The Church and Mankind, edited by E. Schillebeeckx (review)

REVIEW ARTICLE The Church and Mankind (Concilium: Dogma [vol. 1]), E. Schillebeeckx, editorial director. Glen Rock, N.J.: :Paulist Press, 1964. viii, 177 pp. $4.50. Precisely how are the Church and mankind distinguished ~ Or are they distinguished at all~ Is the Church perhaps only an aspect of mankind, namely, the fellowship and communion which comes from the efforts expended by men to assist one another, and even mutually to give themselves to one another¥ Such questions are behind the essay, written by E. Schillebeeckx, which constitutes the most important part of the first volume of the Concilium series.1 The reason for asking these questions, moreover, is the fact that "today many believers are at a loss as to what to do about the Church as an objective reality.... There is talk of 'Christianity without a Church', a Christianity in which fellowship and brotherhood appear as the essence of the Church" (pp. 70-71). Note well that the author attributes these question to "believers.'' The question that spontaneously comes to mind in this context, of course, is, why are believers talking about a Christianity without a Church~ The main burden of this review will be to look at the reasons for it and compare the conclusions with :some of the ideas set forth by Schillebeeckx concerning the objective distinction of the Church and mankind. A. The subjective question: why the confusion concerning the objective subsistence of the Church~ 1 There are other worthwhile things in this volume too. I would cite particularly the two treatments of the "people of God" theme: Y. Cougar's reflections on the developments and importance of the idea in recent times, and R. Schnackenburg and J. Dupont's bibliographical survey, Typical of the entire series, this book is divided into three parts: (1) a section devoted to theological essays; (2) rather exhaustive bibliographical notes on specific topics; (3) pertinent documentation. 322 THE CHURCH AND MANKIND 323 The modern world is one in which man is quite 'Selfconscious : conscious at once of his titanic capacities for knowing and exploiting the universe, and his imbecility in the face of the disorder he himself has produced. One result of this two-edged self-consciousness is that men alternate between a state of exhilaration and empty despair. Believers , moreover, belong to this world; and they recognize instinctively that their belief, i.e., their conviction about Jesus Christ, has something to do with resolving this conflict . They know that somehow through this belief exhilaration over man':s achievements, especially in the technological order, can be tempered. They feel too that their belief in Jesus Christ has something to do with protecting themselves against despairing completely. Yet, as Father Schillebeeckx observes, at least some believers do not see how the Church fits into this picture. Before venturing any suggestions as to the casuality operative here, it might be well to set into place another observable phenomenon, namely, the efforts made in the modern world to achieve fellowship and communion, and the partial success of these efforts. Practically no one would say that the United Nations is a model of fellowship among nations; but its existence is a veritable monument to the ardent desires and faithful work of many to achieve something of the sort. Again, the racial situation in the United States at the present time reveals frightening gaps in understanding and sympathy; but at the same time the freedom movement has put men into communion one with the other on a level that would not have been predicted, e.g., in the mutual support involved in non-violent action. Examples such as these, moreover, actually point to the reason believing men of the modern world question the need for the Church. Especially in the latter situation they perceive that the organizations we know as the ''churches'' have, for the most part, been quite backward 324 MAURICE B. SCHEPERS in their attitude toward the freedom movement. When, therefore, a measure of fellowship and communion is achieved through the organs of the freedom movement it- :self, they are led to conclude that this and analogous movements are the Church. What is the need for an organized fellowship whose special "business" is...