monies prove that the Church of to-day is holding firmly to the doctrine of future punishment, so preaching and so teaching.

Dr. Hartman says concerning his work, "There has been no effort at scholastic display; the constant aim has been simplicity; scientific and other technicalities have been studiously avoided, as far as possible, and all subjects have been treated in a manner to interest the ordinary reader." He has written tenderly, piously, but firmly. Though handling the most awful of all subjects, he has not harrowed the feelings of his reader by the use of coarse language or distressing figures. The man who wishes the doctrine of hell were not true, if he reads this book will feel that he must hold it, however terrible, however sorrowful, it may be to his own soul. The mau who feels tempted to look upon the gospel as a mere scheme of religious culture, if he reads this little volume will feel that the educational and refining influences of Christianity are the least significant of all its influences. The man who is tempted to preach "another gospel," will, if he reads this author, feel that he must "preach Christ and him crucified" or make his ministry a mere mockery of the miseries of men. R. A. WEBB.

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE AND ITS PROBLEMS. By J. H. Bates, Ph. M. New York: Eaton & Mains. Curts & Jennings. Price 50 cents. Pp. 141.

This little volume gives a very clear and satisfactory discussion of a number of the salient points of Christian Scientism. The opening chapter, on the Immanence and Transcendence of God, is especially valuable, as bearing against the chief negations of Mrs. Eddy and her school. The author's discussion of life, in his second chapter, is, however, weakened by his pronounced evolutionism, and his effort to uphold the faith of Christendom by his fling at creeds. We cannot imagine what good is to be accomplished by such statements as these, for instance: "The art of Christ has been distorted and obscured by the artifice of the church. Creeds, devised with ever so good an intent, and performing no little service in their way, have, nevertheless, hidden the simplicity that is in Christ. Weary of the problems of metaphysical theology, of a benumbing scholasticism, we welcome the call of the age that turns us back again to the archetypal, historical and immanent Christ,” etc. The fact is, a creedless Christianity is an invertebrate and powerless Christianity, and the people who are doing as much as Mrs. Eddy and her worshippers to turn men away from the simplicity of the truth as it is in Jesus, are those who are making common cause with all the enemies of the faith in denouncing the historic creeds of the church. "Integumentary doctrines," as our author, in his blundering tirade, terms credal statements, cannot be dispensed with, save at the cost of having a doctrinal system, as it were, flayed alive, exposed and bleeding at every pore.

Mr. Bates' discussion of the philosophy of Christian Science is in the main, creditable, and his chapter on cures, showing the abundant ground for refusing to give credence to this new ism because of its vaunted suc

cess, is a very valuable compilation of facts bearing on the subject. The closing paragraphs on Christianity and Health, are interesting and suggestive in some degree. We regret to note, however, that our author's views of the plan of salvation are strongly tinctured with the naturalism of John Watson, and others. Christ is able to save, he tells us, by "leading us back to nature, and persuading us that nature is a safe guide." And he defines the faith that saves as "faith in nature." The book closes with statements than which we can imagine none more misleading and contradictory of evangelical truth.

God, according to Mr. Bates, "has left man to work out his own salvation, a task that man is steadily accomplishing through the systematic methods of science. He has opened the world before us to be conquered by intelligence, a conquest in which man is to rise into strength and moral beauty, into harmony and communion with God."

This is good evolutionism. Salvation is wrought by science, and holiness evolved in the ordinary development of the human intellect and in the natural progress of human knowledge. This is, unmistakably, the new gospel of culture, which is as much an enemy to true Christian faith as is the crazy creed of Christian Scientism. Indeed, the points of resemblance between the views of Mrs. Eddy and those of Mr. Bates are numerous and striking. Not to mention others, we note that both are fond of using the terms of revolutionary philosophy, both are undisguisedly hostile to creeds, and both are agreed in teaching that men are to be saved by science. On the latter point the only difference between them is. that Mrs. Eddy has a private science factory of her own, and is therefore startlingly original, while Mr. Bates borrows his "saving knowledge" from Darwin, Huxley, and others.

Against these new fads of rationalism we urge the statement of the beloved disciples: "This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith," and the faith that saves is not mere faith in the invariable sequences of natural laws, but faith in Christ as a personal, all-sufficient, Divine Saviour, Teacher and Exemplar-our Prophet, Priest and King. Such a faith impels to all holy obedience, and conduces to the largest health of both soul and body. To assert that we are to overcome all evil simply by following nature and by practicing self-culture, is to contradict the word of God.

We regret that a book which is for the most part so attractive in its style, so happy in its treatment of the prominent features of a very dangerous heresy, and withal so clearly satisfactory in its exhibition of the unscripturalness of Mrs. Eddy's teaching, and the absurdities of her philosophy, is itself so signally weak and misleading in its attempts to state the fundamental truths of the Gospel. WM. P. MCGORKLE.

Graham, N. C.

THE MEDICAL MISSION. Its Place, Power and Appeal. By W. J. Wanless, M. D. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press. 1898. 16m0.

Pp. 96.

Wanted! 750,000 trained and consecrated medical missionaries in the

Foreign field alone! And then the proportion of physicians and surgeons to the population will be two and one-half times as great in the United States as in the missionary territory. This little book, by a medical missionary of the Northern Presbyterian Board, is directed primarily as on appeal to medical students and sntended, secondarily, to arouse all and stir them up to greater efforts. It is a well written book. It deserves wide circulation. It will accomplish good wherever it goes. Why cannot the Church as a Church and individual Christians throw off some of this corroding selfishness and do more for the suffering, sin-strickeu, disease-racked, priest-ridden and quack-persecuted myriads of millions of our degraded and unfortunate brothers. Their condition is pitiable in the extreme. This book draws the curtain and gives us a glimpse. The opportunity for serving God in Medical Missions is wonderful almost beyond imagination, and here it is shown as well as can be in as brief a

compass.

