The Theologians

In January 1975, 18 churchmen and theologians, meeting in Hartford, Conn., issued a three-page Appeal for Theological Affirmation. In it they condemned 13 presumptions commonly held by Christians nowadays, among them: that modern thought is superior to all past forms of thought, that all religions are equally valid, and that religious language tells only of human experience. These presumptions, the authors observed, destroy man’s sense of the transcendent and are thus “debilitating to the Church’s life and work.” The document appealed for theological affirmations to counter these destructive notions.

In January 1976, 22 churchmen and theologians met in Boston to answer the Hartford Appeal; they issued a four-page document entitled Boston Affirmations. In eight affirmations (concerning Creation, the Fall, Exodus, Covenant, Prophecy, Wisdom, New Covenant, Church Tradition), its authors describe the action of God in society, adding the names of several groups (such as the poor, ethnics, women, humanists, and socially aware scientists) that witness to the “transforming reality of God’s reign today.” In such groups, the authors affirm, we find God actively establishing a reign of “justice, righteousness, and peace.” Affirmations was intended to restate the socialconcern aspect of Christian belief, and thus to counter the mere theological hair-splitting that, according to the Boston group, animates Appeal.

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Malachi B. Martin

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In January 1975, 18 churchmen and theologians, meeting in Hartford, Conn., issued a three-page Appeal for Theological Affirmation. In it they condemned 13 presumptions commonly held by Christians nowadays, among them: that modern thought is superior to all past forms of thought, that all religions are equally valid, and that religious language tells only of human experience. These presumptions, the authors observed, destroy man’s sense of the transcendent and are thus “debilitating to the Church’s life and work.” The document appealed for theological affirmations to counter these destructive notions.

In January 1976, 22 churchmen and theologians met in Boston to answer the Hartford Appeal; they issued a four-page document entitled Boston Affirmations. In eight affirmations (concerning Creation, the Fall, Exodus, Covenant, Prophecy, Wisdom, New Covenant, Church Tradition), its authors describe the action of God in society, adding the names of several groups (such as the poor, ethnics, women, humanists, and socially aware scientists) that witness to the “transforming reality of God’s reign today.” In such groups, the authors affirm, we find God actively establishing a reign of “justice, righteousness, and peace.” Affirmations was intended to restate the socialconcern aspect of Christian belief, and thus to counter the mere theological hair-splitting that, according to the Boston group, animates Appeal.