Gospel and Tomb: Watch on the Periphery

As Easter came and went, Protestant interest turned to a document purportedly containing new words of Jesus, while Roman Catholics gave attention to professedly new evidence for the burial place of the Apostle Peter.

Somewhat perturbed by the “sensational” treatment given a lecture of his by the American press was Professor Oscar Cullmann of the University of Basel and Paris’ Sorbonne. The well-known New Testament scholar was lecturing at New York’s Union Theological Seminary, where he is visiting professor, on the 1946 discovery of the self-designated “Gospel of St. Thomas,” one of 44 Coptic treatises contained in thirteen leather-bound papyrus books found in a tomb about 60 miles from Luxor in Upper Egypt. Described as a Gnostic library, the manuscripts were written in about the third or fourth century, says Dr. Cullmann, but “they surely go back to Greek originals which are much older—some parts probably from the first half of the second century.”

Most important part of the discovery was the Gospel of St. Thomas, in reality not a gospel at all but rather a collection of 114 sayings, including parables, attributed to Jesus and lacking any narrative framework. Only 14 of these had been known heretofore. “Comparable in importance to the Dead Sea Scrolls and of even greater significance to students of the New Testament,” was how Cullmann described the logia.

They fall into four categories: those which are word-for-word the same as in the canonical Gospels, those which provide independent variants to their canonical counterparts, those absent from the Gospels but known through citations in writings of the church fathers, and those completely unknown.

One of the unknown sayings: “Jesus said: If those who lead you say to you: Behold, the kingdom is in heaven, then the birds of heaven will precede you; if they say to you that it is in the sea, then the fish will precede you. But the kingdom is within you and it is outside of you.”

Beleaguered by phone calls, Dr. Cullmann patiently points out that though the American public may have been unaware of the discovery, such was not the case with specialists and others. He himself has been in possession of the text since 1956 and a book has already been published on the subject, albeit its inferior quality limited its sale. However, this state of affairs will soon be corrected by Cullmann’s Paris colleague Henri-Charles Puech and others who will publish a good illustrated text and translation. Cullmann feels that the question is not yet sufficiently mature for the widespread publicity given his lecture, about which he declares the only new thing was his assessment of the significance of the find.

Has it reopened the question of the canon? No, says Cullmann. It cannot be said for sure whether any of the “words of Jesus” are authentic, though some of them could be as old as or older than canonical material. About half the “gospel” is Gnostic, the reviser producing the present form being a Gnostic of the middle of the second century who put the work under the authority of the Apostle Thomas, though probably more than half of it originated in his own day.

Cullmann concludes: “Our four canonical Gospels are the only ones on which we can rely.… In the language of theology we must say that the Holy Spirit has been actually at work in the formation of the canon.… On the other band, it is possible for previously unknown and yet genuine sayings of Jesus to be found in other documents which are not in the canon, sayings which, even when they bring no fundamentally new revelation, are capable of enriching and furthering our understanding of the canonic gospels.”

Certain Roman Catholic scholars wasted little time in deprecating the sayings as belonging to a type of literature both fraudulent and puerile. But at the same time widespread publicity attended an announcement by Dr. Margherita Guarducci, professor of Greek epigraphy at Rome University, that new evidence had been found for the Roman Catholic belief that the Apostle Peter was buried under the spot where the papal altar of St. Peter’s Basilica now stands. Though many non-Romans question whether Peter was ever in Rome, Pope Pius XII in 1950 announced that “the tomb of the Prince of the Apostles has been found.”

For twenty years Vatican archeologists have been excavating under St. Peter’s, uncovering beneath the papal altar several tombs bearing no identification, only graffiti—ancient inscriptions roughly scratched on stone or other masonry. Five years of Vatican-sponsored study of the graffiti have convinced Professor Guarducci that they embody a mystical cryptography developed by persecuted second-century Christians and that she has unlocked the cipher. According to her interpretation, one inscription dating to about 160 A.D. read, “Peter is buried here.”

Professor Cullmann flatly rejects Dr. Guarducci’s conclusions, dismissing them with a curt “All that she wrote is false.” But he waxes enthusiastic over something he considers more newsworthy at the present time than either the Gnostic library or the graffiti—a plan of his for improving Protestant-Roman Catholic relations.

