Annotations

I Pledge Allegiance: Patriotism and the Bible. By Paul S. Minear. Geneva Press (distributed by Westminster Press), 1975 $2.65 (paper).

Those seeking study group resources for the bicentennial might well consider this collection of nine bible studies prepared by Yale New Testament scholar Paul Minear. Topics covered include civil religion, “on commemorating revolutions,” amnesty, segregation, the “security-obsession,” etc. Each study provides suggested biblical texts, some analysis by Minear, related quotes from contemporary sources, and a bibliography of supplementary materials. Among the contemporary sources used to illuminate the discussion of racism is a quotation from the Chicago “Declaration of Evangelical Social Concern.”

PROTEST: Red, Black, Brown Experience in America. By James Mencarelli and Steve Saverin. Eerdmans, 1975. $2.95 (paper).

A journalist and a doctoral student in sociology have joined forces to provide a factual, and perhaps somewhat prosaic, survey of the various protest movements that have emerged in recent years to seek justice for the native American, the Black, and the Mexican American. In addition to including a basic statement of the historical experience of each group in American society, the authors sort out the positions and history of major movements and organizations as well as providing biographical sketches of important leaders. While such a book will not significantly shape thinking, it does provide important background in formation for discerning Christian involvement in these areas.

Grace Unlimited. Edited by Clark Pinnock. Bethany Fellowship, 1975. $4.95 (paper).