RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY

Press, Volume XCIV, Issue 28104, 20 October 1956, Page 3

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY

[Reviewed by L.G.W.I Hardness of Heart. By Edmund Cherbonnier. Gollancz. 188 pp. Under this title, Professor Cherbonnier has written a stimulating book on the Christian doctrine of sin. He introduces his subject by the review of the secular humanist’s account of man's moral failure. He finds the weakness of the humanist theory in its denial of human freedom, and its refusal to admit the validity of value I judgments, e.g. in morality. A vigorI ous chapter shows conclusively that ! this latter position is untenable. The I author’s main contention is that sin I is idolatry, an allegiance to false gods, i The teaching that sin is the breaking i of rules or that it is intrinsic to human nature is rejected. The former I involves a belief in a hard hearted I moral ism which is contrary to the fun- ! damental belief in the need for love or i Christian agape, the very centre of i the Church’s life. He shows how St. i Augustine of Hippo, in his controversy I with Pelagius. saddled the Church j with a theology of sin. and especially i of original sin, which involved a false | disparagement of human nature. The I Reformers. Luther and Calvin, by the ■ devaluation of good works, continued i the worst aspects of Augustinianism. i The Roman Catholic Church has a doctrine of sin midway between St. i Augustine and Pelagius. a doctrine ■ which the author does not consider , “biblical.” A sound theology would agree with St. Augustine that sin is ! universal, objective, self-perpetuating, I a bondage, and that it cannot be overcome without divine assistance: but I without his degrading doctrine of ' “original sin” and sex. Pelagius would | be recognised as correct in his high I valuation of good works, but wrong > in his regarding them as a “means ! by which a man can bargain his way ! I into heaven.” “Original sin” is an uni fortunate term, because sin is by definition what the individual chooses. ProI fessor Cherbonnier. in the little he i has to say positively about it. would I apparently reduce it what sociologists ! call “social heredity." ! In the latter part of the book, there is an excellent critique of the worship I of reason, of false tolerance, comi munism, democracy, nationalism, and | the cynical attitude to money, sex I and life. It may be said in criticism that the ' author would have made his very I able book more effective if he had i made clearer to his readers what : exactly is meant by the much used I terms, “biblical” and “agape.’’ The ' first cannot simply mean “in the ; Bible.” and the second is for the most part defined by saying what it is not. The Passion Drama. By Hugh Bishop. C. R. Hodder and Stoughton. 61 PP. ! The addresses contained in this book- ! let were broadcast in the Home Ser- • vice of the 8.8. C. in Holy Week 1955. ' Father Bishop’s aim is to remind his I readers that we are all actors, not merely spectators, in the drama of Christ’s suffering and death. He I achieves this in six simple medital tions on the Cross as the expression of God’s love, on the characters of the men who crucified the Saviour, and on the significance of Simon of Cyrene’s carrying the Cross, of Gethsemane and the Resurrection.

Doing The Truth. By James A. Pike, Victor Gollancz, Limited. 192 pp. The Dean of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. New York, has proj vided in this book a summary of | Christian ethics. Christian morality presuffixes certain religious convici tions, which are (1) belief in God as ' Creator; (2) as Redeemer; (3) as Holy I Spirit, who manifests Himself in a I community. From these preliminary I beliefs we can deduce (1) that God ! means us to be creative; (2) that He I means us to be redemptive: <3) that He | means us to live and work in comI munitv. This analysis indicates the 1 meaning of God as He has revealed Himself to us. and shows us our vocation which is the first key word in ' Christian ethics. From this fundai mental basis the author goes on to consider certain moral problems. First the nature of law. which is only a secondary matter in Christian morality, for sin. is not merely law-breaking but is a failure to live up to the expectations of God Who has a total claim on us.

This failure can be retrieved only by the divine action which having accounted men right leads them into sanctification through a religion of gratitude. Only on this level can the practice of worship and evangelism become supporting activities “which motivate us and guide us in the way of goodness.” From this point, the Dean deals with such questions as the limits of Christian obedience to the State, the Christian attitude to the housing-problem, to democracy, to communism, to sex, marriage and the family. A separate chapter contains many penetrating observations in the ethics of business and professions. This book is based on a wide experience and deeply thoughtful consideration of the problems arising out of Christian moral life, and it is full of sanctified common sense.