designation of a class. Radical critics are not all destructive. With some of the radicals the conclusions of the critics are so thoroughly established as no longer to need defense. To their minds it is idle to discuss the question whether Moses wrote the Pentateuch, whether there was but one Isaiah, whether Daniel was written during the captivity, whether the scientific and historical utterances of the Old Testament are to be unhesitatingly accepted as correct. All of these questions they answer in the negative, with the unquestioning assurance that they thereby answer truly. But of these radicals there are some who use their doctrines to prove the large amount that the Church has been compelled to yield of what she once taught, while there are others who employ the same doctrines to show how much remains to the Church of her old and most cherished beliefs. They utilize every favorable opportunity to point out that all the old doctrines retain every feature that made them religiously valuable. Hence we designate these men as constructive radicals. Loofs is one of the best of his type. He has remarkable ability in the popular putting of these newer views in the interest of faith. And he believes that in Germany, at least, the time has come when the pulpit should under proper circumstances handle these new views of the Bible. The more intelligent portion of the German congregations is aware of the fact that the science and history of the Bible are no longer regarded as wholly trustworthy; but not that the religious revelation remains untouched. To make the latter known Loofs regards as the duty of the pulpit. He himself has several times set the example. Three of his sermons were published in 1899 under the title, Die Schöpfungeschichte, der Sündenfall, und der Turmbau zu Babel (The Scriptural Account of Creation, the Fall of Man, and the Tower of Babel), Freiburg i. B., J. C. B. Mohr. Doubtless these sermons contain much that would be offensive to many hearers, but, on the other hand, as examples of the method of treating the Bible in the light of the more recent views of its origin and inspiration they are worthy of all commendation. The fundamental principle of Loofs seems to be that the preacher of the Gospel, be he also professor of theology or not, has for his first duty the building up of the people in the faith of Jesus Christ and in the holy living appropriate thereto. If every preacher will keep this principle in mind, he may be trusted to preach even on this controverted theme.

RECENT THEOLOGICAL LITERATURE.

Die Entstehung des Volkes Israel (The Origin of the Israelitish People). By B. Stade. Giessen, J. Ricker, 1899. The Germans believe in the mission of the small book as well as of the large. Would that our American scholars had a similar confidence! In twentyfour pages Stade has summed up the principal positions now held by the critical historians relative to the origin of the people of Israel. Stade holds that the traditional view of that origin is out of analogy

with all other national origins, and in contradiction to certain portions of the Old Testament and the Egyptian monuments. Of the four "sources" of the Pentateuch he thinks the oldest, the Jehovistic, not only the most natural starting-point for all investigation of the history of Israel, but the most reliable, as well. According to this source Jacob and his sons were nomadic shepherds dwelling in the land of Goshen, which lay between the borders of Egypt and Palestine. They did not dwell in the residence of Pharaoh, as the Elohistic document teaches, nor in the best of the land, Rameses, as the Priestly document has it. They never dwelt in Egypt proper, though some of them may have become subjects of Egypt and may have been regarded by Rameses II as his slaves. There is no doubt as to the existence and work of Moses, though Stade holds that both are somewhat overgrown with legend. In the name of the ancient Sinai-God, Jahweh, who was originally the tribal god of the Kenites, but who subsequently became the god of a confederation of Hebrew nomads, the Levite, Moses, appeared as the deliverer of the oppressed in Goshen, whom he led through the Red Sea. The destruction of Pharaoh in the sea, according to Stade, rests upon legend. The success of the deliverance was the proof of the power of Jahweh, and produced the faith of the delivered tribes in him. They went to Kadesch, overcame the Amalekites, which was regarded as a victory of the national god, Jahweh, and then passed on to Edom and Moab. In the east Jordan country they began to adopt the agricultural industry. There also the names "Hebrew" and "Israel" arose. It is impossible to determine how long they remained either at Kadesch or in the east Jordan country. The conquest of the country west of the Jordan was but slow; at first including only the hilly portions of the land. The Tel-el-Amarna inscriptions show that at that time the rulership of Egypt was weak, which accounts for the rising rulership of the Hebrews in Palestine. Later, during a period extending into the time of the kings, those portions of the land which had remained Canaanitish were conquered. The various elements of the Israelitish people united in a single State, and Jahweh became the god of the land, banishing Baalim. This process was aided by making Jahweh the god of battles among the Israelitish people. The book is interesting and consistent, even though we may not be able in all respects to accept its conclusions.