In Europe, some Roman and Protestant theologians meet regularly for study. And one week of each year is recognized by members of both communions in many European countries as a time of prayer for Christian unity. Lutheran Cullmann would add another step toward “improving the atmosphere”: yearly collections by Protestant churches for Roman Catholic poor and vice versa. He has been preaching this for two years in Europe and some churches have taken it up, amidst praise and criticism. The idea was suggested to Cullmann by the offering taken by Paul among the Gentiles for the poor in Jerusalem.

Certain requirements must be met for the plan to work, declares Cullmann. Protestants and Catholics must recognize each other as brothers in Christ but must also see that church unity is impossible in “the modern situation.” The two doctrines of the church are irreconcilable—for church unity one of the churches would have to disappear. The pope would cease to be the pope were he to sit down to negotiate with an oriental patriarch or the Archbishop of Canterbury without presiding. Only the “naive ones” saw hope for unity in the recent papal announcement concerning an ecumenical council.

Though the “ecumenical offering” cannot be a symbol of unity, it can be one of “solidarity, of brotherhood among all who invoke the name of Christ.” Were this proposal adopted in Spain and Colombia, the persecutions would become “impossible.” Would this plan ever lead to missionary cooperation between the churches? Says Cullmann, “That would be difficult.”

Two of the other difficulties which present themselves: the problematical Vatican disposition toward any implications of equality involved in the reciprocal nature of the plan; and certain Protestant reservations as to the efficacy of Roman Catholic soteriology, raised by the question of Christian brotherhood—it may be asked, “How necessary was the Reformation, anyway?”

Ecumenical Movement

Statement Of Faith

Presented as a “testimony and not a test of faith,” the proposed statement of faith for the United Church of Christ was made public last month.

The 231-word document will be presented in July to the second General Synod of the United Church, which is being formed out of the General Council of Congregational Christian Churches and the Evangelical and Reformed Church.

Dr. James E. Wagner, co-president of the United Church, said creeds are part of the “poetry” of religion rather than its “systematic rational exposition.”

Some evangelical Protestants viewed the statement as a vague adumbration of the Apostles’ Creed if not a travesty on basic Christian doctrine. The Virgin Birth, for instance, is not mentioned.

Here is the text of the statement, said to be the first of its kind in the United States for merging denominations with differing theological, sociological, and ecclesiastical backgrounds:

“We believe in God, the Eternal Spirit, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and our Father, to whose deeds we gladly testify:

“He calls the worlds into being, creates man in His own image, and sets before him the ways of life and death.

“He seeks in holy love to save his people from aimlessness and sin. He judges men and nations by His righteous will declared through prophets and apostles.

“In Jesus Christ, the man of Nazareth, our crucified and risen Lord, He has come to us, shared our common lot, conquered sin and death, and reconciled the world to Himself.

“He bestows upon us His Holy Spirit, creating and renewing the Church of Jesus Christ, binding in covenant faithful people of all ages, tongues, and races.

“He calls us into his Church to accept the cost and joy of discipleship, to be His servants in the service of men, to proclaim the gospel to all the world and resist the powers of evil, to share in Christ’s baptism and eat at His table, to join him in His passion and victory.

“He promises, to all who trust Him, forgiveness of sins and fullness of grace, courage in the struggle for justice and peace, His presence in trial and rejoicing, and eternal life in His kingdom which has no end.

“Blessing and honor, glory and power be unto Him. Amen.”

Lutheran Fellowship

A retraction from the head of Missouri Synod Lutherans prompted new unity overtures from fellow church leaders.

Ecumenically-minded Lutheran officials apparently were encouraged by Missouri Synod President John W. Behnken’s withdrawal of statements charging that doctrines of three bodies now merging as the American Lutheran Church were in a “state of flux.”

Cooperative talks with the National Lutheran Council would include doctrinal discussion, Behnken was assured. He was asked, moreover, to initiate doctrinal discussions with merging Lutherans “toward the ultimate aim of church fellowship.”

Behnken withdrew his “state of flux” remarks when he felt they had been misinterpreted as “unwarranted judgment.”

Clergy And Industry

Moral Concern

Eighteen prominent clergymen—Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish—constitute an advisory council newly formed by the National Association of Manufacturers, the representative body of U. S. industrial management.

An NAM announcement said its “Clerical Advisory Council” is to meet three times a year, jointly with the association’s advisory committee of industrial leaders. Chairman of the council is Dr. Edward L. R. Elson, minister of the National Presbyterian Church in Washington.

