557 - Miracles and Revelation

Miracles and Revelation
By John S. Lawton
284 pp. New York, Association Press, 1960. $6.50.

In the pages of this learned book Dr. Lawton reviews the course of the theological discussion concerning miracle and revelation in England from the disintegration of the mediaeval world view down to the present day. He gives us a detailed English history of Christian apologetics covering the last two centuries and a half. The scope and thoroughness of his reading is truly astonishing; he epitomizes scores of theological treatises long since forgotten; and he reminds us of the apologetic significance of men who are well remembered in other connections, such as John Wesley or B. F. Westcott. Of course, it is possible to point to omissions in a work of this kind; perhaps the strangest is that of F. J. A. Hort, whose Hulsean Lectures were delivered in the hey-day of Darwinism while their author was acting as examiner in the Natural Sciences Tripos at Cambridge. The reader, however, is more likely to complain that he has been given too much rather than too little, and indeed it is at times rather difficult to see the wood because there are so many trees. Nevertheless, even though he will not remember a tenth of the works about which he has read, the student will undoubtedly derive a broad general impression of the way in which theological reflection upon the nature of revelation has developed under the impact of the new scientific and historical ways of thinking between the age of the Deists and today. It is, of course, possible to question Dr. Lawton's judgment at certain points; one might, for instance, wonder whether he does not attribute to the Deists an awareness of modem historical method of which in fact they were (like their opponents) entirely innocent. But he well shows how the challenge of the new scientific and the new historical methods were met when they arose; and one can heartily agree with his conclusion that, during the period since the Enlightenment, the concept of revelation has undergone a most profound enrichment. The new understanding of the world, and especially of history, has made possible a more adequate realization of the true character of Biblical faith, as based upon the acts of God in history, than was attainable in any Christian century since the first. Miracles are no longer an embarrassment to Christian faith, now that they are no longer thought of as mere "credentials" but as part of the very substance of what is revealed, having their counterpart in the personal life of the believer. The supernatural is no longer thought of as something which interferes from time to time with the normal course of nature; a long line of philosophical theologians-Balfour, Tennant, Ward, Oman, Webb, Temple, Sorley, Taylor, Farmer -has helped us to see the supernatural in every field of human activity. "It is now possible for an orthodox theology to be built up in which the

558 - Miracles and Revelation

specifically revealing acts of God form the apex of man's whole awareness of the supernatural" (p. 248). Perhaps in a later volume Dr. Lawton will elaborate these conclusions which have emerged at the end of his long historical survey. Perhaps, too, he will cast his eye on developments which are taking place outside "these islands" (by which is meant the British Isles), since influences from beyond the seas are today more powerful than they were during some of the periods about which Dr. Lawton is so informative. The strength and the defect of insularity, both of which are unconsciously illustrated by his book, might then become more apparent. It is because Dr. Lawton's book is so filled (one might almost have said congested) with learning and insight that one hopes for fuller development and clarification of the conclusions which he has reached.

Alan Richardson
University of Nottingham
Nottingham, England