Church by Hans Küng

Church Reviews

• 
  Bradley

  This is a very important book on ecclesiology from the last century. Kung was a Roman Catholic who wasn't really accepted by the RCC because of his views on ecclesiology and other matters. There was much in the book with which I disagreed, but there is still a substantial amount of helpful material in the book.
  
  Some of the major disagreements that I had with Kung were:
  
  1. He believes that the doctrine of the church (especially its structure/polity) is not clearly established by the New Testament and that a perfect "ideal" does not exist. For him, the hierarchical structure that developed in the church over time was what was necessary and this development was guided by God as the Church sought to find the best way to organize itself.
  
  2. He frequently questions the truthfulness or historical accuracy of certain parts of the scripture, especially Acts.
  
  3. As one reads, they can sense a biased view toward modern scholarship and methods and against premodern scholarship and methods. He essentially buys into the idea that the modern mind is more equipped for theological, historical, and exegetical inquiry than those who came before.
  
  4. He supports and defends Petrine authority and leadership over the church, though in a more soft and moderated way than traditional Catholics.
  
  Some of the things that I found helpful:
  
  1. I appreciated his focus on the mission of the Church as a mission of the gospel rather than a mission of political power and influence. This is an urgently needed message in today's social and political climate.
  
  2. I appreciated that he took in a view of ministry that involved the whole Church, acknowledging that each member of the Church has been given a gift by which they are to serve the Church. For him, the ordained ministers are set apart in an office and are to use their own gifts to serve the church, but are not superior to the rest of the members.
  
  3. He provides many helpful historical overviews of the development of the doctrine of the church that many non-Catholics may not be familiar with.
• 
  C.J. Moore

  4 stars because I actually ended up enjoying a Catholic's take on ecclesiology and surprisingly found myself agreeing with him at various points. Though we obviously have different, ultimate conclusions, Küng also surprisingly depends almost entirely on Scripture for his biblical-theological presentation of the Church (rather than historical norms, however early they were supposedly employed). It's not surprising that this book got him in trouble with his fellow Catholics and was eventually pulled from the press. If he went a step further with some of his theological thoughts, he'd be akin to a modern-day Luther (who he agrees with and references often in this book); but alas, he has not. It's worth looking through if you happen upon it.
• 
  John Dube

  A very compelling treatment of the church. Although Kung writes as a Catholic, I found myself in agreement on many of his points. Kung was a critic of his denomination, which got him in a lot of trouble. (I believe this book was banned by the RCC at some point.) Although quite technical, I would recommend this book to those looking to explore the church outside their favorite authors.
• 
  нєνєℓ ¢ανα

  Excellent, insightful, creative.