A study, or even a hasty reading, of this biography of Walter Scott will impart a new appreciation of a man who stood as one of the four pillars at the entrance of the Disciples of Christ upon the American scene. Specifically, it was Scott who fashioned the Disciples' evangelistic method, the instrument of their amazing expansion, elevating "the simple confession of faith in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, to a central position in the gospel, and under the name of the 'Golden Oracle,' advocated it as the creed of Christianity and the' basis of Christian union."

      The sesquicentennial of Scott's birth, the occasion for bringing out this new biography, coinciding as it does with the launching of the Crusade for a Christian World, should be a time for recapturing Scott's evangelistic passion and for stressing the importance of lay evangelism, both of which accounted in measure for Scott's amazing success. This book has a definite contribution to make toward that end.

      While Professor Stevenson's study of Scott is characterized throughout by a sympathetic appreciation of the man of whom he writes, there is no trace of that type of adulation which marks the work of the unthinking hero worshiper. The author's purpose, rather, is to present a flesh-and-blood man; with all 'his virtues, all his faults, portrayed against the historical, geographical, social, and religious background in which he lived and labored.

Dwight E. Stevenson

      Dwight E. Stevenson, professor and head in the Department of Religion and Philosophy, Bethany College, is a native of Illinois. He graduated from the Canton High School in 1924. In 1929, he received. an A.B. degree--Summa Cum Laude--from Bethany College, and in 1933 the B. D. degree from Yale Divinity School. During his years at Bethany College and the Yale Divinity School, he held student pastorates.

      Upon graduation from the Yale Divinity School, Mr. Stevenson became pastor of the Bethany Memorial Church, Bethany, West Virginia. In 1936, he became part-time instructor of Philosophy in Bethany College and served in that capacity until he resigned his pastorate in 1944 to become professor and head in the Department of Religion and Philosophy in Bethany College. During recent years he has given many lectures before colleges, seminaries, and ministerial associations. Numerous articles have been contributed by him to national publications. Among his other writings are CYF Study Manual, A History of the Bethany Church of Christ, and Faiths That Compete for My Loyalty--a study course for young people and adults. For the past ten years, he has contributed regularly to the Bethany Bible Teacher and Student.

      Mr. Stevenson holds important positions on committees of various organizations of the Disciples of Christ.