The program was described as having a “dual objective: (1) To.alert the association’s members to major trends of thought in religious circles regarding moral and ethical problems affecting American business, and (2) to present industry’s point of view on such questions to the clergy and lay people of the nation’s churches and synagogues.”

Centenary Observances

Ratio: 200 To 1

This is the 100th year of Protestant missions in Japan. Out of a population of more than 90,000,000, there are reportedly less than 400,000 Protestant Christians divided among some 70 or more denominations. Broken down, it indicates that fewer than one in two hundred Japanese citizens are evangelical Christians.

The Evangelical Missionary Association of Japan hopes to use the centennial observance to make a stronger impact for Christianity. Biggest prospect: Buddhism, which claims a majority of the people.

EMAJ’s executive committee has prayerfully set a goal of seeing at least 2,000 evangelistic campaigns in 1959. Two major Bible conferences are planned as well, one in Tokyo and the other in Osaka, both in October.

Next month, World Vision will begin a three-week evangelistic campaign in Osaka with a team of distinguished American preachers and musicians. Principal speaker will be World Vision President Bob Pierce. Also on the team are Dr. Paul S. Rees, vice-president-at-large of World Vision; Dr. F. Carlton Booth, professor of evangelism at Fuller Theological Seminary; Ralph Carmichael, noted Gospel composer and conductor; and Jack Conner, famed marimba player.

Norman Nelson, singing missionary from the Philippines, will join the team.

From Haili Kulamanu

Haili Church of Hilo, founded by pioneering Congregational missionaries to Hawaii, is observing its 100th year in the same Colonial wooden edifice.

Fearing earthquakes, original builders chose in place of stone the timber of a nearby forest called “Haili Kulamanu,” which means “Paradise of the Birds.”

The church has become one of the most famous in the Hawaiian Islands. Repairs have kept the building in shape.

People: Words And Events

Deaths: Dr. Harold Lundquist, 64, pastor of the First Mission Covenant Church of Chicago and a distinguished evangelical leader, in Chicago … Miss Edith Torrey, 76, daughter of famed revivalist R. A. Torrey and former Wheaton College professor, in Santa Barbara, California … Dr. Eric Sauer of Wiedenest, Rhineland, author of Dawn of World Redemption.

Nomination: For general secretary of the American Baptist Convention, Dr. Edwin H. Tuller.

Appointments: As president of the new Methodist Theological School at Stratford, Ohio, Dr. John W. Dickhaut; as dean, Dr. Van Bogard Dunn … as president of the American Baptists’ Keuka College, Dr. William S. Litterick … as first president of the Methodists’ North Carolina Wesleyan College, scheduled to open in the fall of 1960, Dr. Thomas A. Collins … as associate executive secretary for American Baptist Men, Hermon C. Dilmore … as professor of systematic theology at Central Conservative Baptist Theological Seminary, Dr. Ernest Pickering … as superintendent of the Church of the Nazarene’s Hawaiian district, Dr. Joseph E. Purinton.

Elections: As chairman of the board of trustees of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Dr. Lamar Jackson … as chairman of a joint committee working for a merger between the United Evangelical Lutheran Church and the Evangelical and American Lutheran churches, Dr. William Larsen … as president of the Seventh-day Adventists’ Washington Missionary College, Dr. Charles B. Hirsch … as president of the National Association of Christian Broadcasters, Darrel Malcom … as president of the Protestant Church-Owned Publishers’ Association, Birger Swenson.

‘Year Of Grace’

Northern Ireland is marking the 100th anniversary of its revival of 1859, often referred to as the “Year of Grace.” A series of lectures, teaching missions, and evangelistic crusades were scheduled in commemoration of the event, which owed much to the 1857 revival experienced in the United States.

One of the first anniversary observances was a luncheon meeting at Belfast which drew 400 ministers and laymen. Guest speaker was Dr. J. Edwin Orr, author of The Second Evangelical Awakening in Britain, a history of the “Year of Grace.”

Orr said various parts of the world are now experiencing what they could regard as the Third Evangelical Awakening. He cited Brazil, referring to an admission from a Roman Catholic source that more attended Protestant services than could be found in Catholic masses.

Orr said he believed that the Spirit of God had raised up Billy Graham to lead evangelism and to serve the whole church of God. He asserted there had been a considerable change in evangelical emphasis which he described as a “moving to the center” combining a sense of unity, social reform and brotherly love with more objective features of the orthodox Christian faith—authority of the Bible, creeds, and biblical evangelism.

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