Introduction by Martin E. Marty
Eerdmans, 1962, 1998.
Translated by Charles L. Taylor
As Michael and I were packing up for the festival this year we were down in our Wilson multi-function room and stumbled upon this tiny book by Helmut Thielicke. I don't know where it came from. Michael hadn't remembered placing it in the crate where he found it. I was aware of Helmut Thielicke, the German theologian and contemporary of Karl Barth, but I hadn't read much by him. The edge of the little book is sadly mildewed but the inside is well loved by the previous anonymous reader. At only forty-one pages, something this size is usually called an article not a book. Upon engaging these little pages seriously I got hooked. Lights flashed and bells rung. In simple, modest language Thielicke observes the sickness that strikes every student of theology. It is an explanation, a warning, and a bridge between lay folk, pastors, and anyone who uses theological language. His analogies are humorous but dead on.
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