Book Reviews 175

number of the articles are biased against the orthodox viewpoint, which
one might expect. Several examples illustrate the point. Hanson's essay
on "Canonicity" concludes, "But the nature of the documents them-
selves, as well as the manner in which they were canonized, make it very
difficult, if not impossible, to describe each of these documents as
possessing some quality of inspiration lacking in other Christian docu-
ments" (p. 82). The article on "Creationism," by Cobb, is really a refuta-
tion of the biblical account and contemporary creationists' efforts for
representation in education. According to Newlands, in his article on
"Christology, " the New Testament contains diverse viewpoints about the
Man Jesus and the Christ of faith. The "classic solution" to the hypostat-
ic union is the human Jesus' total dependence on God; therefore God
gave Him "participation in His divine nature, within the limits of the
human. " Chalcedon, though a "bad compromise, " was the "best option. "
Newlands then concludes that contemporary Christology is not complete
confusion, and he gives 11 lines of "kerygma," which "most Christians
would agree on." Improvement in details must come, he says, from "the
professional skill of theologians." When professional imagination re-
places the biblical text, then perhaps one should be amazed that 11 lines
are left!
J. L. Burns

Miraculous Gifts: Are They for Today? By Thomas R. Edgar.

Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers, 1983. 366 pp. $11.95.
According to Edgar, New Testament professor at Capital Bible Semi-
nary, "This book is written in order to examine the question 'Are today's
glossolalia (speaking in tongues) and other accompanying "gifts" the
same as the Biblical phenomena?' " (p. 1 ). His conclusion is a convincing
negative answer.
The first two chapters discuss spiritual gifts in general, which
Edgar defines as "an ability supernaturally given to an individual by the
Holy Spirit so that the recipient may utilize that ability to minister
beyond his normal human capacity" (p. 14). Every Christian possesses a
spiritual gift. But recognition of one's gift is important only as it helps
him minister more effectively in the church. The "miraculous gifts" were
temporary (chap. 9).
One chapter discusses apostles and prophets and another discusses
miracles and healing. The apostles and prophets were given for the
foundation of the church and were restricted to its beginnings. Gifts of
miracles and healings occur together in the New Testament and were
performed mainly by apostles.
The burden of the book is the gift of tongues, and three lengthy
chapters (about 150 pp.) discuss in detail the nature, purpose, and
history of the gift. The New Testament consistently (in both Acts and 1
Cor.) presents only one gift, "the miraculous ability to speak [foreign,
human] languages previously unknown to the speaker" (p. 168). Edgar
states that there is no biblical evidence for ecstatic unintelligible speech.
This low-priority gift was given for "a sign to unbelievers . . . for use
176 Bibfiotheca SacraApri I-June 1984
outside the assembly" (p. 211). Today's tongues-speaking is without
historical precedent and is now more similar to certain pagan practices
than the biblical gift. In fact contemporary Pentecostalism stands in
contrast to biblical facts in its major emphases (chap. 10).
One notable weakness is the bibliography. Pentecostal literature is
neglected. And most of the works cited are too technical or difficult for
the average reader to obtain.
Edgar's book is highly recommended by this reviewer for two
reasons. First, the book is an excellent synthesis of the best evangelical
literature on the subject. It is technical and scholarly, probing key
issues. But the book can be read by a popular audience as well. It is
clearly written with reviews and summaries, so that any reader should
be able to understand the author's arguments and interpretations.
Second, the book is one of the best summaries of the biblical emphases
on the subject. Edgar has given a careful exegesis of all relevant passages
with fresh insights. His discussions of 1 Corinthians 1214, Acts, and
their interrelationships are particularly outstanding.
J. L. Burns

The Great Rapture Hoax. By Dave MacPherson. Fletcher, NC:

New Puritan Library, 1983. 210 pp. Paper, $5.00.
The real hoax in this book is its title. MacPherson attempts to prove
that the Rapture doctrine originated with Margaret MacDonald and
Edward Irving. While he has done considerable research on this matter,
the materials he has unearthed have definitely proved exactly the oppo-
site of his conclusion. Neither MacDonald nor Irving were pretribula-
tionists, and so the pretribulation Rapture doctrine could not have
originated with them. This has been pointed out in this reviewer's work,
The Blessed Hope and the Tribulation (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Pub-
lishing House, 1976), pages 42-48, and in his book, The Rapture Ques-
tion (rev. and enlarged ed., Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House,
1979), pages 150-58. MacPherson continues to ignore the facts in the
case. Unfortunately some reputable scholars are following his lead with-
out investigating the insufficient base for his conclusions. All one need
do is read MacPherson's quotations to see that his conclusions are
wrong. If this does not suffice, the work by R. A. Huebner, The Truth of
the Pre-Tribulation Rapture Recovered, deals with the problem at
length. MacPherson ridicules this book but does not answer it.
The truth of the matter is that there was an advance in the compre-
hension of the pretribulation Rapture in the 19th century, but the
concept of an imminent return of Christ goes back to the early church
fathers. They, however, did not resolve the problem of how the Rapture
could be imminent and how certain events still had to occur before the
second coming of Christ. Those who today hold the pretribulation Rap-
ture view base their findings on Scripture something MacPherson
does not do. No passage of Scripture teaches aposttribulational Rapture
as this reviewer attempts to demonstrate in The Rapture Question,
pages 181-268.
 ^ s
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