A PREFACE IS THE AUTHOR'S OPPORTUNITY FOR A PERSONAL WORD WITH HIS READERS. IT IS USED HERE TO STATE THE theme and purpose of this discussion and to indicate my point of view. What is here briefly affirmed must find its explanation and justification in the body of the work.

Christianity is a dynamic religion, a religion of life and power. Its God is not abstract idea or impersonal order or some kind of spiritual substance; he is the living God, the God of gracious purpose and action. The Christian Church is not a legally established institution, with fixed and unchanging forms; it is a living fellowship, the human-historical expression of a divinely given life. The Christian ethic is not a static set of rules or abstract principles; it is a way of life after the? spirit of Christ.

To these three aspects of the Christian religion—the faith, the fellowship, and the way of living—I add the fourth, religion as salvation. Here is its living center, the clearest expression of its dynamic nature. We see in the salvation of man the purpose and work of the living God. The Scriptures are the record of this redemptive action, whose central deed and supreme expression are seen in Christ. The Church is the company of "those who are being saved," at once the fruit and the instrument of this ongoing divine work.

The idea of religion as salvation has not had much place in the modern world. God and man's need are the pillars on which this doctrine rests. The modern age has had little place for a God who made a real difference in the world's life, even when it continued to name his name. The forces of nature were very real, as was the science by which man comprehended them and was able to use them. There were evils to be overcome and larger goods to be attained, but these were in the material sphere and man with his knowledge and skills was quite equal to this. The new democracy was man's opportunity in the social field. So there was the common conclusion, though not often consciously expressed, that "salvation belonged to an extinct ideology.''

There has been a measure of neglect within the Church as well. This has been due to various causes. The Church was increasingly concerned with practical problems too long neglected: organized work dealing with human needs and in particular with the relation of religion to modern social conditions. Further, the traditional forms in which salvation had been presented lost some of their hold upon men. And theologians, discussing problems of biblical criticism, the relation of science and religion, evolution and creation, and grounds for belief in God, gave too little place or serious consideration to this central theme.

We are witnessing, however, a definite change in this situation. The social optimism of yesterday has been ebbing fast. Science is no longer the new messiah; the technology which increased our power .and multiplied our comforts now appears as a weapon threatening world destruction. We have seen appalling manifestations of the depths of evil in man. There has been widespread increase of the mood of anxiety, frustration, and fear. Men are turning to psychiatrists and to books which promise them peace of mind. Our mental hospitals doubled the number of inmates within a score of years. In large world areas there is possible or actual revolution caused by want and by a growing desire for freedom. There is exploitation by selfish and self-appointed saviors. This has brought constant warfare and two world wars with the threat of an incomparably more terrible third. As perhaps never before, mankind is aware of the power of evil and the need of help.

So we have the supreme challenge to the Church of today: Have we an answer to these deep individual and social needs? The Church is waking up to this challenge. The trend of the co-operative church movements of the last century and a half is significant. They began with a concern for the practical work of the Church and a realization of the need of united action for its accomplishment. So there appeared Bible and tract societies, societies for home and foreign missions, the Sunday-School Union, the Christian Associations, and student movements. The formal ecumenical movement began with "Faith and Order," facing the need of a united Church, studying the causes of division and the elements of unity. The "Life and Work" movement considered the meaning of the Christian faith for the wide range of social problems. Now in the World Council of Churches we see the growing awareness of the problem of religion as salvation. The Amsterdam Assembly issued its volume of official reports under the tide Man's Disorder and God's Design, and the proposed theme for the 1954 assembly is the Christian message of hope, or Christ as the hope of the world.

All this enforces the need of a renewed study of our doctrine of salvation. In this we are simply carrying on what the Church has done from the beginning. Christianity is a fact and a faith: a fact of history and human experience, a faith which has discerned in these the saving work of the God of righteousness and mercy. But a third element has been equally essential: the task of interpretation, the need to set forth the meaning of this faith and its relation to man's life. So the first disciples sought to interpret the fact of Christ, the new experience of a saving power in their lives, and the meaning of the new fellowship. Paul, the Synoptic Gospels, the Johan-nine writings, Hebrews, and Revelation are all concerned with this work of interpretation. We hold the same faith and share the same task. We build on their work and that of the saints and scholars who followed them, but we in turn, guided by the Spirit, with faith in the living God who is still working in our world, must set forth the meaning of the eternal gospel for our day.

In this work of interpreting and declaring the message of salvation certain tasks are clear. We must make plain that it is salvation with which we are dealing: life as a gift, the love and power of God coming to meet the needs of man. We must see the full scope of this salvation, with special reference to such neglected areas as the social-historical on the one hand and on the other the ways in which God works to mediate life and help, to solve man's personal and inner problems. Further, we need to see God's salvation in its organic unity and wholeness, noting how each aspect is rightly understood only in union with others: individual and social, present and historical, religious and ethical, this world and the life to come. Finally, we need to see this work of God in its relation to vital human needs and to the special situation of our day.

My general position can be briefly stated. It is evangelical; it sees as central in Christianity the gospel of a God of mercy and help, coming to man in Jesus Christ. It is biblical, though not biblicistic or literalistic. It sees the Bible as the witness to God's saving work in Israel, in Christ, in the Church, and as the interpretation of that work by prophet and apostle. In the broad sense of the term this is intended as a churchly theology. It does not see the Church as a legally established institution, authoritarian, infallible, administering a priestly-sacramentarian salvation; but it sees Christianity as the religion of a fellowship, the Church as at once instrument and realization of God's work of salvation.

There is recognized here the right and need of man's work of study, reflection, insight, criticism, and the bringing of truth into an ordered and unified whole. There is a "given" in the reality of God's revelation in Christ, but not in a set of formulated doctrines handed down in Scripture or the creeds of the Church. There is a guidance which God waits to give by his Spirit, but it is not mechanical or compulsive, and there remains the human factor with its limitations. Our God is one who speaks to us as Person to person, speaks to mind as well as heart and will. It is ours to answer with understanding as well as with the obedience of faith.

The words that follow are written with the prayer that what is of truth may win its way, that what is imperfect or of error may be overruled.

HARRIS FRANKLIN RALL