Le Dynamisme de la Morale Chrétienne by P. Anciaux, J. Ghoos, F. D’Hoogh (review)

BOOK REVIEWS 513 recommended for the Christian who from that perspective wants to understand and interpret these radical developments. For one who has doubts about that perspective or wants to see bold new interpretations of it, this work has little to say. Cooperative Program in the Humanities Duke University, Durham, N. C. THOMAS K. HEARN, JR. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N. C. Le Dynamisme de la Morale Chretienne, By P. ANCIAUX, J. GRoos, F. D'HoOGH. Gembloux, Belgique. Editions J. Duculot, S. A., 1969. Vol. I, pp. 174; Vol. II, pp. 200. FB 120 each. At the outset, it is somewhat disconcerting to discover that these volumes were collected and published for the explicit purpose of instructing priests in the two dioceses of Antwerp and Mechelen-Brussels. Although the authors do refer on occasion to French and German theologians who have made the points which they reiterate, all three rely consistently upon the formulations by fellow Northern Europeans as normative in the documentation of their arguments. They neither quote, nor do they indicate a serious grappling with any English sources, with the possible exception of J. A. T. Robinson's popular work, Honest To God. A third reason for discouragement, and by far a more important problem, arises from the fact that these ten essays first appeared in Collectanea Mechliniensia in 1964-1965. Most were evidently composed well before that time; and the idiom of the early sixties sometimes poses difficulties for readers in a new decade. All three of the writers, for example, express a trust in the even progression of history as unveiling the constant providence of God. Thus they speak of the anguish of man in the midst of evolution and of social evolution from the legalism of the primitive peoples (I, pp. 31, 59, etc.). That God is the Lord of revolution as well as of evolution nowhere grasps their attention. All three men imply a confidence in man's general ability to master the forces of nature. J. Ghoos, for example, seeks to emphasize the broader implications of the Genesis command to man (1 :28-30; 2 :15) . He sees God calling man to "humanize" the world. In 1970, however, man is discovering problems enough in the simpler and more modest attempt merely to maintain the balance of nature in the world. Again, the focal interest of the authors remains in the theological virtue of love. A solitary reliance on love, even when profoundly stated, ignores its co-implicates, namely, 514 BOOK REVIEWS faith and hope. In short, elements in the presentation appear now to be unnecessarily " dated," and the reader is forced at several points to consider the work as a " period production." To concede the shortcomings of the collection, however, is not to dismiss the work as entirely unedifying. It is like the layman who, when asked by his priest, " How is your wife? " replied: " In comparison to what?" The articles do focus reflection upon some universal and crucial problems in the church and in the world: What is the relationship of Christian morality to the modern world? Upon what norms, if any, can the twentiethcentury Christian depend? What tasks are essential, what commandments irreducible for the believer? How are collegiality, co-responsibility, and primacy related? What place does love occupy in daily life? Not only do the authors present readable meditations on these and other questions, they also stress the complementarity of traditions, the positive interaction of Catholic belief and humanism, agnosticism, and even with professed atheism. They offer a sound expression of human solidarity. They afford a glimpse at the meaning of " embodied " religion. And they look continually at the dynamic movement of Christian ethics, at the very core of a living faith. Throughout, all three writers retain an openness to other points of view, a measure of modesty concerning their own formulations. Compared with several of the recent, vigorous discussions of Christian morality and Christian ethics, then, the present volumes appear to be of limited value. But in comparison with the dry dogmatism repeated in many efforts at Christian instruction, Le Dynamisme de la Morale Chretienne contains expressions of the faith which are refreshing, useful, and engaging. 1044...