thescopeofthisreview,somespacernust be given to this concept. Within the Trinity we have the solution of the problem regarding the importance of the one and the many. God is one God, yet He C}Qsts in thre e persons. Naturally we cannot say which member of the God head is most important. All members are equal. Yet each member of the Godhead has an imponant role in salvation. The Father elects a people to be saved. The eternal Son took on human flesh and lived and died to redeem the elect. The Holy Spirit opens the sinner's heart to the Gospel andappliessalvationto our life. Applying this to civil government one cannot say that the central government is most important or that local government is most imponant. U.S. Civil government, as a result of Christian influence, is a covenantalgovemment. Themanystates representing the citizens wi thin them, freely entered into a covenantal relationship with a central government giving, by means of the Constitution, certain powen;to the central government When those powen; were abused the states understood that having freely entered into the relationship they could withdraw from itas a result ofthe central government encroaching on the powers ofthe state, thus breakingth ecovenantal relationship. Bytheirrefusaltoallowthis action to occur unhindered the North was insisting that the Union, (the One) is all important. Thus a failure to properly undeIStand the relationship between the one and the many has resulted in an acquiescence to theruledofaevergrowing central govemment In proposing a remedy the authors rightly point out the importance of becoming involved inlocal government. I believe they are right in stating that too much emphasisis placed on the national level to the neglect of the l ocal political contests. However their remedy is too man..centered Regarding the South>s economic development they write, "We must look to ourselves for our economic salvation." (p.137) I do not believe we can trace all of our economic woes to the WarBetweentheStates. WeintheSouth as well as those in the North are in many instances covenant breakers with God. For example we have abortion clinics. Pornography exists in the South. Deuteronomy 28 clearly teaches that a nation cannot continually sin against God without sever economic consequences. The book's drawbacks do not hinder it from being a valuable resource for the discerning reading. I profited much from the authors' research and believe you will also.O Roger Schultz Book Review John.Eidsmoe,Columbusand.Cortez.: ConquerorsforChrist (Gree nForest,AR: New Leaf Press, 1992) $9.95. 304 pp. Index. Endnotes. Columbus and Cortez is an excellent andtimelywork forthe500channiversary of Columbus' voyage. Heavy attacks on Columbusandhislegacy by the politically correct have badly distoned the real explorer. And as Eidsmoe shows, such attacks are actually thinly veiled challenges to the Western tradition and, in particular, to Christianity. Columbus and Gonez will help set the record straight Eidsmoe discusses the motivations of European exploren; and conquerors, drawing on passages in their journalsthathistorianseitherignore or radically reinrerpret. He is also candid about the problems and inconsistencies of the Spanish, showing that they were sinners and had varied motivation, such as wealth, fame, and power. But he correctly insists that their Christian convictions mustalso be taken seriously. The book begins with excellent background chapters on the Norseman and Islam. Eidsmoedescribesthefaithof new convert Leif Ericsson who; commissioned by the king ofNorway to evangelize Greenland, stumbled unto America. The struggle between Christianity and paganism within the Viking community is fascinating, as is the history of the church in Greenland. Find out what Greenlanders used in place of wine in communion and the unique way Mrs. Eric the Red tried to conven her husband. The main challenge to Christianity the time of Columbus' binh was Is1am, an aggressive, militaristic religion pledged to world domination. In 1492 Spain scored a decisive victory of Mohammadanism, taking the Moorish stronghold at Granada, and became the bastion of crusading Christianity. Columbus' voyage was inspired by this crusading spirit. Sailing west in 1492, he hoped to outflank Muslims in the east. He earmarked gold discovered on the voyage forrecaptmingJerusalem. A devout Christian, Columbus was concerned about the spiritual condition of "Indians" in the Caribbean and encouraged their evangelization. MostinterestingisthewayColumbu5 saw his work fitting into God's plan. He believed that the Lord had shown him the way to America. He made much of hisnarne, Christopher(meaning"Christ- bearer'),andbelievedhisvoyages fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah (e.g., Is. 49:6). Eidsmoe does an excellent job of showing Columbusasasincereandcourageous- iffullenandsomewhatdri.ven-Mediev al Christian. Cortez was the same type of man. Despite his reputation as a blood-thirsty conquistador, Canez evangelized and sought friendly relations with the ttibes he encountered. His conquest was successful l arge ly because he mp.de alliances with oppressed Indians who CONTINUED ON PAGE 14 November, 1992 :t: THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon =t 7