Includes index.

Nonviolence The Gospel Means Revolution -- Christianity Means Revolution -- Power within the Christian Revolution -- The Nature of Nonviolence -- Is Nonviolence a Counsel Only? -- Is Disciplined Force Permissible? -- The Success of Nonviolence? -- Violence and Social Injustice -- Protesting the Status Quo -- Prophetic against the Status Quo -- The Prophetic Mission of Christ -- The Dynamism of Nonviolence -- Nonviolence, the First of Conversation -- The Dynamic Norm and Casuistry -- Will Nonviolence Triumph? -- Man's Quest For Freedom in Community -- Paternalism as Alienation -- Patriarchalism-Paternalism Centralism and Individualism -- Interaction of Social Structures and the Community of Faith -- Subsidiarity -- Progress in Freedom and Education -- No Romantic I-Thou Island -- Solidarity and Nonviolence --Toward Maturity -- Open-mindedness -- Genuine Communication and Respect -- The Capacity to Reciprocate Love -- Action Follows Knowledge -- Judgments of Conscience -- A Synthesis of Experience and Knowledge -- The Continuity of Life -- Principles vs. Rigidity -- The Need of Balance -- Self-Control and Effectiveness -- Openness to Beauty -- Humility and a Sense of Humor -- The Role of Conscience -- What Conscience Means to Contemporary Man -- What Revelation Says about Conscience -- Alertness as a Sing of Conscience -- The Dynamism of Conscience -- The Autonomy or Theonomy of Conscience -- Belief and Personal Conviction -- Faith, Freedom of Conscience, Tolerance -- Law and Conscience -- Conscience and Repentance -- The Authority Crisis in Today's World -- The Solidarity of the Church and the World -- Particular Causes of the Authority Crisis in the Church -- Ways of Overcoming of the Authority Crisis -- Maximizing the Potential in the Present Crisis -- Freedom and Authority in the Church -- Reviewing the History of Salvation -- Freedom and Pluralism -- A Theology of Evangelical Freedom -- Tensions between the Old and the New Styles -- Theology in the Service of True Freedom -- Ethics of Responsible Freedom -- The Liberating Power of Gospel -- The Missionary Dimensions of Protest -- The Missionary Challenge to a Static Ethics -- Acceptance of Challenge and the Courage to Challenge -- The Hope in Protest -- Protest Inspire by Hope -- Accepting Authority -- Authority and Redeeming Love -- Authority in Service -- Authority, Faith and Hope -- The Authority of the Covenant -- Risk-taking Authority -- The Heart of Authority Is Love -- Postscript: Protest at the Synod

In his new book Bernard Häring, the noted moral theologian, maintains that nothing could be more authentically Christian than the idea of protesting. This is shown by the heritage of the precursors of Christianity, the Hebrew Prophets; by the money-changers from the temple; by the life and work of St. Francis of Assisi; and in our day by the example of Martin Luther King. In his analysis of "maturity," the author shows what it means to be fully Christian. He points out that this religion was never intended for an elite, or the few, and that it calls absolutely everybody to perfection, to holiness, to be "the salt of the earth." The social as well as spiritual implications of this doctrine are more obvious today than ever before. A Theology of Protest also shows how the "crisis of authority" within the Catholic Church came to be, and why it will continue. Faced by an unprecedent wave of protest against authority, conservative churchmen have tended to react with rigid resistance and suppression. Father Häring shows that any attempt to stifle legitimate protest and dissent is doomed to failure, not least because Christianity itself is a revolutionary force. No one who takes the Sermon on the Mount seriously can deny that the Christian is committed to nonviolent forms of revolution. The use and misuse of authority is, of course, a chief cause of protest. In his discussion of the meaning of authority, Father Häring shows that it is not something handed down from above, but rather something earned through love and trust. He concludes with a chapter on "The Hope in Protest", and adds a timely postscript on the role of protest at the recent Synod of Bishops in Rome.