Book Reviews—(Continued)
| Published date | 01 January 1949 |
| DOI | 10.1177/026455054900501906 |
| Date | 01 January 1949 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
254
]
BOOK
REVIEWS—(
Continued
)
Marriage
Counselling,
by
David
R.
Mace.
J.
&
A.
Churchill
(8s.).
’
This
is
an
account
of
the
remedial
work
of
the
Marriage
Guidance
Councils
by
one
who
has
laid
the
foundations
of
Marriage
Guidance
in
this
country.
It
should
be
of
interest
to
all-
who
are
engaged
in
the work
of
conciliation.
Dr.
Mace
outlines
the
aims
and
functions
of
the
Marriage
Guidance
Centre
and
the
diagnosis
and
treat-
ment
of
marital
disharmony.
For
the
purpose
of
diagnosis
he
explores
three
elements
within
the
marriage,
viz.:
the
sex
relationship,
the
personal
relationship,
and
the
parenthood
relationship.
In
addition
to
these there
is
a
fourth
element
to
be
explored
in
the
field
of
environ-
mental
pressures
which
may
put
a
strain
on
the
marriage
relationship.
In
dealing
with
the
personal
fitness
of
the
counsellor,
he
rightly
emphasises
the
importance
of
temperament,
that
is
a
certain
type
of
disposition
which
fits
men
and
women
for
the
work:
&dquo;
...
it
involves
a
combination
of
qualities
which
only
a
minority
of
people
happen
to
possess.&dquo;
Many
experienced
conciliators
would
hesitate
to
agree
with
the
author
when
he
says
that
the
counsellor’s
sympathy
must
never
be
aroused
to
the
point
at
which
he
&dquo; takes
sides &dquo;in
,a
marital
conflict.
It
is
not
always
possible
to
remain
neutral
and
it
may
be
desirable
to
point
out
to
one
or
both
the error
of
their
ways.
Dr.
Mace
gives
a
list
of
the
exacting
requirements
for
the
delicate
art
of
marriage
counselling.
It
is
work
which
in
his
opinion
should
only
be
done
by
men
and
women
who
have
reached
a
certain
measure
of
maturity.
He
considers
it
desirable
that
marriage
counsellors
should
never
be
under
25
years
of
age,
and
only
under
30
in
special
circumstances.
Dealing
with
the
recruitment
of
marriage
counsellors,
the
writer
appears
to
rely
a
great
deal
upon
voluntary
workers.
In
these
days,
when
there
is
an
acute
shortage
of
both
trained
and
untrained
social
workers,
one
wonders
what
special
means
Dr.
Mace
employs
to
attract
people
with
special
gifts
of
mediation.
One
cannot
think
that
the &dquo; senior
married
women
who
before
marriage
were
engaged
in
professional
work
as
doctors,
psychologists,
professional
social
workers
and
the
like,&dquo;
can
be
a
rich
source
of
supply.
Such
volunteers
must
be
carefully
sifted,
and
we
are
warned
against
two
unsuitable
types
of
people
who .seek
to
do
marriage
counselling.
Firstly,
there
are
those
with
feelings
of
insecurity
and
inferiority
who
are
motivated
by
a
lust
for
power
and
prestige
and
find
feelings
of
compensation
in
directing
the
affairs
of
weaker
people
who
are
in
trouble.
Secondly,
there
is
the &dquo; morbidly
curious
person
who
sees
in
marriage
counselling
a
chance
to
pry
into
the
intimate
affairs
of
other
people.&dquo;
Most
of
the
conciliation
work
carried
out
in
this
country
today
is
done
by
probation
officers,
who
co-
operate
with
outside
social
agencies,
but
only
a
relatively
small
percentage
need
to
be
directed
to
a
medical,
spiritual
or
outside
social
agency.
Dr.
Mace,
however,
considers
that
the
place
of
the
marriage
counsellor
is
a
member
of
a
team
and
that
most
people
who
deal
with
marriage
problems,
such
as
the
doctor,
parson,
social
worker,
probation
officer,
or
magistrate,
have
not
the
competence,
except
within
their
specialised
sphere.
