Book Review: Does God Exist? An Answer for Today

Abstract

301is already known through the major works of Smalley, Spicq, and de Lubac. Speculative theology (chap. 3) I have found more original, especially in its treatment of Anselm and the rules of Alain de Lille; as was to be expected, the conflict between Abelard and his critics retains attention; and the usually neglected area of the influence of mathematics in theological method is examined in a refreshing way. Missionary theology (chap. 4) remains somewhat sketchy, yet it touches the main problems of the relations between the academy and the heretics or non-Christians, a topic of which we still know too little for adequate treatment.As a sample of the actual doing of theology, E. next surveys how "the work of creation and the work of restoration" (chap. 5) were approached; special attention is given to Anselm, Honorius Augustodinensis, and Thierry of Chartres; here the author had to choose among abundant material, and the choice is good. Yet I must now confess that I am quite puzzled by the last chapter, "The Measure Within" and the Conclusion. Chap. 6 has the tone and short size of a conclusion, and makes the Conclusion superfluous. Both give importance to Newman's Idea of a University as a modern point of reference to assess the early medieval developments of theological method out of the liberal arts. Newman is balanced by T. F. Torrance's Theological Science. To be complete, E. could also have looked at Lonergan's work. But I find it difficult to judge the academic theologians of the twelfth century by standards and conceptions of the nineteenth or twentieth.Despite these last pages of the book, I warmly recommend it to students of theological method. It is, however, marred by some loose translations of Latin texts or expressions and by abundant misprints of all imaginable kinds. Methodist Theological School, OhioGEORGE H. TAVARD DOES GOD EXIST? AN ANSWER FOR TODAY. By Hans Küng. Translated by Edward Quinn. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1980. Pp. 839. $17.50.The book is a gold mine of information, catalyst for many further discussions. Küng examines with clarity and detail modern developments in philosophy and natural sciences. From this he concludes that neither the existence nor the nonexistence of God can be rationally "proved," in the sense of a geometric conclusion. But he then proceeds to examine the "experience of life" and finds it both to invite and to render credible a positive decision regarding "enlightened trust" (faith) in God. This latter examination includes a look at many of the world's religions, a review of the work of some psychologists, and an effort to represent the God of Jesus Christ meaningfully.There are 702 pages of text, 94 pages of end notes, an index of the