Theology Today - Vol 45, No.4 - January 1989 - BOOK REVIEW - The Reformed Imperative: What the Church Has to Say That No One Else Can Say

503 - The Reformed Imperative: What the Church Has to Say That No One Else Can Say

The Reformed Imperative: What the Church Has to Say That No One Else Can Say

By John H. Leith

Philadelphia, Westminster, 1988. 152 Pp. $12.95.

John Leith, Professor of Theology at Union Seminary in Richmond, Virginia, is troubled about the status of Presbyterianism in contemporary American life. Like its sister denominations, the Presbyterian Church has, according to Leith, lost a proper sense of the authority of Scripture, the historical reality of the incarnation, and hope for eternal life. Having abandoned its governance to a bureaucracy that has reduced prophecy to political rhetoric, it has forfeited the dynamic of growth to manipulative evangelical ministries. But lest anyone think that this is just one more conservative diatribe against modernity, let it be said that Leith is concerned not only with the statistical decline of Presbyterianism, but also with the social irrelevance of its preaching and programs-which, he believes, is manifest in the fact "that Presbyterians voted 68% or more for Ronald Reagan..."

Leith's thesis is that the church's malaise is seen in ineffective preaching and pastoral care caused by neglect of fundamental elements of Christian faith. The cure is, therefore, a recovery of the theological imperatives of the Reformed tradition, an outline of which occupies the body of this book. Of Leith's review of the heads of Christian doctrine, the following may be briefly noted. For Leith, revelation is grounded in mystery, which he defines (in a way reminiscent of Paul Tillich) as "the presence that encounters us in the depths and at the boundaries of our existence." Mystery is unavoidable for both scientific investigation and for faith, where it is encountered in the Word made flesh. Attempts in the church to avoid the mystery of the incarnation are based not only upon its apparent exclusivity, but also upon the conviction that the human condition requires no such divine intervention. It is this claim of autonomy that the author is particularly anxious to set aside in his discussion of salvation. Where contemporary culture emphasizes self-forgiveness and self-acceptance, Leith places the radicality of sin, which can only be met by the action of Christ-his teaching, his atoning death, and his resurrection. Against the trend of modern biblical scholarship,

504 - The Reformed Imperative: What the Church Has to Say That No One Else Can Say

Leith argues for the historical nature of the resurrection, though he admits that it was not an event available to neutral observation.

In his discussion of providence, the author calls for a renewed sense of the gracious activity of God in nature. Authentic faith must be able to "pray for rain." Such a faith does not deny the laws of nature, but believes that God works, in William Temple's phrase, through "an infinite gradation of adjustments in the process." As a Reformed theologian, Leith gives special weight to the doctrines of predestination and election, claiming that human existence finds its only identity, meaning, and hope in the directing purposes of God. Leith follows Calvin in viewing the doctrine of election as properly a retrospective recognition of God's guiding hand in the life of faith and in assuming the eternal reality of reprobation, of which more below. Again, Leith is refreshingly out of step with contemporary social ethics in his insistence that Christian social obedience cannot take place apart from a life of personal holiness. Similarly, he makes an unabashed argument for the necessity of belief in eternal life-without which "duty and love will have lost their meaning."

As the subtitle of this book suggests, the church has something special to say, not only about the reality and grace of God, but also about human life and its quest for justice and peace. If Leith's clear and simply stated review of Reformed theology will prove helpful for religious instruction, the relation he sees between Christian doctrine and social ethics should

505 - The Reformed Imperative: What the Church Has to Say That No One Else Can Say

be of particular interest to theologians. For instance, in his eschatology, Leith argues that without the ground and hope of a "new heaven and new earth" there can be no effective political action. Against every "secular" and "wordly" theology, the author insists that Christians must understand themselves as "resident aliens." Only from that perspective can the church adopt the "realism" called for by Niebuhr and see "the possibilities that are open in history... by a vision of a transformed life and society." Finally, in his doctrine of the spirit, Leith insists that not just charismatics, but every Christian must receive the Holy Spirit, for it is in the "presence and power of God" that a renewing and socially relevant witness in the church is possible.

As befits a Reformed theologian, Leith aims at an articulation of Christian faith free from ideological control. His book will not please everyone. When he writes, "the Gospel is hidden from those who do not understand that success is not even possible for those who have an impossible social environment," conservatives may be offended. On the other hand, when he charges that those who are "optimistic about changing ...economic and social systems are less concerned... about significant transformation of the life of individuals," he is sure to anger liberals.

My question arises from a different quarter. One of the great strengths of this book is the way the author seeks to maintain the priority of God's action and grace in respect to every possibility for human progress and hope. That, of course, is the genius of the Reformed tradition. However, one wonders whether, in his loyalty to Calvin, Leith has not burdened his argument with a doctrine of election inconsistent with grace and unproductive for social discipleship. As Barth has convincingly shown, "the double decree" taught by Calvin-and not just "some Calvinist theologians"-appears at odds not only with the teaching and redemptive activity of Jesus, but with the main lines of Pauline and other apostolic witnesses as well. Furthermore, this doctrine has impeded the social action of the church insofar as it has encouraged spiritual class-consciousness and called into question the very goodness of God which the author himself wishes to emphasize. Leith has tried to mitigate the severity of Calvin's "terrible decree" by calling it a ,'mystery" and recommending its use "retrospectively" only for the mature in faith. But had he at this point been able to interpret predestination as a single election of grace, which is not the last but the first word the church has to say to the world, he would, I think, have been able to present a doctrine more in keeping with the overall theme and intention of his book.

This objection notwithstanding, The Reformed Imperative will prove important not only for instruction in the church, but also as a reminder to the church of the proper source and content of its message of justice, peace, and hope.

ALEXANDER J. MCKELWAY

Davidson College
Davidson, North Carolina