This,
of
course,
is
true,
but
it
is
necessary
to
point
out
that
the
training
and
experience
of
the
prob.ation
officers
tends
to
qualify
him
for
a
wider
conciliation
field
than,
say,
his
medical
or
spiritual
co-workers.
This
book
gives
a
balanced
account
of
the
growth
of
the
Marriage
Guidance
Centre,
which
as
yet
is
only
in
its
beginnings
and
still
experimental.
It
is
constructive
and
merits
the
attention
of
those
who
are
doing
remedial
matrimonial
work
in
the
courts.
A.G.R.
The
Trial
of
Jesus
Christ,
by
Frank
J.
Powell
(Metro-
politan
Magistrate).
Paternoster
Press
(6s.).
The
theme
of
Mr.
Powell’s
book
is
the
arrest,
trial
and
sentence
pronounced
upon
Jesus
Christ. First
comes
the
historical
background;
then
an
enquiry
into
the .authority
for
the
arrest
and
into
the
identity
of
those
who
effected
it.
The
trial
itself
is
divided
into
its
parts:
the
pre-
liminary
questioning
by
the
ex-High
Priest
Annas,
the
proceedings
before
Caiaphas
and
the
Sanhedrin,
the
Roman
trial
before
Pilate,
including
the
remand
to
Herod
and
the
culmination
of
these
incidents
in
the
death
sentence.
Finally,
the &dquo;
Sequel
&dquo; traces
some
of
the
re-
percussions
of
the
trial
throughout
the
centuries
to
modern
times.
The
charge
of
constructive
blasphemy
against
the
Accused
became
an
allegation
about
Messiahship;
this
latter
in
turn
provided
the
basis
for
a
charge
of
sedition.
The
chamelon-like
&dquo;
charge
&dquo;
was
an
expedient
to
ensure
that
each
step
in
the
trial
should
lead
to
a
conclusion
pre-determined
by
the
accusers.
Such
a
pre-judgment
deprived
the
trial
of
the
spirit
of
justice.
The
fact
of
the
holding
of
the
trial
was
a
face-saving
device.
Even
the
form
of
justice
was
absent
in
the
attempt
to
extort
a
confession
from
the
Accused,
a
practice
contrary
to
Jewish
law.
Mr.
Powell
has
set
himself
a
task
of
investigation
and
exposition
which
he
acknowledges
to
be
beset
with
diffi-
culties.
According
to
a. famous
New
Testament
scholar,
the
trial
of
Jesus &dquo; is
bound
up
with
a
triple
set
of
problems,&dquo;
archaeological,
legal
and
historical.
That
Mr.
Powell
has
grappled
with
the
difficulties
is
evident
from
the
authorities
to
which
he
refers.
Nobody,
after
reading
this
book,
can
doubt
that
there
was
no
justice
in
the
trial
of
Jesus,
and
that
therefore
Jesus
was
murdered.
The
chief
characters:
Annas,
Caiaphas
and
Herod,
the
mob,
the
interplay
of
motives,
self-interest,
expediency,
passion,
the
integration
of
these
factors
with
the
use
of
legal
machinery,
all
are
analysed
and
re-assembled
into
a
narrative
which
conforms
in
spirit
to
that
of
the
Gospel
originals.
- -
It
is
the
fact
that
human
nature
remains
fundamentally
the
same
throughout
the
ages
that
enables
significance
to
be
invested
in
history,
composed
as
it
is
of
personali-
ties
and
events.
What
that
significance
is,
always
has
reference
to
the
personality
of
the
Accused
turned
Judge,
and
is
inseparably
connected
with
quality
of
character.
This
is
a
matter
vital
to
every
generation.
Mr.
Powell
brings
it
home
clearly
to
our
own.
Rather
less
satisfying
is
the
author’s
exploration
into
&dquo; Christian
Interpretation
&dquo; in
the
Sequel.
Mr.
Powell’s
space
is
limited,
and
the
Christian
religion
does
not
lend
itself
to
an
adequate
expression
of
its
different
aspects
in
highly-condensed
statements.
Brevity
can
mislead.
The
function
of
the
Judge,
essential
as
it
is,
is
preparatory
to
the
revelation
of
His
forgiveness.
This
phase
needs
sufficient
explanation
to
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