Serubbabel, Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der messianinschen Erwartung und der Entstehung des Judenthuns. (Zerubbabel. A contribution to the History of the Messianic Hope and of the Origin of Judaism). By Ernst Sellin. Leipzig, A. Deichert, Nachf., 1898. This book is an attempt to throw light upon the period between the dedication of the second temple, in 516 B. C., and the appearance in Jerusalem of Ezra, in 458, or of Nehemiah, in 444 B. C. Three questions press for answer: (1) How was it that the legal system of the time of Ezra and Nehemiah

grew up in the sixty years in question? (2) Why should the hopeful second Isaiah have been so soon followed by the despairing Psalmists ? (3) What caused the two diverse currents of legal and spiritual piety to flow together? Briefly summarized Sellin's answer is that upon their return to Jerusulem Zerubbabel was, at the suggestion of the prophets, elevated to the dignity of king, and with him it was expected that the Messianic kingdom would begin. This plan ended in a frightful catastrophe. Zerubbabel suffered the death of a martyr for his people; Jerusalem was again laid waste; the new temple was desecrated. The words of the prophets had proved deceptive, and the Messianic hope was shattered. But reflection on this judgment of God, leading to despair, on the one side, and the ray of hope rekindled by a single great genius, on the other, make the origin of Judaism clear. Of course all this somewhat remarkable historical scheme demands evidence in its support; and the author admits that this evidence is not direct, though he thinks it sufficient to establish his position. He argues, first, that the fact that, subsequent to Zerubbabel, Jerusalem was placed under the jurisdiction of Samaria looks like a punishment for insurrection; second, that, since Nehemiah i, 1, ff., cannot refer either to the destruction of the walls of Ezra nor to that of 586, it must refer, as Ewald thought, to the destruction of the walls built by Zerubbabel; third, Rehum's letter suggests an insurrection of the returned Jews and a consequent devastation of the temple; fourth, the reinstitution of the temple service by Ezra leads to the same conclusion; fifth, the priestly code, which marks the fall of the hope of a personal Messiah, indicates some kind of a preceding catastrophe; sixth, that the prophetic announcements had proved deceptive is probable from the fact that the prophets suddenly fell into discredit with the people. The argument which these points constitutes is certainly ingenious and in some respects convincing, especially in the absence of any other explanation of them. Nevertheless, they are far from conclusive, since it seems very unlikely that, had there been such a catastrophe as Sellin supposes, we should have had no other evidence of it than the inferences which may be drawn from the facts above mentioned. Still, in history as in all science, hypotheses are often constructed and sustained upon exceedingly weak foundations.

RELIGIOUS AND EDUCATIONAL,

The Call for Workers. Little by little, in the face of age-long prejudices, the Germans are working their way to an understanding of the value of the lay worker in the cause of Christ. At a recent meeting in Berlin the question as to the best means of protecting young girls from moral and religious degeneration caused an exciting discussion. It was boldly asserted that the old-fashioned notion that only the pastor may openly expound the word of God, and that other equally antiquated theory, that women part of the common priesthood of believers, must be abandoned.

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The plea was made that women of education outside the ranks of the deaconesses must be enlisted in the work of holding evening gatherings, in which suitable entertainment shall be given. The writer had the rare privilege of attending such a gathering some years ago, and of addressing the girls assembled. There were probably thirty present, seated about a long, broad table. Each had her knitting or embroidery in her hand, and worked busily while the exercises were in progress. There was a time of pleasant social conversation, some light refreshments, which added to the sociability of the occasion, some interesting reading by the woman who had charge of the meeting, a little singing, in which all participated, and the short address of the writer. The influence must have been elevating, to say nothing of the fact that the young women were thereby kept off the streets and given a touch of the life of those who were far above them in social position.

