Byron Snapp

Book Reviews
From Forgiven to Forgiving:
Learning to Forgive One Another
God's Way by Jay Adams. Calvary
Press, Box 805 ,Arnityville, NY 11701
(1-800-789-8175). 1994, 175 pp.
with notes, pb., $10.00 (includes
shipping).
What is the greatest problem
confronting the church today?
Ranking high on any list would, no
doubt, be the lack of forgiveness and
reconciliation between church
members. Thus, it is all the more
refreshing to see this paperback
edition on forgiveness.
The book deals with numerous
facets of forgiveness. I will mention
a few. What is Biblical forgiveness?
Does forgiveness mean I forget the
action against me? Can unbelievers
be forgiving? Whatistherelationship
between forgiveness and
reconciliation? Does an adulterous
husband tell his unsuspecting wife
about his former relationship? What
are obstacles to forgiveness and how
can they best be handled?
Readers famUiarwith Dr. Adams'
style and concern will not be
disappointed. They will appreciate
anew the author's concern for being
obedient to Scriptures and his
insightful comments on modern
views of forgiveness that have great
acceptance in churches but no root
in the Bible.
Unfamiliar readers will be
confronted with a book that clearly
presents, in a very readable format,
an explanation of Biblical forgiveness .
Often, Dr. Adams will move from his
step by step analysis of the facets of
forgiveness to the use of illustrations
that show how his instruction applies
in a particular situation.
The chapters are short , thus
inviting. The book is well-written
and on a very needy subject, so it
holds one's attention. We are all
sinners, living among sinners. We
need to forgive and be forgiven
regularly. We need to do it God's
way. Dr. Adams explains that way.
Let us not be fearful to walk therein.
We, ourrelationships, and the church
at large will be the better for it.
Christianity and New Evangelical
Philosophies, 2nd edition, by Richard
L. Heldenbrand. 1993, Words of Life ,
345 West Baker Street, Warsaw, IN
46580, 270 pp with index.
This book sounds a necessary
warning to the evangelical
community. It revealingly portrays
the wrong direction, due to wrong
philosophies, that certain world
missions and church growth
advocates are going.
The opening pages of Scripture
point out that a focal point of Satan's
attack will center on God's Word:
"Hath God said?" (Gen. 3:5). Within
the pages of this volume the author
tellingly shows how many
evangelicals are compromising and
changing God's Word in the name of
linguistiCS.
A plime example of this thinking
is the Bible translation thinking and
instruction of Eugene Nider. He was
Secretary of the Translations of the
American Bible Society in 1954, when
he published Customs and Cultures.
Therein, he promoted the idea of
dynamic equivalence in translation.
Accordingly, the translator is to be
extremely conscious of the culture of
the language into which the Bible is
being translated. In fact, the culture
becomes more important than
Scripture itself. The translator must
translate the Bible ina manner so that
the reader will not be offended by it.
Thus, he or she will more readily
receive it. For example, since the
Muslims are offended by the Trinity,
then God's essence must be avoided
and His activities stressed.
The author then shows how this
same thesis is played out in the
thinking of men such as Charles Kraft,
Don McGavern, Don McCurry and
John Wimber.
Sadly, these men and their
followers evidently failed to
understand that God alone saves
sinners. BelieVing in the importance
of man deciding for Christ led to
their desire to make it as inoffensive
as possible for man to believe.
Evangelistic emphasis shifted from
individual conversions to the
conversion oflarge groups. The result
is a watered down gospel for man
who needs a faithful translation of
Scriprure.
This book is important reading
for pastors, elders, and those
contemplating going to, or already
involved in, a mission field outside of
the United States.
The book is written by one who is
not Calvinistic in theology. Yet, he
realizes the importance of
maintaining the truth of God's Word
no matter what language it is
translated into. The book has some
typographical errors, but they are
not numerous and do not detract
from the importance of the book.
An appendix includes a chart of
severa 1 pa ges tha t refutes W. F .
Albright's thesis that the Scriptures
were borrowed from pagan myths. A
good index allows the book to be
used as a reference tooUl
December, 1994 THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon .' 23