“Christ in His Suffering”, “Christ on Trial”, and “Christ Crucified”. The “Schilder Trilogy” on the passion and death of Christ. By Dr. K. Schilder, of Kampen, The Netherlands. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids. Mich.

We can heartily recommend for study and inspirational reading these three books on the passion and death of Christ by Dr. Schilder, who had until recently been held in bondage by the Nazi overlords of Holland, but who has now returned to Kampen. These three books are the very best obtainable on this subject both for study and meditation. They have been translated into the English language by Dr. Henry Zylstra. We readily admit that it takes more than a superficial mind to read and digest the contents, but we believe that our Protestant Reformed young people are sufficiently intellectual to be able to gain the benefit of sound and instructive works such as Dr. Schilder here offers.

If there are societies that have established a library of their own or from time to time contribute to a church library, there could be found no better contribution to such a library than these three books. They are neatly bound, so that they will enhance the beauty and neatness of any library.

The contents offer material for the study of the passion and death of Christ found nowhere else. Dr. Schilder very emphatically develops the official work of our Savior. He stresses the Kingly, Priestly and Prophetic office of the Lord. Throughout the trilogy, a marvelous light from the Old Testament passages of Scripture fall upon the New Testament passages concerning the suffering of our Lord. It is true that Dr. Schilder, who wrote these valuable books in their original Holland language as early as 1929, would today have made certain changes, not only as to the exegesis given to some passages, but also to certain concepts which appear in the works. Personally, I believe that Dr. Schilder since 1929 has edged more and more away from the theory of Common Grace, especially as this theory is embodied in the “Three Points” of the Christian Reformed Churches. This is very plain from his more recent writings in which he has repeatedly stated that he could never believe in the “Three Points” as they are maintained by the aforementioned churches. However, regardless even of these weaknesses in the three books, which our Prot. Ref. Youth will be able to discern, we heartily recommend them. Our Lord becomes ever more dear and precious to us while reviewing any or all of the passages pertaining to His suffering as keenly explained in these books.