A Recently Discovered Monumental Inscription. Explorers in Asia Minor have recently found a Greek inscription which the historian Mommsen and others place about the year 9 B. C. It is chiefly interesting from the fact that it celebrates the birthday of the Emperor Augustus in language which is strikingly like that which in the New Testament is applied to Jesus Christ. Among the thoughts parallel to those of the New Testament are the following: "It is impossible to express suitably the thanks which are due for the great benefits this day has brought;" "Providence, which rules over all the world, has, for the benefit of mankind, so filled this man with gifts that he is sent to us and to the coming generations as a Saviour;" "In his appearance the hopes of our ancestors are fulfilled; he has not only surpassed all previous benefactors of mankind, but it is impossible that a greater should come; "The birthday of this God has introduced to the world the message of joy which is inseparably connected with him ;" "From his birth a new era of time must begin." These words are understood by some as having furnished the pattern after which the Gospel writers modeled their description of Christ. And it may well be that the language of the gospels has its roots more deeply set in religious conceptions current prior to the time of Christ than are now generally supposed. This would merely prove what it is reasonable to believe and what the New Testament teaches, namely, that God had by his providence in some measure prepared the way for Christ even in heathen lands. But we are inclined to make less of these passages from the inscription than some others would make. The people of that day affected to regard the emperor as divine, and they could not well speak of him in language different from that which we have here. At any rate, whatever they may have expected would be the results of the reign of Augustus, it is very certain that the reign of Christ has been infinitely more beneficent; and, while the language applied to Augustus appears like fulsome flattery, it can be understood in all soberness of Jesus, the true Saviour.

SUMMARY OF THE REVIEWS AND MAGAZINES.

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THE death of Dr. James Martineau, at the advanced age of ninetyfive, has removed a vigorous and marked personality. In the London Quarterly (London, Eng.) for April, P. T. Forsyth, D.D., sums up his life and influence in an article entitled "Dr. Martineau." His habit was that of retirement. "He had the seal of an unearthly altitude and purity, a heavenly aloofness. He was a valuable rebuke to the passion for sociality, for popularity, for seeing and knowing everybody of note, of everybody who has done us good. . . . He wrote no little books which sell by thousands with the religious public; he played no open part in the public life of the nation; he was not a politician, nor an empire-builder, nor a king of finance, nor a princely giver; his soul was like a star, and dwelt apart; he had little that appealed to the keen and bustling young person of the period; he did not deal in the wares which are in current demand. Yet, for these reasons in part he was a great man, with a kind of greatness we much need to be forced to own." As for Martineau's theology Dr. Forsyth says: "He was one of the Greeks who would see Jesus, or who did see him, but who saw him before the cross rather than after it. Few orthodox Christians have lavished on the Saviour such love and reverence as this heretic; he was a Socinian St. Bernard; but the evangelical interpretation of Christianity was an offense to him. Mediatorial religion seemed to him to be an impiety. He carried the love and reverence of Jesus to the height of a passion, and he enshrined it in words and thoughts of beauty at once rich and chaste; but one thing he refused to him on principle-he refused him worship. Christ was the author in man of the highest faith, but he was not its object. Martineau was not even Arian. That was the great gulf between him and such as ourselves. It is a very great gulf, ecclesiastically impassable-especially from his side." The chief service, the review continues, which Dr. Martineau did for his age was in the world of thought, in his defense of "the spiritual principles of life, and the spiritual basis of God for mind and soul." In his attitude "he stood for the value of the soul's intentions as against the mere arithmetic of utilitarian results. He insisted on the moral value of motives, as distinct from effects. The motive was more for the man than the net upshot of his action. It was the quality of the soul that guaranteed the future of the soul. And it was God, the soul of all, that guaranteed the quality of the soul. He [Martineau] stood for God, a living God, freedom, and immortality, in the face of a science which, if not materialist, would have made the mass of its believers little else. . . . He broke the self-sufficiency of the mere physicist and the tyranny of the agnostic; while, on the other side, he exposed the hollowness of the amateur and literary