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Christian Reality and Appearance
By John A Mackay
108 pp. Richmond, John Knox Press, 1969 $3.75

John Mackay is one of the truly towering figures of twentieth-century American Protestantism. One of the ablest Christian interpreters of church and society in Latin America, a prophetic and eloquent spokesman for justice and human dignity, and a pioneering leader of the ecumenical movement, Mackay has left the whole church in his debt.

In 1952, Mackay, then President of Princeton Theological Seminary, was Currie Lecturer at Austin Presbyterian Seminary. Pressure of work prevented him from preparing these lectures for publication. But, as he writes in his preface, "Perhaps God, not mere human frailty played a part in this delay." There is no doubt that events and developments in the last few years have helped the author to see more clearly the issues as they are now presented in his book. At the age of eighty he writes with force and conviction, qualities often sadly lacking in the books of many younger authors.

At the outset the author clearly states what, in his mind, is the center of the Christian religion: "Christian reality in its essential character is a personal relationship between God and man" (p. 17). "A man, therefore, is really Christian when he is personally related to Jesus Christ" (p. 20). In the era of the death-of-God theology, it is good to hear such clear affirmations.

Here a preliminary remark may not be out of place. Because John Mackay is a great Christian authority and is widely respected, many people try to show that he defends their own personal interpretation of the faith. I have seen, for instance, approving quotations of this book in journals whose understanding of Christian faith is widely divergent. This is only possible by quoting "out of context," for the author does not belong to any party in the church. If on one page he seems to support orthodoxy, he fulminates against it on the next page. And if the author believes in the necessary "engagement" of the Christian in the struggle for a better world order, he strongly opposes those who make it an alternative for accepting the Lordship of Jesus Christ over their own life.

The first chapter of the book introduces the theme of Christian reality and the shadows that betray it. The four following chapters unfold

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this contrast of Christian reality and appearance: God's self-disclosure and the idolatry of ideas; the transforming encounter and the idolatry of feeling; the community of Christ and churchism; and Christian obedience and ethicism.

The pages on God's self disclosure provide an important corrective to the failure of nerve in much contemporary theology. They will be especially appreciated by pastors in eastern Europe, who were beginning to wonder if their proclamation of God as the Supreme Being and the Master of history, as they were facing Marxist atheist philosophy, still had a meaning. They will also be read with joy by Christians in the younger churches, who do not live in the so-called "post-Christian" era (an invention of the west) and bring millions of people to the church by proclaiming the great facts of God's self-disclosure, which culminates in the incarnation.

John Mackay belongs to a tradition which has always insisted on the need for an articulate faith and has given theology an important place. It is not surprising therefore to see him insist on the need for theology as "the inseparable adjunct of Christian reality" (p. 37). But there is a warning which must be taken seriously. The author expresses it as follows: "While it is true that theological ideas are important and constitute an inseparable adjunct to Christian reality, they are not themselves a constituent part of that reality. They can become idols that supplant reality" (p. 42).

I remember that for the 18th General Council of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (Sao Paulo, Brazil, 1959) Mackay proposed as a theme, "The Servant Lord and his servant people." The first section was devoted to "the service of theology." Mackay reminded us that theology had only the right to exist as a servant of the gospel and a servant of Jesus Christ. The author's pages on theology will be hailed by many intelligent laymen who are tired of seeing the theologians of their churches pursuing sterile studies without taking the risks of personal commitment and prophetic involvement.

John Mackay's criticism touches all who make theology an end in itself, some extreme conservatives, for instance, whose disruptive work, both in the United States and among the younger churches is severely, but not too severely, judged: "Despite their acclamation of the Bible and of Christ, they are betrayers of both" (pp. 48-49).

In the chapter on the transforming encounter we hear the voice not only of a great theologian but also of a disciple of Jesus Christ who still believes in conversion, "a determinant of human history" (p. 50). After quoting Paul's words in Galatians 2: 20, "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me," Mackay comments: "Never did these words of

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Paul have more challenge and relevancy than in this time of secular crusaders who seek a new society in which justice and human rights will be reconciled" (p. 57). The author has worked ceaselessly and with great courage for this new society, but he believes that "being in Christ" makes it possible for man to be more fully committed to bringing this new society into being. Having emphasized the importance of conversion in Christian life, Mackay fulminates against those for whom emotions become idols. "Christian truth is inseparably related to life and action" (p. 61). We always need to be reminded of this great truth.

