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- - Germany Principal J.B. Paton met among others Ritschl and Harnack. The principal of Western College, R.S. Frank, was a follower of Ritschl: "I found in Ritschl's Justification and Reconciliationthe key to Holy Scripture, which Calvin's Institutes have been to my evangelical forefathers". He was opposed to Barthianism, but in the period around the Second World War there was among a group of 'Nco-orthodox' theologians a swing towards a more or less Barthian position. At a fairly early stage, biblical criticism found its way to most Dissenting colleges. Ultimately it was generally accepted, but initially it met with some opposition: in 1857 Samuel Davidson of Lancashire College, an eminent Old Testament scholar with many contacts in Germany, had to resign from his function because of his critical views. A special feature of Elaine Kaye's study is her architectural interest. Her work contains a number of photographs of mostly nineteenth-century col- leges, sometimes relatively large, many of them built in a kind of neo- gothic, often imposing in their own way: testimonies to the growing influence and self-consciousness of Dissent in the second half of the century. In the course of the twentieth century most of these buildings had to be relin- quished. The existence of too many colleges, catering for the same com- munity, was impractical, and with the recession of Dissent financial problems hastened the process. To many Congregationalists, especially of the older generation, the process had a tragic aspect as a sign of decline. But this well-written scholarly study (a most valuable contribution to the history of Dissent) is not a requiem for a past which is lost. Some of the best tradi- tions of the old colleges live on in the Northern College, which is strength- ened by the collaboration with Manchester University. Rather I would call it a work of gratitude for a past which in this ecumenical age continues to play a role in the life of (in particular) the United Reformed Church. J. van den Berg, The Hague

ROBRECHTBOUDENS, Two Cardinals: John Henry Newman/Désiré Joseph Mercier, edited by LIEVE GEVERSwith the collaboration of BRIANDOYLE [Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium 123]. University Press/ Peeters, Leuven 1995, 362 pp. ISBN 9061867177. EUR 44.63.

Dr. Robrecht Boudens is Professor Emeritus of Church History in the the- ological faculty of Louvain University. To celebrate Professor Boudens's 75th birthday in 1995, eight of his articles on Cardinal Newman and ten on Cardinal Mercier were brought together by his successor, Professor Lieve Gevers, into the volume Two Cardinals. The articles originate from the years 1970-1995, the majority having been written in the 1990s. Most of them are translated from Dutch into English by Brian Doyle. The book is 226 completed by a biography of Professor Boudens, and a bibliography 'Studies on Newman 1990-1994' by Professor Leo Kenis. The worth of this book is not so much in the combination of these Two Cardinals. The relevance of the combination remains unclear - their intel- ligence and the limitation to their own culture not being very convincing - arguments and Mercier's name is not mentioned in the section on Newman nor Newman's in the section on Mercier. But the worth of the book is in the information and reflection provided by each respective sec- tion. The points of view from which Boudens studies his Cardinals are, interestingly, determined by his own interests as a post-Vatican II Roman Catholic. Newman is studied primarily on themes that show his ambivalence towards the Italian dominated Roman of his days, and which foreshadow his importance to Catholic thought during and after the Second Vatican Council. Mercier is primarily pictured against the background of his anti-Flemish attitude, which contrasted considerably with his more modem views on other issues. These focuses give this book its coherence and relevance. It is mainly the 'second life' of John Henry Newman (1801-1890) that is depicted in this book: Newman's opinions as a Roman Catholic (from 1845). - In several ways he can be seen as to use an anachronistic expression - a forerunner of Vatican II. A first example is his conviction that the Church consists of all believers, rather than only of bishops and clergy. As an edi- tor of journals and as the genius behind the plans for an Irish university, - - Newman acted or wanted to act upon this principle, which met with resistance from his ecclesiastical superiors. Another example is his reservation towards the declaration of papal infallibility. The idea of a single person deciding matters of faith conflicted with Newman's conviction that the deve- lopment of dogma is an organic process in which the mind of the Church is made up by the whole community of believers over a long period. The - pope plays a role in that process Newman himself adhered to a moder- - ate doctrine of papal infallibility, he only feared too fierce a definition but that role would rather be to supervise the process and to confirm the outcome than to declare a definition ex sese. Personally, Newman had bad memories of Roman centralism, as he had been treated with suspicion by Propaganda Fide for many decades. His very English way of thought, argu- ment, philosophy was nearly incomprehensible to the Roman authorities with their scholastic rationality, and vice versa. Newman's attitude towards the laity and his opinions about infallibility reveal something about Newman's ecclesiology. The other side of his per- - son is discussed by Boudens as well on the one hand his spirituality, on the other hand his humour. From this first part of Boudens's book emerges a vivid picture of a Prince of the Church who still deserves to be met and to be known better. As Boudens's interest in Newman originated from a positive impres-