strange nest fellows

i have been reading two quite encouraging and somewhat unusual books this past week. encouraging because i find myself in such agreement with them, which itself these days makes them unusual.

the first is bede griffiths" return to the center; the second stanley hauerwas's a better hope. it may seem strange that i find two such apparently differing authors so similar to myself in our approach to the modern/postmodern world in which we find ourselves.

griffiths: ". . . men of genius who lack 'wisdom', like luther and calvin, voltaire and rousseau, marx and freud, release such incalculable forces of evil."

hauerwas: "postmodernism . . . is the outworking of mistakes in christian theology correlative to the attempt to make christianity 'true' apart from faithful witness."

having graduated from a seminary downstream from the mistakes of calvin, i am particularly aware of how embedded in the religion of capitalism modern european christianity has become, and as i usually point out in a slightly different context, america is just what europeans do when they have no restraints.

what is needed in these absurd times brother louis called "the modern psychosis" is of course what is always needed: true repentance and amendment of life. what i find hopeful in the writings of griffiths and hauerwas is their recognition that it is our religion itself from which we must repent. once again, those of us who have ears should hear: "the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of god is at hand: repent ye, and believe in the gospel."