THE SETTING OF THE CRESCENT AND THE RISING of the Cross; or KAMIL ABDUL MESSIAH: A Syrian convert from Islam to Christianity. By the Rev. Henry Harris Jessup, D. D. Philadelphia: The Westminister Press, 1898. 16 mo. Pp. 156.

This little book has besides the narrative by Dr. Jessup, an introduction by F. F. Ellenwood, and an appendix on "The Arabian Mission," by S. M. Zevmer. It is a truly interesting sketch. No one can read it without drawing several lessons, viz: (1.) That Raymund Lull, Henry Martyn and a host of others have been right in maintaining that even high-class Mohammedans can be converted to Christianity: (2) that missionaries need be perfectly familiar with the religions, ideas and sacred books of those among whom they labor; (3) the tenacious hold that Islam has upon the Moslem; (4) what a beautiful character is one thoroughly molded to God's will and imbued with Gospel principles. It is a good book for the Sunday School library. It cannot fail to benefit anyone that reads it.

ISLAM; OR THE RELIGION OF THE TURK: By Rev. E. M. Wherry, D. D. New York: American Tract Society. 16mo. Pp. 64. 35 cents.

Cloth

There is considerable information compacted into this brief tractate, presented in concise but popular form. The purpose is to show that the faith of Islam is behind the American atrocities which have so horrified the Christian world. The Koran, Ahadis, Ijma and Qigas, the foundations of the systems are described first. Then the system erected on this foundation is depicted-the Kalima and other meritorious exercises; on top of all the Jahad or crusade against those of other faiths. The author finds hope in the number (150) of influential and bitterly opposing sects. The author says (p. 36). "The God of Islam is undoubtedly the true God," the objections being to the Moslem's conception of him. If we understand the statement we certainly cannot accept it. While we are

glad to see and acknowledge that there are elements of truth and good in all false systems of religion, we have not yet been educated in Comparative Religion up to the point of believing that there is more than one true God—the triune Spirit of absolute perfection and infinite in every attribute, as made known to us in the Bible. Islam's conception of God is Islam's god, and beside the true God it is little short of a monster. The Moslems are just as surely-though of course not as grossly— ǎocol as any people on earth.

The author is mistaken in claiming that Islam, next to Christianity, has the greatest number of adherents of any of the world religions (p. 57). Buddhism has about 500,000,000 adherents, and Mohammedanism, not more than 200,000,000.

Lastly, we venture to criticise the pedantic spelling of Arabic words. It is, of course, more accurate to say "Makkah" for "Mecca," "Madina" for "Medina," "Quran" for "Koran," "Darweesh" and "Muazzin," but many a reader will fail to detect the familiar words in the new dress, and the old is too well established to change, in popular works. Strangely, he does not give the False Prophet's name as "Muhammed," but the common "Mohammed."

D. J. BRIMM.

BOOK NOTICES.

CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. By Local Application; Not by a Total Covering. By Rev. A. H. Caldwell, Senatobia, Mississippi. Paper. Pp. 183, 12m0 New Orleans: E. S. Upton. 1898.

This is another attempt to run the Baptist into a rat-hole and plug him up. The author undertakes to prove that immersion is positively unscriptural. He does so by showing that all the elements employed to symbolize truths in religion were applied in some other mode than immersion. All the doctrines of salvation are symbolically included under the terms Blood and Water-the Blood symbolizing the objective elements, and the Water the subjective elements. Now the Blood and the Water were historically sprinkled; the subject was never represented as totally covered by either. Immersion is out of line; no elements were ever used in that mode.

Illustrated by Teuniel. November, 1898. Chi12 mo. Pp. 121.

THE MIRAGE OF LIFE. By W. Haig Miller.
Vol. 4, No. 68 of "The Colportage Library."
cago: The Bible Institute Colportage Association.

IO cents.

"Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." The author has attempted to prove by many historical examples that those who pursue happiness by unsanctified lives in the various spheres of human activity, enterprise and recreation are like the famished desert traveller that pursues the natural mirage till he sinks down exhausted. He takes examples of the Man of Fashion, Beau Brummell; the Man of Wealth, William Beckford; the Hero, Lord Clive; the Statesman, William Pitt; the Orator, Richard Brinsley Sheridan; the Artist, Haydon; the Man of Literature, Scott; the Poet, Byron; the Man of Wit and Humor, Hood; the Man of the World, Chesterfield; the Beauty, Lady Hamilton; the Monarch, Napoleon. A number of other characters are introduced incidentally. Profitable

reading.

THE STORY Of John Wesley. Told to Boys and Girls: By Marianna Kirlew. New York: Eaton and Mains, Cincinnati: Curtis and Jennings.

This work is an effort, a successful effort, to tell the story of the founder of the Methodist Church, so as to render it intelligble and interesting to young children. As we should naturally expect, the history of his childhood days in the humble rectory at Epworth, with his conscientious father, his wise and pious mother, and his eighteen brothers and sisters, are told with some fulness. Next we see him as a school boy at the Charterhouse school in London and Westminster, and as a college boy at Oxford, where he won college honors and a fellowship. But his character as a minister of the gospel and self appointed missionary to the