KIRKUS REVIEW

Hans Kung, the brightest light in the intellectual firmament of contemporary Roman
Catholicism, has now brought to its logical conclusion the line of thought articulated in such
earlier works as The Church. And it is a conclusion that will shake the institutional Church
to its foundations. To the question, ""Infallible?"" Kung answers ""No."" No, the pope is not
infallible, in any traditional sense of that term; no, ecumenical councils are not a priori
infallible simply because they are ecumenical; no, the Bible is not infallible, since it is filled
with obvious errors; and no, the People of God -- that is, the community of believers -- itself
is not infallible, although it does possess a fundamental indefectibility with respect to truth.
Infallibility exists; but it exists only in God and his word -- that is, in the gospel message as
such. These propositions are demonstrated in depth on the basis of both history and theology,
by both external and internal criticism, in a dazzling display of scholarship that is
simultaneously provocative and constructive. Not since the palmy days (or dreary days,
depending on one's bias) of the Reformation has there been such a vigorous challenge, and
the book will undoubtedly be the single most controversial and influential theological work
of our time.

Pub Date: April 2nd, 1971

Publisher: Doubleday