The relationship between church and state has historically depended on the answer to the questions: which state, which church, which chronological age? The function of Christians as individuals and as a corporate body in relationship to the state has had many forms. While most Christians have agreed that the state is instituted by God for the good of mankind, the question of involvement with the state is one which Christians have disagreed on.

Charles Villa-Vicencio, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Cape Town, realizes this problem, but nevertheless searches for a common theme. He finds it in the concept of the church speaking prophetically to the state throughout history. The church has the duty to call the state truly to be the state. All government is ordained by God and the church must declare this fact to the ruling authorities. This also means that the church must oppose the state when it is not carrying out its mission of peace and justice for all its citizens.

A selection of historical and contemporary texts is presented to substantiate the thesis of the prophetic role of the church. The task of the church in every situation is to be aware of the possible emergence of ‘the moment of prophetic resistance to the state’ (p. xi). Because of the danger of being absorbed into the culture, this moment is not always recognized by the majority of the church.

The book is divided roughly in thirds, by the three sections of texts. The first deals with the time from the early church through the Puritan reformation. The second (and longest) sketches the church in the 20th century, starting with the Barmen Declaration of 1934 and covering major statements of the Roman Catholic Church, Black theology, African theology and Eastern Orthodoxy. Readers will be surprised at the relevance for today of some of the older documents. The concluding section introduces major South African statements that show the developing prophetic encounter with the state.

There are some splendid texts reproduced which yield many excellent quotes. From Tertullian’s Apology, ‘On valid grounds I might say Caesar is more ours than yours’ (p. 13). Or Luther, Secular Authority, ‘To err in this direction, however and punish too little is more tolerable, for it is always better to let a scoundrel live than to put a godly man to death. The world has plenty of scoundrels anyway and must continue to have them, but godly men are scarce’ (p. 51). The collected wisdom found in the book is certainly worth studying.

The selection of South African texts is excellent, though it could have been augmented by some statements from the 19th century which show even more clearly the position of prophetic opposition of the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) to the state. As it is, the statement of the DRC calling for justice is worth citing: ‘Only when the government and the people are inclined, in a serious and nonpartisan way, to enquire into the real motives and purposes of this resistance, giving due consideration to all the factors that have contributed to the creation of this extremely tragic situation, whether these factors be real or reputed, will peace return’ (p. 208). This statement was penned in 1915, when it was the Afrikaaners of the DRC who were in rebellion against the government. The suggestions for bringing peace still apply.

The last text in the book is the Kairos Document written by a group of Black theologians. It is openly critical of both the state and the church’s response to the oppression of the present regime. In outlining the inadequacy of ‘church theology’, the Kairos document finds the fundamental problem in the ‘type of faith and spirituality that has dominated church life for centuries’ (p. 261). This, claim the authors, is a faith that is basically other-worldly and a spirituality that ‘tends to rely upon God to intervene in his own good time to put right what is wrong in the world’ (p. 261). Villa-Vicencio correctly identifies the perspective of the Kairos Document as a new departure in South African church-state relationships.

This book continues Villa-Vicencio’s engagement in the theological analysis of the current South African scene. He has previously co-edited Apartheid is a Heresy and Resistance and Hope. It is perhaps fair to say that the main impetus comes from the South African situation. It can be seen as a call to the church (in South Africa and elsewhere) to be the church in response to the state. The problem is that the church perceives its response to its own position in society. Therefore in the text cited above with regard to the DRC, when it protested in 1915, it was protesting against what the DRC constituency regarded as an unfair government. The reason the majority of the DRC are not protesting now is that they are convinced that the present government is just. This cultural myopia needs to be overcome by God’s grace and the church’s repentance.

One notable lack is the absence of an index. A book like this demands the facility of quick cross-referencing. Another limitation is that there is no discussion on the use of violence. Villa-Vicencio notes this omission but rightly says such a discussion would require another book. Because violence is not discussed, it is difficult to decide what action should be taken to oppose unjust governments if they refuse to listen to the prophetic church. This would seem to be the main issue that is facing those who do recognize the injustice of the state.

The choice of the texts and the introductions to each text are superb. The clarity of presentation of the issues makes the book very useful for future reference and I can easily see its adoption as a textbook in many seminaries.