During the past half century, throughout the Christian world both Catholic and Protestant, great progress has been made in the scientific and critical study of the biblical text, more particularly of the New Testament documents, and, in continuation of this, of the history of Christian origins. The Encyclical Divino afflante Spiritu of the present Pope bears witness to the multiple sources of progress in biblical studies and gives directives concerning it which envisage and prepare for still greater progress to come by Catholic scholars in this field. The appearance two years ago of A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture, to cite only the most comprehensive instance amongst much other evidence, is witness also to the fact that in England Catholics are taking a share, fuller than hitherto, in this general movement of Christian scholarship, and that in doing so they are able gratefully to acknowledge and make use of the fruits of much of its labours.

One of the most striking effects of progress in biblical scholarship and the study of Christian origins has been a deeper realization of the fact and extent of doctrinal development down the centuries, and its bearing upon our conception of the nature and function of that Tradition by which such development has been brought about. The view one takes of the nature and function of Tradition in the development of doctrine is inevitably bound up with one’s view of the nature and function of the Church, as the receptacle, so to say, and guardian and interpreter of God’s revelation concerning his means and method of redeeming mankind.

Two more theologians have recently responded to Professor Jung’s invitation to collaborate with his work. Both of them are priests. One belongs to the Belgian Province of the Society of Jesus. The other is a German Jewish convert to the Russian Orthodox Church.

Their respective books contrast sharply. Father Hostie’s book, despite its restricted (and rather baffling) title, is the more comprehensive and ambitious. It attempts a complete exposition and critique of the whole of Jung’s work, at least to the extent that it impinges on religion and philosophy. Dr Zacharias’s book is more limited in scope, and treats of some particular questions which arise from Jung’s more recent work only; but what it loses in breadth it gains in depth. The contrast however lies mostly in their respective attitudes and manners of approach. Fr Hostie expressly restricts himself to a review of Jung’s published writings. Although he is convinced that ‘repeated personal contact with Professor Jung and his closest collaborators is absolutely necessary to grasp the exact meaning of the texts’, he deliberately confines his study to Jung’s ‘official publications’. This restriction is not without its value: it is, after all, from his writings, and without the benefit of personal contact and vocal interpretations, that Jung must be most widely known and judged. Moreover Fr Hostie has conducted his examination of these official writings, comparing and collating the various editions, with scrupulous care; and has incidentally added the most complete bibliography yet made of them—it includes several early opuscula which even the editors of the Collected Works seem to have missed.

At a first reading the articles that come at the end of the Creed seem to be just isolated statements. In fact it is not difficult to discover a unifying principle. The final section of the Creed begins with the words, ‘I believe in the Holy Ghost’. This is the clue, because all the other articles express our belief in the fruits of the creative activity of the Holy Spirit. ‘The Catholic Church’ is the new community, which has corporate life in the Spirit: ‘remission of sins’ is effected through the Spirit; ‘the resurrection of the body’ is the crown, the final achievement of the working of the Spirit.

The first Christians were well aware of this and in consequence laid great emphasis on the relation between the Spirit and the Church, for they recognized that it is through the fruits of the Spirit that the Spirit itself is discerned.

St Gregory Nazianzen wrote, ‘The New Testament revealed the Son and implied the divinity of the Spirit. Today the Spirit dwells among us and makes himself more clearly known.’ It is by living in the Christian community that a man is brought to a closer knowledge of the Holy Spirit. ‘Dost thou believe in the Holy Spirit?’ ran the old baptismal question. It is in the Church, the creation of the Holy Spirit, that the Spirit is discovered.