been passed down through the centuries from the old patriarchs, though usually with some corruption. Most of these traditions have doubtless now been obliterated before the march of civilization, but many of them are preserved in the books of the missionaries who first lived among these peoples. Some may also be preserved in the books of secular adventurers who preceded the missionaries. A collection of these traditions is a desideratum for the church. The qualification to write such a book is the reading of some scores of missionary books, and probably the works of some secular adventurers and explorers also. This, and the ability to discriminate between the actual primeval traditions of the heathen, and those which were influenced by contacts with civilization.

Christian Love Stories. These love stories are scattered here and there throughout the realm of Christian biography—-at least the biographies of a certain era, neither too ancient nor too modern. Most of the older biographies neglect to tell us anything at all about the love and marriage of their subjects. The loss is more than repaired by some of the modern writers, who wear their hearts on their shirt sleeves. Such love stories as may be found, however, in some of the older books, are most edifying, and would prove most instructive to young people, in the ways of love, and the ways of faith and patience. Here is truth better than fiction. To do justice to such a theme a man must first read some hundreds of biographies.

The Theology of G. Campbell Morgan. Morgan claimed to be a Fundamentalist in doctrine, while he held the spirit of Fundamentalism in abomination. To this day he is held in high repute by many Fundamentalists, and this I regard as one more sign of the low spiritual condition of Fundamentalism. The fact is, though Morgan was not actually modernistic in doctrine, he was liberal. What is worse, his theology is generally empty of anything to profit the soul or feed the mind. He dwells in the realm of liberal speculations and airy vagaries, and betrays everywhere a mind not formed by the Bible. His place in the esteem of Fundamentalists is undeserved. To write such a book a man must know the theology of the Bible and the ways of God, and have time (and inclination) to read at least a selection of the works of Morgan. I say “a selection,” for I judge that would be quite sufficient. I seldom read anything by Morgan without being impressed with its emptiness and its departure from the plain truth. His teaching is obviously well thought out, and usually clever. He frequently scorns the beaten path, and aims at something more profound, and this may account for his popularity, for human pride is always drawn to anything which has the appearance of superior wisdom.

Common Proverbs Illustrated. The real life of common proverbs is in their use, and it often happens that a proverb which appears to be the merest truism becomes very telling by a judicious or witty application of it. There is also an amazing elasticity in the application of many proverbs, so that a single proverb often takes on numerous diverse turns of meaning, all of them quite fitting, and none of them forced in the least. For example, that excellent proverb “The half is more than the whole” is exceedingly multifarious in its applications. John Wesley refers it to the portion of the Society which remained after the unworthy members were purged out. I have seen it applied also to the wished-for abbreviated discourses of long-winded speakers, and to the Revised Version which might have been if the revisers had done less revising. A proverb like “Let well enough alone” has innumerable applications, and it is one of the highest points of wisdom to know what is well enough. No doubt there is a similar elasticity in the proverbs of the Bible, as there is also in Scriptural principles. Many of them are true, in other words, in more ways than one. The qualification for writing such a book is to spend a lifetime reading good books, and noting down the occurrences of common proverbs. If I had begun this a quarter of a century ago, I might be able to write this book, but then I was too hyperspiritual to brook the use of a common proverb.

The Conditions of Salvation in History. The gospel preaching of the present day is very largely antinomian, and a wide departure from what was preached in sounder times. Repentance and works meet for repentance—-the forsaking of sin, and holiness of heart and life—-these were preached as the necessary conditions of salvation by all the great evangelists and men of God in history, including Tyndale and Luther, Menno Simons, Calvin and Knox, Flavel and Baxter, Whitefield and the Wesleys, Jonathan Edwards, Finney, Moody, Torrey, Spurgeon, and Ryle. At the same time there has always been an undercurrent of antinomianism in Protestantism, the fruit of Luther’s Calvinism and his doctrine of justification by faith only. These antinomian tendencies have generally been resisted by the prominent men of God, but at times, and in certain quarters, they have been strong. In the present day they have largely triumphed, in the extreme antinomianism of such men as John R. Rice and Zane Hodges. Such a book as I have in mind would consist of little more than a compilation of the statements of various men on this theme. To write this book a man must understand the truth of the gospel, and know the writings of the prominent men in the history of the church. Such a book might serve to open the eyes of the present antinomian generation, when they see that what they call heresy is the very message which was explicitly preached by virtually all the great men of God in history, and eminently owned of God in the conversion of sinners.

A History of the Revised Version. Such a history already exists—-A History of the Revised Version of the New Testament, by Samuel Hemphill—-but it is so scarce that it may as well not exist. It is a most excellent book, too, and deserving of the highest praise, so far as it goes. It ought by all means to be reprinted, yet it may not be altogether sufficient for the present age. It fails to deal with several important issues, and the author is not so conservative as we could wish. At any rate, what I wish to see is a thorough illustration of the principles involved in the revision—-a delineation of the very conservative revision which was at first proposed and agreed upon, and repeatedly promised in the most unequivocal terms by the revisers, their refusal to produce a tentative revision, the secrecy in which their work was carried on, the systematic contempt on the part of certain of the revisers for the rules under which they worked, the very liberal revision which they ultimately produced, the gloating of Jews and modernists over its weakening of fundamental doctrines, the lamentation of the conservative and orthodox over the same, and the peremptory rejection of the version by the English people. The entire history is a conflict between conservatism and liberalism, and indeed between spirituality and intellectualism. Westcott, Hort, and Lightfoot disliked the conservative plan of the proposed revision, and took their places in the company of revisers with the predetermined and concerted purpose to “seize the opportunity,” and force a liberal construction upon the rules by decided action at the beginning. This plan was too successful. Lightfoot’s warm advocacy of a minute “faithfulness” at the first meeting of the revisers made their rules thenceforth a dead letter, and the liberalism of this triumvirate triumphed. A history of all of this would be most instructive to the present age, in which liberalism and intellectualism have prevailed, and which is possessed with the craze for making new Bibles. I would not expect such a book to close the flood-gates which the Revised Version opened, but it might at any rate instruct those who have ears to hear, concerning the nature and the value of conservatism in revising the Bible.

These are a few of the books which I would like to see written, but ah! tempus fugit, the vapor of life slips away, and I am too busy. It is more likely that I shall write the last mentioned than any of the others. I have most of the necessary materials in hand, am of course in diligent search of what I don’t have, have read most of what I do have, and have taken copious notes. As for the other themes, some magazine articles on some of these may have to suffice.

Glenn Conjurske

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