PRESBYTERIAN VIEW

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 55, 2 September 1944, Page 8

PRESBYTERIAN VIEW

When, it is realised that the author s purpose is purely to show the ?Sh a£ P°litical influences that followed the life and teaching of Jesus, there can be little fault to find with "M a r rk',i x^ tes ™a l e? din § article on Man and His World" in the "Outlook, official organ of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand. "Certainly other, people writing this same story with the same purpose might well stress other details of the life of Jesus and other results of His influence, but the limits of purpose and 'space .would cause them to face similar criticisms." "A careful reading of the book gives us none of the concern which Bishop Liston expressed," the article continues. • "We :• could, of-' course, find statements to criticise; we could point to omissions in the full story. In our opinion, the' sketch of the life of Jesus is as reasonable and as adequate as a sketch could possibly be, and the description of the effects of Jesus' teaching, although incomplete, is true. . . . From our point of. . view, we could well argue that both .Dr. Mainwaring,as author, and the Education Department of New Zealand should be complimented on the inclusion of this book on the 'recommended' list for supplementary studx of our State schools. For a long time it has been the custom for historical books written for schools to ignore the influence of Christianity upon history, except in incidental issues. Dr. Mainwaring, on the other hand, acknowledges the debt the world owes to Jesus and tells his story so convincingly that those of his readers who come without any theological implications must be impressed.by the relevance of Christianity."