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437 - Not Every Spirit: A Dogmatics of Christian Disbelief |
Not Every Spirit: A Dogmatics of Christian Disbelief
By Christopher Morse
Valley Forge, Trinity Press International, 1994. 417 pp. $22.00.
Taking his lead from 1 John 4:1, Morse calls the church to "test the spirits" by recognizing its "faithful disbeliefs." A crucial demonstration of Morse's faithful disbeliefs is contained in the early church's confession "Jesus is Lord." Not only does that confession affirm Christian faith, it is simultaneously a refusal to believe that Caesar is Lord. This book commends an examination of the disbeliefs that are entailed in what the Christian community affirms.
Our modern sensibilities are disturbed when Morse starts hunting for ideas intolerable for Christians to hold. Yet, testing the spirits is not the road to skepticism or a heresy hunt, for there is always a "No" contained in the Christian "Yes" of faith. The quest for common disbeliefs will not stifle ecumenical dialogue, Morse argues, but will instead clear away roadblocks that frequently prevent fruitful conversation.
To use a legal metaphor, Morse's theology is guided by "due process." After establishing the essentials of a particular doctrine and objections about it, Morse employs ten tests to help us weigh the evidence. Each test helps us to assess the affirmations of faith in different ways. For example, the first test, "continuity with apostolic tradition," is clearly active when the dispute over the Filioque phrase is addressed in chapter nine.
The heart of the book is the actual disbeliefs that Morse proposes. For example, Morse finds at least four disbeliefs that proceed from the Filioque controversy. One is that "both positions refuse to believe that this life-giving [Spirit] originates from any source that is not primal or is other than God." This disbelief offers a new way to view an old controversy.
Still, it remains to be seen how well these proposals will help remove the roadblocks to ecumenical discussion. Morse refers to his faithful disbeliefs as metaphorical "buoy markers," warning Christians of the threat of shallow water. However, if buoys are set too close to shore, a misguided ship will run aground before it knows of any peril.
Although the disbeliefs are supposed to help churches identify where we can agree to disagree, one danger is that some of the boundaries might be set too wide to be beneficial. Some church communities will find the proposed disbeliefs of other communities to be unfaithful and unhelpful. I suspect, for example, that the fundamentalist-liberal debate will not benefit from a dogmatics of Christian disbelief. Nevertheless, Morse's method of theological assessment shows promise for dealing with many problems. Where the dialogue involves some initial points of agreement, the proposed disbeliefs can help mark a course that is easier to follow. As
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438 - Not Every Spirit: A Dogmatics of Christian Disbelief |
long as the participants hold certain basic theological commitments in common, dealing with disbeliefs will help the progress of their discussion.
Sometimes we spend so much time focusing on where we disagree that we tend to vilify one another. We forget the vast areas of agreement between us. Morse's method can refocus our conversation and give us a fresh perspective for dealing with longstanding issues and difficulties. Paying more attention to our common disbeliefs might help us see the faithfulness facing us from the other side.
Terry A. Larm
Yale Divinity School
New Haven, CT