Hungarian Church Press, 1968 (20. évfolyam, 2. szám)

1968-06-01 / 2. szám

HOP Vol XX Special Number

1968 No 2- 5 -(7625)

rious parts of the world. Quite obviously, some have looked upon this confrontation with suspicious eyes and yielded to the temptation simply to write off the efforts of our churches as opportunistic accomodation to the new social conditions» Thus our theological orientation and pondering on the social problems have proceeded amidst the expressions of such suspicions and tdictations« This has been a very difficult period which has caused serious debates, prorated careful analyses and caused struggles of conscience also within our churches« 7/hatever may be one’s opinion about the outcome of these theological struggles, we believe that it has its significance for, the entire oikoumene of the churches. Therefore, the Evangelical Christianity of Hungary has always tried to share its experiences with the general public of the sister churchesc

We have had three specific reasons to do this. First it seems that not only the Evangelical Christians of Hungary but Christian brethren living on other Continents are also under the growing pressure to face the. problems of social life and even those of revolutionary changes. Then it is our conviction and claim that the Evangelical Christianity of Hungary is trying to take the bearings of the entirely new social situation with the help of God’s Holy Spirit and with the Word of God as the supreme point of reference* The accusation often made against us is losing ground that it was at the price of compromising the Gospel message and their Christian faith that our churches purchased their modus vivendi in the new historical situation. The very opposite of this is true; our profession is that the Church of Christ is not bound to any social system and that the Christian Church must fulfill her mission in every society and in every historical situation. And thirdly, we wish to share our e^>oriences with the sister churches because, precisely in view Öf* the unparalleled nature of our venture, we recognize the necessity of Christian criticism. But only if the criticism offered is not the component of some political*counter-conception but actually issues from the Gospel«

It is with these considerations that we think it necessary to lay the theological grounds of our insights and decisions and the practice issuirg therefrom before our brethren in faith. While doing this, we wish to refrain from the polemic posture unworthy of our- cause as we realize that those who look upon the churches living in the new social situation as "instruments of communist propaganda" cannot be convinced until the life and service of our church by themselves bear out the truth that we are trying to remain churches faithfully witnessing to our Lord Jesus Christ, On the other hand, we have always sought the opportunities of dialogue with those church circles and theologians abroad who are ready to assess the full weight and real dimensions of our problems, those seriously seeking to perceive the real nature of the Church’s service (not simply that of her existence) in a changing world with its seething problems of technology, ideology and social development, .to those realizing that it is these problems that we all face today, we affectionately commend the theological and social efforts of the Hungarian Evangelical Churches and the studies on those problems summed up in this Contribution.