The author devotes three pages to Christian nominalism, to those who identify Christian life with attending Christian services of worship. As a European, I feel that this is less and less a danger. People who are not interested in Christian living simply do not attend public worship any more, but there is no doubt that it still happens-for how long?-in the United States.

In his discussion of the community of Christ, the author has some very fine pages on the church, while showing the danger of churchism. The church, above all, is the Body of Christ. But Mackay does not believe in a triumphalist church: "The church, as the body of Christ, is true to him and to itself when it exists as Christ's servant" (p. 74). Mackay warns against absolutizing any structures of the church; this is a necessary reminder in our time of church unions.

On the sacraments, Mackay has the courage to challenge the exclusive role of ministers to administer them (pp. 77-78). He also rightly insists that "worship must move to witness" (p. 78), and I am sure that many of the young critics of the church would side with him in his understanding which has greatly enriched the ecumenical movement at a time (WCC Central Committee, Rolle, 1951) when the missionary dimension of the movement was not yet fully accepted.

Mackay has been one of the leaders of the ecumenical movement and any criticism he makes must be taken seriously. In his book several pages are devoted to the danger of ecumenicalism. By that he means an "increasing motion towards the realization of an ordered, ecclesiastical structure," where, "dedication to mission becomes merely the pursuit of harmony" (p. 86). I dare to ask if this is really the greatest danger in the ecumenical movement today? I have worked on the WCC campus in Geneva for 22 years. There were times when this danger seemed very real. But my numerous contacts with younger representatives of the ecumenical movement, as well as what youth representatives did in Uppsala, would indicate that the danger now lies in a totally different direction. Many, today, in the ecumenical movement, are indifferent to structural unity, or even to anything connected with structure. They

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believe that Christian unity can best be achieved by a common front in the fight for development, justice, or even revolution. While I believe with John Mackay this engagement in the economic and political spheres is essential for Christians, there is, on the other hand, a real danger when the horizontal dimension alone is emphasized and the church as the Body of Christ is practically rejected.

In the last chapter, on Christian obedience, the author gives us a very substantial analysis of what this obedience should be. We are reminded that at a time when so many problems facing Christians are world problems of a political nature' Christians must have the courage to act according to their convictions, whatever the price.

Naturally, John Mackay touches the problem of violence. "What should a Christian do in a situation or issue which, in the interest of human welfare, would involve his total absorption in a form of activity where recognized standards of behavior are set aside and violence adopted as a legitimate and necessary procedure?" (p. 105). To this question the author has two things to say: "One: the Sovereign God Almighty will not tolerate indefinitely a social order . . . that maintains millions of human beings in a state of dereliction" (p. 106). "Two: while the imperative of Christian obedience requires that a follower of Jesus Christ shall not himself choose violence . . . he should . . . defend the concerns of fellow Christians who may become personally involved in the promotion of an effort associated with violence, but designated to bring an unrighteous social system to an end" (p. 106).

While I was reading Mackay's book, my eyes fell on "The Golconda Statement" issued by the second meeting of the Golconda Priest Group, Buenaventura, Colombia, December 9-13, 1969, which says: "In the social, economic and political areas we emphasize . . . 3. To commit ourselves increasingly to multiple forms of revolutionary action against imperialism and the neocolonial bourgeoisie, avoiding merely contemplative, and therefore justifying, attitudes" (p. 7, translation James E. and Margaret Goff).

This brings me to my conclusion: John Mackay's concerns and those of the most committed Roman Catholic priests of Latin America-which one could almost call John Mackay's continent-are the same. Is this not the best proof of the growing unity of the church? The man who in his Sao Paulo address in 1959 had very strong words to say on the Marian Pretension (Sao Paulo Story, pp. 171-173) now writes: "Might it not happen that . . . the Christian future may lie with a reformed Catholicism and a matured Pentecostalism?" (pp. 88-89). This simply shows that separations are no more essentially between churches but between Christians in each church.

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For Christians of all churches, John Mackay's call to rediscover Christian reality in all its dimensions has to be taken seriously. For if we all do so we shall see that many of the confessional barriers of today will crumble down, and together we shall fulfill the mission entrusted to us by our Lord and help achieve a more just order in this distressed world.

Marcel Pradervand
World Presbyterian Alliance
Geneva, Switzerland