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Chand . Up . VIII, xii, 2, where the highest bliss is seen asfreedom in the worlds rather than freedom from them .

The translations are generally faithful and readable,but there are some questionable points . RV . I, 1 2c means'may he bring the gods here', not 'He makes present for us theGods' ; and in verse 5 the simple 'with the gods' becomes'encircled with his crown of Gods' . Gopa 'cowherd ; guardian'(RV. VI, 9, 3) becomes 'Shepherd' ; Panikkar usually refrainsfrom such Biblical echoes . Vi-pataya- 'fly away ; fly open'(RV. VI, 9, 6) is made to mean simultaneously 'grow dim' and'grow brighter' . Like many, he often translates purusa as'person' instead of 'man' ; in Brh . Up . VI, ii he uses both,spoiling the continuity . Gandharva 'Merman' is grotesque,and somya 'moon-shining' is perhaps just an example of theetymological word-play to which Panikkar is addicted .

There are no explicit references to Christianity, as inhis Unknown Christ ; but sometimes they are implicit . On RV . X,10, he finds that Yama, who is twin to Gods and Men, conquersdeath by withstanding temptation, and so becomes perfect Man,'the risen Man' . The introductory essay is called 'The VedicEpiphany' ; does this mean the occasion on which the Easternsages bring their offerings to the Logos-Brahman?

The book is valuable less as what it claims to be, thanas a personal record of deep and committed Vedic study, fullof fascinating though sometimes questionable insights .

D.H . KillingleyUniversity of Newcastle upon Tyne

Benezeri Kisembo, Laurenti Magesa, and Aylward Shorter, AfricanChristian Marriage . London and Dublin, Geoffrey Chapman, 1977 .xxvi + 242p . £2 .75 .

The reviewer of this book has a double task, for it cannot bediscussed without also considering Adrian Hastings's ChristianMarriage in Africa (London : SPCK 1973) . The introduction toAfrican Christian Marriage outlines part of the history whichled up to the preparation of the two books . Adrian Hastingswas commissioned by five Anglican Archbishops in East, Centraland South Africa to make a study of the problems relating tomarriage and the churches, at almost the same time (1970) thatthe Roman Catholic bishops of Eastern Africa set up theprogramme known as CROMIA (Churches' Research of Marriage inAfrica) . Although there was considerable co-operation betweenthe two projects (Introduction, p. xviii), work in the end

244 Short reviews and book notes

proceeded separately . Inevitably the individual researcherpulled ahead of the committee, and Hastings's report came outfour years earlier .

The 1977 publication is considerably the longer - almost100 pages in its central section . And this although the authorsof the second book 'have not attempted to improve on Hastings'excellent historical sketch of the theological positions adoptedby the churches with regard to various pastoral problemsconcerning marriage' (p . xviii) . They have also used, as acentral part of their discussion and for comparisons of thesituation in different parts of Africa, Hastings's conceptof the 'church marriage rate' . This refers to 'the number ofmarriages recognized each year by a church per 1,000 of itschurch population' . There are a few minor points of disagreement,but all in all the later work endorses both Hastings'smethodology and his findings .

Omitting the historical-theological overview given byHastings, and using the 'church marriage rate' suggested byhim, what does the 1977 book add to the discussion? Mainly agreat deal of detail : a wide range of examples from differentchurches, different ethnic groups, but all in all theargument is not very much advanced . The book bears all thesigns of being produced by a committee, with chapters 'cut toa pattern' . Each of the eight is divided into three sections -case material, theological reflection, models for pastoralaction . Each chapter is long (up to thirty pages) anddiscursive, packed with examples and the opinions of experts .The range of subjects covered in the eight chapters is wide .In addition to discussing marriage, divorce, remarriage andthe problem of polygamy (the topics on which Hastingsconcentrates) this book adds 'Husband-wife relationships,fatherhood /but not motherhood : , sexuality', 'Parent-childrelations and sex-education', 'Population growth and responsibleparenthood', and 'marriage and community' .

All this is valuable - all these are topics of greatimportance - but the resulting book is finally overwhelming .So many conferences have been held ; so much material has beenaccumulated ; so many views have been taken into account . itseems that it is not the specific problem of 'marriage'which is being discussed, but the whole of life . The impactof the book is lessened by its all-inclusive nature, especiallyin contrast to Hastings's much more focused argument . This isnot to say that the book will not prove useful to church leadersand workers involved in the agony of making decisions .

As a female reviewer, I would like to add a comment .

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The authors (on page 77) cite an African Roman CatholicArchbishop who states 'that, in his opinion, African menwere twenty years behind the thinking of their womenfolk' .This confirms my own belief that the marriage expectations ofAfrican women are, by and large, very different from theexpectations of African men . Women desire a marriage ofpartnership, sharing and companionship; men are content withthe old patterns . They retain, in fact, what the authors call'an outmoded polygamous mentality' . This being the case,should not women be well-represented on the committee andpanel of consultants who were in part responsible for thisbook? They form, after all, a high percentage of those whoembark on marriage? But we find (p . 213) only one woman onthe steering committee, and that a European religious, and(p . 214) only one woman - here at least an African marriedwoman - on the panel of consultants . I am sure that manywomen were involved in the various consultations held over theseveral years of preparation . But the time has passed whenwomen in the background is sufficient, especially for asubject which concerns them so closely . On the subject ofpolygamy, for instance, the view of African Christian womenis likely to be very different from that of many men, theologiansor not, and the writers do give a nod to this in their commenton the incredible 'liberal approach to polygamy' (pp . 90-1) .But please - next time marriage is the subject, make sureAfrican women are heard - and seen to be heard .

Jocelyn MurrayUniversity of Aberdeen

Reinhard Rurup, Emanzipation and Antisemitismus . Studien zur'Judenfrage' der burgerlichen Gesellschaft . Gottingen,Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1975 . 208 pp. DM 28 .

The key to this stimulating collection of essays by a scholarwho first became known for his contribution to the Pietismusindustry, their strength and their weakness, is given by thesub-title, the sociological 'placing' . The 'Jewish question',the modern phase of Gentile embarrassment towards the Jews, isrelated in time to the rise and crisis of bourgeois society,and in space to a scheme in which Britain and France haveprogressive societies, but too few Jews for a 'Jewish question'to develop ; Russia and Eastern Europe have a plethora of Jews,but no hope of constitutional advance ; and Germany, withsubstantial Jewish populations and a bourgeois revolution, isthe home of the 'Jewish question' . And if the word Emanzipationas part of the common coin of politics was imported intoGermany from the jargon of Catholic emancipation, the anti-