Facing The Unbeliever by Maurice Bellet (review)

BOOK REVIEWS 441 Facing The Unbeliever. By Maurice Bellet. New York: Herder and Herder, 1967. Pp. QQ3. $3.95. In a period of unrivalled preoccupation with the problem of faith, inquiries into unbelief are, if anything, multiplying even faster than those on belief. Heightened interest in unbelief will inevitably influence the demand for new analyses of the theology of faith, updated in view of the sharp confrontation of belief and its opposite number. The essay must eventually take a decidedly dialectical turn, and belief and unbelief must be explicitly compared over a wide range and at various levels. The theological understanding of the patterns of faith in human existence can profit immensely from such an exploration in depth. The approach has yet to be made, but the materials for it are being assembled, and the likelihood that it is imminent increases. The field of unbelief still awaits thorough mapping, but at least a beginning has been made and, most importantly, awareness of the extent and gravity of the problem is measurably greater than ever before. Thus far, however, inquiry and analysis of the phenomena of unbelief, as widespread as they are obscure and ambiguous, have been one-sidedly theological and philosophical. One thinks of the work of Rahner, l\fetz, Dondeyne, Steeman, Novak, Pieper, and others. Sound empirical studies, by competent political theorists, literary critics, anthropologists, sociologists, and psychologists, are still woefully few and sketchy in character. Bellet's work is, to my knowledge, unique in subject matter and orientation . The unbeliever of the title is, specifically, the lapsed or defected believer, one who has abandoned or drifted away from a faith once held. Narrowing the arc of vision in this fashion is a distinct aid to accuracy of delineation and sureness of evaluation, for " the unbeliever " is not one but legion. It is highly useful, not to say imperative, to distinguish from the outset those who have and those who have not professed religious beliefs in a meaningful way and for some substantial period of their lives. Bellet's unbeliever may move, more or less consciously or imperceptibly, to any number of diverse positions, but his point of departure is taken to be that of faith. This is the unbeliever met with most commonly; the "cradle atheist" is a rarity in our society, at least up to the present. Precisely because it is a pioneer work, I daresay a first of its kind, Bellet's essay is at pains to impress one with the tremendous complexity and subtlety of the problem with which it deals. This concern makes for difficult reading, but the effort is worthwhile. Disillusionment with the inadequacies, real and imagined, of institutional Christianity both exacerbates the incidence of religious disaffection and raises a host of questions about the inner dynamics of unbelief as a post-Christian stance. Bellet grasps the significance of growing unbelief as a threat to those who remain attached to organized religion. He would 44~ BOOK REVIEWS not, presumably, seriously dispute Charles Davis's contention that the crisis of faith is absolutely paramount in the disintegrating situation which faces churchmen at the present moment. Out of this realization, however painful , there emerges the urgency of reflection and a civil exchange of views. There is not much profit, no point, in fact, in rehearsing the hoary polemics that represented standard apologetics until recently. The burden of effort falls largely on the believer, in Bellet's estimate, and it is he who must seize the initiative out of a loving concern for his neighbor's spiritual need. It is not a question of sympathy or commiseration; it should not be supposed that the unbeliever as such is unhappy or has a feeling of inferiority vis a vis the believer. Bellet argues convincingly that understanding the other is the primary desideratum, the indispensable prerequisite to a fruitful interrelationship and dependent upon a host of circumstances. Unbelief can be understood only gradually, moving towards its center from a survey of the contexts in which it develops and seeking to uncover its roots and the many facets under which it reveals itself. Practical action is the goal, approached from two directions at once, to wit, a reexamined and...