115 - Christ the Meaning Of History & The Historical Shape Of Faith

Christ the Meaning Of History
By Hendrikus Berkhof
224 pp. Richmond, Va., John Knox Press, 1966. $5.50.

The Historical Shape Of Faith
By Ralph G. Wilburn
240 pp. Philadelphia, Pa., The Westminster Press, 1966. $6.00.

Of these two books on the now well worn theme of faith and history the first named is one which has had a notable success in the Netherlands, where it has gone through four reprints since 1958, and which has already been translated into German. The English translation will be welcomed by those who are looking for a positive statement of the relation of Christian faith to history that keeps close to the Bible and, in particular, seeks to evaluate the apocalyptic material, which, the author feels-perhaps with reference to the Dutch situation-the church has left too much to exploitation by the sectarians. Berkhof contends that apocalyptic, or rather Jesus' reinterpretation of his apocalyptic role as Son of Man, can not only resolve the conflicts between consequent, realized, and futurist eschatologies, but can also provide a kind of "Christian philosophy of history," as he does not hesitate to call it. He follows Cullmann in adopting the (markedly Lukan) conception of salvation history, which he characterizes in the phrase, "fulfillment now, consummation later." As the Son of Man, Christ brings history to an end and at the same time begins a new history, the history of the kingdom, which receives its meaning, through the missionary endeavor, in the recurring pattern of his cross and resurrection. The history of the kingdom is an analogy of the Christ-event which is being realized throughout the world. Thus Christ is, not incidentally but basically, the meaning of history, and faith coincides with the adoption of a "philosophy of history," not, of course, in the accepted sense, but in the sense in which it formed an organic part of the apostles' preaching. And the Christian, who lives by faith, must be bold to look for the hand of God, not only in the providential government of his own life, but in the prints of the cross and the resurrection in history.

Professor Wilburn's book approaches the same theme, not by way of

116 - Christ the Meaning Of History & The Historical Shape Of Faith

biblical theology, which is treated briefly (and without a mention of Cullmann), but rather in the light of modern thought on the idea of history from the emergence of the historical mind at the close of the eighteenth century down through Croce, Toynbee, and Collingwood in the twentieth; and in the two final chapters the conclusions are brought to bear on the Christological problems raised by the historical understanding of human existence, and on the new quest of the historical Jesus. The book is intended as a handbook for students, and it should serve that purpose admirably. The author shows a wide familiarity with the literature and he presents a broad spectrum of views clearly, succinctly, and judiciously-though dissent is inevitably to be expected at some points, the alleged connection between Nietzsche and Nazism, to mention only one. The omission of Cullmann is strange in view of the importance of his contribution to the theme, now more important because of the more careful restatement of his thesis in his latest book on "Salvation as History." The name of Bultmann occurs frequently, but his reduction of history to the "historicity" of human existence is not discussed. Ferdinand Christian Baur regularly appears as Bauer. But these are minor blemishes. The student, for whom the book is written, will find in it an attractive introduction to a great theme, a reliable guide to its exploration, and an incentive to further study on his own.

George S. Hendry
Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton, N.J.