''Honest to God'' is a book written by the Anglican

Bishop of Woolwich The Bishop of Woolwich is an episcopal title used by an area bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Southwark, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after Woolwich, a suburb of the Royal Borough of Greenwich. Tw ...

John A.T. Robinson, criticising traditional Christian theology. It aroused a storm of controversy on its original publication by

SCM Press SCM Press is a British publisher of theology, originally linked to the Student Christian Movement. The company was purchased by Hymns Ancient and Modern in 1997. In 2018 ''Church Times'' reported that 100 titles from SCM Press and Canterbury ...

in 1963. Robinson's own evaluation of ''Honest to God'', found in his subsequent book ''Exploration into God'' (1967), stated that the chief contribution of this book was its successful synthesis of the work of seemingly opposed theologians Paul Tillich,

Dietrich Bonhoeffer Dietrich Bonhoeffer (; 4 February 1906 – 9 April 1945) was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian and anti-Nazi dissident who was a key founding member of the Confessing Church. His writings on Christianity's role in the secular world have ...

and

Rudolf Bultmann Rudolf Karl Bultmann (; 20 August 1884 – 30 July 1976) was a German Lutheran theologian and professor of the New Testament at the University of Marburg. He was one of the major figures of early-20th-century biblical studies. A prominent criti ...

Major themes in ''Honest to God''

The dominant theory of ''Honest to God'' is that having rejected the idea of 'God up there', modern secular man needs to recognize that the idea of 'God out there' is also an outdated simplification of the nature of divinity. Rather,

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

should take their cue from the

existentialist Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and value ...

theology of Paul Tillich and consider God to be 'the ground of our being'.

's notion of religion-less Christianity is also a major theme in the book. Robinson's interpretation of this phrase is—inevitably—controversial. He claims that secular man requires a secular theology. That is, that God's continuing revelation to humanity is one brought about in culture at large, not merely within the confines of "religion" or "church." The book also introduced the idea of

situational ethics Situational ethics or situation ethics takes into account ''only'' the particular context of an act when evaluating it ethically, rather than judging it only according to absolute moral standards. With the intent to have a fair basis for judgment ...

to an English speaking audience. This was a form of relativism, based on the idea that moral codes are not set in stone, but may be subject to circumstances.

Controversy and criticism

The book was controversial even before its publication, as an interview about it with Robinson in ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

'' bore the provocative headline "Our Image of God Must Go". Some of the letters and articles for and against Robinson's views were published by the end of the year in ''The Honest to God Debate''. A flurry of books on the subject appeared by everyone from the Ceylon Rationalist Association to Patience Strong. The book was almost universally condemned by traditionalists, but was hailed as a breath of fresh air by many liberals. Not so with most Anglo-Catholics.

Michael Ramsey Arthur Michael Ramsey, Baron Ramsey of Canterbury, (14 November 1904 – 23 April 1988) was an English Anglican bishop and life peer. He served as the 100th Archbishop of Canterbury. He was appointed on 31 May 1961 and held the office until 1 ...

, Archbishop of Canterbury, thought that Robinson's theology was weak, and that he had only a vague understanding of many of the issues he brought into the mainstream. Professional theologians saw ''Honest to God'' as a popularisation of the radical shifts in theological thinking brought about by

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

theologians like

and Paul Tillich, although Robinson did not intend to write a work for a wide popular audience. In his last interview before his death,

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univers ...

was asked, "What do you think of the controversial new book ''Honest to God'', by John Robinson, the bishop of Woolwich? Lewis replied, “I prefer being honest, to being ‘honest to God.’” Lewis also wrote a short article entitled "Must our Image of God Go?"''The Observer'', 24 March 1963 which appeared in ''

'' shortly after the similarly titled Robinson interview.

Major themes in ''Honest to God''

Controversy and criticism

See also

References

Further reading