Briefer Notices

BRIEFER NOTICES Prepared by John and Barbara Curtis Jack D. Marietta has published an article in Church History, v. 43, no. 2 (June, 1974) entitled "Wealth, War and Religion: The Perfecting of Quaker asceticism, 1740-1783." He discusses the effect of war on the Friends' view of wealth. During this period money came to seem a very real threat to the reign and government of Christ. The Tract Association of Friends, Philadelphia in 1974 put out a pamphlet written by Lewis Benson called "A revolutionary gospel." The material contained in this study appeared as three articles in TAe Friend, London, in the spring of 1974. The gospel preached by the early Friends was a revolutionary one. A foundation was laid for a new kind of Christian community that was raised up in the seventeenth century. Maurice A. Creasey of Woodbrooke in England has written a paper called "The Quaker as radical Christian." Friends Home Service Committee has published this study which originally appeared as four articles in The Friend, London, in September 1973. The Quaker is related to radical Christianity which is described as "emerging at the present time, within and beyond the churches, a fresh, living, revolutionary, and costing vision of the meaning for every man of what came to expression in Jesus, and of what the Christian churches ever since have both witnessed to, and betrayed." "Mount Pleasant and the early Quakers of Ohio," by James L. Burke and Donald E. Bensch is a publication of the Ohio Historical Society at Columbus , Ohio. The Friends Meeting House at Mount Pleasant has recently been restored under the auspices of the society. This house was the first yearly meeting house west of the Allegheny Mountains and the home of Ohio Yearly Meeting. Herbert V. Nicholson's account of the service of his family in Christian mission work in Japan appeared in 1973. This interesting history of a Quaker missionary's work in the Orient has recently been translated and published in the Japanese language. The publisher indicates the book is an enlargement of Nicholson's original "Treasure in earthen vessels." From Friends Peace and International Relations Committee, London, has come a noteworthy pamphlet prepared by Nicholas A. Sims. It is called "Approaches to disarmament." This booklet originated out of an invitation to revise an earlier pamphlet on this topic "Disarmament: An analysis for Quakers" that came out in 1967. The new publication takes account of developments in the intervening years and is designed for a wider readership than just the Society of Friends. In a rather specialized publication TAMS, the Journal of the Token and Medal Society, v. 14, no. 5, October 1974, is a useful biographical account of Mark Newby, early New Jersey Quaker settler. Newby brought with him a generous supply of English small coinage when he migrated from England in 1682. These coins were made legal tender by the West Jersey Assembly that same year. David Gladfelter, the author of this sketch, became inter131 132QUAKER HISTORY ested in tracing the Newby family genealogy when he became owner of one of these old coins. He researched the story carefully and then wrote this account of Newby family history in England and America. Two pamphlets by an Irish Friend, Maurice J. Wigham, are of interest. One is an examination of Jesus' parables and has the title 'My kingdom is not of this world.' The other publication, called "The Society of Friends today" is a 1973 revision of an earlier paper written in 1968. Wigham states in his preface that "this is not intended as a document which will lead people to join the Society of Friends, but as an exploration of some of the experiences and practices of the Society which may be of interest to others in their search for those spiritual qualities of life which we all desire." Persons who are acquainted with the study of the ideas and life of Isaac Penington published in 1936 under title "The name is living," by M. Whitcomb Hess will be interested to learn that her son, M. C. Hess, has recently prepared a listing entitled "M. Whitcomb Hess: A bibliographical checklist " which contains a complete index of all her...