271 - Horace Bushnell: Selected Writings on Language, Religion, and American Culture & Horace Bushnell: On the Vitality of Biblical Language

Horace Bushnell: Selected Writings on Language, Religion, and American Culture
By David L. Smith, ed.
Chico, Calif., Scholars Press, 1984. 187 pp. $9.75.

Horace Bushnell: On the Vitality of Biblical Language
By James O. Duke
Chico, Calif., Scholars Press, 1984. 129 pp, $13.50.

These two volumes from Scholars Press, the first belonging to the American Academy of Religion Studies in Religion series and the second issued as part of the Society of Biblical Literature's Centennial Publications, demonstrate the recent and continuing interest in Horace Bushnell, the nineteenth century Congregationalist theologian.

For most of the twentieth century, Bushnell's influence was felt primarily in the field of Christian education through his work, Christian Nurture. One of the primary values of the volume edited by Smith is the broad scope of Bushnell writings represented in the book, ranging from his oft-quoted "Barbarism the First Danger" to his pioneering work on language and doctrine in God in Christ. Smith provides an excellent introduction to the selections from Bushnell, and the book will be a helpful resource for classes in American religion and theology. I personally wished the selections were somewhat longer, and here students should consult the volume edited by H. Shelton Smith, Horace Bushnell, in the Library of Christian Thought published by Oxford University Press.

Duke's book is both a close reading of Bushnell's corpus as well as an attempt to show the resources and limitations of Bushnell's theology and hermeneutics for contemporary discussion. As such, Bushnell still emerges as a lonely and pioneering voice in nineteenth century theology, dominated as it was by the rationalism of Scottish common sense philosophy. Yet Bushnell cannot be imported into the twentieth century debates without

272 - Horace Bushnell: Selected Writings on Language, Religion, and American Culture & Horace Bushnell: On the Vitality of Biblical Language

serious problems, for he did not and could not anticipate the complexity of hermeneutical issues that characterize biblical and theological studies today. As a work in the history of theology, Duke's book will be a valuable contribution to the held.

John M. Mulder
Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary
Louisville, Ky.