Nothing to Fear [antikvár]

NOTHING TO FEAR My belief is that the institutional Church as we know it will endure, and should now willingly prepare itself to endure, something amounting to a crucifixion of its structure, of its security, of its dogmatic assurance, of its traditions; in order that it may 'going through the vale of misery' emerge into a new, resurrected, purified Church, braced by a faith which will stand the test of any pressure, of any inquiry, because it is dedicated to the truth into which Jesus said the Holy Spirit would lead us, and in the pilgrimage towards which we have nothing to fear. PREFACE The substance of this book formed the main content of the Paul Jones Annual Lectures in Christ Church, Winnetka, Illinois, U.S.A., in 1966. For the considerable help of the Rev. W. Lea, D.D., and his staff in sorting out the material of spoken lectures so that they could be given the form of a book, I am very grateful. I acknowledge with deep gratitude the patiently enduring kindness of Mrs. Pat Holmes, who has typed for me many versions of the thoughts in this book, as those thoughts have been tested in various lectures and addresses. I acknowledge with unreserved gratitude what I have learned from the Rev. Albert van den Heuvel, Secretary of the World Council of Churches Youth Department. He gave two brilliant lectures to the Conference of Deans and Provosts in Coventry Cathedral in April 1966, and I have tried to convey some of his wisdom in the latter part of Chapter 2 of this book. I acknowledge with equal gratitude what I owe to Mr. Stafford Beer, one of England's leading cyberneticians and founder of Science in General Management, whose wisdom has informed much of what is contained in Chapter 3. Throughout the book I have been aware of the debt I owe to the late Dr. Norbert Wiener. These are among the best of those to whom I owe any progress I have made during the past few years in my search for the truth.