Christ and the Newly Matured World

The quest of the present paper, therefore, is a dissection of the statements about Christ which are made by those for whom the world has come of age. How does one address himself to an audience which may have jettisoned the trappings of transcendentalism? Is there another means of expressing the message, or must the message itself be changed? The investigation will begin with Bonhoeffer, for he has coined the phrase, the world come of age, and he has raised the questions for which others are attempting to provide the answers. The theology of Bishop John A. T. Robinson has created a stir in England which is similar to the one caused by God-is-dead theology in America, and his attempts to redefine God” and Jesus will be taken into consideration. Paul M. van Buren explicitly acknowledges a similarity between his main work and Robinson\u27s Honest to God. This factor, plus his being associated with the God-is-dead movement by critics support his being included in the present consideration. Finally, William Hamilton, a hard radical of the God-is-dead school, will be included. The selection of authors thus yields a sampling of continental European, English, and American contemporary theology. Itis hoped that sufficient similarities between the men selected will be present so that adequate comparisons may be made