268 - For Faith and Freedom; Volume 2: Christian Theology

For Faith and Freedom; Volume 2: Christian Theology
By Leonard Hodgson
237 pp. New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1957. $4.75

Dr. Hodgson is the Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Oxford, and perhaps his professorial license permits him to evade the requirements of the Gifford Lectures to which he has here directed his thinking. "I have argued that the mode of distinguishing between natural and revealed theology which was generally taken for granted when Lord Gifford made his will a half a century ago can no longer be maintained. All man's discovery of truth is by the interaction of divine revelation and human reason." This position which Professor Hodgson argues and which is basic to the approach of his lectures, is not, I believe in accord with the requirements of the lectureship. In any case, the position would, in itself, make an interesting thesis for another interesting book!

One other caveat: "Throughout my guiding principle has been to attempt to make this volume stand by itself as an intelligible whole." We are assured, by the jacket blurb also, that this volume stands complete in itself. In a way it does. But the author himself cannot quite support this, and any close reading forces one to the necessity of the first volume of lectures for understanding and support of Volume II, the author too frequently referring back to Volume I in order to be able to proceed at all in the arguments of this volume.

From both volumes I would gather that his fundamental thesis is this: "God gives His revelation by doing things and inspiring men to see their significance . . . in order to interpret their evidence we need to under stand their minds. . . . But all this is preparatory to asking what, so far as we can see, was actually being done and what the truth must have been and be, if men who thought and spoke as they did put it like that" (P. 93). Together with this we could add as a part of the thesis, "God's central purpose [is] to create a community of persons endowed with genuine freedom" (p. 125). In our own words we would say that Professor Hodgson holds that God reveals himself in a series of acts which inspired men interpret; these inspired men are conditioned by the day in which they lived; for us to understand revelation, therefore, we must read the Bible, first of all by way of their minds, and then translate this into the requirements of the intellectual climate and atmosphere of our own day. This, however, is not the end of the matter, because the God so revealed by this process makes himself known to us only in and for community.

269 - For Faith and Freedom; Volume 2: Christian Theology

Building on this basis, Hodgson approaches the themes of the Bible, God, God and Evil, Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Christian Church, Grace, Prayer and Providence, Eschatology, Freedom and Faith. I believe that if we can accept his foundation we can discover in this volume many fresh approaches to old themes, and some marvelous insights. Among other things I found the book, surprisingly enough, a good source of devotional material.

In one of his books (I think, Our Knowledge of God), John Baillie warns us that we can have real trouble in theology if we say "only" instead of "at least." For example, after one has examined all the theories of the Atonement, he needs to say in all modesty that "at least" this can be said about the Atonement. Our trouble in theology, illustrated again by the Atonement or by the second advent, is when we say that this is the only" view. Such a consideration is my chief criticism of Hodgson's approach. My criticism can be illustrated in any of his chapters, but we can touch briefly, as example, his first chapter on the Bible, where his outlook as you would expect from his thesis, is a variation within existentialism. To quote Hodgson (p. 3), "God does not give this special revelation in words conveying information about matters too high for scrutiny by human reason, forms of words to be accepted in unquestioning faith, like official communities . . . he gives it by doing certain particular things in the history of the world, and inspiring certain men to see the significance of certain events as acts of God." It is quite true that God does inspire "certain men to see the significance of certain events." But this does not necessarily force the denial of "special revelation in words conveying information." Here, indeed, is a fundamental theological problem in our day, whether there is prepositional material out of which we can form doctrinal statements and systematic theologies, or whether our creeds are always "open-ended," awaiting the latest discoveries of the existentialists. I believe that much in theology, and much in ethics, consciously or unconsciously, settles itself for us existentially. I believe, also, that we have a body of truth, an "only infallible rule of faith and practice." The contents and the extent of "this infallible rule" are debatable, but for me the fact of such a rule as "special revelation in words conveying information" still under girds theology. It is here that I criticize Hodgson, and it is here that others will rejoice in him. So be it. If a dying man wants me to give him a word of assurance about the future life, I hardly see how that word can be existentially experienced by him or by me as I try to bring him comfort. He has to accept "thus saith the Lord" or he has nothing.

In addition to the excellent devotional material in this volume there excellent material on the Church, and even in such crucial matters

270 - For Faith and Freedom; Volume 2: Christian Theology

as church order Anglican Hodgson shows great breadth and understanding. Most of us have known Professor Hodgson for his work entitled The Doctrine of the Trinity, and this book, Faith and Freedom, is enriched by illustrative material from that classic. Read this book, also, to discover again what we Americans need to learn about how to use the English language.

Addison H. Leitch
Pittsburgh-Xenia Theological Seminary
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania